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America's birthday
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Yesterday was the 232nd birthday of our great country. I was a history major in college, and I focused particularly on American history. But I still have to admit something. It boggles my mind to consider the imagination and thoughtfulness it took to develop the type of government we have. There were truly a number of great leaders at work in those days.

Just take one for instance; George Washington, the father of our country, and our first president. Washington could have been named king. There were plenty who wanted to do just that. But he was committed to something else. He wanted democracy. In fact, after serving eight years, he voluntarily stepped away from the presidency lest it become too powerful a position.

The checks and balances built into our form of government are unique. But here’s something you may not know. The reason those checks and balances are there is very simple. It has been summed up in this way: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Our founders realize that too much power centered in one place could lead to corruption in the government, and they were bound to avoid that.

This is not to say that these founders were perfect. They were far from that. But once again, they understood that. They realize that they had tendencies to grab for power if it was too easy to grasp, so that put the checks and balances into place.

The lessons learned from our founding leaders confirm one basic theological truth. We are all sinners. Please don’t get mad. I have often said that does not mean that you are as terrible as you could be, but it does mean that you are not as good as you should be. We are sinners. We are not perfect. By definition that means that we are sinful. And we need help to overcome this problem.

As our founders placed checks and balances in place, so the Lord has a plan to deal with our sinfulness. He desires to forgive our sin. But He will not do so against our will. He will not do so if we fail to ask. But oh, how He wants to forgive. The Bible says that God will remove our sin from us "as far as the east is from the west." In other words, and infinite distance.

Has your sin been forgiven? You can live without guilt. But you must come to God on His terms. Are you willing to do that?

 

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