Monday, July 4, 2022
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Celebrating Our Christian Heritage and Freedom
Today is the fourth of July and even though our country has been through so much in the last couple of years, we still have so much to be thankful for. We still are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We still have the freedom to declare Jesus as our Savior and go to church. We still have the freedom to own a Bible. Lots of our freedoms have felt threatened and the future looks questionable at times, but we know that God is in control, even when so much around us feels out of control.
God is the one and only hope for our country. No elected official is going to be able to turn this country around, fix what is wrong, because there are those among us who are going to do everything in their power to see that it does not happen. We are an endangered species - in danger of ourselves and totally destroying what we all work so hard to have. May God be with us and have His hand on us through this season, and may we turn back to Him, remembering why this country was established in the first place.
Today we celebrate our freedom and our heritage as American citizens, but every day we can celebrate our Christian heritage and the freedom we have in Christ. Just as American independence was bought and paid for with many sacrificed lives, our Christian heritage and freedom was paid for through the sacrificed body and blood of Jesus Christ. So, today we have a double heritage and twice the freedom to celebrate!!
A Christian Heritage
The family holiday traditions and heritage that we have now will be precious memories to our children someday, but the most important thing we can give our families is a godly heritage. This country was founded on biblical principles and our families should be no different. Decide from the beginning that the Lord will be the center of your family and the cornerstone of your family foundation. If you are not at the beginning of your family, it is not too late to start. You may still have grandchildren that you can influence even if your kids are all grown. When families pray together and seek the Lord in all things, the family bond is stronger. It may not be a “circle round and hold hands” prayer over every detail but when everything is weighed in light of the Lord, it makes a difference.
Be sure to tell your children what God has done for you, how He has blessed you and about His faithfulness, in good times and bad. Tell them your salvation story, how you were saved and now you are free from sin and that God paid the price with the life of His own son. Tell them of God’s amazing grace when we humble ourselves before Him. Tell them He gives mercy when we don’t deserve it. Also, tell your children and grandchildren of the future you hope for them in the Lord. Let them know that God has special plans and purposes for their lives, and you are excited about seeing it all come to pass. Read the bible and pray with them to give them the tools and the heritage to take with them. If our children and their children after them go on to love the Lord and serve him, then we have done our job well and we have passed on the heritage that Jesus paid for with His life! Our children do need to know doubt their American heritage, but the most important heritage we can give our children and grandchildren is faith in the promises of God.
