BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE, RICH INHERITANCE
Prayer: Lord, help us to carefully and academically teach the beautiful heritage and rich inheritance of our Country, giving an accurate account of the thanks given by the pilgrims.
Scripture: The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. 6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. 7 I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. 8 I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:5-11 NAS
As saints, we dwell securely in the knowledge that Jesus has overcome the grave and we presently dwell on the path of eternal life. Our beautiful heritage prompts our thoughts to the pleasant places that God has led us to and through and to keep God continually before us so that we cannot be shaken. I have spoken of life in a snow globe several times in my life, as the circumstances, decisions, tests, responsibilities and more all shook and swirled around me at a dizzying rate, but my hope is the Lord, therefore I am steadfast like the miniature city or object secured to the bottom of the globe. Because my life and my days are in God’s hands, I will not be shaken.
This type of trust can only come from a correct knowledge of the heritage of my faith and the One in Whom I trust. If I am taught that security is found in money, a high-profile job, a friend or in knowing that I am the master of my own life, I will certainly chase the wrong things and find as author, Rodney Cooper puts it, I will reach the top of my earthly ladder only to find that it was leaning against the wrong building. I have to know the history of God’s power and faithfulness to know the richness of my inheritance to come. One comes to know the joy of His presence when they have seen His power in the past. God is faithful, trustworthy, able; nothing is impossible for Him. Our hearts can be glad because of His unchanging glory, and it is up to us to share the story of His glory so that others can dwell securely and joyfully in His presence and pleasures forever.
Sadly, many school curriculums have wrongly rewritten the history of Thanksgiving, the faith of our founding fathers, and the driving desire for religious freedom that brought shipload after shipload of people willing to risk their lives to come to a land where they could freely worship the God of their choice. It is heartbreaking to think of the number of students who have been taught that Thanksgiving is a remembrance of the pilgrims thanking the Native Americans for helping them. While it is true that many Native Americans did help the pilgrims to survive the harsh conditions of their new home, Thanksgiving was a pause and celebration to God, thanking Him as their Creator and Sustainer. The Native Americans celebrated and prayed with them, but they were not the center of the celebration. Beware of curriculum with an agenda; always teach the truth, it is legal and essential if we are to truly educate the whole child. We would never teach a student that 1+1= 3, we must teach correct curriculum so that we do not cause our students to look like fools as they proceed up the ladder of higher education and life. Remember my friend at Gateways to Better Education, he can help you wade through holiday history fact, fiction and ACLU-proof lesson plans at www.gtbe.org
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]