Freedom Bought By War: Independence Day

   Many, many years ago America declared independence from Great Britain. That didn't mean that we were automatically free. We had to fight for it. We had to go to war. We fought for many years and we prevailed because we didn't give up. That's why we are a free country today. But, there is another battle many are still fighting today for freedom. I'm not talking about physical freedom, although there are people who still are not physically free. I'm talking about spiritual freedom.
   Many years before America was ever even thought about, there was another battle that happened. This was the most important battle ever in the history of Man. The battle was won, but the war isn't over (even though we know the ending). Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin. Jesus won the battle we couldn't ever win. Jesus fought the devil and won. He won all of our souls back. Now, we still need to choose him, but we are free to choose Jesus.
   I said the war isn't over because it's not. We know the ending (check out Revelation 19-22). Jesus wins. That doesn't mean that the Devil has given up. He still fights us every day. He tries to make us slide back into sin. He doesn't want us to follow Jesus. He wants us to stay in captivity of sin. He doesn't want us to be free.
   Jesus gives us freedom. He takes away our sin. If we accept/invite him into our hearts, if we believe that he came to save us from our sins, if we confess that we are sinners he frees us from sin.
   So, have you given your burdens to Jesus? Have you chosen to follow Jesus? What can you do to grow in God today?

   1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:23

   Image from here. 

Fighting with Our Swords: Independence Day

   In 1776 when men made the courageous decision to declare independence from Great Britain we began a war. It was a physical struggle. Many men lost their lives fighting for freedom.

We are also in a battle. It's not a physical battle like the Civil war was. It is a spiritual one. The Devil attacks every day. Some days it may feel like we've had great victories. Other days it feels like we fail and fall in battle.
   The Devil uses many tricks to attack us. I have found that many times he attacks by using words. He tells us what we want to hear. He says we should take that candy. He says we should lie to get what we want. He tells us many more things. Then, if we listen to him, he tells us we are not good. He says God could never forgive us.
   Whoever said "sticks and stones many break my bones but words can never hurt me" must not have been thinking about the words our brains say to us. Many times our minds tell us what we want to do then we battle back and forth. "Yes I should do it because...." "No I shouldn't do it because..." Eventually one side wins.
   How do we combat this battle with words if it is in our head? I'm glad you asked. We combat them by fighting back with words. The Devil fights with words. We need to defend and attack with The Word. We need to know the word of God so that when the devil says, "you are really hungry why don't you take your sibling's (parent's, child's, spouse's) piece of candy?" We can say: "the Lord commanded us not to steal. Plus, man does not live by bread alone."
   Fighting this fight isn't easy. Memorizing the word isn't easy. But, if we want to defeat the devil we must know what God says. God fights for us. He loves us and wants a relationship with us. In order for that to happen we need to abide with him. We need to get into the Word and pray to God so that when the devil does attack we have the armor of God to defend us.
   So, what spiritual battles are you facing today? How can you defeat the devil? Are you spending enough time with God? What can you do to encourage someone who may be fighting a battle today?

   Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17
   Image from here.

Freedom Isn't Free

A little boy playing by a river,
He is having a good time and close to his caregiver.
He chooses to inch closer to the water,
Which was just enough to make him totter.
The boy falls in,
He screams because he's in a tail spin.
His father jumps in and grabs him,
They make it to the edge through it was starting to look grim.
The boy is unharmed,
The father who took most of the blows is far from charmed.
Freedom isn't free.

An old man swings on a bench,
He thinks back to a time when he was in a trench.
He was safe and having fun with his buddies,
One friend had just told a joke that was funny.
Suddenly a grenade appeared,
A sight which is truly feared.
The man did not have time to react,
He just tried to brace for impact.
The dust settled and he saw his friend,
Over the grenade was dead. He wept because his friend was a godsend.
Freedom isn't free.

A young girl sits in her room,
She's reading her Bible so she can bloom.
She opens up to a page,
Which makes her fill with rage.
It tells the story of a man who was falsely accused,
Which caused him to be bruised.
The people chose a murderer over him,
Which made the girl's head spin.
Then the man was put on a cross,
He could have called angels to save him because he was their boss.
The man chose to die for our sins but rose again,
And forever that man will reign.
Freedom isn't free.

You are free to choose,
Will you follow the man who died for you and rose again, or will you snooze?
If you choose to follow your sin,
I guarantee you, you will not win.
Freedom isn't free.

You have a choice,
How will you use your voice?
Will you follow Jesus who bought your freedom?
Freedom isn't free.

John 8:36, 1 Peter 3:15, John 11:25

Image from here.

The Ten Commandments of Independence

   I’ve talked about how America was created to be a Nation Under God in the past. It seems we have moved away from that. As Christians we are called to follow God no matter what happens. But, that is difficult to do when Christians don’t have free speech but everyone else does, when we are yelled at because we are intolerant, when we are yelled at for being hypocritical, and when evil is running rampant in our country.

   It seems that people have moved away from God. They have no morals, or if they do have morals they have nothing to base their morals off of. Christians do have morals because their authority is God and the Bible. While we are no longer under Old Testament Law, we are still called to follow the Ten Commandments. It seems like the world has come up with its own Ten Commandments. I have a list here of what it seems like the world’s laws are.

   As you can see, most of the world’s laws boil down to do whatever is best for you. America has always been a very individualistic society. But, it is becoming more and more of every man for himself. You may be saying that “that is not true for some people.” And, you are right. There are a few “good” people out there who do try to follow the law.

   But, looking back at American history we can see this country has gone through a lot of ups and downs. When we followed God things started to look up. Revivals started to happen. And, we became a united country again. But, when we fell away and followed our own desires we started to fall. This is a broken world but a revival can happen again.

   America declared its independence on July 4, 1776 from Great Britain. We may have independence from Britain, but we are still under another evil master. We may think we are independent and that we can do things on our own, but we can’t. Whether we know it or not we have to choose between 2 masters. One is Satan. He is the master who says we can do whatever we want but has us in slavery. The other master is God. He wants to have a relationship with us. He loves us and wants to save us from ourselves and evil. All we need to do is choose to follow him rather than Satan.

   So, are you following God’s commandments or the World’s? Are you going to choose to have a relationship with God rather than following your own desires?

   John 14:15, Luke 10:27, James 4:7