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A Better Country
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A Better Country by Phil Independence Day can be a difficult time for church worship leaders. On one hand, we should be grateful to God for His blessings and the freedom we cherish. Yet, often times our patriotic fervor exhibited in the music and celebration of July 4th can approach the level of worshipping our country instead of the God in whom we say we "trust." The temptation is to either completely ignore any sort of patriotic music or go full steam ahead and try to squeeze God into our celebration. This is one area where I like to take the middle ground. Perhaps this delicate balance was on the mind of Katherine Lee Bates when she wrote the poem that would become America, The Beautiful. We are all familiar with the first verse which looks around at the natural beauty of our landscape… O beautiful for spacious skies, The second verse celebrates the pioneer spirit of our ancestors who braved the wilderness of a foreign and untamed land is search of freedom the couldn’t find in their home countries… O beautiful for pilgrim feet In verse three, Katherine looks back to the soldiers who gave and continue to give their lives to maintain that precious freedom… O beautiful for heroes proved Then, in verse four, she looks forward, beyond the greatness of America, to our final and ultimate home... O beautiful for patriot dream All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. - Hebrews 11:13-16 This week as we celebrate our country's Independence Day, let it be a reminder that there is a country, a better country, that God has prepared especially for His children. If you think America is beautiful (and it is!), you ain't seen nothing yet! When we all get to heaven, Oh, yeah!
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Phil & Pam Morgan
We're authors and musicians who loves to talk about faith & spirituality, arts & crafts, and music. Subscribe and join over 2,000+ newsletter readers every week!
Choices by Phil When I study the Bible, I like to use several different translations as well as go back to the original languages for specific words. The reason is simple, I like to see how different scholars through the ages have tackled the daunting task of expressing in English what was written in Greek or Hebrew. For the most part, they are very similar, but occasionally there is a slight phrasing difference that brings a whole new clarity to the original thought. Let me give you an...
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