Pledge of Allegiance of the United States

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


In 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Today it reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Section 4 of the Flag Code states:

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.", should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute."






Sunday, June 5, 2011

DAY 12 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (STRENGTHEN) - JUNE 5, 2011

June 5



Isaiah 45:5 (New International Version)


5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; 
   apart from me there is no God. 
I will strengthen you, 
   though you have not acknowledged me,

DAY 12 - DAILY PRAYER (STRENGTH) - JUNE 5, 2011

June 5


Dear Father,




We come to You a people reminded of how wholly dependent on You we are; our lives, our health, our prosperity, our freedom, our families, our jobs all blessings at Your hand alone.  We recognize that as the beneficiaries of so great a fortune, we have grown complacent, entitled, and ignorant.  We repent.  May our repentance be with all sincerity.  




Father strengthen us in our resolve to engage our world for Your kingdom's sake.  May we find the fortitude to love our neighbor as ourself, to love You with our heart, mind, soul and strength.  In so doing, may we know Christ's freedom; from fear and anxiety and addiction.  May we know deep, abiding, healing joy as Your will becomes our purpose, infuses our life with meaning, and brings renewal to our hearts and our land.




Thank you, Father for hearing us.  Amen.












Troy
Christian

DAY 12 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 5, 2011


American Minute for June 5th:


    JUNE 5, 1967, the Six-Day War began. Egypt sent 80,000 troops and 900 tanks to attack Israel. Jordan and Syria, with Soviet weapons, violently shelled Jerusalem and Israeli villages. Cairo radio announced: "The hour has come in which we shall destroy Israel." The hot line between Washington and Moscow was used for the first time. In a surprise move, Israeli Air Force destroyed 400 Egyptian planes, courageously drove Syria from the Golan Heights and captured all of Jerusalem. In a CBS-TV interview, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion stated: "In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles." Seven months after the War, on Jan. 7, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson toasted Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, saying: "Welcome to our family table...All Americans-and all Israelis-know...that none...can ever live by bread alone...One of your ancestors said it for all men almost 2,000 years ago...for peace it is written, 'pursue it.' That is our intention in the Middle East...To pursue peace...If we are wise, if we are fortunate, if we work together - perhaps our Nation and all nations may know the joys of that promise God once made about the children of Israel: 'I will make a covenant of peace with them...it shall be an everlasting covenant.'"


Endnotes


Ben-Gurion, David. Oct. 5, 1956, comment in an interview with Edward R. Murrow, "Person to Person," CBS-TV. James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1957), p. 302. Public Papers of the Presidents: Toasts of the President & Prime Minister Eshkol at a Dinner at the LBJ Ranch. Jan. 7, 1968, "Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Eshkol: Welcome to our family table. We are honored and happy to have you here in our home. Here, we ask only that you enjoy the warm ties of friendship and partnership that mean so much to each of us, and both our peoples. Our peoples, Mr. Prime Minister, share many qualities of mind and heart. We both rise to challenge. We both admire the courage and the resourcefulness of the citizen-soldier. We each draw strength and purpose for today from our heroes of yesterday. We both know the thrill of bringing life from a hard but a rewarding land. But all Americans-and all Israelis-also know that prosperity is not enough-that none of our restless generation can ever live by bread alone. For we are equally nations in search of a dream. We share a vision and purpose far brighter than our abilities to make deserts bloom. We have been born and raised to seek and find peace. In that common spirit of our hopes, I respect our hope that a just and lasting peace will prevail between Israel and her neighbors. This past year has been a busy one for America's peacemakers-in the Middle East, in Cyprus, in Vietnam. Wherever conscience and faith have carried them, they have found a stubborn truth confirmed. Making peace is punishing work. It demands enormous courage, flexibility, and imagination. It is ill served by hasty slogans or half-solutions. I know you understand this, sir, better than most men. One of your ancestors said it for all men almost 2,000 years ago: 'Other precepts are performed when the occasion arises . . . but for peace it is written, '"pursue it."' That is our intention in the Middle East and throughout our world. To pursue peace. To find peace. To keep peace forever among men. If we are wise, if we are fortunate, if we work together-perhaps our Nation and all nations may know the joys of that promise God once made about the children of Israel: 'I will make a covenant of peace with them . . . it shall be an everlasting covenant.' Let that be our toast to each other-our Governments and our peoples-as this new year begins. Its days are brighter, Mr. Prime Minister, because you lighten them with your presence here and the spirit you will leave behind."


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Friday, June 3, 2011

DAY 11 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (ISRAEL) - JUNE 4, 2011

June 4



Genesis 12:3 (New American Standard Bible)




3 And (A)I will bless those who bless you, 
And the one who [a]curses you I will [b]curse. 
(B)And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

DAY 11 - DAILY PRAYER (ISRAEL) - JUNE 4, 2011

June 4



Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel; Bless the State of Israel, with its promise of redemption. Shield it with Your love; spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide its leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth. Help them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our Holy Land. Deliver them; crown their efforts with triumph. Bless the land with peace, and its inhabitants with lasting joy. And let us say: Amen. (translation from Siddur Sim Shalom)
http://www.uscj.org/koach/israel-prayer.htm
______________________________________________________


God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

As a nation that has stood in the gap for Israel, we beseech Your continued guidance for our leaders.  May they continue to call Israel a friend, and support their cause for all that You have given them.  In these troubling times in the world's view of Israel, may You grant a renewed strength to the leaders and people people of Israel, and all that have called upon Your Holy name!  Lord, continue to bless all nations that bless Israel, and may the United States of America continue to benefit from this union in friendship and peace with Israel. 

In Jesus' name.  Amen!

Wally Ziolo
40DAYPRAYER4USA
Lancaster, Ohio
Christian

DAY 11 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 5, 2011








American Minute for June 4th:

    The turning point in the Pacific War began JUNE 4, 1942. American intelligence intercepted Japan's plans to capture Midway Island and from there, Hawaii. The outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet ambushed the Japanese armada, but was losing badly. It was not until American dive bombers, navigating by guess and by God, sighted the Japanese aircraft carriers far below through a break in the clouds at the precise moment the Japanese planes had left to attack the U.S.S. Yorktown. In just five minutes, the screeching American dive bombers sank three Japanese carriers, and a fourth shortly after. After this providential event, Japan was forced to go on the defensive. On the Pacific War, President Roosevelt said, August 12, 1943: "Three weeks after the armies of the Japanese launched their attack on Philippine soil, I sent a proclamation...to the people of the Philippines... that their freedom will be redeemed...The great day of your liberation will come, as surely as there is a God in Heaven." Roosevelt stated October 20, 1944: "On this occasion of the return of General MacArthur to Philippine soil...we renew our pledge. We and our Philippine brothers in arms - with the help of Almighty God - will drive out the invader."


Endnotes:


Battle of Midway. June 4-6, 1942. Robert C. Kiste, Ph.D., Director & Professor, University of Hawaii Center for Pacific Islands Studies, "Midway Island," World Book Online Americas Edition, ttp://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/360580, October 20, 2001. James L. Stokesbury, Ph.D., Former Professor of History, Acadia University; author, Navy & Empire & A Short History of Air Power, "World War II," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/610460, October 20, 2001.

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

DAY 10 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (REVILE) - JUNE 3, 2011

June 3




Exodus 22:28 (New King James Version)
28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. 

DAY 10 - DAILY PRAYER (REVILE) - JUNE 3, 2011

June 3



Webster says to revile is "to use abusive or contemptuous language in speaking to or about; call bad names."  A definition of curse is "a profane, obscene, or blasphemous oath, imprecation expressing hatred, anger, vexation."


Father, we confess that we have tried to be careful to never revile You, but we have not been careful to not curse our rulers/leaders.  We ask that You forgive us for saying words that actually curse our leaders and with Your help, we choose to watch our mouths so we will not continue this action.  We commit to pray for our leaders and not curse them.


Minister Pamela Ulmer
Marion Christian Center
Adopt-A-Leader for the Ohio National Day of Prayer

DAY 10 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 3, 2011


American Minute for June 3rd:


    The Dutch sent Henry Hudson to find a water route across America to the Pacific. Though unsuccessful, Hudson claimed the land along the "Hudson" River, and there the Dutch West India Company founded New Netherlands, receiving its charter JUNE 3, 1621. Franklin Roosevelt told the Detroit Jewish Chronicle, March 7, 1935: "All I know about the origin of the Roosevelt family in this country is that all branches bearing the name are apparently descended from Claes Martenssen Van Roosevelt, who came from Holland sometime before 1648." The Chamber of Amsterdam wrote in articles for the Dutch Colony, 1624: "They shall within their territory practice no other form of divine worship than that of the Reformed religion...and thus by their Christian life and conduct seek to draw the Indians and other blind people to the knowledge of God and His word, without, however, persecuting any on account of his faith, but leaving each one the use of his conscience." The Charter of Freedoms, June 7, 1629, gave land to wealthy "Patroons" who helped 50 families emigrate, stating: "Colonists shall...in the speediest manner...find out ways and means whereby they may support a Minister and Schoolmaster, that thus the service of God and zeal for religion may not grow cool." In 1664, the Dutch Colony of New Netherlands was taken over by the English and renamed New York.


Endnotes


Staten Island, Microsoft7 Encarta7 Online Encyclopedia 2000, http://encarta.msn.com 8 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. http://odur.let.rug.nl/usanew/E/newnetherlands/nl5.htm, The United States of America & the Netherlands, 6/14 The towns of New Netherland, By George M. Welling: In the early sixties of the seventeenth century, Pieter Plockhoy of Zeeland province, The Netherlands, started the first of the many Utopias which shine in the pages of American history. In 1662 he sailed from Holland with twenty-four families, to establish his colony of 'universal Christian brotherhood,' ... to raise up an universal magistrate in Christendom, that can suffer all sorts of people (of what religion soever they are) in any one country, as God suffers the same in all the countries of the world.' The city of Amsterdam met the expenses of the expedition. The place chosen was on the Delaware River, & the following year forty more immigrants joined those already there. Plockhoy's Utopia was soon to come to a terrible end. It resisted the British troops of Sir Robert Carr which landed in New Netherland in 1664, & was destroyed 'to a very naile.'


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DAY 9 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (BLESSED) - JUNE 2, 2011

June 2




Deuteronomy 28 (New American Standard Bible)




 1 Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
 2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:
 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

DAY 9 - DAILY PRAYER (BLESSED) - JUNE 2, 2011

June 2



Precious Lord Jesus, we come to you today, thanking you for all of your vast riches & blessings that you have bestowed upon America. Remembering, that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. History has recorded Christopher Columbus’ testimony that You led him to this land. We reaffirm today that you are still the God that America needs and desires to call their God.


Your precious word, the Bible, tells us, that "Thou art a God ready to pardon. “ Your people are crying out in unison for a spiritual awakening in our beloved land! We trust in the goodness of yourself to restore us to you!


Who, oh Lord, could save themselves, their own sin could heal? Our shame was deeper than the sea ... You alone can rescue… you alone can save… You alone can lift us from the grave… (Hymn: You alone can rescue)


Amen.


Judy Seifert
Christian

DAY 9 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JUNE 2, 2011


American Minute for June 2nd:


    A wedding took place in the White House, JUNE 2, 1886. One of three Presidents to marry in office and the only President to wed on White House grounds, Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom, and together they had five children. Cleveland, both the 22nd and 24th President, stated in his 2nd Inaugural, March 4, 1893: "Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid." In a Message to Congress, December 2, 1895, President Cleveland stated: "Reported massacres of Christians in Armenia and the development there and in other districts of a spirit of fanatic hostility to Christian influences naturally excited apprehension for the safety of the devoted men and women who, as dependents of the foreign missionary societies in the United States, reside in Turkey." President Cleveland continued: "Several of the most powerful European powers have secured a right...not only in behalf of their own citizens...but as agents of the Christian world...to enforce such conduct of Turkish government as will refrain fanatical brutality."


Endnotes


Cleveland, Grover. March 4, 1893, Second Inaugural Address. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages & Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature & Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. IX, pp. 389, 393. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States - From George Washington 1789 to Richard Milhous Nixon 1969 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office; 91 Congress, 1 Session, House Document 91-142, 1969), pp. 163-167. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court & Public Prayer (NY: Fordham University Press, 1964), p. 187. Benjamin Weiss, God in American History - A Documentation of America's Religious Heritage (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1966), p. 109. Willard Cantelon, Money Master of the World (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1976), p. 120. J. Michael Sharman, J.D., Faith of the Fathers (Culpepper, Virginia: Victory Publishing, 1995), p. 77.


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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

DAY 8 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (SET FREE) - JUNE 1, 2011

June 1

John 8:34-36 (New International Version)


 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

DAY 8 - DAILY PRAYER (ADDICTION) - JUNE 1, 2011

June 1

Father God,

We come to your throne with great sorrow, beating our breasts and crying aloud... As a nation, we have fallen to the many temptations of Satan, which have become addictions of  the body and mind.  We have given ourselves over to drugs, sex, alcohol, gambling, pornography, and many other sins.  Instead of  giving ourselves in humble worship to you Lord, we have worshiped at the altars of these addictions.  We use Your money to finance these addictions, and have broken Your commandments to buy into Satan's lies.  Forgive us our sins Lord, and heal our bodies and minds of these horrible obsessions.  Let these addictions be broken in the name of Your Son, for whoever He sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). Send Your Holy Spirit to comfort those who are suffering from these addictions, and strengten their will to be set free.  Send a witness into these camps of the enemy to show them the light of salvation, both from addictions and for their eternal souls.  Protect those who might minister in these dark camps of the Devil, and strenthen all who fight against the spiritual oppression of addictions.  Heal our land as we repent of these sins as a nation, and allow your light to shine from this repentant nation as a beacon of hope to the world.

We break all chains of addiction in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen!

Wally Ziolo
40DAYPRAYER4USA
Christian

DAY 8 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINIUTE FOR JUNE 1, 2011

American Minute for June 1st:
    "Don't Give Up The Ship!" commanded 31-year-old Captain James Lawrence, as he lay wounded on the deck of the U.S.S. Chesapeake. Captain Lawrence fought Muslim Barbary pirates in 1804, and when the War of 1812 began, he commanded the U.S.S. Hornet which captured the privateer Dolphin and the H.M.S. Peacock. President Madison wrote May 25, 1813: "The brilliant achievements of our infant Navy, a signal triumph has been gained by Captain Lawrence...in the Hornet sloop of war...The contest in which the United States are engaged appeals...to the sacred obligation of transmitting...to future generations that...which is held...by the present from the goodness of Divine Providence." On JUNE 1, 1813, Captain Lawrence sailed from Boston and was attacked by the British ship Shannon. Within an hour, nearly every officer was killed. Later, Captain Oliver Hazard Perry was inspired to name his flagship on Lake Erie "Lawrence." Theodore Roosevelt wrote in Hero Tales from American History, 1895: "Lawrence, dying with the words on his lips, 'Don't give up the ship' and Perry...with the same words blazoned on his banner...won glory in desperate conflicts and left a reputation hardly dimmed."

Perry, Oliver Hazard. Tucker, Poltroons, pp. 331-332. Peter Marshall & David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 9.10. http://08016.com/lawrence.html http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/barb-war/burn-phl.htm http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-l/j-lawrnc.htm
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DAY 7 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (WOMB) - MAY 31, 2011

May 31


Job 31:14-15 (New American Standard Bible)


14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? 
15 “Did not (A)He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?

DAY 7 - DAILY PRAYER (ABORTION) - MAY 31, 2011

May 31




Prayer to end abortion in the USA:




God, Our Father in Heaven:


We thank you for this country, and for our freedom. We pray for the wisdom to protect and preserve this freedom given by You without corruption. We pray for life and freedom for all your children, born and unborn. We seek your guidance to find a way to end abortion in the USA.


We pray for our government leaders, that they may protect and honor life from conception to natural death. That they may use their position of power to help the powerless. We pray for the clergy to have the courage to speak out, to educate the people. That they may lift up the unborn in prayer and provide good council to all that come to them.


We pray for the American people to speak out against abortion. To have the strength to share their stories and their pain in order to bring the light to those currently in the dark. Especially those who have experienced abortion personally, let them encourage others to make the right choice. Send your healing to those who are hurting and teach us how to be there for those in need. We pray for all women currently thinking about abortion. That they may find support from those around them - family, friends, even strangers but especially the fathers. May the fathers support and encourage the mothers to choose life.


We pray for a way to show the atrocity of abortion to all of America, to change hearts and minds. To break the chains of abortion, and for the dramatic conversion of all abortionists and abortion workers. May the scales fall from their eyes and may they see the innocence of life in the unborn and vow to protect it. Grant us ideas and talents to bring about a wide scale change of heart across America.




Amen.


Christie McGee & Janet Thomas
40 Days for Life Columus Campaign Directors
Columbus, Ohio

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

DAY 7 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR MAY 31, 2011


American Minute for May 31st:


    In his Memorial Day Address, MAY 31, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge said: "Settlers came here from mixed motives...Generally defined, they were seeking a broader freedom. They were intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance to the principle of self-government...It has been said that God sifted the nations that He might send choice grain into the wilderness." Calvin Coolidge continued: "They had a genius for organized society on the foundations of piety, righteousness, liberty, and obedience of the law...Who can fail to see in it the hand of destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence?" At the Memorial Day Ceremony, MAY 31, 1993, President Bill Clinton remarked: "The inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier says that he is 'Known only to God.' But that is only partly true. While the soldier's name is known only to God, we know a lot about him. We know he served his country, honored his community, and died for the cause of freedom. And we know that no higher praise can be assigned to any human being than those simple words...In the presence of those buried all around us, we ask the support of all Americans in the aid and blessing of God Almighty."


Endnotes


Coolidge, (John) Calvin. May 31, 1923, Memorial Day, as Vice-President under President Harding, speaking on the motives of the Puritan forefathers in his message titled "The Destiny of America." Calvin Coolidge, The Price of Freedom - Speeches & Addresses (NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924), pp. 331-353. The Annals of America, 20 vols. (Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968, 1977), Vol. XIV, pp. 410-414. Peter Marshall & David Manuel, From Sea to Shining Sea (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1986) and The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart'N Home, Inc., 1991), 1.5, 5.30. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God - How Close a Separation? (Searcy, AR: Harding Univ., Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6 ed., 1992), p. 17.


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Sunday, May 29, 2011

DAY 6 (MEMORIAL DAY) - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (SORROW) - MAY 30, 2011

May 30



Revelation 21:4 (New International Version)


4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

DAY 6 (MEMORIAL DAY) - DAILY PRAYER (MEMORIAL DAY) - MAY 30, 2011

May 30





Blessed and Loving Father,


We approach your throne today with humble thanks and praise for our freedom in this country.  Today we honor our many men and women who have served valiantly to protect our borders throughout our 200 + year history, and to fight for righteous causes abroad.  Our American service men and women committed themselves to defend and protect the lives of Your people in this land, whether they knew You through Your Son, or will someday make a decision to know You through Christ Jesus.


Father, we also reflect upon the great sorrow that many families have shared across this country due to war.  We ask that your Holy Spirit would continue to comfort those who mourn over lost military family and friends, and that they would be brought closer to You through their healing.  Lord, please wipe away every tear from their eyes, and show that though Your Son, death shall be no more!


Protect the travels of those who have journeyed to far away places over the weekend, and accompany them with Your hand of protection to their homes and families.  Give Your angels charge concerning them, and protect them from any harm or evil along their paths.


Thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed on us as a nation, and may we continue to seek your face in our daily lives, and times of national reflection.


We ask these things in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.


Amen!


Wally Ziolo
40DAYPRAYER4USA
Lancaster, Ohio
Christian