CSN - Sunday LightWing Messages - Reflecting on the Declaration of Independence

7/6/2025

Life by the Spirit

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:13 - 26 (NIV)

FOUNDER’S MESSAGE:

This weekend the citizens of the United States celebrated the birthday of our nation. It a unique time in our nation’s history. It seems we are emerging from a very fundamental attack upon the government of the people. Unfortunately, as evidenced in our past there are many who have no clue that this has been happening.Yet, for those who have been paying attention to one degree or another, America is still facing an existential crisis. Many would disagree with this perception.

For some conservatives and Christians, Trump was elected – all is well in Whoville, right? There is a surface level perception that maintains all will be well on “Trump’s watch.” But, his term will end, and then what?

There is definitely cause to celebrate, but guess what – the opposition to Trump are not in such a celebratory mood. They are planning for the next election with all due diligence and with the intent to recalim as much dominion as possible. Patriots, conservatives, Christians and those of genuine faith traditions need to know that the winds of change can create a reversal of fortune if good people decide to relax, or even withdraw from their due diligence of vigilence. We all need to become vigil keepers in such a time as this. In mid-May, the LightWing Messages edition was focused on our professional Vigil Keepers, but I mentioned this concept of everyone becoming a vigil keeper:

We are using this Sunday’s LightWing Messages edition to focus on those who could be considered the vigil keepers of our time. Once long ago, years after the American Revolution, several people had been quoted as saying that “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Although being attributed to a number of worthy statesmen, such men were probably simply quoting someone else. However,

it was the Irish orator John Curran who is credited with the first known statement of such sentiment when, in 1790, he stated: “It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance.”

It is good that there are pockets of patriots all across this nation who have great regard and respect for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This is the kind of people that need to publicly exhibit their love for these founding documents more. While America is still a free country, people should feel free to express what is truly on their minds, despite attempts at censorship. The communication tyrants cannot silence everyone all of the time. And, if one has no clue about the censorship, brave up, buckle up and dare to ask someone who has had the experience of being censored by the mainstream media, social media giants, or government entities (local to national). While the energy and momentum is in the favor of pursuing America’s founding ideals – fundamental values rooted in Judeo - Christian ethics and morals, patriots of all persuasions need to be Paul Reveres and awaken those still sleeping and to unite and work together to retain our Republic.

In one sense America has come full circle. “We the People” find ourselves in a similar set of circumstances as our the founding generation in which people must decide whether Freedom is worth protecting, worth fighting for, worth dying for. To be honest, the events of the past decades indicate that Americans have been enjoying the fruits of liberty, without proactively maintaining vigilance over the precious freedoms they have inherited. Last year, it became clear, not long after Independence Day, many Americans realized the presence of the Spirit of God is still watching over America. If people forget that this nation is a nation formed from strife, with a firm reliance on the rectitude of the bold and brilliant actions of the Founders and upon God’s guidance and assistance, we are a nation that has lost its very reason for existence. We have the essence of Freedom in our DNA, and America is still the hope for the world.

The LightWing edition today offers two messages. The first is an abridged passage from the Declaration of Independence, so readers may refresh their memories of what it was that the founders truly believed in, rather than watered down fragments from current commentators or educators have claimed they believed. The second message is one I offer from an article I wrote in mid-July of 2016 during an intense election year. It was based upon sincere reflection of three battles that America has been engaged in from the very beginning. To me, it has true significance now because in mid-July of 2024, in an even more intense election year, there was a very dramatic turning point that may have determined the outcome of the election. We are still in the midst of the third battle.

These words are being sent to you as part of an effort that commenced based upon genuine inspiration from Heavenly Father. The LightWing Messages are the latest evolution and are intended to shine light onto our paths, as it was written: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 - KJV

May God bless all our readers - and God bless America!

May we humble ourselves and become sincere before Heavenly Father. May we hoose to be reverent rather than many Americans who are often filled with false pride and reveal how they are truly less than reverent. May we take dominion of our own EGOs through genuine repentance and seek His face to help guide us in the rectitude of our ways. May we seek God’s vision in all we do to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.

Declaration of Independence (partial text)

WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress,

JOHN HANCOCK, President.

Note: The source for this transcription is the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the broadside produced by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776.

Reflecting on Three Battles Sparked by the Declaration of Independence

Posted July 13, 2016 By Dennis Jamison

While the Declaration of Independence formulates a framework and a premise for all people to declare their reliance upon freedom and rejection of tyranny, it is not just an affirmation of faith, it was a demand for what human beings should expect in their lives on this planet.

July 12, 2016 – Last Monday, Americans celebrated Independence Day, and many realized that it represented the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. However, since 2016 is an election year, many concerned citizens may want to more seriously consider the future of America in light of specific words embedded within the Declaration of Independence that have sparked disruption and outright warfare within the United States.

Indeed, the words of the Declaration of Independence served as a powerful statement to the rest of the world why freedom itself was essential:

… to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them …

It was the appeal to the concept of self-government and freedom from tyrants. And certainly, the consequences of the Declaration’s call to action altered the course of human history; the world had never witnessed a revolution like common colonists fighting to create a nation of freedom. The Founders had pledged “ … their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor … ” for the cause for freedom.

The words of the Declaration of Independence summoned all people of conscience to fight for the noble ideals linked to freedom. Yet, many today confuse conception with accomplishment. While the fundamental ideals inscribed in the Declaration had existed since ancient times, by Thomas Jefferson’s time the Declaration of Independence was more than any philosophical treatise. It was definitely a declaration of intent to separate from Great Britain, but Jefferson had skillfully woven into the core of the Declaration a manifesto for the freedom of all people, aligning with what Thomas Paine had claimed in Common Sense: that the cause of America was the cause of the world!

Beyond mere belief in previously postulated ideas, the Declaration of Independence created an intellectual or philosophical framework of ideals that sparked and sustained the American colonists’ fight for freedom and the ideological framework for a nation based upon principles of freedom. Initially, it took many years of sacrifice and suffering before genuine independence was accomplished through the Paris Peace Treaty on September 3, 1783. Nevertheless, the high ideals of the Declaration of Independence were such noble ideals that they were beyond the reach of most people, not only in the last quarter of the 18th century, but throughout America’s history.

The first great confrontation over the ideals in the United States took place in the middle of the 19th century through the horrendous warfare in the American Civil War. This struggle was centered upon the single concept of whether “all” men were created equal. Those in the Deep South, who eventually attempted to destroy the U.S. Constitution, had been informed by their ancestors that Jefferson had not meant “all” men when they had signed the Declaration of Independence—he only meant “all free men.”

Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (Mathew Brady [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

At the time of the construction of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, the President of the C.S.A. stated that all men were not equal. Vice President Alexander Stephens, proclaimed that there was “scientific proof” that the black man was not equal to the white man. Such Confederate political leaders came out of the closet to show their true colors because they no longer feared proclaiming what they truly believed. Even the northern Democrats wanted to perpetuate the lie, as Stephen A. Douglas did in his debates against Lincoln, that “everyone knew” that the United States was only created by a bunch of old White men for White people. Lincoln, of course, shredded the lie in word and deed.

One of the most controversial, and oftentimes most confusing, of Abraham Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War was the Emancipation Proclamation. It was one of the most important actions of Lincoln’s presidency, and definitely represented a turning point in the history of the United States. While many Americans do not fully comprehend the deeper value of Lincoln’s decree to free the slaves, others still possess a distorted understanding of the purpose of the executive order. Regardless of the confusion and controversy, this document is a testimony to the strength of a President struggling to bring America back to its original foundation.

Long before his Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln was fighting to return the nation to the original foundation established under the Declaration of Independence: “all” men being equal under the law. Lincoln addressed the issue in June of 1857, after the Dred Scott Decision:

Chief Justice Taney, in his opinion in the Dred Scott case, admits that the language of the Declaration of Independence is broad enough to include the whole human family, but he and Judge (Stephen) Douglas argue that the authors of that instrument did not intend to include negroes.

I think the authors of that incredible instrument intended to include all men, but they did not intend to declare men equal in all respects.

“[but] … equal in certain ‘inalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’” This they said, and this they meant.

The Confederate Constitution promoted the opposite ideals and values. The old, entrenched White southern aristocracy did not respect the ideals of the Declaration of Independence; and a serious case can be made that the Confederate slave owners had only the name of being Americans; they were not fundamentally Americans.

The second great confrontation over these ideals in the United States occurred in the middle of the 20th century through the political and social unrest of the Civil Rights Movement. This struggle was centered upon the single concept of what “equal” truly represented within the specific ideal that all were “created equal.” After slavery had been abolished in the United States through the Thirteenth Amendment, there remained the residue from resentment and hatred in the Southern governmental establishments that legalized the restriction and outright prevention of citizens’ freedoms and civil liberties. This became the reason for the Civil Rights Movement, and the rise of the central personage of the struggle: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was fighting against a White power structure whose leaders had inherited attitudes of racial prejudice from their slave-owning ancestors who had established a system of political thought and instilled an attitude of superiority that Dr. King fought against in the laws of the “reconstructed” South. He fought against the inability to speak up or speak out; he fought for the freedom to voice one’s concerns and to vote in a South that had been under the mental and physical control of the aristocratic, power hungry Democrat politicians of the old South since the days of Andrew Jackson.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was aware of the depth and strength of what he was up against, but he did stand up, and he did speak out—regularly—at the risk of his life! One should not wonder where his courage and strength of conviction originated. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was more than just a leader of a secular movement for black American’s civil rights. The source of his spirit and strength was deep within the roots of his faith. Indeed, he was a social activist, but also a serious believer in non-violent civil disobedience as Mohandas Gandhi had practiced. Yet, at his core, he was a humble Christian minister, dedicated to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was genuinely a man of God, and it was his relationship with God that gave him such strength and courage to transform from the humble preacher to a modern-day prophet and the social activist many remember him to be. Dr. King stood for freedom, not from the slavery of the Deep South that had been abolished by the blood of white men fighting for the rights of black people, but for a freedom that represented equality under the law for all people—not just a few.

The third great confrontation over the ideals in the one sentence of the Declaration of independence is taking place right now in the United States. At the beginning of the 21st century, there is struggle centered upon the integral concept of all people being endowed by God with unalienable rights: Life, Liberty, and the freedom to Pursue Happiness. This struggle has been initiated through political and social unrest brought about by the thought originating with the “Progressive” Left. Under a guise of eliminating racism, prejudice, and discrimination, the Democrats, the spearhead of the “Progressives,” are once again attempting to manipulate people’s lives through control and dominion under a legal construction of their own making.

Two centuries of slavery in America (160 years under British Imperial law), ended with the help of a morally strong and stubborn American president standing up to the old entrenched White power structure of the Democrat Party, which was determined to retain control over regional institutions that legalized ownership of human beings. A century of legalized racial hatred and segregation under the entrenched White power structure of the Democrat Party ended with the help of a morally righteous and courageous American preacher.

Almost a half century after Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, a question that needs to be asked is whether genuine leadership exists within the contemporary American political spectrum to help in retaining the ideals that have kept this nation strong and vibrant for over 240 years. The current struggle facing Americans once again has originated with the Democrats and their “Progressive” Movement. Under their guise of eliminating racism, prejudice, and discrimination, the Democrats are once again attempting to manipulate, control, and dominate people’s lives under new legislation that has little to do with God-given rights.

While the Declaration of Independence formulates a framework and a premise for all people to declare their reliance upon freedom and rejection of tyranny, it is not just an affirmation of faith, it was a demand for what human beings should expect in their lives on this planet. The Declaration of Independence is still a call to people of conscience to fight for such noble ideals. Today, the existence of True Freedom still depends upon those who cherish it.

Additional History

From The American Minute by William J. Federer: American Minute for June 30 - The first settlement in America was Fort Caroline, Florida, founded this day in 1564.

From Christian American Heritage: The Christian Origin of the Declaration of Independence – 6/29/24

From History.com: Flashback: Independence Day 1941

From Canada Free Press by Dennis Jamison: The Current Battle for America’s Soul began with the Declaration of Independence – 7/2/2020

American Minute with Bill Federer: Democrats vote to disarm Blacks, "No freedman, Negro, or mulatto shall carry or keep firearms or ammunition"-Mississippi Black Code 1865 – 6/28/24

Additional Faith & Spirit-filled links…

From YouTube: Whitney Houston Sings National Anthem (unknown date)

From US National Archives: July 4th - Declaration of Independence Reading Ceremony 2023

From The Selah Videos: America The Beautiful - Selah – 7/3/2019

From History.com: What Happened on July 4

From The Soldiers' Chorus of The United States Army Field Band: America: My Country, 'Tis of Thee - Soldiers' Chorus - 11/14/16

From World Outreach Church: What It Takes to Be a Godly Leader | Allen Jackson Ministries – 5/3/25

From Angela Primm Battle Hymn Of The Republic sung by Angel Primm" - 12/6/2007

From Infidel Warrior: Ronald Regan’s Warriors Pledge Speech - 1/20/1981

From “Home Free” - God Bless the U.S.A. (featuring Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band) - 7/1/20

From the United States Air Force Television: The Man in the Arena - 10/3/2019

ICYMI > From Allen Jackson Ministries: The War on Faith & Family [Featuring Dr. Ben Carson] – 6/27/25

From Sissel Kyrkjebø: Hymn to Freedom by Sissel Kyrkjebø - 9/4/2020

ICYMI > From The American Minute with Bill Federer (video): American Minute for July 4 - The U.S. Declaration of Independence was approved on this day in 1776.

Podcast - From Dutch Sheets Ministries: Prayer and America's Constitution | Give Him 15: Daily Prayer with Dutch | July 2, 2025

Podcast – From Kingdom League International: What Would Happen if 60 Churches Used 1Church1Day for Ten Years?– 6/1/25

From Dr. Preston Moon: Freedom of Conscience #shorts - YouTube – 4/16/22

ICYMI > Podcast - From Kirk Cameron on TBN: Trump Gave Thanks to God and History Reveals WHY That Matters | Kirk Cameron on TBN