Happy 4th Of July

Oh the blessings of living in this great land!

Oh the Freedom we so enjoy!

I awoke this morning singing, “Oh Say Can You See” – that is as far as I was able to get. The song starts off with a question, “Can you see?”. I began to ask myself, ‘Can I’ – ‘Do I’

I must admit, joy turned to heaviness. I began to ask myself, ‘Will I be able to put on a happy face, when what my heart feels is heaviness?’ Why the heaviness? ‘Traveling across this great land, enjoying so many wonderful blessings from men and women who sacrificed and a God who forgives and restores, the Freedom seems to be slipping away.’ Not the Freedom from Sin, if sincerely asked and repentance and obedience follows in our life He is still there to give us Freedom, but the Freedoms we have always enjoyed as a nation.

Pastor Jeffress from Dallas being told to take down the Military insignias on his stage by the Pentagon, as reported by Fox News, Charisma and a local NBC station. Freedom?

How far will we allow this type of activity?

What causes the church to fold, a lawsuit (money)?

Listening to attorney’s?

How does the men who laid their life on the line for those ‘insignias’, the Freedoms feel about the church?

When we see the fireworks tonight, which I enjoy, will we remember it is a reminder of the ‘real fire works’ from the weapons taking human lives?

Am I a ‘party pooper’? (I honestly do not want to be, I have found a place to hide my deep inner feelings so people can hopefully enjoy my company.)

Where does Jesus stand in this?

I read in one of my devotions this morning the following quote: Dorothy Sayers wrote that the church has “very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah,” making him “a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.” Is that the God you find in the Bible?

Are we trying to raise men to pick up a gun and go kill? ABSOLUTELY NOT

Are we trying to raise men to step out the door of the church and pick a fist fight? ABSOLUTELY NOT

Are we trying to raise men to treat people bad because of the sins we believe they are promoting? ABSOLUTELY NOT

We are trying to raise men who will do more than take care of their family and church. We are trying to raise men who will find a virtous mission that opposes our Lord’s name and Kingdom and risk ‘something’ to stand against it, in a positive way. (Example: 50CC Diaper Run, we do not post signs of hate but life, we ride not screaming ‘you sinners’ but by our risk and sacrifice we are silently screaming, ‘we support life’ to this world.)

We are trying to raise men who will truly be willing to be Kingdom people, ‘Go sell all you have and give to the poor’.

We are trying to raise men who see Jesus through eyes of the Bible, not the passive church.

Men who will take up their cross and follow Him, no matter the cost of humilitation, risk, money or pleasure.

Men who will live what they believe even when fellow believers do not understand.

I trust there will be people who will ‘remember’ as the beautiful fireworks are displayed tonight!

People who ‘can see’!