Dr. Michael Newdow, who continues to fight in court to outlaw the phrase “under God”, told the New York Times that he intended to “ferret out all insidious uses of religion in daily life”. This by the way is no indle threat. He meant it. While his case brought up in the Supreme Court did not result in the kind if decisions he likes, he nontheless “won” a similar lawsuit at the federal district court level and is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

A far cry from him, the Founding Fathers, from the very birth of the United States, publicly acknowledged and invoked the assistance of the Almighty God as pivotal ang central to America’s birth and liberty for the infant nation.

We can read that George Washington, at his first inauguration on April 30, 1789, “put his right hand on the Bible…after taking the oath) adding…’so help me God’. He then bent forward and kissed the Bible before him”. In his remarks he said:

“It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that ALMIGHTY BEING who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States, a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instruments employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge… No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the INVISIBLE HAND which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.”

You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence.

Seven months later on October 3, 1789, in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, he said, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”

No ! No thanks to Dr. Newdow! Even if some people of this nation doesn’t want any trace of God’s existancein this nation,the feeling of strong conviction about God even then, has been very strong. Published in 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville states, “I do not know whether ALL americans have a sincere faith in their religion, for who can read the human heart ? but I am certain that they hold it to be indespensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society. ”

But, we may argue, America has changed significantly and is a very different nation today. Justice O’Connor reflected this thought in her earlier decision cited that the phrase “under God” was adopted in 1954 when “our national religious diversity was neither as robust nor as well recognized as it is now” Be as it may, the faith of this nation has been recorded from its infancy. Its not a waste of time to look back if merely for the sake of historical documentation. As trivial as it may sound, yet there is no argument that early on, our national leaders expressed their belief, trust, and confidence in one Almighty God, neatly embedded on their speeches.

Editors Note: Where is God in America? Part I can be found here.

On R.Zacharias’ 3 part sermon on the temptation of Christ, Ravi dissected the temptations of Christ and explained it in 3 different philosophies- 1. Humanism 2. Utilitarianism 3. Hedonism.  After listening to all of the sermons, if you could sum up everything, although that would lose all that good stuff and such a complexity of rich flavors, it would be this in my own processed translation: with all our intellect, with all our gifts, with all our finite qualities and limited capacities, we try to be over and above wisdom through the exclusivity of reason without faith; over and above power as a hero to influence and/or control the lives of others; and over and above eternity by denying God and our need for Jesus- the ONLY way, the ONLY reason. We think we can live the way we want in freedom from the shackles and constraints of God’s laws. But when we do so, it is freedom that we forfeit when we are slaves to sin.  Our flaw is that we don’t have eternity on our minds.  We really live in this world to live for ourselves, to do what we want, to indulge in its pleasures and indulge in it well, without regret or thought of consequence, to experience ALL there is to experience and taking in every opportunity to feel, hence therefore really living. That is the distraction that the spiritual principalities of Satan uses to deviate us from what is really true- which is to live for Christ.

Satan tempts us, saying, “why not?  Do it. Everything is yours and take what you want. Satisfy your curiosity and have no reservations. This world is meant for you and everything in life is there for you to taste. Take the fame, acquire more and more, experience love and lust everywhere, feed your pleasures, think that you are better than your friends, forget fellowship with those that challenge your character, believe in your validated reason and your intellectual superiority…etc.”

Man lives for man, and man only sees what man sees, and thinks he thinks like God.

Man self justifies his worth without God and refuses his basic inherent quality- which is ‘to need.’  Man thinks and forgets that he was born with the quality ‘to need.’  Man needs bread.  Man needs shelter.  Man needs love.  Ask Maslow; man has basic needs, a hierarchy of materialism, but needs nonetheless.  But God, who has fashioned the earth and holds the galaxy and all there is outside of our imaginative realm, does not need.  God does not need. 

So why does man think that his wisdom can be above God?  Why do our actions confront God with such audacity instead of fear? Why does man live as if he’s only living for his present lifetime and for himself?  Our worship which was intended for the creator has been displaced for that which was created.  But King David had it right, he said, “Who is man that you are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4).  David realized our insignificance objectively, but subjectively, to God, we are significant.  As Louie Giglio termed it- our “significant insignificance.” 

To illustrate, I’ll share a story: while driving home one night, I looked at my daughter Emma who was overly snuggly strapped into her car seat.  Neither hungry, wet, nor scared, she kept crying because she wanted to get out of her car seat and be held, or be patted, or have a little to drink.  Whatever her reason, she let us know that we had to give her attention.  To her, the world was Emma-centric and she wouldn’t cease until she was appeased temporarily, and then complain again for something else.  She didn’t know that outside of her tiny shell were her two parents in the car who are trying to follow Ravi’s elusive thoughts.  She didn’t know that outside their car were her grandparents waiting at home to smother her with hugs and kisses.  She didn’t know that outside her grandparents’ home were their neighbors, then developments, then cities- states- countries- planets- galaxies.  Her concerns are absent of national tragedies, world calamities.  To her, everything is nonexistent and insignificant compared to maybe a wet diaper.

My second example is my last: one day, after Emma’s routine of waking up and smiling to greet me a new morning, she started getting antsy because she was getting bored of being on her back.  Being 3.5 months, she thinks she’s a big girl.  She wants to do big girl things like join the big people table when we eat, or stand all the time like a big girl, and these days she refuses to lean back on my legs when I prop her to sitting position.  Nowadays, she persists to sit like a big girl and tries to support her immature body.  She even smiles proudly when you gawk at her in amazement and mention how she’s become such a big girl.  When I propped her to stand in front of the mirror that day, she smiled at herself, paying no attention to the 122lbs big girl in back supporting her.  Knowing exponentially more than she does, I ask her, “who is that baby?”  Through reflection, I’d like to think that she sees that she is not as big as she thinks she is, and is not to par physically as the giants that carry her.  And if she could just see the reflection of the mirror, and see the entire picture of me holding her, she’ll see how small she is compared to me, but ultimately and nonetheless precious and a beloved wonder to me.

That’s how we are.  Because we have one view, we are sometimes selective of what we see and what is out there.  We look out and we think our lives are the most important to us. But at those times of reflection, we give ourselves the allowance to see how big we made ourselves to be to the reality of our smallness in comparison to God.  And that is possible by reflecting on the whole image, the bigger picture, in seeing who is carrying us, through grace to live.

That’s how we are.  Our view, compared to God’s, is that of a baby’s perspective.  And it’s funny when I think of how Emma thinks, how limited her world is, and how big things really are.  But it’s not so funny when we look at ourselves, and our wet diapers in comparison to what God sees.

Live for Jesus. And you don’t have to commit your life to full time missions, or save a thousand souls, be a speaker on a soap box, take a profession in clergy, be on the praise and worship team, lead a small group, or even go to all the retreats and convention conferences and attend every hot upcoming Christian concert.  Living for Jesus sometimes means working on your integrity, leaving away messages on your online journals/IMs that don’t contradict your testimony, talking to that person who just doesn’t reach out to others, being an example to your children, down playing your ego, pride, and self-bloatedness, mastering an unspoken sin, or vice, or habit like cursing, indulging in slothfulness, jealousy, excessive competitiveness, sexual immorality, backbiting, drunkenness, perversion, adultery, materialism, popularity, etc…And sometimes living for Jesus means trusting he’s got your back when you’re kicked down, acknowledging he’s working in every aspect of your life [like your love life, your relationships, job, family, financial standing, school, friends, your future]. Living for Jesus could mean humbling your life to him by strengthening your QT with him, meditating on his word, being quiet to listen to him, and spending time to know him- know him- not just his name, or that he exists, or that he’s just there to answer prayers; find out about His love, seek His character, research of His goodness, and be sensitive in allowing him to reveal to you his nature of who he is.

Be relevant; daily; living for Christ is a lifestyle that sets its eyes on eternity.

-marchesa ababa

The 2002 decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the phrase “under God” is unconstitutional represents a fundamental assault to American Christian heritage. I believe that questioning the existence of God or “Creator”, is now a fair game,given the present climate of widespread unbelief among many. Easily ,you can hear those unbelieving voices from the ranks of national leadership, courts, military, schools and every possible sector of society. It’s a growing chorus.

Sadly, but true !

Putting our full attention to the phrase “under God”, the Supreme Court of the United State,incredibly, five to four majority in 2004 ,declaring “under God” unconstitutional. The highly regarded Sandra Day O’Connor opined the phrase “under God” in the Pledge thus:

Even if taken literally,the phrase is merely DESCRIPTIVE (emphasis mine); it purports only to identify the United States as a nation subject to divine authority. That CANNOT be seen as a SERIOUS INVOCATION of God or an expression of individual submission to divine authority, any religious freight the words may have been meant to carry has long since BEEN LOST.

My faith in God is not seriously challenged by this decision ,but unease with the knowledge that a great many will now find support and highly encouraged in their attempt of erasing God on every conceivable fabric of society , loosening further the nation’s grip of God . The idea is, “after all it is merely ceremonial, not serious and has no essence today ,”

How ironic that the Court itself begins each day with the proclamation,”God save the United States and this honorable court”. This phrase has been used for almost two hundred years.It was not adopted as a ceremonial phrase of no meaning. Newt Gingrich said that “it was adopted because justices in the 1820’s actually wanted to call on God to save the United states and the Court.”

So, where is God in America? We know God is the Creator ,the All-Knowing, All-Presence, All-Powerful God, He fills the entire created order of His presence. But in our humble attempt,can we find God’s presence even in the historical documents of sinful men?

Arise ,O Lord, Do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged in your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men (Ps 9:19-20)

I covet your interest on learning this as we continue…

“Happy is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding” (Proverbs 3:13). This verse is the conclusion of Proverbs Chapter 2. All happiness is based upon knowledge of and submission to the divine will, spoken here as wisdom, since it is an act of highest wisdom to be submissive to God, who is the source of all good.

Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above. Who created all heaven’s light? The Bible states, “Unlike them He never changes or casts shifting shadows” (James 1:17). The Bible often compares goodness with light and evil with darkness. Psalm 27:1 will tell us that “the LORD is my light and my salvation. So why should I be afraid? The LORD protects me from danger so why should I tremble?”

Analyzing the verses mentioned above conveys that we are surrounded by the fear of dark shadows that ultimately imprison us within ourselves. The fear that I am trying to point out is the fear of rejection, misunderstanding, uncertainty, sickness or even death. As Christians, we can always depend on our faith of the LORD to conquer fear by using bright liberating light of the LORD who brings salvation. Simply, if we want to drive away darkness in our lives, let us remember the LORD is our light and salvation.

“Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as days” (Isaiah 58:10).

By using Psalm 27:1, “the Lord is my light and my salvation,” and Isaiah 58:10, “light will shine out from the dark,” I want to suggest that trusting the One who has sovereign power above all, the One who gives us assurance of salvation if we continue in Him and doing good deeds, will make everything around us bright as days.

The following are a Series of Questions which will determine the Source of wisdom by using the book of Job:

1. Is the fear of dark shadows is the source of wisdom?

NO.

2.  Can wisdom be bought?

NO. Even with the most expensive jewelry or gold. We can only seek wisdom. To seek wisdom is to seek understanding. Wisdom is a process of discovery. Wisdom gives us a great ability to be in touch with God; to be in touch with the spirit of Jesus Christ; to be in touch with all the forces of all creation; to help us find journey; to seek is to discover, which eventually leads us to understanding.

3.  Where can we find wisdom?

• “Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living” (Job 28:13).
• “The deep says, ‘it is not in me;’ and the sea says, ‘It’s not with me’” (Job 28:14).

4.  Where does the wisdom come from?

“It is hidden from the eyes of all the living; and concealed from the birds of the air” (Job 28:21).

5.  Where is the Place of Understanding?

• “God understand the way to it; and he knows the place” (Job 28:23).
• “For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens” (Job 28:24).
• “When He gave to the wind its weight, and apportioned out the waters by measure” (Job 28:25).
• “When he made a decree for the rain, and way for the thunderbolt” (Job 28:26).
• “Then he saw it and declared it; he established; and searches it out” (Job 28:27).
• “And He said to humankind, the TRUE WISDOM IS FEAR OF THE LORD and to depart from evil is real understanding” (Job 28:28) and (Proverbs 9:10).

The previous verses suggest that wisdom alone is from God, and that not even humans are not the source of wisdom, or else there would be no need to seek it. However, the concluding verse points to the true “source of wisdom,” which is God, and to rebuke evil is understanding. But what is the “fear of the LORD?” Fear of the LORD is the foundation of knowledge, to honor and respect God, and to obey His power. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for our understanding of the world, our attitudes, and our actions. And by trusting God in our lives, He will make us wise.

One thing is certain: we cannot seek wisdom and gain understanding if we cannot go beyond ourselves.

GOD, HELP US TO FIND WISDOM IN OUR DAILY LIVING. SHOW US THE RIGHT PATHWAY AND LET US BE HUMBLE. MAKE US GAIN UNDERSTANDING TO THE FULLEST. AMEN.

Bro.Danny Cosico