“Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Romans 13:7 NIV).

There are none on the face of the earth to whom we Americans owe a greater and more lasting debt of appreciation and honor than to those brave military men who gave their lives on the far-flung battle-fields of the world.

I believe in Memorial Day and I believe it should be all-inclusive. Memorial Day was inaugurated following the Civil War. Its purpose was to honor those Union Soldiers who died for their Country during that war. Some of the southern states then set up a day to honor the heroes of the Confederate Army.

Today most of us are broadminded enough to make no distinction between North and South. Our brave men and women have now fought and died in many wars: the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq. The May 12 bombing in Saudi Arabia, in which 8 Americans lost their lives, seems to indicate that the war with the Terrorists is still not over. We must continue to pray about the threatening situation that still faces our nation in many parts of the world.

This year, although May 30 is officially Memorial Day in the greater part of our nation, it will also be observed in our state on May 26, until noon. After all, it is not so much the day on which we observe it, but the manner in which we express our heartfelt appreciation to those who gave their all for their, and our beloved land!

America The Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

WHY MEMORIAL DAY?

A memorial can be a monument, statue, holiday, ritual -- whatever serves best as a remembrance or reminder of a person or an event. In the following Scripture it was an event so important that it demanded a lasting ritual.

Exodus 12:12-14

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt . . . I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be for you a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”

On the evening of that first Passover, some 3 million slaves declared their independence from Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth at that time. God made this possible by a series of divine miracles — last and most severe of which was the death of the oldest child in every Egyptian family including the family of Pharaoh himself!

This tragic event proved to the Israelites that God was fighting their battles for them and gave them the courage to walk away from their slave masters a free nation! This was a victory to be remembered – not on one or two occasions — but forever! Since that time, several hundred years B.C. the Jews have faithfully kept the Passover every year.

Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples the night he was betrayed. Passover will even be observed during Christ’s one-thousand-year Earthly Kingdom of the future (Ezekiel 45:21).

The blood of the Passover Lamb is a figure, or symbol of the blood of Christ that was shed for all on the Cross of Calvary (Rev.1:5). Because the blood of the Passover Lamb pointed to Calvary, they were told to observe the Passover every year forever. Had they recognized their Redeemer and trusted Him as their Savior, they would now be enjoying Holy Communion, rather than the annual Passover.

As a nation, our Independence is every bit as important to us, as was Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. When we sing GOD BLESS AMERICA, we are not out of line, because God has done just that!

Our brave men and women who have fought and died to preserve our freedom, deserve all the honor that we can bestow upon them! OLD GLORY is a precious symbol of our American Heritage and I for one am happy to pledge allegiance to our Flag!

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

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.

We in America have been blessed by God as no other nation has ever been. It is a tremendous privilege to be called an American! Anyone, man or woman, not willing to make the pledge to the FLAG, is not worthy of American citizenship!