The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. (Pro 29:25)
Each time I see a soldier in uniform, be it at work, on the street, or holding a door open for me to enter a store - I say "thank you" and they know exactly what I mean! In two little words, I've conveyed to him or her that I support what they are doing, that I am grateful for the sacrifice they have made to defend this country by serving in the armed forces, that I have not forgotten that they may lose their life in doing so and that I trust them to protect my rights! And generally, their response is not "your welcome" - they usually say "Yes, Ma'am". That is their acknowledgement to me that they respect my faith in them, my belief in what they are doing and the support I've given them!
Each morning I get up and say "thank you" to the one who holds ALL the cards! In saying that, HE knows exactly what I mean also! No matter what comes across my path today, if I trust in the Lord, I will be safe! No one can take my faith in his word! I reach out to him when I am in pain, when I am afraid, when I hurt and he comforts me, he calms me and he protects me! He is my warrior and my savior - everything I do is for his glory, not mine! By my human nature, there are times when the fear is so strong that I tremble. Yet, in my trembling, I still pray - I still worship and I still give thanks! He alone gives me what I need in THIS world so that I can share his word with others. I know that in the end, I will win because He has given me the greatest gift of all - my salvation! Through his blessings I continue to walk and talk and see and hear - and if he should take one l of those "gifts", I will still continue to use the other talents to the fullest extent! There is always a way, there is always truth and there is always light - Jesus is his name!
On this day that we celebrate our freedom, give thanks and celebrate the freedom from hell as well! It was purchased at a very high price - the price paid by one man on a tree in Calvary!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8u9EAygKnI
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. (Acts 18:9)
"Be quiet, or someone will hear you!" That was the phrase my cousin used one night when we were sneaking back into our house! Needless to say, someone DID hear us - and it was Dad! Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a pleasant finale to our night out!
Being bold for the Lord was not as easy for the disciples as it is today! We are have a document called the Constitution and its Amendments - the first amendment guarantees our right of freedom of speech with out censorship or limitation. We have the permission of our government to tell people about God (not that we need it). Our constitution says so! But lately, it seems like our government is trying to silence the voices and ideals that this country was founded on! The reason we wanted our "independence" from England in the first place was to be free to worship God our own way and not be compelled to worship in the ways of the Church of England.
The phrase "separation of church and state" is not written in the constitution, nor is it an amendment. It is a principle derived from the First Amendment which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
We have the right AND an obligation to tell the world about God, about how he sent his son to pay for our sins and how we can attain everlasting life! He tells us the same thing he told Paul - do not be afraid - keep on speaking - tell the world about me and all that I have done for you! If we as Christian would put half the effort into that as we do in the worldly areas of our lives (such as our devotion to our favorite sports team, our favorite recording artist, even our favorite video games), God's word would be spread to all the world! Tell someone about God today - he'll be glad you did!
