RUMINATIONS OF A REVEREND

During my devotions this morning I was reading in Jeremiah 29 and came across a familiar and often quoted verse. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” Often this verse is cited as an encouragement to a newlywed couple, a graduate, or someone starting a new career path. Certainly we would find such a promise encouraging, but as is always the case in scripture, context must be maintained. The context of this promise involves Judah ’s exile into Babylon . God has just told them they will be exiled in Babylon for seventy years, but that after their exile they will be restored to the land. Why were they exiled? They were exiled because of their rebellion against the LORD. They chose to trust in other nations and people instead of the LORD, and the history involved flagrant idolatry. So God gives this promise of a hope and a future after His people learn their less...

That national motto has been emblazoned on our currency since the 1860’s. Treasury secretary Salmon P. Chase instigated the new inscription on our currency at the prompting of concerned citizens wanting to acknowledge God’s hand in our nation. Emboldened by these promptings, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock , the Philadelphia mint director, in a letter to prepare a motto: Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml After approval through an act of Congress, the US Treasury began minting coins with the motto “In God We Trust” in 1864. One Hundred and forty-five years later we still read those poignant words on our coins and bills as we transact our day to day business. But do the words still ring true? A 2008 Pew Research poll noted that the number of American...