July

“Today is Your Birthday, America.”

On July 4, 1776, representatives in the Continental Congress of the original 13 states, called colonies back then, ratified and approved as a national document, “The Declaration of Independence.”

They said, in effect, “This is who we are. We are a group of former colonies of the British Empire now called states who are declaring our independence from the rule of Great Britain and its’ King. We will self-govern and determine, for ourselves, our present and future life as a country.

It has been a rocky road. When dealing with human beings and all their pride, arrogance, and self-determination, you are going to have issues and challenges. Yet this country, to date, has stuck with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States as the foundational documents of the United States of America.

And the Church is no different. We have a foundational and fundamental document that we fall back to when our egos get out of control. We have a document that is far older than the Declaration. It is ancient. The earliest part of this document is a little under 2000 years old. And we hold those truths to be self-evident. That we were given by our Savior inalienable grace when He gave His life as a ransom for many. We hold the truth that Jesus died to forgive our sins. We hold to the truth that Jesus rose from the grace on the third day. We hold to the truth of Life with Jesus, both in this world AND eternally with Him. We hold to the truth that God the Father created this universe for us. We hold to the truth that God the Son, who we know as Jesus of Nazareth, gave up His life to bring us back to the creator. We hold to the truth that God the Holy Spirit continues to enlighten His Church in the ways of God the Father and the Son and continues bring us back to the foundational document of all life; the Holy Bible.

And as Christians, we refer to the foundational document weekly, if not daily. It is never out of our reach. It is never out of our sight. It is not forgotten. It is held with praise, honor, and reverence. God, lead us to never let go of Your Word; to never let go of You. We know that we “think” that we know what is best for us. We are our own truth. That is what our ego wants to think. And we know that is not true. What is true is You and Your Word. Lead us to align our minds and hearts to what You wrote for us. Lead us to repent and be forgiven. Lead us to walk humbly with You. Lead us to Your home; the ultimate land of the free and the home of the brave. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever… And all God’s children say,…