beyond the shadow of a doubt

This is probably one of those things that everyone knows, but me.

Romans 2:1//Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

I would always stumble over that last part, right myself quickly like nothing happened, and hurry away before someone saw. If someone is in sin and I determine, based on the fruit of his life, that things are not right ... am I, then, guilty of his sin(s)?

I tripped over this again during the very long drive to Nashville, but turned around to kick it this time. "Therefore" is a continuation of what went before:

Romans 1:32//who, knowing the righteous judgement of God, that those who practice such things [sexual immorality, wickedness, etc. as listed in verses 29 through 31] are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

To judge is not synonymous with condemn, as it is often used in Christian circles. We get upset when someone "judges" us to be bad in some way, but never when they compliment our hair. You can judge something to be good as well as bad. Webster defines judge as "to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises." Good or bad. Right or wrong.

Considering Romans 2:1 as a therefore from 1:32, the danger is in approving behavior, speach, lifestyle, etc. that flies in the face of God's righteous judgement. Then we "practice the same things." If you approve of it, God says, you might as well be doing it.

Two obvious complications with this:

The first is loving people. Disapprove of that which is contrary to God, but love the people doing it. Jesus ate with the worst sinners; the pharisees pointed fingers.

The second exposes the heart. We can disapprove of abortion by voting only for pro-life candidates, but what about the more subtle issues that we don't talk about? What about the things we know we shouldn't say or do, but in our hearts we really don't think are all that bad? Can we disapprove according to the letter of the law, but not in spirit? The fear of the Lord is both the hatred of evil (Pr 8:13) and the beginning of wisdom (Pr 9:10).

I'm not saved

And Pope Benedict XVI said ... ("Amen!")

Pope approved a document released today that says, "Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches," according to an AP article. "...Because they do not have apostolic succession - the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles," and "did not have the 'means of salvation.'"

That's right, if you're not attending a Roman Catholic Church, you will be turned away from heaven because your pastor does not have the means of salvation to pass on to you.

What's really ironic is that yesterday, the Barna Research Group released the results of a study of American Catholics. 4000 adults were surveyed to compare 97 facets of life between Catholics and non-Catholics. The study found, among other things, that Catholics ...

... are half as likely to identify their faith as their priority in life.

... donate 17% less money to their local church.

... are 38% less likely to read a Bible.

... are 20% less likely to share their faith.

... are more likely to say that Satan is not real.

... are more likely to argue that Jesus sinned while on earth.

... are more likely to contend that salvation is earned.

That last one gets me, especially compared to the others. Where's Martin Luther when you need him?

in the meantime ...

A lot has happened over the past 40 days.

Everyone that wasn't blogging 40 days ago is blogging now. Mike and Loretta Ingham both entered the blogosphere, as well as Jillian. Marianne started blogging and then quit because China blocks Blogger; she started a Google Page instead. Bianca started one as well, which does not - for the record - make up for her moving to South Carolina.

I discovered an amazing pro-life ministry called Abort 73. I've never seen a website with so much information about abortion. As soon as I can put $14 together, I'll be investing in a t-shirt for sure.

Stop Consuming is a group trying to raise awareness within western Christendom of the gross excess our society continues to gorge itself on. This is one of the many social issues that the Church has shamefully handed over to liberal politics, so I appreciate their trying to take it back.

Relevant Magazine has spun off a women's magazine called Radiant that's pretty stinkin' savvy. It's a Christian women's magazine that actually has some style. There are all kinds of web-only bonuses, like an interview with Joyce Meyers.

Mars Hill Church is not new, but they're new to me. Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches the Bible, straight and unapologetically, to young people in post-grunge Seattle. This church was started in the mid-1990's, has grown by 60% each year since then, and has never spent a dime on advertising. They're known in Seattle as "the punk rock church." There's video on the website; I like it a lot.

The Esther Project #4 is out ... because I had time to write. If you haven't gotten one yet, post a comment in the vein of, "Girl, why ain't I got no EP?" I'll correct your grammar and send one along.

I watched The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, which was very stressful. I'm kind of a dork, though, in that I really want to read a good biography now so I know better what was real and what was cinematic. If anyone can make a recommendation (because there are several to chose from), I would appreciate it.

Don and Lauree Reed have a cute baby, and I have bragging rights because I got to hold him first. Nah nah na na nah. Taylor:

There are better things to write on. Revelation and powerful happenings, but right now my body is very sore and my head is a little cloudy. Check back with me tomorrow afternoon for better content.

The Call

Joel 2:12-17:
"Now, therefore," says the LORD, "Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and not yur garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him - a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them."

For 14 hours we repented and forgave, petitioned and promised, mourned and danced. For 14 hours we pressed into the heart of God. Relationships were mended with communities of Native, African, and Latino Americans. Bonds were reforged between parents and children. We heard from Senator Brownback (in person) and George W. Bush (wrote a letter), Mike Bickle, Ron Luce, and Lou Engle. Mostly we prayed - in small circles, from our knees on the concrete step at our feet, or as a corporate body of people passionate to see their nation turn back to God.

Mostly we called upon the living God to beseech His mercies. We stood in turn as representatives of our regions and ethnic backgrounds to repent of the sins of our people and call upon the mercies of our Messiah. It was the first time in a public setting that I've been so aware of His presence and so aware of His omnipotence that I felt ashamed for my head being uncovered.

We stood, sat, knelt, laid, sang, danced, wept, and worshipped for hours in 90+ degree heat, unrelenting sun, and Tennessee-summer humidity. Many had to be carried out of the fray, and some hospitalized as organizers begged the people to drink more water.

Then, after the sun had mercifully set behind the walls of the stadium, and the cool of the night began to settle over us, we sang Be Praised to the One who is worthy and 300 men armed with shofars assembled at the back of the main isle. To the beat of a half dozen drums and under dim stadium lights they made their way to the stage, trumpets raised like swords over their heads. The man on stage talked of the walls of Jericho and one shofar sounded six short blasts. On the seventh, 300 shofars trumpeted and nearly one hundred thousand of God's people erupted in a shout of victory that made that Bible story completely plausible. If the walls of that stadium had been holding us back from our destinies in Christ, they surely would have come down.

I'd been standing on my seat and half a minute into the celebration, lifted my hands to heaven and felt the pleasure of a beautiful Savior like a wave through my spirit. And I wept again.

We're forgiven. We're free. Because our God hears our cries. He doesn't have to, and we're not worthy that He should, but He does because of a love I know with all certainty I will never understand. The spirit of our nation has stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. I guarantee it.

goodbye

I'm closing down the blog for the next 40 days. Believe me, this hurts me more than it hurts you. We're going down to Nashville on July 7 (see video below - it's different from the ones I've posted before), and TheCall is ... um ... calling for a 40 day food and media fast to "consecrate ourselves to go before the Lord." Being as the blog is media that is not necessary for work, I'm putting it on hold.

There are other wonderful bloggers listed to the right, and a myriad of good websites to browse if you're looking for good web content. Or you may try a media fast of your own.

Special appologies go out to Bianca. I'll see you all again on July 8th.

Tarquin

This is Tarquin (not sure if I'm spelling that right). He belongs to a cool couple - friends of some friends we see maybe once a year. He likes to scream - for no apparent reason.

get behind me

Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 recount the "rebuke fest," as Pastor Brian Zahnd likes to call it. Jesus prophecies of his crucifixtion, Peter gets upset, Peter rebukes Jesus, Jesus rebukes Peter.

I noticed the other day that in both passages, Jesus uses the language, "Get behind me, Satan!" in rebuking Peter. ("Satan" literally translates "Adversary.")

Jesus used identical, harsh language when He was tempted of the devil in the wilderness. The third temptation was when Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would worship Satan. Jesus replies, "Get behind me, Satan ..."


So I couldn't help but wonder if He quoted His rebuke because the offence that inspired it was the same. In Luke 4:8 He casts Satan out of His presence in response to a call for idolitry. Around the time of Rebuke Fest 0001 He responds to ... what? Peter's plea that Jesus rethink His plan and deny what He was sent to do. And mere moments after Peter receives revelation from God that this Jesus is the Christ. A god that suffers and dies (and that has called Peter to follow) was not the kind Peter was looking for. Peter first confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, and then insists that He become the kind of Christ Peter is most comfortable with. Jesus rebukes idolitry.

I can't help but think about the great falling away that is coming. When America starts to feel the "terrible" part of the Day of the Lord, and hearts grow cold and offended. How much of the western Church will be left standing when the Jesus we hang on our walls is not the Jesus that splits the sky?

Will I be standing? I think I will ... but everybody does. Will I have so taught my heart to love and trust Him that I will be able to stand in that day without offence and without doubt? What about when all my eschatology falls through the floor and He does something I wasn't prepared for? Hmm.

question

I think I have a pretty good grasp on some of the hard topics regarding God. I understand why we have a free will, even though so many of us choose wrongly. I see the necessity of certain paradoxes, such as "the great and terrible day of the Lord." I'm okay with God's decision to allow suffering to strengthen love. I'm even comfortable with the fact that there are just mysteries to God that we probably will not understand in this life.

As I was listening to a body-builder explain the fall of mankind last night, though, a question arose in my heart that's been plauging me for some 12 hours: Why put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden in the first place?

Before you start explaining theology to your computer screen allow me to reassure you that I understand the following:

1. Hell was never intended for people.

2. God does not send people to hell; people send themselves to hell.

3. We have free will.

4. God is just and good.

My question, though, is, from the very begining of the whole thing, why put the tree there at all if He didn't want them to eat from it? With the ability to see the end from the beginning, God must have known that Satan would convince them, that sin would enter the world, and that thousands would never escape it. He must have known from the very beginning that some would reject Him, and later reject Christ, and suffer an eternity of torment for it.

Assuming the tree was somehow necessary, why create man at all? Again, knowing that some would suffer so much for so long. Why create someone hoping for the best, but ultimately knowing his eternity would be unspeakably horrible? Wouldn't it be a greater expression of love to deny Himself of His desire for man because He knows that some will condemn themselves? Because I'm sure if you could ask anyone in hell, they'd rather to never have been alive.

Read through the four assertions above again. I know these things. All I'm asking is, "Why?" On day four of creation, looking down the horizon of time into eternity, why didn't He see those suffering for all time and scrap the whole plan?

I'm not backsliding, here. Not doubting. Not foresaking my salvation - because whether or not I understand or agree with it all, I know it's true. And I'm sure there's an answer that someday I will understand. I'd like it to be today, though.

100 japanese men

What would happen if you got 100 guys to just run at some unsuspecting stranger?


For more funny, Asian video, check out Dave.

evan almighty

I hadn't heard of this. Has anyone else heard of this? Why didn't you tell me?



I wonder how it ends. Does the whole world really flood? Does he wake up?

I wonder - while I'm wondering - what the motivation for making this was? Whose idea was this? And why? The timing certainly is interesting. "As in the days of Noah" keeps emerging in strange ways. It's almost like Holy Spirit's letting the anticipation get a little sarcastic. If He delighted to manifest real quick I'd share a chuckle and a high-five with Him for sure.

hindsight is 20/20

This is hilarious. Check the date at the top of the page and read through some of the comments. Thanks to Church Marketing Sucks for the info.

Reminds me of the record producer who wouldn't sign the Beatles because he thought guitar bands were on the way out. Or the multi-millionare computer geek who said the Web would never be very useful.

this just in ...

Rev. Jerry Falwell was pronounced "dead" two hours ago after being found unresponsive in his office. Heart failure. He was 73. Fox News.

spiritual authority

If you don't know Lou Engle or TheCall or what's going down in Nashville this July, get yourself caught up real quick:



It's going to be a good time. Last week I got an email from Lou (we're buddy's - you know how effective I am with email) about a recent advance. It seem the state of Tennessee's been talking about Lou. They issued a resolution dated April 9 about him and TheCall. I won't post the whole thing, but it ends:

WHEREAS, the program for TheCall places a strong emphasis on prayer, worship, and repentance, with brief speaking segments that relate to the main topics being addressed; and

WHEREAS, as a pastor in this region and founder of such a notable and worthwhile gathering, Lou Engle epiomizes the spirit and commitment that are characteristic of a true Tennessean; and

WHEREAS, this General Assembly finds it appropriate to pause in its deliberations to acknowledge and applaud Lou Engle for his efforts on behalf of believers in the State of Tennessee and our nation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we hereby honor and commend Lou Engle for his initiaive, unfailing faith, and meritorious service to the State of Tennessee through his work with TheCall, and extend to him our best wishes for every future success.

Tennessee is begging for revival this July. Begging.

omit faith and good works

I'm sitting in Panera ... with my unsweetened iced tea because Timothy and I have foresaken sweets for a week ... and can't help but hear the conversation two guys behind me are having.

It was interesting at first, as one described the culture of "his village" to the other. He talked about medicine, then death, then ... you guessed it, "the Afterlife." They bury people within hours of death because they're in a hurry to get onto the next thing. The white guy muses he probably wouldn't want to delay heaven, "... unless you were out clubbin' all the time and you ... uh ..."

"Well we believe that everyone's got good deeds and bad deeds and if your good deeds out-weigh your bad deeds then you go to heaven. If your bad deeds out-weigh your good deeds, then you're punished for your bad deeds but eventually go to heaven anyway."

That's a new spin on the whole "good deeds" philosophy. Even if you do more bad than good, you still ... after doing time in hell ... get to spend the rest of forever in heaven. Now, not only do you not have to know Christ, you can be a total jerk all your life and not dim the light at the end of the tunnel.

They changed the conversation when I tossed a thoughtful glance over my shoulder. Final word? "Well that makes me feel better ... *beat boxes a club sound-track* Haha."

mutilating teenagers

Teenagers had 244,124 cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in 2006! I posted about it at Battle Cry, so rather than reinvent the wheel - as they say - go here.

history of modern music

The ninja inspired a lot of conversation about "scene kids" (no, not "seen" kids), so allow me to catch up some people. I'm not going to start at the very beginning with the whole, gospel led to blues and then rock 'n roll ... If you don't know that stuff I can't help you.

We'll start with punk. They're angry; their music is angry. Damn the man. You can go a lot of places from punk.

Door #1 is hippy-punk. These are the dirty, do-it-yourself-ers that look a lot like modern hippies. Key differences: they're still pretty angry, and more socially active ... which I suppose makes them more hippy than most 21st century hippies. Their music is better, and they've held onto some key fashion points that keep them more punk than hippie. They like to host rock shows in basements, and most of them are vegan. These are what I call "real" punks. They're my favorites.

Door #2 is goth. This is usually considered something close to backsliding. Goth kids are angry, but they don't care. They wear black almost exclusively, and a lot of jewelry. These are often people who tried to be punk, but realized it was too much work and they're rather master the art of eyeliner than fight about whether or not it should be tested on animals. Their music is angry and bad. Probably, again, because their musicians were bad punk rock bands.





Door #3 is emo. Yes, that's short for emotional. Emo kids look like they have little sisters who are punk, and they're sad because she's the only one with clean laundry so they have to share. Something like that. They're a little more colorful than goth kids and when you ask what's wrong they usually hang their heads and sigh - whereas goth kids get mad and insist nothing is wrong, this is just the way they are. They started the long hair in the face thing, and they like to take pictures of themselves from above them.



From emo, we got "scene kids." A "scene," first of all is an unofficial collection of local bands and the people who like to see them play every weekend. Very, very easy to mistake for emo, but for goodness' sake don't call them emo, because they really don't like that. It's like tapping on the glass at the aquarium, though, in that people always tell you not to but something about it is so darn tempting. My theory is that scene kids (also sometimes refered to as "scenesters") were emo kids who decided emo was stupid and they didn't want to have to be sad anymore. I think this is why they don't like to be called emo. This is reflected in more colorful tight clothing, hair dye, and eye makeup - thought they haven't gotten over having hair in their faces or taking pictures of the tops of their heads.

Hope that helps!

stream of consciousness

I think "stream of consciousness" is a nice way of saying, "you have no skill for writing." Which is fine, because I'm tired right now and confident I have little skill for much of anything.

There's this boredom that's beginning to weigh on my heart. I can feel it - like a lump of lead in my chest cavity anchoring me to the same boring state day after day. One can only float dockside for so long before something has to give. Has to. Just because all the world would be unbearably unjust if something didn't. You say the world may, in fact, be unbearably unjust. It can't. Something has to, and it's probably me.

Timothy posted about an interesting conversation he had yesterday.

And Bound4Life is redoing their website. Not much is up, but you can get spiffy wallpaper for that thing you're staring at right now.

Something has to. I've heard romantics talk about that restlessness that comes just before a breakthrough. That'd be nice, but I don't know if I'd call it a guarantee. It's probably me.

There must be more than this, O breath of God come breathe within.

Dwayne Roberts ... I mean Randy Bohlender has re-entered the blogosphere.

I'm losing serious blogger-points for this.

And this is cool:

That's 65,000 very small cigarettes. Because 65,000 American teenagers under the age of 18 get addicted to cigarettes every month. Chris Jordan is his name. There's zooms on his website, and more statistics in art form.

Maybe I need a vacation. Maybe I need more prayer time. Maybe I need to slip under the radar somehow. Maybe I need to stop running to Ask A Ninja and clever art exhibits when my spirit begins to cry out.

85 days until India.

Oh, and no one answered my question about the disciples praying for Peter with all their unbelief, so I'm sticking with Rhoda. Childlike faith in a room full of doubting upcoming-apostles can free a man from prison. Maybe I need Rhoda.

embarassing

I don't want to sound pessimistic here, but ... *sigh*

Why are Kirk Cameron, a preacher, and two self-proclaimed atheists coming together in a church this weekend? Because Cameron and preacher Ray Comfort claim that they "can prove the existence of God.

It's going to be on ABC News tomorrow at 2 pm and on Nightline at 11:30 pm.

Cameron you know - Ray Comfort you may know. They market an evangelism strategy called The Way of the Master. Our church hosted a series of Sunday morning classes based on their material, but I only went to one. The strategy appeals to people's morals and a fear of hell. My problem with this strategy is two-fold.

1. Jesus (the "Master" implied herein) didn't usually talk to nonbelievers about hell. He talked to the disciples and the Pharisees about hell, but He usually fed nonbelievers, taught them how to live, and preached eternal life. I haven't studied this out and looked at every instance, so correct me if I'm wrong.

2. I was vehemently opposed to Christ for almost a decade and hell was the last thing I was worried about. Christians would approach me and I'd argue with them, point out what I thought were flaws in their theory and intimidate them out of a coherent answer. They'd default to "what if" and threats of hell and I'd laugh. People that don't believe in hell, usually aren't afraid of hell.

The atheists are the ones behind the Blasphemy Challenge ... which is also based on a poor understanding of scripture.

You see why my stomach kind of turns at the idea of this? It's like those Science of the Bible shows on National Geographic (or whichever channel they're on): it's interesting to hear what other people think about scripture, but it irritates me at the same time. I don't want to doubt Kirk and Ray ... I should probably just pray that the Holy Spirit would shut them up and speak Truth through them. Because Ray's strategy, according to ABC, is the following:

Perhaps you think that anyone who says that he can prove the existence of God is a dreamer. Maybe, like most people, you believe that the issue is a matter of "faith." Then we must be dreamers, because we can prove that God exists, scientifically, absolutely, without mentioning faith or even the Bible.

God help us.

Batman

Okay, so Batman came up again recently and as I started to get defensive, my husband Timothy suggested a blog entry ... perhaps because he didn't want to hear me get defensive.

I am tired of people trying to tell me that Batman's not a real superhero. The debate comes up time and time again, so I'm just going to settle the issue once and for all here.

1. Batman is a hero. Webster defines "hero" as "an illustrious warrior," "a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities," or "one that shows great courage." Batman is, similarly, super - especially at being a hero. "Super" is defined as "of high grade or quality," or "exhibiting the characteristics of its type to an extreme or excessive degree." No one can argue that Batman is neither of those things. Thus, he is a super-hero.

2. As shown above, no - one does not need super powers to be a super hero. One only needs super powers to be a freak.

Exhibit A: Spiderman. Bitten by an infected spider and unwilling took on spider-like characteristics: Freak.

Exhibit B: X-Men. Mutated chromosomes. I like X-Men, but you have to admit you're really splitting hairs about the more appropriate term: "super" or "freak." They're superheros because they're heros of a high grade or quality, not because, say, their skeletons are made of an indestructible metal. They're superfreaks because their skeletons are made of an indestructible metal.

You can't even really make the argument that said freaks are super-human, given Webster's positively infalible definition. Review: "exhibiting the characteristics of its type to an extreme or excessive degree." There's nothing human about being able to control the weather, scale buildings, or suck the life energy out of someone.

Then someone always brings up Superman. Superman, let's not forget, is an alien. That's all. We don't refer to any other alien sightings as "superhero sightings," so why this guy? Because he has a weak spot in his heart for the human race? If I deposited you on a planet of intelligent, self-aware slugs they'd worship you too, but that doesn't make you a superhero. Again: superhero because of actions, not because of physical abnormalities.

All that said, Batman's just as much a superhero as the rest of them. If not more, in certain circumstances, because we all remember the issue when Spiderman tried to quit vigilantism. Sissy.

And when it comes down to it, if you were in a dark alley at night in Gotham City, you'd be wishing you had a bat signal.

national day of what?

I was just reminded that today is the National Day of Prayer. Happy National Day of Prayer. In honor of the holiday, I'd like to cut and paste President Lincoln's proclaimation regarding the National Day of Prayer, Fasting and Humiliation. Of course, that's not what we call it anymore because fasting and humiliation are unreasonable requests to make of most Americans.

It took the rest of the nation some time to catch up. Lincoln gave this speach in 1862. The National Day of Prayer wasn't written on the White House calander until 1952 (Truman).

Anyway, here's most of Lincoln's address. I should probably make this shorter, because bloggers extrodinare will tell you that long posts are a turn-off, but it's so good I just can't:

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been
preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

... And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

Amen.