In*au`gu*ra"tion\, n. [L. inauguratio a beginning: cf. F. inauguration.]
- The act of inuagurating, or inducting into office with solemnity; investiture by appropriate ceremonies.
2. The formal beginning or initiation of any movement, course of action, etc.; as, the inauguration of a new system, a new condition, etc.Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?” The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.” Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked. John 5:2-9 (GW)
The Pool of Bethesda was located on the eastern side of the city near the Fortress of Antonia. The name Bethesda means "house of mercy."The water source was a nearby spring. Recent archaeological discoveries have confirmed the Biblical account, that there were five porches and the fifth one divided the rectangular pool into two separate compartments. Josephus wrote about the Pool of the Sheep-market.
There is a loud cry of discrimination and inequality being heralded throughout our land. There are those who may feel like this crippled man, that there is no one looking out for them, there is no one to give them a hand out, there is no one to help them attain their goals. So here they sit and wait and complain about being discriminated against.
leader seems to think that the government has the cure, while simultaneously ignoring the huge pool of opportunity sitting right before us. He promises that all can drink from the public pool of funds collected from those who have been healed by the pool’s waters of opportunity, yet he does not offer to lift anyone into the pool to actually be healed.
It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor. —George Washington
Abraham Lincoln gave his second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, as the Civil War was raging. He said, “Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.”
Lincoln’s next paragraph is especially appropriate for Veterans Day:
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
When President Lincoln finished his classic oration, he reportedly kissed the Bible and left the platform. He was assassinated the next month.
The freedoms we enjoy in this country did not come without sacrifice. The lady who stands on Liberty Island may be holding a tarnished lamp but the hope she stands for remains. The hearts of every American who thanks God each day for the greatness of America will keep that torch burning brightly. When the last soul falls to death and there is no one left to stand up for freedom for all, then the light will fade into darkness.
Here is hoping that day never comes.
In light of the recent events that have befallen America I decided to take a trip back in time. A time in America where hope and dreams were very much alive. Where to be an American was to be something bigger than ourselves. There was a cause greater, a purpose for which we were all participants. Each for the other and all for the country. Today it would appear the motto is ‘Ask me not to do for my country, but tell me what my country is going to do for me’. Oh how the times have changed.
“Asknot what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy
I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35 (ESV)
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Washington went on to say that popular government depended on virtuous citizens and that only religion, which in the American context meant Christianity, could inspire such selfless behavior.
He frequently asserted that religion helped promote virtue, order, and social stability, and praised the efforts of churches to make people “sober, honest, and good Citizens, and the obedient subjects of a lawful government.”
What say you?
"...that where I am you may be also." Jn.14:3
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
Daily Bible verse plus a picture of God's creation following Wayne Cordeiro's "The Divine Mentor" format.
"Come and hear, all you who fear God. Let me tell you what he has done for me." - Psalm 66:16
Daily Thoughts and Meditations as we journey together with our Lord.
Sermons and Devotions
Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
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