Ben Franklin Rebukes the Constitutional Convention

As an historian and a Christian, I am dumbfounded when I hear the founding fathers were NOT Christians, men of faith or that the United States were not founded on Judaeo-Christian values. People will go to any length to hide from the truth.  As Winston Churchill once quipped "Truth is so powerful, it is surrounded by a bodyguard of lies."  How prescient and wise that comment was in his time and still is today.

However, I wanted to write today, June 28, as it was on this day in 1787 when Ben Franklin delivered the longest speech he gave to the Constitutional Convention.

Since 1754 when he was the first person to utter "United States" he had a dream of UNITING the colonies into a single, harmonious nation. No small feat at the time when we were but fledgling colonies and still had a royal yoke upon us and a revolutionary war to fight against the mightiest Army and Navy at the time.

Fast forward to June 28, 1787. The Constitutional Convention was starting to fall apart as each colony had their own vision of what we should be and how to effect those ends (none felt uniting was the smart plan). After days of bickering, the common thread started to unravel and the hopes of a United States of America began to dim in the eyes of a seasoned and very mature Ben Franklin. At 81, he was easily the oldest, and you might argue the wisest, among a crowd of very smart and focused leaders. Which may explain why the his "long" speech was so concise yet so compelling and rooted in the Word.

Mr Franklin rose from his chair and and delivered the following speech to his colleagues:

"In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were, in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights, to illuminate our understanding?

"In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers were heard, and they were graciously answered.

"All of us engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending power Providence in our favor. And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend?  Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God governs the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it'. I firmly believe this; and I also believe without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel, and we shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages.

Franklin is seen here in grey seated center, with a cane.

"I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business."

14 sentences quoting 14 Biblical verses.

Considering Franklin was not one of the most spiritual of the founding fathers, I find it rather amazing that HE would invoke the Almighty to call the delegates to stop acting like idiots, remind them WHO got them to where they were in the first place, and seek His guidance in following the advice given in the Bible to have a republican form of government. (Exodus 18:21)

The Constitutional Convention suspended deliberation for 3 days of prayer and reflection. When they reconvened, egos and myopic agenda were left in the street and what was previously hailed as preposterous was now greeted with eager embracement by all delegates. Thus, the birth of our Constitutional Republic as we know it today.

The danger we as a nation face today, is as we allow egg-head academicians and people wise only in the world tell us how history "really" was when they have been educated with revisionist history, we move further and further from truth.  Our children are inheriting a nation of liberty we are not able to adequately explain to them without the Bible and consequently have to apologize for.

As we permit this to happen, we fail to grasp the rarity and how unique our nation's foundation and the longevity of our Constitution is as we have celebrated 200+ years of a Constitutional Republic. We forget how this nation grew from a rag-tag group of farmers and business people to a super-power defeating foe in two consecutive world wars in only 150 years. Today, there are many people, even many proclaiming to be Christians, who decry the moniker of the U.S. being an exceptional nation for their understanding of the term has been grotesquely misconstrued and history taught to them with half-truths in the hopes of establishing social justice.

Ironically the Bible itself tells us about being servants to others, having social justice and how to run a nation all in the same pages.

*This article was inspired by David Barton, Founder of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built

Just how unique are each of us made in the image of God?

For the last dozen years I have been a disciple of strengths-based work and understanding what I am called to do. Chances are you have not heard of strengths-based work or, at best, you are not familiar with it.  

For the uninitiated, simply put, strengths-based work means I focus on what I AM GOOD AT, not what I am poorly fit to do.

This past weekend I attended a seminar at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX, to get a better handle on my Christian identity and to my surprise, they embraced the Gallup Strengths Finder and a spiritual gifts finder hand in hand to help plot my course. 

During my time in sales with Johnson & Johnson EVERY field ride was the same- NEGATIVE. I would hear things like “You know anatomy & procedure very well,  you know instrumentation, you are very good with your customers, BUT we wish you were better at this or that.” These items on their wish list were invariably clerical in nature- minutiae if you will, that did not enhance my relationship, sales or customer service. Just one area to work on to make me a more-rounded employee. It frustrated me and my colleagues no end because at the time, no one knew any better. Today, many are still laboring under these arcane ideas. 

The Gallup organization breaks strengths into 35 areas or terms. For me, my top 5 are Context (understanding the intent), Responsibility, Belief (I HAVE to believe to move forward), Includer (I ensure others are included in discussions), WOO (Winning Others Over or persuasion). Few people have the same strengths as me in the same order. So few in fact, if we extend the list to my top 6 and looked at the nearly 7 billion people on earth, we might find 220 people with the very same strengths in the same descending order. 

Let’s look at the top 8- there would be approximately .0026 people in the entire world with the same top 8 strengths, in the same descending order as me. Statistically speaking, not even ONE person alive today!

Now, extrapolate that out to all 35 strengths….   

In case you are wondering how to figure that out, it is simple multiplication with the possible remaining variables. In other words, 35x34x33x32x31…. all the way down to 1. Does that give you a sense to the size of that number? HUGE. In astronomical terms, it would probably be measured in light years! In human terms, it is likely no one has ever existed with the exact same gifts in the exact same order. NO ONE in all of humanity's existence.

Well, that’s all well and good- so what?

Take another look at the rankings of YOUR strengths. Since there are so many variables and combinations, can you not see how unique YOU are? How amazingly designed YOU are?

Can you now see the tragedy the business world has perpetrated against us and perpetuated in trying to help us with our “weaknesses” and not focusing on the strengths God gave each of us? And what about the recent "equality" push where we seem to be eliminating gender from the equation in the hopes of making everyone equal. The paradigm is revolutionary and breathtaking. 

Rather than continually striving to be something you can NEVER BE, God has intended us to find work and even ministry using that which we are already anointed with and in which we will find fulfillment, and thus peace and a restful heart.

The other thing I found fascinating about this class was how we can use science to confirm God's Intelligent Design! Too many people have failed to understand the argument and have learned they have to choose BETWEEN God and science, but that is a topic for another conversation.

What are you waiting for? Find your strengths and change your life today!

The Symbolism Surrounding Peter's Denial of Christ

 

Today as my wife and I listened to another powerful message from Pastor John Stickl at Valley Creek Church, God opened my eyes to some amazing revelations when he was continuing a series titled "It is Finished", (It is Finished, Separation), (It is Finished, Striving) (It is Finished, Shame) a reference to Christ's last words on earth as he was crucified. That simple phrase, just four syllables, so indelibly changed out relationship with God. The series has been very enlightening and full of hope, but more on that at another time.

Last Sunday May 4th, John spoke of how Jesus told Peter how he would deny him 3 times before the cock crowed. Peter, a large strong and powerful man because of his many years of fishing, was petulent and rash, assured Jesus he would not. In fact John would deny you before me. Everyone else maybe but never me. Not surprisingly he of course denied Christ 3 times, once to a servant girl who wasn't even an adolescent. The third time he denied Him, the cock crowed and Peter locked eyes with Jesus.

Can you imagine the shame and pain he felt? Peter ran away, in pain and anguish, crying, and returned to his fishing, no doubt trying to forget what had just happened.

As a foreshadow of how He acts with you and me today, Jesus pursued his disciples and came upon Peter fishing, Jesus calls out to the men on the boat in John 21:5 asking "Children, have you caught any fish?" to which they answered "No." Jesus then tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. Following His direction they cast the net on the other side and caught so many fish they were unable to easily pull it into their boat.

That's when God revealed to me somethings I had not seen before in this passage, and the significance of this simple interaction was quite stunning to me.

The first thing that struck me was when they stopped relying on their EARTHLY knowledge their catch was far greater than they could have hoped for, and in fact more than they could handle. Understanding how these men thought, I can only imagine their amazement at how this stranger could so impact their results despite their many years of experience. And oh, by the way, the width of the boat being no greater than maybe 15 feet seemingly was all the difference in the world. Amazing.  But such is what happens when we stop thinking and using the world experience we have and LISTEN to what God would have us to do WHEN He would have us do it.

Second, He of course changed WHERE they fished, and perhaps even to teach them to go one more time even though they thought they had already tried that place. Perhaps the place was right but the timing was not, underscoring the importance of everything being in God's timing, and how He reveals to us what we need when we need it.  This of course a key part of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread". Give us today the Word You would have me to hear and sustain me.

Third, I think it was clear this was a hint of things to come, when Jesus told Peter to follow Him and He would make him a fisher of men. The catch they experienced with Jesus' direction was greater than they alone could handle. So prophetic about what the future held for the work they were about to embark upon, and the groundwork they were about to lay.  Just as God promised Abraham in Genesis 15:5 your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky

Lastly, I thought about the significance of the previous stories about Jesus blessing a couple of fish and feeding thousands. How far then would these "fish" (the men the disciples had shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with and brought into the fold of believers) the disciples caught and brought to the Lord go with the blessings of Jesus? How many lives would they impact with His Word and guidance? How much light from His Kingdom would they be able to bring?

Far enough to fulfill the prophecy He gave Abraham. And then some.

Are you wrestling with your faith?

My oldest son Michael is about to wrap up his short wrestling career. He started just 4 years ago and progressed significantly under the direction of a remarkably talented coach at the high school.

During one of his last matches, it occurred to me there is a strong parallel between what we were watching in athletic competition and what we as bleievers go through every day. I watched as one of our kids was really man-handling another wrestler, and by the look on his face, the other boy had no idea what to do to escape.

Truth be told, there was nothing he could have done. Our wrestler was far-too talented and skilled to be beaten unless he made a mistake. It was almost poetry in motion. Every move his opponent made he was already prepared to counter and then attack with a move of his own. It was so unfair I genuinely felt bad for the other boy. It seemed like no matter what he tried, no matter how hard he fought, he was stymied at every turn. There was no one there to help, only a passive judge (the referee) who kept tally of the contest.

I marvelled at the similarity of this competition I was witnessing and wondered if others saw the same symbolism as me. My guess is probably not.

But the good news is that is pretty much where the similarities end! If you are a Christian, you KNOW the Lord is with you (although sometimes we do forget that), and through Him, all things are possible. Have you ever been though? Feeling pinned down, physically exhausted and emotionally drained as you are attacked from seemingly every angle of your life? Why is it seems things go badly all at once? What do you do about it? Do you internalize and bottle everything up, let everyone else know about your difficulty, or pray?

I hope the answer is you pray. Praise Him for all the blessings you have, and for the strenght to weather this storm in His name. Pray to learn what He would have you to learn from this lesson, and to be able to reach out to others and lift them up as well.

This is not easy- when you feel like your boat is being tossed about on the sea and you are about to go under, one of the last things most people think of is reaching out into the cold dark sea to lift another one out of the water when it is all you can do to stay afloat. But that is exactly what God would have you to do!

It is easy to be cheerful and upbeat when everything is going great and your way. Who can't do that? But the real test of character is when things are tough, you are unsure yourself, and you think "I am the only one going through this". You may be the ONLY one going throught EXACTLY your circumstances, but truth is, you will be amazed at how many others who seemingly have it all together are in deeper water than you. All you have to do is ask

Years ago, when my professional career was spiraling out of control, I admired my next door neighbor. Dave was on his game- medical sales, working the phone, setting appointments, closing business and making a great living. I languished in several short-term jobs while he maintained a strong professional life. I was envious because I had been there not long before, and had it all taken away for some reason. I had let it embitter me, and felt how unfair it was to my family.

Then one day Dave shows up on my door step. He had been crying for some time. We sat down in my office and he told me his wife wanted a divorce. Their little boy was about 3 at the time and he was Dave's pride and joy, yet something had terribly gone wrong. His wife was very controlling, and finally things came to a head. I felt so ashamed of the envy I had felt, especially when he shared with me he had envied ME with the close relationship my wife and I enjoyed. I was sick to my stomach. I had lost sight of what was really important, and more to the point, during my distress, I had withdrawn and not been there for a friend of mine until it was too late.

I still struggle with having to carry the burden I have now and volunteering to take on others with my friends, but I force myself to. I am trying to do the same with this blog in the hopes it helps just one person with an "aha" moment.

We must remember when we are wrestling with our challenges, all we need to do is keep our eyes, heart, ears and faith upon Him, and we will become the champions, while witnessing to those around us. So many times I hear someone who was tested in a very difficult situation how they made it through the ordeal and they often say they knew God was with them all the way. It doesn't matter how much bigger your "opponent" is or how much more "skill" they have, for the Lord is your might,

Isn't it comforting knowing no matter what, He still loves you and WILL be there for you? All you have to do is ask.

Be blessed.