Under God
Because of the phrase “under God,” on June 26, 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional!
Reaction was swift and strong. President Bush called it “ridiculous.” By a vote of 99-0, the US Senate approved a bill reaffirming support for both the pledge and the national motto, “In God we Trust.” The US House of Representatives passed a resolution, 416 to 3, protecting the ruling (the three votes were Democrats, two of which are from California). The next day Judge T. Goodwin, a Republican who was appointed by Richard Nixon and the one who wrote the ruling, issued an unusual order blocking its enforcement until petitions for a rehearing are resolved.
The reality is that no matter what the President, the Senate, the House, or federal judges think, say, or write, the United States of America is one nation that is under god, the god of this world! Satan is the god of this world, who has blinded the minds of unbelievers to the light of the glorious gospel of the grace of God (2 Cor. 4:4). As a result, unbelievers live “according to the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).
Actually, the Lord is over all. The Scripture, the real Supreme Court, declares,
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all” (1 Chron. 29:11-12).
The Lord is “head over all.” He reigns “over all.” So aware of it or not, like it or not, we are all under God. The Sovereign Lord God of heaven and earth is over all nature (“all that is in heaven and in earth), all nations (“Yours is the kingdom;” see Dan. 2:21) and all the natives on this plant (“You reign over all”).
The Lord rules over all, but in the final analysis, He wants to personally, rule in the individual heart (Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; Col. 3:15). For God to personally rule over you, you must place yourself under Him, daily.
The issue is not just should the phrase “under God” be in the pledge we say before the flag, but is the reality of “under God” in our heart before the Father, daily. After the court decision, the students at one Elementary school recited the Pledge of Allegiance and when they got to the disputed phrase, they screamed “UNDER GOD.”
May my heart shout “under God” daily.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/28/2002
Reaction was swift and strong. President Bush called it “ridiculous.” By a vote of 99-0, the US Senate approved a bill reaffirming support for both the pledge and the national motto, “In God we Trust.” The US House of Representatives passed a resolution, 416 to 3, protecting the ruling (the three votes were Democrats, two of which are from California). The next day Judge T. Goodwin, a Republican who was appointed by Richard Nixon and the one who wrote the ruling, issued an unusual order blocking its enforcement until petitions for a rehearing are resolved.
The reality is that no matter what the President, the Senate, the House, or federal judges think, say, or write, the United States of America is one nation that is under god, the god of this world! Satan is the god of this world, who has blinded the minds of unbelievers to the light of the glorious gospel of the grace of God (2 Cor. 4:4). As a result, unbelievers live “according to the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).
Actually, the Lord is over all. The Scripture, the real Supreme Court, declares,
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all” (1 Chron. 29:11-12).
The Lord is “head over all.” He reigns “over all.” So aware of it or not, like it or not, we are all under God. The Sovereign Lord God of heaven and earth is over all nature (“all that is in heaven and in earth), all nations (“Yours is the kingdom;” see Dan. 2:21) and all the natives on this plant (“You reign over all”).
The Lord rules over all, but in the final analysis, He wants to personally, rule in the individual heart (Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17; Col. 3:15). For God to personally rule over you, you must place yourself under Him, daily.
The issue is not just should the phrase “under God” be in the pledge we say before the flag, but is the reality of “under God” in our heart before the Father, daily. After the court decision, the students at one Elementary school recited the Pledge of Allegiance and when they got to the disputed phrase, they screamed “UNDER GOD.”
May my heart shout “under God” daily.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/28/2002