In God we Trust ... Hope ... Find Freedom!

Happy Independence Day… This week we will celebrate the 4^th of July in America. It is a day set aside to celebrate our patriotism and the signing of the Declaration of Independance from England. We will watch patriotic programs, celebrate with family and friends, possibly take some time to give thanks for our freedoms as American, we will even renew our commitment to those who sacrificed for our nation. We will be patriots.

Patriots… are people who care about this country, and what it stands for. Patriots are people who recognize the benefits of the Constitution, people who hope to preserve our nation’s values. A patriot is one who votes, earns a honest living, studies our nation’s history and knows what is going on today.

Believers are dual citizens…regardless of what it says on our passports, as Christians, we hold dual citizenship. We’re loyal to our native home, but we recognize that we’re also part of the Kingdom of God. If we at times feel uncomfortable, it’s because we’re not really home yet. The Bible tells us to submit to, respect, and pray for those in governmental authority, but it also lets us know WHO our Sovereign is. We are citizens of Heaven and subjects of the King of kings.

The psalmist in Psalm 146 verse 2 the declaration of a long obedience in the same direction as … “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.” A journey of a long obedience in the same direction requires the words, “All my life” and “as long as I live.” There is not a partial following of God’s ways. He doesn’t leave room for some or partial. Either you are all in or you are not. You are on board or you are not in God’s Kingdom.

So we learn to be a patriot in God’s Kingdom is …  in God we trust, in God we hope, and in God we find freedom. 

You Know I love ya, Don

What the 4th of July Brings to Us All!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

May we never forget what this day, July 4th, was all about in history. It established a free nation for all people, including people with special needs, color, race, and/or religion...We are free citizens.

We are also free because of Christ. "This is our freedom, this was the cost. The blood He shed on the Cross." Neither one should ever be forgotten or taken advantage of...You know I love ya, Don

With Independencde comes Responsibility...where will we be in Four Years?

Happy Fourth of July....Independence Day! This is a link to a copy of the document that started the whole thing off. The Declaration of Independence

I was asked, Do you think Sarah Palin will be around in 8 years? I hope so, but the question was suggesting that President Obama will still be in office for two terms. I don't think he will be there for eight years. He is a one term president. The following was my answer:

As a parent with a Children with Down Syndrome, I love the idea of a special child with an extra chromosome of cuteness in the White House. There is my support for Sarah Palin...Her politics follow my desires as a Christian and a fellow citizen. As for Jimmy Carter Obama....we the people never have liked our government in our pockets. If the next two years are like the first six months. I predict one of three things....
1. Revival (my choice - Lord, heal our land, amen)
2. Civil War (it could happen easier than we think...revolution every once in a while is a good thing)
or
3. A new president (probably the reality).

There is a 4th choice, I am in denial about. North Korea could bomb us and we would be in World War Three. God help us all.

So there you have it. With Independence come responsibility. Collectively, we have squandered that responsibility, thus we are in the mess we are in. I am completely and totally thankful and grateful that even the authority of the United States of America...the greatest country in the world or in history...falls under the Authority, Power, and Wisdom of Almighty God!

Have a great Holiday and Be Safe! Don