Yesterday Peggy Noonan published a column called Making History in which she reflected on the events that led up to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As historian David McCullough makes clear in books like 1776 and John Adams, it was no sure thing that the colonies would actually vote to form the United States or that they would or could succeed in a war against Great Britain. In particular, the colonies had trouble agreeing on how or when or even whether they should press for independence. And after Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration, fully 25% ended up on the cutting floor, including a section indicting the slave trade.

After much prolonged debate, the colonies voted 12-0 (with New York abstaining) to adopt the Declaration, knowing that it would certainly lead to war. Thus the closing phrase in which the signers pledge to each other “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor” to see independence become a reality. 

Today we remember what they paid for in blood. 

Peggy Noonan mentions a visit to Mount Vernon several years ago where she listened to David McCullough speak of the influence of George Washington. During a chance conversation she asked the renowned historian a very important question:

Almost two years ago, I was lucky enough to tour Mount Vernon with a dozen people including him. (If I were David McCullough I would know the date and time. But I know the weather.) At the bottom of a stairway leading to the second floor, we chatted for a moment, and I asked him how he accounted in his imagination for the amazing fact of the genius cluster that founded our nation. How did so many gifted men, true geniuses, walk into history at the same time, in the same place, and come together to pursue so brilliantly a common endeavor? “I think it was providential,” he said, simply.

The dictionary defines providential as meaning “heaven-sent, as if by divine intervention.” The term is theological and comes from the word “providence,” which means God’s gracious oversight of all the universe. When we apply the word “providential” to American history, we mean that this nation didn’t happen by accident. In the great debate over what America is and should be, let us not forget that the"genius cluster” of John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and all the rest, walked into history at the same time in the same place, with a shared vision of a nation that would be free and independent and a beacon of liberty and hope to the world.

It didn’t happen by chance but by the good hand of God. It was providential. That’s what we celebrate on this 4th of July.

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.

A friend asked for my thoughts on living with no regrets. To me it’s all about direction. A few years ago the Lord gave me a set of  sayings that I call the First Law of Spiritual Progress:

I can’t go back.
I can’t stay here.
I must go forward.

In truth, there is no such thing as a life lived with no regrets in the literal sense because we all fall short in many ways. Only Jesus truly could say “It is  finished” and know that he had perfectly completed all that God had for him to do. The rest of us will struggle with a sense of failure, of jobs left undone, of projects uncompleted, of dreams unfulfilled, of steps not taken, or roads not traveled, or decisions made that now seem like wrong choices. I see no way to escape this. 

The question then becomes, what will we do with our failures? If we let them shape us, our failures will dominate us forever. Or we can resolve to believe that in Jesus Christ, we can always make a new start with the Lord.

So the key is to say, “I won’t go back. I’m not going to live in the past. I won’t let my yesterdays define who I  am today. And I can’t stay here because life is like a river that rolls ever onward. By God’s grace, I will go forward, one day at a time, one  step at a time, trusting God to lead me, following the Lord to best  of my ability, believing that with Christ, the  best is always yet to come.”

In the spiritual life direction makes all the difference. It’s not where we’ve been but where we’re going that matters.

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.

A young man wrote me the following note several weeks ago:

I wondered your theological opinion of Christian fellowship. It is a term that’s been thrown around a lot in my circles lately but to be honest, what I see in churches is not much different from a TV show like Cheers or even less than that.

I mean Christian fellowship is considered to be shaking hands and asking about your church friends’ week and then sitting down and singing and listening to preaching and then going home. How is that any different than going to the bar and seeing familiar faces over a couple of beers?

Interesting that he should mention the TV show Cheers. Although it first aired 20 years ago, it remains popular in reruns. Set in a bar in Boston, the show featured a cast of offbeat characters who gathered at the bar every day after work to kibbutz, to trade war stories, to tell a few jokes, to blow off steam, and to commiserate with one another. Each week millions of people tuned in watch Sam and Diane and Rebecca and Carla and Norm and Sam and Cliff and Dr. Frasier Crane and Woody sit around and talk about their joys and sorrows, their victories and defeats, their good times and their bad times, their problems at home, and their dreams for the future. That was the whole show. It doesn’t sound very profound, yet Cheers touched something deep within the American public. Each week, in their own quirky way, the characters talked about life and we tuned in to listen.

Do you remember the theme song? 

“You wanna be where you can see that troubles are all the same.
You wanna be where everyone knows your name.”

“He Was a Great Marine”

I was reminded of Cheers when I read a story in one of Chuck Swindoll’s books. He tells about an old Marine Corps buddy of his who became a Christian after he left the Corps. Swindoll said he was surprised when he heard of his friend’s conversion:

He was one of those guys you’d never picture as being interested in spiritual things. He cursed loudly, drank heavily, fought hard, chased women, loved weapons, and hated chapel service.  He was a great Marine.

When Swindoll finally met him, his friend told him how he had come to Christ. Then with a look of sadness, he put his hand on Swindoll’s shoulder and bared his soul:

Chuck, the only thing I miss is that old fellowship all the guys in our outfit used to have down at the Slop Shoot (Greek for tavern on base).  Man, we’d sit around, laugh, tell stories, drink a few beers, and really let our hair down. It was great. I just haven’t found anything to take the place of that great time we use to enjoy. I ain’t got nobody to admit my faults to. . . to have ‘em put their arm around me me and tell me I’m still okay.

Counterfeit Grace

The words hurt because they are so true. Swindoll goes on to quote from Bruce Larson and Keith Miller (The Edge of Adventure, p. 156).  Ever wonder why so many people are pulled to the neighborhood bar?  Here is their answer:

The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is for the fellowship Christ wants to give His church. It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it is a permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable. It is democratic. You can tell people secrets and they usually don’t tell others or even want to. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.

With all my heart I believe that Christ wants His church to be . . . a fellowship where people can come in and say, “I’m sunk!” “I’m beat!” “I’ve had it!"  (All quotations from Chuck Swindoll, Encourage Me, pp. 17-18)

Where do you go in a time of crisis? The answer for nearly all of us is that we go to our close friends, to the people who know us best and love us the most. So many people today hunger for close relationships and for friendships that last longer than one-night stands.

“You wanna be where you can see that troubles all are the same.
You wanna be where everyone knows your name.”

So people turn to bars, clubs, to parties and neighborhood groups, softball teams, bowling leagues, gyms, spas, restaurants, and nowadays they spend hours on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, hoping to make a connection with someone they will probably never meet in person.

Maybe, just maybe, they turn to the church. And what do they find?

You can read the entire article here. 

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.

It’s hard to believe, but we’re almost halfway through 2009. What will the rest of this year bring? Will the economy turn around? What will happen in the Middle East? And what will happen to us personally? No one knows but God.

It happened not long after I returned from Belize in 1992. While rummaging through an accumulated mountain of mail, I came across an article about “the prevenient grace of God.” The phrase refers to “the grace that goes before.” Here’s a working definition:  “In every situation of life God is already at work before I get there. He is working creatively, strategically and redemptively for my good and his glory.”

Wow! So many times I tend to limit my thinking to the fact that God’s presence goes with me as I go through life. That’s true, but it’s only part of the story. He’s not only with me now, he’s already way up the road ahead of me.

Think about it this way: While I am struggling with the problems of today, God is hard at work providing solutions for the things I am going  to face tomorrow. He’s already there, working creatively in situations I have yet to face, preparing them for me and me for them.

Or to say it another way: While I’m living in Tuesday, he’s clearing the road for me on Friday. That’s what Proverbs 3:6 means when it says that “He will make your paths straight.”

Or to say it yet another way: God is already at work providing solutions  for problems I don’t even know I have yet! That blows my mind.

Are you worried about next week? Forget it. He’s already there. How about the rest of 2009? Don’t sweat it. He’s already there. What about that  crucial meeting next week? Sleep well. He’s already there. What about that tough decision that looms ahead of you? Fear not. He’s already there.

It would be enough if God simply walked with you through the events of life. But he does much more than that. He goes ahead of you, clearing the way, arranging the details of life, so that when you get there, you can have confidence that God has already been there before you.

That’s the prevenient grace of God. He goes before his people. He’s at work in the future while we live in the present. With that encouraging  thought, I wish you a very good day.

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.