Christmas and Prayers for America

Justin Smith has an essay that probably is better termed a prayer of intercession for America through the filter of the meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is a celebration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Son of God. Something compels me to share from the Word of God about Christ’s birth and the forgiving and giving that follows the Lord’s birth:

Luke 2

¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 

               ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
                   And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”^[a] (Luke 2: 10-14 NKJV)

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 

 ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

 ¹⁶ And^[a] of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,^[b] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1: 1-3, 14, 16-18 NKJV)

John 3

¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

 ¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:17-21 NKJV)

Luke 6

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.²⁹ To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ³¹ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. (Luke 6: 27-31 NKJV)

Being a Christian is a continuous combination of seeking to ever increasing one’s right standing with God, forgiving wrongs, helping others, praying for the leaders of your nation (not just politicians) and sharing the same love of Christ that the Lord shared with the Redeemed with other non-Christians.

JRH 12/18/15

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Christmas and Prayers for America

By Justin O. Smith

Sent: 12/17/2015 11:48 AM

Christmas is upon us, and many of us, who know that the sacrifice of God's only Son on the Cross granted redemption and everlasting life to all people, are preparing for wonderful gifts to be given and received at joyous dinners and events with friends and family. We gather for the sake of fellowship and love, our hearts are cleansed and kindled by the warm fire of eternal goodness, and we give thanks for the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, through our prayers.

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and for all the days henceforth, let us pray that all Americans experience an epiphany and come to understand the true meaning of the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. Let us also pray for Our Beloved America's salvation, as we recall that America's founding principles are Judeo-Christian -- the very same principles that embody "free choice," liberty, equality and reveal and affirm that each individual owns rights that are unalienable and granted to all by God.

On April 30th 1789, George Washington placed his hand on the Bible, opened to Genesis 49-50, and ended his oath to become the first President of the United States with the words, "So help me God." Many Americans joined Washington in prayer at the nearby St. Paul's Chapel that same day; the first act of the first Congress was to pray, as Washington and the members of Congress knelt together: To this day, Congress has always opened its sessions with prayer.

Throughout his administration, Thomas Jefferson and Christians of every denomination and sect, from Quakers and Unitarians to Catholics, regularly held Sunday prayer services in the House of Representatives. And Jefferson's own words from the Virginia Statute Establishing Religious Freedom (Jan. 16th 1786) state:

"Almighty God hath created the mind free, All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens ... are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion."

America has never stood so close to the precipice and so near the eve of Her own destruction, at the hands of Her progressive oppressors, who deny the validity of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. sovereignty, life and even God through their despotic measures and edicts. America has never been so in need of prayers and God's protection.

In Matthew 18: 19-20, it is written:

"Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth ... any thing that they shall ask, it will be done for them of my Father ... in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

O' Lord I pray - We pray - that children sickened by numerous diseases, who are spending Christmas in St. Jude’s, the Shriner's and Vanderbilt's Children Hospitals and many other hospitals, are touched by Your healing Spirit and sent home to their worried and loving families whole and completely cured.

O' Lord We pray for the homeless and the hungry across our country, and yes we pray for the same all across the world, that they may be brought into the loving fold of a family somewhere or at least a place to call home. Make their stomachs full, we beseech You O' Lord, and let them know hunger no longer.

Please Lord, help America and Her people understand their crime and their sin that they commit by condoning abortion. It is unreasonable for anyone to deny Your Hand - a Divine Hand and a Power greater than anything in this universe - in all life, as the first spark emerges in the form of an embryo and journeys through the first heartbeat of the fetus, until a newborn baby boy or girl takes their first breath. We pray that You give all Americans full understanding regarding the sanctity of the unborn life.

In these troubled days, We pray for our progressive brethren, and we pray that You open the eyes of the atheists and the ACLU, who attempt to stop voluntary prayer across America, much like in Bremerton, WA and School 169 in New York, which also banned the 'Pledge of Allegiance'. We also pray that You place them under conviction, so they will come to You and learn to love You O' Lord; and then perhaps they will also grow to love America.

As We "preparest a table in the presence of [our] enemies", O' Lord, we pray that You redeem them just like Saul, and we ask that You guide the Muslims and their Ummah towards the complete reformation of Islam, as sought by reformers like Raif Badawi, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser and Irshad Manji. We pray that Islam becomes a true "religion of peace" and stops its violent terror attacks against the West, or that the majority of Muslims convert to Christianity.

Bless all the men and women serving overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces, especially members who are fighting in the Middle East. Keep them safe on Christmas Day and many years after their safe homecoming.

Suffering through a sense of pain under Progressive Democrat policies, O' Lord, most of America prays and beseeches You to break the chains of our current despotic government. Please Lord, educate the large portion of society, blinded by progressive propaganda, on the evils of progressive policies and the failure and pain they inflict upon the people, and give us new leaders, who understand that special problems don't create special rights and privileges. Bring the end of days for this epidemic of fascism, and lead this generation of Americans in their refusal to sell their birthright -- their Unalienable Rights -- for a mess of bad progressive pottage.

With illuminations and the pealing of bells, We pray that our hearts are not troubled by the hourly seductions of sin, nor afraid of terrors imagined or real by which they are intimidated, as we become that one candle lighting the way for an innumerable quantity of others, with a love that sees in all men brothers. Do not let us shrink from the truth in word or deed, and give America's people salvation and the strength that lies in the peace, unattainable through diplomatic negotiations and dinners with heads of state and tyrants, found only through a voluntary profession of the truth by every man and every woman, that Jesus is Our Lord and Savior; and our sins are washed away by His Blood on the Cross. Amen-Amen-Amen

By Justin O. Smith

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Edited by John R. Houk

All links are by Justin Smith

© Justin O. Smith