Sheridan Voice

The Nature of God: By Thomas Whittemore; Edited and Narrated by Daniel Sheridan – Audio Version Below

God, according to 1 John 4:8, is love. Love, according to Romans 13:10, worketh no ill. God’s nature is the very essence of benevolence, and benevolence would not and could not be the source of endless misery. If love worketh no ill, then God worketh no ill. God therefore can’t, in any way, shape, or form be the author of eternal misery.

God loves all mankind. “For God so loved the world,” says John 3:16, “that he gave his only begotten Son.” Jesus died for all mankind, He gave Himself as a ransom for all, therefore God loves all mankind.

God loves His enemies. God, in Matthew 5:44, tells us to love our enemies. Would He tell us to do that if He Himself didn’t love His enemies? No! God isn’t a hypocrite! God wouldn’t tell us to love people if He hated them. Our Lord said that God is “kind to the unthankful and the evil.” If God loves His enemies, He certainly loves all mankind, for nobody argues the fact that He loves His friends. Can God cause those whom He loves to be eternally miserable? Not a chance. Those very enemies will one day be subdued by love.

To conclude:

1. God is love and therefore will not work endless ill toward anyone.
2. God loves all mankind because He sent His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to die for all mankind. Christ didn’t die in vain!
3. God loves His enemies and therefore He will never condemn a single member of the human race to endless misery; God loves every member of the human race – both His friends and enemies.

Jesus Christ is a Successful Savior!

From Elhanan Winchester to George Washington

GREAT man of merit, influence and might,
Endu’d by Heav’n with truth and wisdom’s light,
On this return of thy auspicious day,
Receive the tribute of my humble lay ;
Gen’ral, Dictator, Ruler, Patriot, Friend,
Enjoy thy country’s honours to the end.

When God Almighty gave creation birth,
And laid the firm foundations of the earth,
Settled the laws which all his works obey,
He saw, and he appointed thee thy sway ;
In that choice land where freedom first arose,
Nor fear’d, nor fell before her numerous foes ;
Gave an example which shall always shine ;
There wast thou born, fair freedom’s land is thine.
On thee hath Heav’n caus’d glory to descend,
Nor will it fail to crown thy happy end.

Preserve, O Lord, a life to man so dear,
Regard that chief, who doth thy laws revere,
Enthron’d within our hearts, he rules by love,
Supremely favour’d by the God above ;
In him, with joy and wonder we behold,
Disinterested love, contempt of gold ;
Engag’d his country’s welfare to pursue,
Now are its highest honours all his due ;
There let them rest, nor envy dare to view.

Of all his toils, America to raise
Friends of true greatness, all will give him praise.

The wond’rous man who wielded sword and pen,
How great a benefactor he hath been !
Endear’d his name to all his countrymen.

United in himself at once we view,
Nice judgment, prudence, patience, valour too ;
In his fam’d character, at one we find,
Those virtues which are sing’lar in mankind,
Engaging mildness, join’d with martial skill,
Determin’d resolution to fulfill ;

Serious devotion, and benevolence,
Truth, probity, sincerity, good sense ;
Alike prepar’d for closet, cabinet, field,
The same in war or peace, his country’s shield.
Enjoy, O favour’d land ! this blessing lent ;
Such is GEORGE WASHINGTON, your President.

O land of freedom, plenty, happiness,
Forever may the Lord thy dwelling bless :

Newly discover’d land, where freedom reigns,
Over thy hills and vales, and fertile plains,
Revere and love the God who made you free,
That rais’d a Champion for your Liberty,
Happy, O land, in such a Chief as he.

Awake my noblest strains, and hail the day,
My heart is warm, and all my words obey ;
Enchanted, I could dwell upon the song,
Rich with enliv’ning scenes ; a glorious throng !
In that delightful country, we may find
Comely religion with fair freedom join’d,
And every blessing that can bless mankind.

The American Revolution Wasn’t A Top-Down Central Government Movement – It Was A Bottom-Up Grassroots Movement…

America’s First “Declaration of Independence” – Our Grass-Roots Revolution – By Daniel Sheridan (Twitter:@DanielWSheridan) #OTD #AmericanHistory #DeclarationOfIndependence

#OnThisDay, May 20, 1775, the first Colonial Declaration of Independence was written, or was it?

On May 20, 1775, the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is claimed to have been signed in Charlotte, NC. It’s said to be the first “Declaration of Independence” written during the American Revolution. Wikipedia declares that:

“It was supposedly signed on May 20, 1775, at Charlotte, North Carolina, by a committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County, who declared independence from Great Britain after hearing of the battle of Lexington.”

But even though the authenticity of this document is disputed, the spirit behind it isn’t. Let me explain.

When we think about the revolution we usually think about the great gathering in Philadelphia in 1776, the Declaration of Independence, and the names of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, and Adams. But that meeting wasn’t the beginning of the Revolution; it was an end result of many previous movements and ideas.

When people of that day thought about independence, they didn’t think about it in terms of the nation, but in terms of their own commonwealth. In other words, what took place in Philadelphia was the result of a grassroots movement, a local-level movement. It was a bottom-up movement, not a top down movement.

Between April and July of 1776 over 90 “Declarations of Independence” were written by townships and counties throughout the States. Think about that – there were over 90 local declarations written the three months before Jefferson wrote on his hallowed parchment. The revolution wasn’t the creation of the Continental Congress; it wasn’t a central government plan.

America is the product of town meetings. The 150 plus years before the revolution saw the freest and most popular government in the world. There wasn’t a place on earth where there was so much free discussion among common people about public concerns. The English statesman, Edmund Burke, marveled as he observed America claiming that nowhere else in the world is there such a “fierce spirit of liberty.”

This fierce spirit of liberty began with individuals and townships. Townships are the smallest units of government, yet they produced the largest benefit – the Revolution.

The town meeting was a lively gathering where serious discussions were had. The main business of it was to legislate for the town. Prior to the revolution it was in these meetings where parliamentary law was developed and political skills were tested and matured. The town meeting was the training ground for statesmen because it forced them to discuss issues rationally, thoughtfully, and patiently. Out of these meetings came the leading men of the Revolution, men like Samuel Adams who was called “the man of the town meeting.”

During the Stamp Act days town meetings were the main sources of protest. For instance, during the Stamp Act trouble, the Cambridge town meeting instructed its representatives to do everything in their power to repeal the act. Then they wished,

“…that this vote may be recorded in the Town Book, that the children yet unborn may see the desires that their ancestors had for their freedom and happiness.”

Think about that. This was not a national directive, it was a local one. The people in the town wanted posterity to know what the Town did to preserve the freedom and happiness of unborn generations.

On this day, May 20, 1775, the first “Declaration of Independence” may or may not have been made in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. It probably wasn’t. But what we do know for certain is that on April 13, 1776, North Carolina became the first State to instruct its delegates to take part in the Continental Congress declaring independence. So even if the May 20th event isn’t true, the spirit behind it is.

The American Revolution wasn’t a top-down central government directive; it was a bottom-up grass roots movement.