Hello!
Remember Me?

The Red, White
and Blue?

 

Remember when I led the parade? Hats came off and hands were placed over one's heart as I approached and passed by.

Remember where I have been and what I stand for— ANZIO, NORMANDY, LEYTE, IWO JIMA, KOREA, VIETNAM, the ongoing war on terror, etc. The memorial honor rolls of those who did not come back are saluted when you salute me.
 

REMEMBER THE 31-WORD PLEDGE:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE...I am RESPONSIBLE as an INDIVIDUAL not to take our freedom for granted and thus to risk losing it.

...AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS...Not a DEMOCRACY (where I speak for myself, you speak for yourself) but a REPUBLIC (a Constitutional Republic governed by law where I am represented). The word DEMOCRACY does not appear in our documents of LIBERTY (The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, the Constitution or the Bill of Rights).

...ONE NATION, UNDER GOD...our right to know that LIFE and LIBERTY are GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS, not the GRANT of GOVERNMENT. Our Constitution gives us a government limited to the delegated authority that "WE THE PEOPLE" allotted to each branch of civil government.

...with LIBERTY and JUSTICE for all...LIBERTY is personal and internal. The Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty are fitting symbols. JUSTICE is "the virtue which consists in GIVING TO EVERYONE WHAT IS HIS DUE." Thus justice calls for law and equity, right rules and fair play for all. This explains the once prevailing concept in America— PUNISHMENT TO FIT THE CRIME.

To lose the meaning of OUR FLAG is to encourage the loss of our Republican form of government and our God-given, responsible pursuit of LIFE and LIBERTY.

"REMEMBER, O LORD, Thy tender mercies and Thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. REMEMBER not the sins of my youth, nor my trans- gressions: according to Thy mercy REMEMBER Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O LORD." (Psalm 25:6-7). "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For he knoweth our frame; HE REMEMBERETH that we are dust" (Psalm 103:13,14). "REMEMBER ME, O LORD, with the favour that Thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with Thy salvation" (Psalm 106:4).

May you be BOTHERED to the point of being BLESSED. May our GRAND OLD FLAG remind us of our great American HERITAGE, "one nation under God" without Whose grace we cannot survive the erosion and corrosion of our day. May you look to the GOD OF TRUTH in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (who said, "I am the truth"--John 14:6), so that you might REST in the TRUTH of God's Word ("the truth shall make you free"--John 8:32) and the TRUTH of God's Son ("the son shall make you free"--John 8:36). To RECEIVE HIM is to receive the LIFE and LIBERTY He alone can give (John 1:12).

Middletown Bible Church • 860-346-0907
349 East St., Middletown, CT 06457
Rte. 217 (East St., Westfield) midway between Rtes. 66 and 372
Website:  middletownbiblechurch.org
Independent •  Bible Centered  •  Christ Exalting
    For information or spiritual help, please call or write.   

SUN.:  9:30 am Sunday School-all ages
SUN.: 10:45am Morning Worship  • 7:00 pm Evening Worship
WED.:  7:30 pm Prayer Meeting and Bible Study

"A friendly church where you're a stranger only once!"
BIBLE LINE:  Call 860-346-0021
BIBLE LINE FOR CHILDREN:  Call 1-800-368-1115


Commentary on

The Pledge of Allegiance

by Red Skelton

A a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton’s teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. The last sentence was a prophecy of what would happen decades later.

From the Red Skelton Hour January 14, 1969


I:
Me, an individual, a committee of one.

Pledge:
Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.

Allegiance:
My love and my devotion.

To the Flag:
Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job.

United:
That means that we have all come together.

States:
Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.

And to the Republic:
Republic - a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

For which it stands

One Nation:
One Nation - meaning, so blessed by God.

Indivisible:
Incapable of being divided.

With Liberty:  Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.

And Justice:
The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.

For All:
For All - which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite 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, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God.

Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that it's a prayer, and it would be eliminated from schools, too? --Red Skelton

 

The Middletown Bible Church
349 East Street
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 346-0907

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