Friday, July 04, 2008 "Life without the 4th of July"

Friday, July 04, 2008

"Life without the 4th of July"

First From Julie's Keyboard:

"Having a ready answer"

As I sat down today to prepare this article, the lyrics of an old gospel song ran through my mind. "Troublesome times are here; filling men's hearts with fear.

Freedoms we all hold dear now are at stake." After thinking on this, I realized how often I had seen this very thing throughout this week. People on every hand struggling with fear in some form; needing answers and searching for some key element to bring the relief needed.

Even midst all the great blessing so many of us enjoy, undoubtedly no one will deny the seriousness of the time in which we live. It is becoming more challenging by the day to continue in a pattern of living that most of us have known for so long. Family members, relatives, close friends that are about us with issues that need answers must remind us of our need to prepare ourselves to have answers to give.

If we fail to build our faith by building our relationship with God, we'll be no different than folks who are in a panic all about us. God's children must know and understand these times in which we live. We have a mission in this life. We're not here just to eke out an existance and then one day graduate from it in pomp and glory to another world. We're here to live by allowing Jesus Christ to live within us.

If we turn inward in our thinking and desires, we stagnate and have that selfish aura about us. No one likes to hang out around some old stagnant water hole. It breeds nothing good. Neither do people who can talk about nothing else but themselves and their little world. We are called for so much more than this.

As we spend time getting to know our Creator better, we place our focus on Him. He tells us in His Word that "perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment; He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

Christains, I tell you today that you will be called upon more and more by folks who know you and what you stand for. We must be ready to help them with a ready answer. That answer needs to come from God's Word. We're responsible for giving that answer in Truth and accuracy with the anointing He places on our life for the situation at hand. Then it's up to the recipient to make a choice in what they will do with that Truth. But if we aren't prepared, what will be our excuse?

Let's not be among those whose hearts are failing them for fear, but let us have that mature love in our hearts that knows, come what may, that we can rest in His finished work and trust Him in every area of our lives.

Be encouraged this week as we have celebrated our freedom. What a blessed thing! Our freedom in this nation wasn't bought cheaply and neither was our Freedom in Christ Jesus, Who gave His life for you and me. May we show our appreciation by preparing ourselves with His Word and living the Life He gives.

Have a super blessed week,
Julie

Scripture References;

I Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

I John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

Psalm 91 (Read whole chapter)

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"Life without the 4th of July"

I read three articles this week I wanted to share and commit on, I can’t do all three, I must choose one! So I suppose I will talk about life without the 4th of July.

The day never made much of an impact on me as a little boy, I remember getting a few firecrackers but not really knowing or understanding why.

The word Freedom is everywhere in the media these days, but our idea of Freedom seems to be ever changing.

For my little one it’s a big deal, as it is for most folks these days. Of course he gets a little more than just a few firecrackers, he even counts down the days till fireworks day. It’s almost as big as Christmas. It gives me an excellent opportunity to share a little bit of what this day is all about.

I could talk about the war of 1812 and France Scott Key, the Star Spangled Banner, or any number of Revolutionary events. But after reading a totally unrelated story this week I began to ponder the thought of "what if there wasn’t a 4th of July." It is of course unique to the United States.

If the 4th as we call it did not exist, what would our lives be like? One can suppose it might be like most of the rest of the world that lives without such a holiday. It might be like a lady who we will call Grace who lives in China. I will let her tell us her story in her own words.

“One day I went with my mother to a small, small church; probably nine Christians altogether. They had no Bible, no teacher and no pastor. . . . When they prayed, I really wanted to cry. I do not know why. A person asked me, ‘May I pray for you?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ That was when I really felt Jesus around me, and I really loved Jesus. I was 12 years old.

All of the missionaries from overseas had been kicked out by the Chinese government, so we just heard from the older generation. They passed down whatever they had heard from the missionaries.

After one year, I did not want to believe in Jesus because of the pressures from friends and the school. If the school found out I was a Christian, I would not be able to study there anymore.
But in school, we passed notes with the words of the Lord passed down from the missionaries that came from overseas. We never saw a Bible, and we did not know what we were going to preach. We would just say, ‘Jesus.’

The streets were very dangerous, but there was a fire in my heart to study the gospel. I found a whole, real Bible and started copying it at 16 years old. I began going out and preaching.
I left home when I was 21 years old. I traveled a long way with many girls around 20 years old. They came along with me because the Lord gave them fire in their heart.
For almost 10 years, wherever I went, I ate, slept and did everything there. The believers gave me clothes.

In 1989 . . . I worked transporting Bibles from foreigners for almost 10 years until the day I was caught. They caught me . . . while I was carrying 120 Bibles in a suitcase. They decided to put me in jail for three years. I did not share the truth of who gave me the Bibles.

The first four months in jail they just made me stand and face a wall all day; from 5 in the morning until 10 at night. I preached the gospel facing the wall.

After eight months they sent me to a farm to work. My work was more difficult than the others because of my religion. Then, they sent me to a shoe factory to make shoes.

After 40 days, I worked in the kitchen. Then, two months later, I became the leader of the prisoners. I preached many times to the prisoners during these eight months. The guards had this stick with electricity they used on me. During those eight months all 80 prisoners in the shoe factory became Christians.

I was the leader of the prisoners for my group, and I had to report what happened with the prisoners to the officers. As time passed, the officers noticed I was different, and they asked me why. I told them it was because I was a Christian.

We had to be careful when we read the Bible in prison. The officers asked me to pray for them and their boss. Every time they would check on us, one officer would tell me to put my Bible in their office so they could protect me.

I came out of prison in 1992, and I am still serving the church, as usual. I am honored by other Christian friends because I went to jail.

Today, my daughter is 12 years old. I taught her about Jesus from when she was 1 year old. I tell her stories from the Bible. She studies the Bible, English and other subjects in a underground Christian school of 20 students.

I am really careful because police are always watching; they know what I do, so I move around. In the last three years I have moved three times.

The vision of our group is that all the words of the gospel are spread. The most important calling we have from God is to preach the gospel to the places that don’t hear the gospel. We also focus on the Muslim world. That is our vision.

The church has to stand up for God’s will. China’s Christians need to know their calling. We have so many people here in China; some should come out to help.”

Except from Article: the Voice of the Martyrs magizine.

But then no need to worry, we have our 4th, lets go get some soda’s, maybe some beer and have a party and shoot some fireworks! After all, what else is the 4th about?

David

_______________________

John Adams

SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; JUDGE; DIPLOMAT; ONE OF TWO SIGNERS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS; SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.

The Holy Ghost carries on the whole Christian system in this earth. Not a baptism, not a marriage, not a sacrament can be administered but by the Holy Ghost. . . . There is no authority, civil or religious – there can be no legitimate government but what is administered by this Holy Ghost. There can be no salvation without it. All without it is rebellion and perdition, or in more orthodox words damnation.

Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell.

The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.

Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. . . . What a Eutopia – what a Paradise would this region be!