DAY 4 - DAILY PRAYER (THE STATE OF GEORGIA) - MAY 28, 2014

May 28

Lord of all nations, we humbly submit ourselves to you today in prayer for the state of Georgia.  We pray for the 4th state to join the union, and the state that has managed to hold onto it's moral fabric.  In a state where gay marriage has not been given legal standing, we pray for their strong overtones of morality and godliness.  Restore the freedom to proclaim Your promises in public venues, including football games.  May the deaf ears hear Your Holy Word, that they might give their lives completely over to Your will.  Hear us Oh Lord as we cry out in Your very word for the sake of Georgia.  

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Proverbs 3:5,6 (New International Version)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

James 1:22 (New International Version)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Father God, we pray for the government body of Georgia, that You will lead them in paths of righteousness.  We pray for Your continued blessing upon Governor Nathan Deal and the First Lady.  We pray for all of the men and women across that state that serve others in governmental or ministry roles.  We pray for the protection and return of the men and women from Georgia that are serving our county oversees.  

Colossians 3:23 (New International Version)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. 

We pray for all those who labor to earn an income and provision for themselves or their families.  Bless the state of Georgia in these trying times, where jobs may be few and pay may be limited.  Protect all who actively participate in the economy of Georgia, and allow them to see the fruits of the labors.

James 4:7 (New International Version)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Bless our brothers and sisters in Christ, who seek the Lord throughout their daily lives and prayers.  Strengthen the voice of those who proclaim Your good word, and bless them in their daily trials.

And finally Father, we pray for Your hand of protection over Georgia.  Keep her safe from devastation, and allow her to thrive in her churches, schools, businesses and homes.

In Christ's name we humbly life up our prayers to You.    Amen


Anonymous

DAY 4 - DAILY QUESTION ABOUT GOD'S WORD - DOES THE BIBLE CONDONE SLAVERY?

May 28

Question: "Does the Bible condone slavery?"

Answer: There is a tendency to look at slavery as something of the past. But it is estimated that there are today over 27 million people in the world who are subject to slavery: forced labor, sex trade, inheritable property, etc. As those who have been redeemed from the slavery of sin, followers of Jesus Christ should be the foremost champions of ending human slavery in the world today. The question arises, though, why does the Bible not speak out strongly against slavery? Why does the Bible, in fact, seem to support the practice of human slavery?

The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery. It gives instructions on how slaves should be treated (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1), but does not outlaw slavery altogether. Many see this as the Bible condoning all forms of slavery. What many fail to understand is that slavery in biblical times was very different from the slavery that was practiced in the past few centuries in many parts of the world. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was based more on economics; it was a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters.

The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. In the United States, many black people were considered slaves because of their nationality; many slave owners truly believed black people to be inferior human beings. The Bible condemns race-based slavery in that it teaches that all men are created by God and made in His image (Genesis 1:27). At the same time, the Old Testament did allow for economic-based slavery and regulated it. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

In addition, both the Old and New Testaments condemn the practice of “man-stealing,” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, slave-traders are listed among those who are “ungodly and sinful” and are in the same category as those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, adulterers and perverts, and liars and perjurers (1 Timothy 1:8–10).

Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. He will see, with Paul, that a slave can be “a brother in the Lord” (Philemon 1:16). A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.

Recommended Resources: Hard Sayings of the Bible by Kaiser, Davids, & Brauch and Logos Bible Software.

While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann.



Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-slavery.html#ixzz32yMDgA2u

DAY 4 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR MAY 28, 2014

May 28


American Minute for May 28th:


He left Yale for four years to fight in the Revolutionary War. 

After graduation, he became a lawyer and taught school in New York. 

Dissatisfied with the children's spelling books, he wrote the famous Blue-Backed Speller, which sold over one hundred million copies. 

After twenty-six years of work, he published the first American Dictionary of the English Language. 

His name was Noah Webster, and he died MAY 28, 1843. 

In his 1788 essay, "On the Education of Youth in America," printed in Webster's American Magazine, Noah Webster wrote: 

"Select passages of Scripture...may be read in schools, to great advantage. 

In some countries the common people are not permitted to read the Bible at all. In ours, it is as common as a newspaper and in schools is read with nearly the same degree of respect." 

Noah Webster continued: 

"My wish is not to see the Bible excluded from schools but to see it used as a system of religion and morality." 

In his History of the United States, 1832, Noah Webster wrote: 

"The brief exposition of the Constitution of the United States, will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government...

The genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion." 

Noah Webster continued in The History of the United States, 1832: 

"All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."

Hide Endnotes

Webster, Noah. 1832. The History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), p. 309, paragraph 53. Gary DeMar, God & Government, A Biblical & Historical Study (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Press, 1984), p. 4. "Our Christian Heritage," Letter from Plymouth Rock (Marlborough, NH: The Plymouth Rock Foundation), p. 5. Noah Webster, The American Dictionary of the English Language (NY: S. Converse, 1828; reprinted, San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, facsimile edition, 1967), preface, p. 22. Gary DeMar, God & Government - A Biblical & Historical Study (Atlanta: American Vision Press, 1982), p. 4. Robert Flood, The Rebirth of America (The Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, 1986), p. 33. Noah Webster, History of the United States, p. 307. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 6.24. Stephen K. McDowell and Mark A. Beliles, America's Providential History (Charlottesville, VA: Providence Press, 1988), p. 6. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God-How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 10.

(Brought to you by AmericanMinute.com)

DAY 4 - STATE HISTORY - GEORGIA

May 28

The largest of the U.S. states east of the Mississippi River and the youngest of the 13 former English colonies, Georgia was founded in 1732, at which time its boundaries were even larger—including much of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi. By the mid-19th century, Georgia had the greatest number of plantations of any state in the South, and in many respects epitomized plantation culture and economic dependence on slavery. In 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman invaded Georgia, captured Atlanta and began his infamous March to the Sea,cutting a 200-mile-wide swath of fire and destruction reaching all the way to Savannah. Georgia’s landscapevaries greatly as it sweeps from the Appalachian Mountains in the northto the marshes of the Atlantic coast on the southeast tothe Okefenokee Swamp on the south.

Date of Statehood: January 2, 1788

Did You Know?
Georgia is named after George II, who was king of Britain when Europeans first settled there in 1733.

Capital: Atlanta

Population: 9,687,653 (2010)

Size: 59,425 square miles

Nickname(s): Peach State; Empire State of the South

Motto: Wisdom, Justice and Moderation

Tree: Live Oak

Flower: Cherokee Rose

Bird: Brown Thrasher

INTERESTING FACTS

Although initially conceived of by James Oglethorpe as a refuge for London’s indebted prisoners, Georgia was ultimately established in 1732 to protect South Carolina and other southern colonies from Spanish invasion through Florida.

The 13th and last of the British colonies, Georgia was the only one to be governed remotely by a Board of Trustees in London for the first 20 years. It was also the only colony to prohibit slavery from its inception—along with lawyers and Roman Catholics.

In September of 1906, a race riot broke out in Atlanta after newspaper reports of black men allegedly assaulting white women. Although the attacks were never confirmed, thousands of angry white men gathered downtown, killing dozens of blacks and causing extensive damage to many black-owned businesses. The riot made both national and international headlines and influenced the subsequent statewide passage of prohibition in 1908.

Georgia was the first of 10 states to vote against ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Even after it became federal law on August 26, 1920, Georgia women were prevented from voting until 1922. The state legislature did not officially ratify the amendment until 1970.

In 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights advocates formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta. Dedicating themselves to the nonviolent attainment of equal rights for African Americans, the group was a significant contributor to the civil rights movement and continues to be active on social justice issues.

Georgia is the country’s number-one producer of peanuts, pecans and peaches, and vidalia onions, known as the sweetest onions in the world, can only been grown in the fields around Vidalia and Glennville. Another sweet treat from the Peach State is Coca-Cola, which was invented in Atlanta in 1886.