Is America still Free?

What is Freedom? Is it worth fighting to keep it for next Generation? What does the Bible say concerning Freedom? What does history teach us about Freedom? Let me start by quoting an American President a few years ago; “If we (America) loose Freedom here, there is no where to escape too, this is the last stand on Earth!” Ronald Reagan I will tell you right up front, this is not political and I could care less if like Ronald Reagan or not! What he said is absolutely True! God is the Author of Freedom and as the Bible says; Galatians 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. And again in verse 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” It should grieve our hearts to the core of our being knowing America is far from practicing this principle set forth in verse 13! If we as Christians do not revere and stand firm on Freedom, No one will! The unsaved and the Worldlings think Freedom is the ability to do whatever they want, when they want and how they want! The fact is, Freedom is Given by our Creator and has responsibilities attached! The Principle responsibility is to do what is Right! Not what I think is right or what you think is right, but what God thinks is Right! Listen again to Scripture; 1Peter 2:16 “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

Let us consider for a moment how God feels about how we have handled His Freedom, given by His Son Jesus Christ. His Son Jesus Christ is now mocked and ridiculed by the masses in America! Instead of Christians standing and proclaiming Freedom and forgiveness to all who would repent and believe in Jesus Christ, they sit in their homes and pews and complain and grumble about the Countries Moral decline. Let us consider something else; Is He (God) happy how we have handed over our Freedom for the sake of security? That is exactly what we as Americans have done. Example, look at how much Freedom has been lost since 911. A Freedom loving, law abiding, God fearing citizen gets profiled wherever we go! Bible carrying Christians are now on the spotlight of Home land security. Sounds almost like USSR or China! But Americans have surrendered to the pressure of fear and therefore handed over God's Freedom to other men for protection! If God brought us to something, do you not think He will bring us through it? One of our Founding Fathers warned us about complacency, apathy and giving up Liberty for the sake of security! “If we (Americans) give up Liberty for sake of security, we will loose both.” Ben Franklin It is so very true, if you give a rat a piece of cookie, he will then want some milk!

Is Freedom something to fight for and protect? Absolutely! Do you want your children and grandchildren to live under the oppression of Big Government? I pray not! Do you want your children checking in with the State to see if it is ok to have a Bible Study or even start a mission to help the homeless? I think Not! Then I say Repent of your slumber and immoral attitude towards Freedom and come back to Christ! I will close with this statement of Scripture; "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1:21

Need a Faith-lift?

A Psalm of Thanksgiving!

Let us all consider the bounty we enjoy and to Whom we owe our Thanks. I am not sure who will read this blog entry but I know whom I give Thanks! I know that Atheist have no one to thank and will not admit the bounty they enjoy comes from a source other than man. I dare not try to convinced them of their folly. But for all who read this and know there is a God, this blog entry is for you! I will attempt to illuminate a deep need in our Churches today. Where is the Gratitude? Where is the shouting for joy? Where is the crying with happiness? Where is the Love for our Creator? Maybe you do not see a problem with your Church. My observation of the people within my parish is somewhat discouraging. I hear more complaints and murmurings than rejoicing and contentment. Church seems to be a place of joy suckers rather than joy givers! I do not intend to feel sorry for myself or belittle the folks within the Church, but only to point to a great need! Psalm 100 is the focus of this devotion.

1 A psalm. For giving thanks. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
To giving thanks is the simplest of things. Did you know that it is the Will of God for you to always give Thanks? Every circumstance and situation should be first handled with Thanksgiving. Trouble, heartache, illness, pain and even death can be a time to give Thanks. It says SHOUT for JOY to the LORD. Maybe we as Christians need to get a little rowdy at times as we shout to the Lord from the gratitude of our hearts! The Hebrew word for joy is; to split the ears (with sound), i.e. shout (for alarm or joy). Making a joyful noise to the Lord does not count if only you can hear it. I am not saying that God is deaf, only that many around you are when it comes to the Lord! We as God’s people should be the most joyful people on the Earth for the Great Things He has Done! He has bestowed upon us Salvation through His Son Jesus Christ without cost to you! God has given us His Holy Spirit to work in and through us to bring about His Will and Purpose for our lives, which includes Joy. Here are a few thoughts about ingratitude and complaining. 1). Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy. -Franklin 2). Ten minutes’ praying is better than a year’s murmuring. -Spurgeon 3). Ingratitude dries up the fountain of all goodness. -Richelieu 4). A pessimist is one who feels bad when he feels good for fear he’ll feel worse when he feels better. -Anonymous Let us be Thankful and Joyful and not be joy suckers!

2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
The Hebrew word used for worship denote being in bondage. Worship or serving the Lord is the Purpose of our existence! If we fail to be enslaved by the Glory of God in Christ Jesus then we fail at Worship. Jesus is the object of devotion to Christians! Christ gives us the Eternal Spirit to lead us into True Spiritual worship of the Eternal Father. John 4, teaches us this awesome Truth! Now to address the attitude of gladness. Think for a moment about your personal worship time, not corporate worship with other believers, but intimate worship. Soul Worship! Do you come to God with gladness? The Hebrew word for gladness is; blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival):–X exceeding(-ly), gladness, joy(-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice(-ing). Notice, when we come to God it should be festive and pleasureful! There is a time for brokenness and sorrow in our hearts, but not when it come to worship! Make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Sing with Glee! Triumph full worship will lift your soul beyond the physical and elevate your relationship with the Living God!

3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
When we do come before His Glorious Presence in worship let us always remember the He is God. That He is Holy, Pure, Righteous and the Bestower of Grace and Mercy! He is our Creator and He alone through His Son Jesus Christ gives us Substance! He bought us with His own Blood, shed on the Cross, and we are His! Jesus has given access to His Father and the Comforter for our Empowerment! Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” That is why we are here! Jesus is our Shepherd. He leads us beside Still waters. He Restore our Souls and fills our cups! Know Him or die is the theme of the Bible. So, do you know Him?

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Make no mistake, Jesus and only Jesus, has given us the Freedom to enter the Throne of Grace. We cannot enter the Most Holy Place without first being Washed in His Blood! So when we enter, come with Thanksgiving! Prayer is the topic of this verse and we should, as Jesus instructed us in His Model Prayer, come with praise on our lips. His court is set and His Holiness is Ruling on our behalf by the Righteous acts of His Son! Hallowed is His Name! If there was ever a pressing need within the hearts of men, this is it! Reverence and Praise are due His Name! Let us never come to His Throne with grumbling’s and complaints without first giving His due!
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
The Lord of Heaven, Lord of Earth is always GOOD! Everything He does is for our Good. He never acts out of Character. His Character is always Holy, Pure, Gracious, Merciful, Just and Loving! No one is good, no not one is the theme of Romans 3. But through His Great Love for us He sent His only begotten Son to carry our sins to the Cross and shed His life’s Blood to make us the Righteousness of God the Father! He alone is Good! He alone is Loving without strings! He alone is faithful to all mankind! This is for all time, from Eternity to Eternity, without end! So, have you giving Him Thanks yet? Do you know Him who Created you? Praise His Holy Name! Jeshua, Jesus, Master, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace is whom I serve, whom do you Worship?

Freedom!

As a Christian, then an American, I am somewhat concerned about the Church and my country. Our country has corrupt leaders who are elected by corrupt Americans. We deserve the Government we get! Why so much corruption and so many lies? I would like to interject an idea. The corruption in the Church of Jesus Christ aids in the corruption of our Republic. When the Church Proclaims Liberty through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the people rejoice over the Freedom they have received through the transformation of their lives, and the country in which they live will also be transformed because of the Freedom they receive from the Gospel. However, when the Message of the Church wains the people groan and the country also groans because Freedom is taken away. This principle is found in Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”
It sounds precisely as to what is happening to America. The Death, burial and Resurrection of Christ is no longer the message of the majority of Churches. Most churches have become so politically correct that they have become Biblical incorrect. Don’t bring up the consequences of sin. Don’t talk about the Cross. Don’t talk about Hell or the Lake of fire. Don’t talk about the Wrath of God coming upon ungodliness. We need to only speak of His Love. Tell people that God is not mad at them. Tell people that they are ok just as they are. Never talk about Jesus preaching repentance. As a result, people believe lies and are unconverted to Christ, and lack spiritual discernment to know where they get Freedom. They then vote for unconverted, corrupt and spiritually blind leaders to lead them. Jesus warns believers that false teachers and prophets would increase just before His Return. “Mt 24:10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” Freedom does not come from people or Governments, it comes from Christ. “Ga 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.” Again listen to Scripture; “1Pe 2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” For all that are reading this; Christ Jesus is the Author of Freedom! Let all the false teachers and false prophets who rob men of this Truth, be warned. Jeremiah 23:25 "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. 29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 "Therefore," declares the LORD, "I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me.”
I pray this message gives insight as to what is happening in America. I also pray that believers will repent and humbly seek the face of Christ who can restore His Church, message and our Republic!