May 27, 2001

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Lord."

2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,

5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Genesis 4:1-8

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. Hebrews 11:4(NKJ)

The story of Cain and Abel is very interesting indeed. This account is found in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Genesis is referred to as the "The Book Of Beginnings." The beginnings of good and bad are found

here. This includes the first murder. You may recall that Cain murdered his own brother, Abel. Abel died in earth’s first human conflict. Our text in Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel speaks to the living. As we apply this, others have died in conflict also speak to the living.

(passivists, peace at any price)

1. Sometimes human freedom is at stake

2. Sometimes we must get involved

1. This makes it difficult for some to pay the price

2. Multitudes in bondage could tell us the value of freedom

3. Patrick Henry said in 1775, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of the chanis and slavery?"

1. Danton said in 1793, "Would we be free? If we no longer desire it, let us perish."

2. Lincoln said in 1863, "...from these honored dead we take increased devotion."

4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";

4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

4:15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

4:16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:13-17

We need to live and be willing to die so as make America a better place to live.

We should behave toward our country as women behave toward the men they love.  A loving wife will do anything for her husband except stop criticizing and trying to improve him.  We should cast the same affectionate but sharp glance at our country. J. B. Priestley.

Patriotism is not a short and frenzied burst of emotion but the long and steady dedication of a lifetime.  Thomas Jefferson.

*Our patriotic hymn, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," was written by a Baptist clergyman, Samuel Francis Smith.

*The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was written in 1892 by a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy.

*The words, "In God We Trust," carried on all of our coins, are traced to the efforts of the Rev. W. R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. His letter of concern, addressed to the Hon. S. P Chase, was dated November 13, 1861. Seven days later Mr. Chase wrote to James Pollock, Director of the U.S. Mint as follows:

*"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. Will you cause a device to be prepared without delay with a motto expressing in the finest and tersest words possible, this national recognition."

*The president of the College of New Jersey, the Reverend John Witherspoon (Presbyterian), was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.

He is too much forgotten in our history books: John Witherspoon had a far-reaching influence on democracy. He had personally taught several of the signers of the document, and nine of them were graduates of the little college over which he presided at Princeton.

When he took up his pen to put his name to the document, Witherspoon declared: "There is a tide in the affairs of men, a spark. We perceive it now before us. To hesitate is to consent to our own slavery. That noble instrument upon the table, that insures immortality to its author, should be subscribed this very morning by every pen in this house. He that will not respond to its accents, and strain every nerve to carry into effect its provisions, is unworthy of the name of free man. For my own part, of property I have some; of reputation, more. That reputation is staked, that property is pledged on the issue of this contest; and although these gray hairs must soon descend into the sepulcher, I would infinitely rather that they descend thither by the hand of the executioner than desert at this crisis the sacred cause of my country."

1. Many devote themselves to unworthy causes.

2. One woman died trying to retrieve her old car from a burning garage.

Charles Francis Adams, 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!" The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but his son saw it as an investment of time. The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one's ultimate purpose in life and to judge accordingly.

Silas Shotwell, Homemade, September, 1987.