Today is a special day on my calendar. It's Flag Day. June 14 in 1777 the Continental Congress voted that we have a flag, thirteen stripes of alternating red and white and 13 stars, white in a blue field. On April 4, 1818 the style of the flag was changed to what we know today. Before 1818, every time a state was added to the union, they got a stripe and a star added to the flag. When it got to be 22 states it looked more like a quilt than a flag.
The reason I get excited about the Flag Day is that I am named for the designer of the flag we have today. Peter Hercules WENDOVER (my full middle name) was a congressman from New York and he wrote the legislation that we change the flag to the original 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies/states, and just add a star every time a new state was added. President James Monroe, signed it into law. Now you know something that you might not have known or may have forgotten along the way.
I would encourage us to keep our country in our prayers. It certainly could use the divine guidance and influence today. We face many challenges and opportunities that are really complex and difficult. It would be nice if we consistently went to God and asked for some insight and help for making the right choices. It also means we need to be very civil and polite and respectful in recognizing that it may not turn out the way we think it should. St. Paul in Romans 13 is very clear that the government is a gift from God to keep order.
My grandmother always told us about our relationship to the pilgrims of Massachusetts of 1620. I've read a lot about their motivation for braving the journey to such an unknown land. But they were convinced that God was leading them like God led Moses to a new promised land. They wanted to live in such a way that God would bless them to be a blessing for others. They wanted to show how God would direct and lead a community and eventually a nation. They never did get a chance to try that.
One half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower, were not believers or members of the church, but they could afford the passage to the new world, and the pilgrims needed financial help to get across the Atlantic Ocean. The Mayflower compact had to be agreed on by church members and those who weren't, and that made for some interesting compromises from the very beginning.
The horrible winter of 1620 to 21 killed off half of the community and so they struggled even more. But God provided Squanto and his native american friends who came to their rescue in the Spring of 1621. Squanto had become a believer when he was helped to escape from slave masters in Spain and walked across Europe and got a ride home to Massachusetts by fishermen just in time to know how to speak English, how to relate to the faithful pilgrims and how to help them get the necessary food for their survival.
Prayer is just as important today. May Flag Day remind us of all that we have been through a lot as a nation and still face an uncertain future, and ask that God would again rescue and provide for us. May we take the time to Thank God for this Nation that allows us the freedom to pray and seek God's guidance. Enjoy the flag, get goose bumps even when you see the flag, or say the pledge or watch it blowing in the breeze. Remember the banner is still waving.
Pastor Jeff
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