FOUR BLESSINGS TO CELEBRATE

FOUR GREAT BLESSINGS TO CELEBRATE

There is a time for everything,
 and a season

for every activity under the heavens:

·      a time to weep and a time to laugh,


·      a time to mourn and a time to dance,

Ecclesiastes 3:1&4

The Bible says there is a time to celebrate: to laugh and dance.  In the past ten days we’ve celebrated major four anniversaries with gusto.  

Not surprising every year is Canadians’ July 1^st celebration of Canada Day.  “Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867).  The holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.” (Wikipedia)

Also not surprising for Americans is the annual celebration of July 4^th.  Formally known as Independence Day, it is is often known as "the Fourth of July". It is the anniversary of the publication of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. Patriotic displays and family events are organized throughout the United States.  Parades, picnics, and fireworks are typical events throughout the nation.

Unique are two celebrations are special and only happen once.  First, founded in 1890, Asbury University just celebrated its 125^th anniversary/birthday on June 25. “Asbury University, formerly Asbury College, is a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, Kentucky, United States. Although it is a nondenominational school, the college's foundation stems from a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The school offers 50 majors across 17 departments. Primarily a four-year college, Asbury was recently ranked number one as colleges of its size in the South by the US News and World Report magazine. Asbury University's freshman retention rate is above 85 percent. Approximately 34 percent of incoming freshmen are in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and more than 80 percent of distinguished faculty are full-time." (Wikipedia).  

Another special, once only celebration is the 150^th anniversary “Boundless Congress” celebrating the 1865 founding of The Salvation Army held in its birth- place, London, England as this is being written.  On the theological orthodoxy of Wesleyan holiness, The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 in London Methodist clergyman William Booth and his preacher wife Catherine. Originally The Salvation Army was known as the East London Christian Mission.  In 1878 Booth reorganized the mission and become its first General and introducing the military structure which has been retained to the present day.  Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. It does so as the world largest not-for-profit humanitarian organization bringing hope and the love of Christ to millions in 125 counties.  The current world leader of The Salvation Army is General André Cox. Together with 16,000 Salvationist from 126 countries, General Cox is leading an international celebration of faith in God’s grace to the world through the Army’s ministry and mission over the past 150 years.

So there it is: four blessings to celebrate, to laugh, and to dance.  We celebrate Canada and the United States, two remarkable nations, imperfect and yet admired as lands of freedom, rule of law, justice, and opportunity.  We rejoice and celebrate the faithfulness of Asbury University in its academic excellence and spiritual vitality.  It’s rise to the number one ranking of higher education institutions of its size in the South and its fidelity to Wesleyan Holiness occasions laughter, dancing, and joy in the Lord! We celebrate the 150^th anniversary of The international Salvation Army, a remarkable means of grace faithful to the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Thanks be to God for His providence and occasioning four great blessings to celebrate!