4th of July, Independence Day |
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Pastor Todd Christopherson
Mid American Stock Car Series
July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July, Independence Day!
Are you thankful for this country you live in? The USA is a great nation and although it is not a Christian nation we enjoy some of the best freedoms anywhere in the world. As we think about independence I think of three things:
1. There has been great sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy. Today there are men and women giving their lives for our freedom and for the freedom of others. Today there will be people that die for following and being faithful to Jesus Christ. In America it is not very visible, but there are countries very hostile to those that believe in Jesus Christ even to the point of giving the death sentence. Hopefully we pray for believers in difficult places and are grateful for our freedom.
2. We all need independence from sin. I too often am tied to sin. I make the decision to do what I want without a care or concern for others or for the Lord. Sin is doing what I want instead of what God wants. God does give to us what is best. Sin is also feeding self over the Spirit. We all struggle with sin (Romans 3:23 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). I pray for myself, my family and others that we would live out Titus 2:12-14 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, While we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. God says in His Word He does not want us trapped or slaves to sin: Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. God sets us free when we come to Him humbly and confess our sin. I hope you know that freedom today.
3. When I think of independence I think of how we live. Who are we (am I) dependent upon? We cannot live independent of God and expect to enter Heaven or change the fact of eternal life. I know this because I lived 30 years with NO dependence on God. Instead, I depended on myself and what I thought. If we all have a god and it is not God then we must think we are god. Simple question: have we created life, created a storm, created the boundary of the oceans…? Job was asked that and he realized he had done none of those things. I have not either. What was I thinking? I was thinking I could live independently of God. It is much better to come to know, accept and turn to the creator and the giver of freedom. We need to place our faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. I hope you have turned to Him.
Happy 4th of July, Independence Day! Have a great day racin’ in the SONshine.
Todd