On July 1, 2006, Canada will be celebrating its 139th birthday. Nations are not born in a vacuum. That is to say, outside forces influence the birth of a nation and determine its development, growth, and direction.

Each nation has its own true nature, a worldview, a set of core values. This DNA defines its national identity, sets a course for the future, and gives the populace direction. Canada has the rich Christian heritage of many explorers and missionaries as its DNA.

India's influence came from Hinduism. The belief of reincarnation has caused India many problems, especially among the poor. Pre-90s Russia was Communism. South Africa was apartheid, now it's forgiveness and reconciliation. In some instances wholesale changes are made. Progression, going from something negative to a positive is preferable to digressing from positive to a negative.

It is for history to record that our foundational building block was faith-based, faith in God and the gospel of His Son.

The Viking Lief Ericsson converted to Christ in 1003 AD, wintered in Newfoundland in 1004, and was the first known white man to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to Canada's native peoples.

John Cabot, the official discoverer of Canada, landed on and claimed Newfoundland "for God and England" in 1497.

French explorer, Jaques Cartier, founded Montreal in 1533 and later wrote, "We all kneeled down in the company of the Indians and with our hands raised toward heaven yielded our thanks to God."

Concerning Samuel de Champlain it is written that his devotion to his God, his country and his task marked him as truly one of the brightest of historical figures in the world.

Jeanne Mance, founder of the first hospital in Montreal, said, "God's will is the only desire and love of my heart."

Frontenac, a Governor of early Canada and a French Protestant, committed himself to "extending the Empire of Jesus Christ throughout all this land."

During the 1700s the Holy Spirit was falling profoundly in Nova Scotia. Hundreds were converted to Christ and the entire province awakened to God. This religious revival set the foundation for the spread of the gospel in the Atlantic Provinces. New Brunswick felt the impact of revival fervor in the early 1800s. In 1805 2,500 gathered in Kingston, Ontario, for an outdoor revival where great miracles of healing the sick, the conversion of countless sinners, and six raisings from the dead, all took place.

The Micmac Nation was one of the initial First Nations groups to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. To date the Micmac prayer book, made by French missionaries, is one of our nation's oldest publications.

We have a rich Christian heritage extending back to pre-Confederation days!

At the birth of our nation many righteous foundations were laid. When reading Psalm 72:8, "He shall have dominion from sea to sea," the thought occurred to Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, one of the 33 Fathers of Confederation and a committed Christian, "What a splendid name to give Canada." It passed. A letter from John A. MacDonald explained to Queen Victoria that the name was a tribute to the principles they earnestly desired to uphold.

A plaque in Charlottetown referring to the Fathers of Confederation says, "Providence being their guide, they builded better than they knew."

Even the educational school systems were positively influenced. Bishop John Strachan, founder of Ontario's school system, acknowledged, "You cannot divorce religion from education because schools will inevitably reflect the philosophical and religious or (irreligious) biases of those who direct them."

Egerton Ryerson, the founder of public education in Ontario, believed in making men Christian - "Christian in heart and life, in temper and work". He clearly said that the Ontario school system was to be a Christian public system.

The 1896 Public School Act says, in part, "It shall be the duty of every teacher in a public school system to teach diligently and faithfully (along with the pursuit of learning) ... respect for religion and the principles of Christian morality."

Canada's coat of arms, adopted in 1921, also stands on Psalm 72:8.

Parliament's House of Commons foyer has four creatures carved in stone - the face of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, taken from Ezekiel 1/10 and Revelation 4/6-7. There are scriptural carvings in the Cabinet Room and the Opposition Boardroom.

The Peace Tower Memorial is replete with scriptural references. Above the east window in the tower is inscribed, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea". The south window says, "Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the king's son". The west window has "Where there is no vision the people perish". Carved on the largest bell of the tower is "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men". (Psalm 72:8, 1; Proverbs 29:18, Luke 2:14)

And carved into the Speaker's Chair among other maxims, is the phrase, "Laus Deo" -- Praise to God. A crucifix adorns the top of the Speaker's Chair.

There is indeed a spiritual component to our Nation.

The current French version of our national anthem, O Canada, by Judge A.B. Routhier contains several Christian themes, as does the English by Robert Stanley Weir. The English version has four verses, sadly we just know one. The last verse is:

Ruler Supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion in Thy loving care,
Help us to find, O God, in Thee,
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the better day
We ever stand on guard.

God keep our land, glorious and free!

Several newspapers of the day echoed the sentiments of the Halifax Evening Reporter, June 29, 1867: "The secret of greatness and prosperity lies in our rising above ... sectional feelings ... and ascending to that national, patriotic spirit which ought to animate us." And of the Toronto Globe & Mail, July 1, 1867: We "fervently pray that all the blessings anticipated from the measure (Confederation), by its promoters, may be fully realized."

God has designed that Canada be a dwelling place and a gathering place for the nations. We cannot impose a state religion, or one's religious point of view, nor should we. But that doesn't mean we should be lax in the practice of our faith by ignoring, discrediting, or denying our Christian heritage. To do so we exact a great disservice to ourselves, those who would follow us, and to our fellow countrymen.

The Fathers of Confederation clearly gave Jesus Christ access to the affairs of the nation by naming it the Dominion of Canada. On the basis of the historical and foundational facts of Canada, the belief that the Church has no place in national affairs misrepresents the truth. The Church in this generation must take the responsibility to remind the nation of our inheritance, to bring into view, reestablish, and steward the righteous foundations laid by past generations but which has been covered up through neglect, unrighteous ideals and systems.

We must be vigilant to STAND ON GUARD for Canada!

Much of the material in this post is gratefully acknowledged and taken from Fasytene C. Kryskow's excellent resource book, Stand On Guard. Visit her web site, www.flyhighministries.com.