Happy Birthday, America!

I have quoted John Winthrop's words more than once on the campaign trail this year - for I believe that Americans in 1980 are every bit as committed to that vision of a shining "city on a hill," as were those long ago settlers . . .
These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; Democrats or Republicans.  They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still . . . a shining city on a hill.  ~President Ronald Reagan

Happy Birthday, America!!!

How blessed we are to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave!  And all because our Founding Fathers understood that true freedom is founded by God, found through Christ Jesus, His Son, and grounded in us by the Holy Spirit.  Yes, in spite of what you may hear from the protests of disgruntled and history-quelling voices, the United States of America is a "shining city on a hill," a nation of laws; laws decreed by our Judeo-Christian heritage.

At no time in human history has such a nation existed; one of and for and by The People.  It is thoroughly unique and uniquely radical, as it places the responsibility of governing not on a king or a tyrant, but on the will of the people.  A people, who at the time the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written, were dedicated in their hearts and souls to the Living God.

They understood the necessity of the Biblical law, but believed that those who follow Jesus are enabled to do the right thing, because He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

So as you prepare to wave the American flag at your local parade, grill those burgers and hot dogs to perfection, set off backyard fireworks, or attend a professional display, my prayer is that you will remember those who set all this freedom in motion.  Inspired by God to stand up against a worldly king, determined to help establish God's kingdom here on earth, our Founding Fathers have bestowed upon us a legacy of freedom that must never be betrayed, compromised or forgotten.

With that said, let us explore, on this most memorable day, what the Scriptures have to say about freedom.  (All excerpts featured are NIV translations)

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. ~Psalm 119:45

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. ~Luke 4:18-19

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. ~Romans 8:20-21

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ~2 Corinthians 3:17

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love. ~Galatians 5:13

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ~Ephesians 3:12

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do. ~James 1:25

Live as a free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves. 1 Peter 2:16

Wishing each and every one of you a happy and blessed Independence Day!