Two hundred forty-eight years ago, on July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress passed the Resolution for Independence, declaring the freedom of America’s 13 colonies from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, which officially announced and explained the case for independence, was approved.
On Wednesday, July 3rd, the day after the resolution, John Adams sent the following message to Abigail:
“The second day of July, 1776, will be a memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great Anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.
“You will think me transported [ecstatic] with enthusiasm; but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not.”(1)
Adam’s was spot on, though celebration day turned out to be the 4th, the day the Declaration of Independence was formally approved. Tomorrow, we will celebrate just as he predicted. He was also right about the blood, toil, and treasure it would cost to maintain the declaration. Then, and down through history, many have paid the ultimate price for what you and I will celebrate tomorrow. Washington, when addressing his troops regarding the imminent War of Independence, stated with sobriety:
“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them.
“The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.”(2)
Washington, too, it seems, was prophetic when he said, “The fate of unborn millions…will depend on the courage of this army.” Fast forward 168 years to Normandy, France, and the deciding battle of WW II, known as D-Day. This bloody and horrific battle turned the tide against Hitler’s evil plans. Pvt. Charles Neighbor said of that day, “As our boat touched sand and the ramp went down, I became a visitor to Hell.”(3)
Pointe Du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc is a prominent cliff on the coast of Normandy. It was a strategic point heavily fortified by the Germans. The United States Army Ranger Assault Group scaled the cliffs under intense enemy fire to capture and secure the location. At the 40th Anniversary of the D-Day Ceremony Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France, on June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a powerful speech entitled “The Boys of Pointe du Hoc”:
“We’re here to mark that day in history when the Allied peoples joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, and millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy, the rescue began. Here, the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
“We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke, and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs.
“Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
“The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers - at the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting only ninety could still bear arms.
“Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.
“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
“Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ‘lives fought for life...and left the vivid air signed with your honor…’
“Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here; why? Why did you do it? What compelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow, we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
“The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge - and I pray God we have not lost it - that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
“You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.”(4)
On her 248th birthday, America faces another war for her freedom. This war is ideological, but no less consequential. Liberty and the salvation of millions depend on the courage of the spiritual army called the church, the Ekklesia. Intercessors are today’s heroes; your prayers can turn the tide. Like the boys at Normandy, we fight to liberate; and we, too, believe in our cause.
With God as our help, as surely as we celebrate liberty on July 4 and victory over tyranny on December 6, we will one day celebrate victory over this attempt to destroy America and delay God’s great harvest.
Pray with me:
Father, You had great plans for America, and still do. We have given more to the spreading of the gospel than any nation. We have also given more to humanitarian causes than any other nation. Yet, we have lost our way and, like the prodigal, squandered our inheritance and forsaken our destiny. Thank You for the fresh start You have promised. Continue to orchestrate this turnaround and a new beginning. We know that the fate of untold millions still hangs in the balance. We will not relent in our prayers and efforts until we see complete victory. Refresh and refire Your intercessors this week.
And Father, You told us to pray for those in authority; we do so again today. We ask for protection for President Biden, leaders in Congress, and Supreme Court Justices. We especially pray for President Trump, who is so hated. We ask that You keep the hatred of him from resulting in physical harm. We also ask this for the family members and staff of these leaders. Expose EVERY plan, and bring the plan/s to nothing. Keep the watchmen engaged. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Our decree:
We decree that the ideological war for the soul of America will be won by Yahweh through the prayers of Christ’s body.
______________________________
https://founding.com/founders-
library/american-political- figures/john-adams/letter-to- abigail-adams/ Major William T. Coffey, Patriot Hearts, (Purple Mountain Publishing: Colorado Springs, CO), p. 118.
Ibid, p. 16.
https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.
edu/ronald-reagan-normandy- speech-point-du-hoc/
