God of Our Fathers

BLESSED ASSURANCE/TO GOD BE THE GLORY
Jesus is my story and my song was Fanny Crosby’s devotional prayer in this song. She is America’s most prolific hymn writer penning over 8,000 hymns. She would say about her blindness, “Darkness may throw a shadow over my outer vision, but there is no cloud that can keep the sunlight of hope from a trustful soul”. Her hymns became well known through the American Evangelist D.L. Moody crusades. Then they were reintroduced during Billy Graham crusades. This next song, “To God Be the Glory” was written in 1872.

GOD OF JUSTICE
We have been given much as Americans for a reason, so that we can give and be in a position for God to use us.

RAISE UP THE CROWN
It is only through the power of Jesus that we can love others. It is only his work on the cross that can bring freedom and justice to all.

GOD OF OUR FATHERS
We are thankful for the freedom that we have to choose to worship God. We are blessed to be free from oppression and thankful for the courage of those who gave their all to protect this freedom.
“God of Our Fathers” is a song written by a pastor of a small church in 1876. It was written to commemorate the one-hundredth birthday of the Declaration of Independence. In this prayer we are reminded that God is an almighty God and is in charge of nations. This trust in God alone is echoed through the prophet Daniel, "The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men” (Daniel 4:17).
Let your prayer during this time of offering be one of thankfulness to God and that we would demonstrate His love and grace to others.

Impulse of Thy Love

The key verse that drew me into the text this week was in verse 12, “Live such good lives among pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us”. How can our actions demonstrate the gospel? Would there be evidence of God’s presence in my life? This line from Take My Life, written in 1874 prays this way, “Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love”. Before we strive to simply not do bad things, we need to realize that it is God’s love in us that transforms us. It is Christ’ s love in us that leads us to love others, we are simply following his impulse.