I Samuel 7:12: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named that place Ebenezer, saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.”
Are you ready to celebrate? Some of our churches in this area have recently celebrated their 125th, 150th, and 175th anniversaries. A lot of planning goes into such celebrations and when it is all said and done it seems quite worth all the time and money spent.
Are you ready to celebrate? 2026 is an anniversary/birthday year for the United States of America. 250 years, Semiquincentennial. I remember July 4, 1976 for the bicentennial, people were asked to ring a bell to represent the Freedom Bell for a few minutes(I was a child who was excessive so I can well imagine we were told to ring for one minute and I would have done five minutes). What are your plans to show your patriotism for this major celebration? I have been seeing 250th hats in blue and red and think that “witness wear” might be a good start along with some patriotic shirts.
Are you ready to celebrate or deflate? In one generation it seems we have gone from being proud of being Americans to tripping over ourselves to apologize for being Americans. I am a Christian and so my citizenship in God’s eternal Kingdom is so much more important than my United States citizenship. However, God does not give me the option to be so heavenly-minded that I am no earthly good.
The Bible has examples of people who came along with the Children of Israel when they came out of Egypt to go to the Promised Land. Occasionally you would read of some of them being grumblers and stirring up discontent among the people. Even in the Bible there are distinctions between the citizen, the resident alien(those who have assimilated to the culture and benefit the citizens and also receive a benefit by their association with the citizens), and the alien who is just visiting and expected to keep moving. I like the saying to people who are not citizens nor resident aliens, “you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
From 1795-1952 many people who came to this country had to fill out a “Declaration of Intention”. I have only seen three that my ancestors had a copy but, much like a marriage license, I suppose not every couple gets an extra copy to display and even if they all received one only a small majority probably fill it out and display it or even keep it for their descendants to find. The unmistakable nature of this form was for a person to cut their primary allegiance to their homeland and now embrace the United States and pledge allegiance to her. I have had the privilege to visit Germany twice and have had some awesome opportunities to visit people and hear family history from German relatives from both of my parent’s sides. However, my allegiance is to the United States of America, the Republic. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all(citizens and resident aliens).
Does this article seems like it would be better suited for July when we celebrate the 250th? Perhaps, but just like all major anniversaries this one takes planning and so if we can start the anniversary year off thinking about this milestone I pray it spurs on a renewed sense of thanking God for all that He has done for this country for 250 years. Are you ready to celebrate? The LORD has helped us this far!!
