Let Freedom Ring!

The 4th of July is tomorrow!!! Pop Quiz: What is so special about the FOURTH day of July?? If you answered cooking out, eating BBQ, shooting fireworks, and seeing a lot of red, white, and blue then your answer is about 99% wrong. The 4th of July is the day that our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which meant that we were no longer under England's control and were our own country! This is the day that the United States of America became the free world in which millions of people traveled from many countries to pursue freedom. Freedom from what you may ask. One of the top reasons the United States separated from England was freedom of religion. In England, there was a national religion that people had to follow by. Many Christians weren't fond of this idea, so they came to America. Our founding fathers based the principles of the Declaration of Independence of Christianity. Today, Independence Day has become so corrupted that very few people actually know what it is about. I was watching the news the other day and the reporter was asking random people questions about the 4th of July such as "Why is it so special?" "What year did America become a country?" and other questions that are important to this date. It's quite shameful, and I am pointing at myself, at the number of people who don't know America's history when those who want to become citizens here must know these facts to gain citizenship. Today, it has become a day of getting together with friends and family, cooking out and eating good food, going to the lake, shooting and watching fireworks, hanging up flags, and driving through town and seeing everything covered in red, white, and blue. There are very few people who think about the men in women who have fought and sacrificed their lives in order for us to be living in America and those who are still fighting today. I too fall short on this end and take this holiday for granted. You see, freedom is a word that we as American citizens have taken lightly and put it away in the closet for a day when we really need it.We are so lucky to live in a country where we can choose to go to church or not or what religion we believe in. We are lucky to be able to use technology to it's fullest and surf the web without any government restrictions. We are lucky to be able to vote for our leaders and hold petitions. We are lucky to be able to voice our opinions in various different ways without the government killing us when we do not agree with them. We are lucky to be able to go to school and college and choose our own careers. We are lucky to have as many kids we want without any restrictions. We are lucky to be able to sleep in on days we don't work, take sick days when we need them, go on vacation, and stay up late without causing trouble with the government. I am personally blessed to have a family, food in my stomach, a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, and being able to attend my dream college. I hate that I take each of these things for granted when there are so many people in the world who have no freedom and would do anything to have just one of these that I have mentioned. On top of all of these, the freedom that I hate that I take for granted the most if the freedom that I have in Christ. You see, freedom is almost a misleading word itself because freedom doesn't come free nor is it cheap. For our freedom as American citizens, many men and women have died for our rights to freedom as well as the many who are continually fighting for them today. In the same way, Christ died for our sins so that we can be free from death, sin, bondage, and damnation if we choose to believe in God and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Much like the people in the military that have died that you never met, Jesus did the same thing. He knew perfectly well that He was dying for people hundreds of years in the future. That is what makes freedom in Christ so amazing! God's Son died for people that would never meet Him! He took my sins, as well as yours, and died on the cross when He never sinned! If that doesn't give you goosebumps, I really don't know what will! It's almost like you are walking in downtown New York City where there are millions of people and you don't know any of them. Someone pulls a gun to your head and right before the trigger is pulled, some random guy on the street comes and stands right in front of you to take the bullet. That is what Jesus did. We deserve punishment for all the sins that we have and will continue to make, but Jesus stepped in to take the ultimate punishment so that we could live an eternal life with God and have freedom in Christ. The Bible tells us that the wage of sin is death, but thanks be unto God that Jesus took that wage for us. Yes, we will experience a physical death if the Lord does not return before we die, but our spirit will live forever with Christ as we will get a new, Holy body. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has offered each and every one of us a gift of that eternal life. This can only be given through Jesus. You may be wondering, "What did I do to deserve this?" Well, God made you and me and everyone on Earth. He loves each of us and wants us to bring glory to His name. Because God loves you so much, He sent His only Son down to Earth so that He would experience the temptions that we are faced with. The devil tempted Jesus countless times, but Jesus never broke into what the devil was saying. And God loves you so much that He let His Son suffer and die for you. You don't have to do anything to deserve this. All you have to do is believe in God and that His Son, Jesus, died on the cross for your sins. You must admit to God that you are a sinner and are in need of His neverending love. You must then believe that Jesus is God's Son and that He came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. Then, tell someone close to you about this new lifechanging experience that you have with God and find a loving church that can help you grow and develop as a young Christian. Once you find the church God is calling you to, you should follow the example that Jesus set for us and be baptized. Before Jesus began to teach and preach to others, he was baptized. To be baptized is an act of obedience to what Jesus has done and shows to others that you are a Christian and are purifying your body to be a servant of God. Now you are ready to live in freedom of Christ!! As you celebrate this Independence Day, I hope you remember those who have died for you rights to freedom. I hope that everyone has a blessed holiday and let freedom ring as Christ has overcome death! Let me leave you with a little song that I hope we as American citizens will sing as we pay tribute to those who help us become the best country in the world:

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?