The following was written last Friday morning before the Inauguration of Our 45th President. It is my prayer that every American can echo these words and claim their place in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave....

I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

I am proud to be an American

In this land of sweet Liberty;

For those who have gone before

And died to keep us free.

I am one with those whose blood cries out

From lands across the sea...

Who gave their all in sacrifice

To protect our sweet liberties.

I stand with those whose struggles

Keep them downtrodden and forlorn;

And I mourn with every mother

For the child that was never born.

I lift up the broken-hearted

With their Spirit,  I too weep;

And lament with those who have no place

To lay their head in peaceful sleep.

I champion the desperate ones

And pray for them sweet rest;

For the sure and ever present beat

Of freedom in each breast.

I unite with those whom I oppose

So together strong we stand...

In defense of this great nation

And the God who rules this land.

Oh, I am PROUD to be an American

So on this bright and glorious day;

May my actions and deeds speak louder

Than the words you hear me say.

Yes,  I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

Thus my prayer will always be;

That God will shower His blessings upon

The Home of the BRAVE 

And the Land of the FREE!!!!

W. Patrick Queen

     January 20, 2017

AMERICA...Stepping Out In Faith!

Today is another historic day in the continuing evolution of our country as we have our 45th President place his hand on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and swear his allegiance to God and the defense and preservation of this great land....a land that, in the annals of mankind, has truly been blessed beyond measure. And maybe, because of the many blessings that have been ours for so long, we have forgotten how much we have been given and how much we stand to lose if we do not come back together as ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

I know that this has been one of the most contentious elections of all times! In fact, many of us  were not at all pleased with the two choices we had been given from which to select our next President. That said, the election is over, the people and the electoral college have spoken and the ceremony will take place whether we like it or not.

So, as I sat in my writing/thinking chair this morning, I asked God to give me something to say that might bring us all into a better, more conducive mindset and allow us to put aside our many differences and pull together; but as I continued to think, I heard from Scripture that before we can pull together, WE ARE TO PRAY TOGETHER! Scripture dictates in 1Timothy 2:1-3,  "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions(my emphasis), that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior;"

And there you have it! If you are a believer and a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are to be an example to those around you who still believe that the fight over who is our President should continue. God tells us as believers to make our prayers to Him about under girding and building up those that He has put in authority over us, not to continually work to tear them down.

Personally, I am not at all interested in how you feel about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or our outgoing leader ...and neither is your Heavenly Father. What He is interested in is your OBEDIENCE to do the following:

PRAYER FOR OUR PRESIDENT AND THOSE WHO WILL WORK IN HIS CABINET TO DO THE TASK SET BEFORE THEM...

LEND YOUR SUPPORT WHENEVER AND WHEREVER POSSIBLE TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAMS AND INIATIVES THAT WILL LEAD US TO BE THE NATION GOD WANTS US TO  BE...In other words, HAVE A HEAVENLY FOCUS!

AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, DO NOT ARGUE, QUARREL OR "BEAT UP ON" THOSE WHOSE OPINIONS DIFFER FROM YOURS...LIVE A PEACEFUL, QUIET, DIGNIFIED AND GODLY LIFE...THAT IS YOUR REASONABLE WORSHIP OF OUR ALMIGHTY GOD...HOWEVER, DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR CHRISTIAN VALUES IN ORDER TO "GET ALONG OR GO ALONG"...GOD STILL EXPECTS HIS PEOPLE TO STAND FOR HIS RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY WAYS!

And certainly do the following.....LOOK FOR WAYS THAT YOU CAN SOLVE THE MANY PROBLEMS THAT LIE BEFORE THIS GREAT NATION....DON'T ADD TO THESE BY BECOMING A PROBLEM YOURSELF!

I believe our 35th President, John F. Kennedy captured where we are and where we need to be best when he said, "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

So don't make today or any of the days of the next four years about what's wrong with our country, who sits in the Oval office or any of the problems that the past administration may have  left behind...rather work and pray about what's right with this country and how God will lead us to become the nation that fears God and comes to grips with the Scripture from 2 Chronicles 7:14 that reads...

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Let us make this our prayer today and MAY THE HEALING BEGIN....Amen.

Praying for His Guidance...seeking to live as God intended,

WPQ

Understanding the Sovereignty of God

Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns and ins and outs…well, you get the picture….and for that reason alone, each of us often struggle to understand what it all means…who is in control and what is my responsibility as I struggle to take charge in my own life.

We are constantly bombarded with problems, trials, troubles and an occasionally, a happy moment….at least that’s the way it often seems to us as we make our way through life. When we look around at the path that our life has taken, we try to correct our course, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back in the game. After all, that is at the very least our responsibility …to use our free will to decide to make things better for us and for the ones we love. But, sometimes, when we look at our circumstances, we realize that we can do nothing but accept our situation and trust in the sovereignty of God.

Ah, the sovereignty of God….now, there’s a concept that even the brightest, most intellectual minds of the ages have wrestled with …always to no avail. In fact, scripture tells us that we can not understand the mind of God and in Romans 11:33 we read, “Oh, the depth of the riches of both wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.”

The following is a rewrite of a devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah that I think gives great insight into this topic of God’s sovereignty….

The great minds of history have always struggled to understand the issue of the sovereignty of God versus the free will of mankind. Some day in eternity we may discover how the track of God’s sovereignty and the track of our responsibility finally come together. But the way we should look at this is really very simple….Let God take care of His sovereignty and let us take care of our responsibility. God’s sovereignty explains things that humans cannot possible fathom.

The sovereignty of God in our lives, at least from our perspective, is like looking at a weaving of a tapestry from the wrong side. We see all the various threads and knots and strands sticking out and can’t begin to even imagine the finished picture. We see it from the back side because we do not have God’s perspective…but someday, in eternity, God will take that patchwork that we have looked at and failed to understand and He will turn it around….then, we will see the beautiful tapestry that has been woven out of our lives. At last, we will see what God has seen all along.

Yes, you and I can spend our entire life trying to figure out why God does this or why He did that or what is He going to do next…or we can rest in the knowledge that GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND HE IS IN CONTROL!!!! We can make ourselves sick with worry over how something is going to turn out or we can trust that God always knows what is best for us and that He is at work to accomplish His plan. I have always held firm to the belief that when you can not see the hand of God at work…you can ALWAYS trust His heart.

So, if you are searching for security in this ever-changing, diabolical world, then rest secure in this truth…. GOD KNOWS BEST AND HE NEVER FAILS TO TAKE CARE OF HIS OWN. He will not fail you and there is nothing that can snatch you from His hand…..on that you can build your fortress.

Trusting in my Heavenly Father…for He knows Best,

WPQ

Poem for the day:

God is at work today

As He weaves your tapestry;

So honor Him in all you do

And trust His sovereignty.