FREEDOM | Frank Becker

Week Twenty-Seven, 2024

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

It was several decades ago, but I was shocked and remember it as though it happened yesterday. Three of us were on our way to do missionary work behind the Iron Curtain. We stopped along the way in Yugoslavia to visit a pastor and stay in his home. The cab dropped us off at his doorstep and we proceeded inside. Shortly there was a knock at the door, and it was the police. The pastor was told that he couldn’t have guests in his home, and we were ordered out onto the street.

As I sat on my suitcase on the sidewalk trying to decide where to go, I pondered what had just happened. That would never happen in America, the land of the free. Suddenly, my chest swelled, and I had a feeling of immense pride. I was an American and so proud of it.

US flag

This week, we celebrate the drafting and ratification of the Declaration of Independence. I have stood before the original in the National Archives in Washington. The fifty-six delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence came to be known as the nation’s Founding Fathers, and the Declaration has become one of the most circulated, reprinted, and influential documents in world history. Most of those men ultimately gave their lives and property for the cause of freedom.

The Declaration of Independence has proven an influential and globally impactful statement on human rights, particularly its second sentence: “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.”

We are endowed by our creator, almighty God. The grace of God reaches the worst of people and there is more mercy in Christ than there is sin in me. There are many nations, but only one God. Much diversity but one God. 1. There are many nations, but there’s only one God, and He is Lord over all. That is where we are endowed with our freedom.

We are Americans, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20.

So the celebration of the 4th of July is not about fun and fireworks, rather it is a time we celebrate who we are and whose we are and who endowed us with the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

Every Fourth of July, I think of that day sitting on the streets, evicted and in a dark country where freedoms were unknown and I celebrate that I am an American. I love my country and I love the God who endowed our freedom.

I am ever so thankful, to be living here today because the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away. I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free and I won’t forget the men who died and gave that right to me and I’d gladly stand and defend Her still today. There’s not a doubt I love this land. God Bless the U.S.A.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Years ago, there was a movie called “Courageous”. One of the men, who was a main character, was up for a promotion to manager along with several others. They were called in for interviews and told that they would have to falsify invoices to protect senior management as a condition of the promotion.

Because he was a new Christian, he was conflicted as to what to do. The promotion would greatly benefit his family, but the condition went against his beliefs. The next day he told them that he wouldn’t cheat to get the position. Since he was the only one to demonstrate such honesty, they made him the manager.

As believers, we are expected to walk following the tenets of our faith. Sometimes, as with the man mentioned, we are rewarded for our honesty. But sometimes we may not be. However, the outcome should not be the determiner of our actions.

Whether rewarded in this life or not, when we face our Savior, Jesus Christ, we want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s the reward which is greater than any we could receive now.

Will you hear it? Rich Jensen

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Using government issued ID:

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AAA labels Memorial Day through Labor Day as the 100 deadliest days. There are over 11.7 million USA drivers ages 15-20 and if you know what’s good for you, you will stay out of their way.

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AGING: 11,000 Americans turn 65 EVERY DAY! Per the U.S. Census, this means approximately 1 in 6 Americans are over 65 or 55 million people!

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

God desires availability more than our ability.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

How many countries can call their former enemies from war their friends? Think Germany, Viet Nam, Japan…maybe we do understand forgiveness! Dwight Short

People seldom become famous for what they say until after they are famous for what they’ve done. Cullen Hightower

The price of greatness is responsibility. Winston Churchill

The only difference between a yard sale and taking out the trash is how close you place it to the street.

If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. Bob Hope

When God fulfills His Word concerning the end times and begins to pour out His judgment upon the earth, people will know that He is God. Florida Marketplace Ministries

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it. Francois De La Rochefoucauld

It’s so easy for us to look down on people who don’t look like us, talk like us, or think like us. What? You say the Bible indicates that Jesus died for them too? Dwight Short

We can’t solve today’s problems with the mentality that created them. Albert Einstein

Taking credit for what God has done is always a dangerous thing. Dan Shock

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy. Isaac Newton

Always choose obedience to God in all things.

Those who are blessed by God will become a blessing to others. Be a blessing by evangelizing others. Edgar Aponte

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Selected portions of Thoughts on Life can also be read at TheLife.com.

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