By Ben Maxedon
The July 4 Independence Day celebration has come to mean more about summer time fun than about the freedom we have because of a handful of men that, in many cases, sacrificed everything to resist oppression. It is said that about one-third of the colonists were loyal to England, one-third were revolutionaries and one-third didn’t care one way or the other. One-third of the citizens stood up and fought for the rest of the nation in order to gain freedom for all.
What independence, citizenship mean
One percent of our population serves in the Armed Forces, sacrificing at the very least a part of their lives to ensure freedom for all citizens. Just like those who made a bold and difficult commitment to gain freedom from England, our military makes the same commitment but it seems they have even less support than the Continental Army. This country has always depended on our citizen soldiers to protect this nation. Our soldiers depend on us to take care of them.
The fact is that when the colonists made that sacrificial commitment to this nation they also made a bold commitment to God Almighty. They declared their independence from England but declared their dependence on God. In many of the writings by our forefathers, they invoke the name of God for this nation. The phrases such as “endowed by their Creator” and “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence” are found throughout their writings. Each of them had made a great declaration of patriotism to the nation, but they had also made a passionate and life-changing oath to God to be a member of His army to protect and uphold the freedom that Jesus Christ endowed us with.
Those who have made the commitment to God and have shown their willingness to act on that commitment are those who have truly experienced freedom. No longer enslaved by sin. No longer dependent on ourselves to fight the war that rages all around us. Yes, just like the soldier, a Christian must put their lives and fortunes on the line to protect their freedoms. There is a commitment to be made, there are duties to be carried out, and there are rewards to be received whether you are in the nation’s military or you are in God’s army.
Deuteronomy 8:10-14 says, “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
God’s warning is just as relevant today as it was to the Israelites and we heed it just about as well as they did. Our nation has become complacent and in many ways enslaved by our own freedoms. We worship too many other things in this world making God a secondary concern. God’s commandments have been minimized and all but forgotten as we wonder why our nation is suffering from crime, drugs, violence and perversions of every imaginable type.
Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are citizens of heaven but we are also ambassadors for Christ here and we need to live as such. To sit back and wait and do nothing until Christ returns is not what God had in mind when He sent His Son to redeem us. Above all else, we are to submit to God and His will and as our forefathers did we can protest and use civil discourse within the framework of the law to change the government.
Our Founding Fathers knew we needed freedom as a nation and the freedom that comes from God.
Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Celebrate, honor and praise this great nation on July 4, but praise and worship God everyday. Make a bold commitment to pray for our country, and where you can, work to make a difference in our nation and the Kingdom of God.
Ben Maxedon is the founder of Prayer Power of Georgia. Listen to Prayer Power messages on 88.9 FM The Rock, visit prayerpower4u.net or find Prayer Power on Facebook.
The fact is that when the colonists made that sacrificial commitment to this nation they also made a bold commitment to God Almighty. They declared their independence from England but declared their dependence on God. In many of the writings by our forefathers, they invoke the name of God for this nation. The phrases such as “endowed by their Creator” and “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence” are found throughout their writings. Each of them had made a great declaration of patriotism to the nation, but they had also made a passionate and life-changing oath to God to be a member of His army to protect and uphold the freedom that Jesus Christ endowed us with.
Those who have made the commitment to God and have shown their willingness to act on that commitment are those who have truly experienced freedom. No longer enslaved by sin. No longer dependent on ourselves to fight the war that rages all around us. Yes, just like the soldier, a Christian must put their lives and fortunes on the line to protect their freedoms. There is a commitment to be made, there are duties to be carried out, and there are rewards to be received whether you are in the nation’s military or you are in God’s army.
Deuteronomy 8:10-14 says, “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
God’s warning is just as relevant today as it was to the Israelites and we heed it just about as well as they did. Our nation has become complacent and in many ways enslaved by our own freedoms. We worship too many other things in this world making God a secondary concern. God’s commandments have been minimized and all but forgotten as we wonder why our nation is suffering from crime, drugs, violence and perversions of every imaginable type.
Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are citizens of heaven but we are also ambassadors for Christ here and we need to live as such. To sit back and wait and do nothing until Christ returns is not what God had in mind when He sent His Son to redeem us. Above all else, we are to submit to God and His will and as our forefathers did we can protest and use civil discourse within the framework of the law to change the government.
Our Founding Fathers knew we needed freedom as a nation and the freedom that comes from God.
Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Celebrate, honor and praise this great nation on July 4, but praise and worship God everyday. Make a bold commitment to pray for our country, and where you can, work to make a difference in our nation and the Kingdom of God.
Ben Maxedon is the founder of Prayer Power of Georgia. Listen to Prayer Power messages on 88.9 FM The Rock, visit prayerpower4u.net or find Prayer Power on Facebook.
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