Blessed Is The Nation

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance."  (Psalm 33:12 NIV)

Family gatherings, cook-outs, parades, and fireworks are just a few of the ways that people around the U.S.A. will celebrate Independence Day today. We do, indeed, live in a great country; a country that was founded on principles like freedom and justice. There are so many people in so many countries who have no where near the freedom and the opportunities that the people of this nation have. We have been truly blessed by God. May God help all people to realize the gift that we have been given in having the opportunity to live here as we remember how much blood has been shed so that we might have the privilege to live in this land of the free.

But, as we celebrate on this Independence Day, we all ought to remember that those who believe in Jesus Christ belong to another nation as well. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10) 

Although many who live in the U.S.A. are also members of God's holy nation; all are not. Many residents of the holy nation also do not reside in the U.S.A.. There is an overlapping of sorts; but, the two are not one and the same. 

Even while we live in this world and in this country, we are residents of God's Kingdom as well. May God grant that as His holy nation we should at all times and in all places remember that we are blessed to be a part of this country and most certainly blessed to be heirs of the Kingdom of God. Let us live our lives as residents and representatives of that Kingdom which was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Allow Others Their Freedoms; Please!

Do not call what is sin, no sin.

The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

   but the tent of the upright will flourish.

There is a way that appears to be right,

   but in the end it leads to death.                                                 

                                  (Prov 14:11-12 NIV)

As I watch the news; I watch those who proclaim to be righteous attacking those whom they claim are unrighteous! Everything is upside down and backwards. Please, please, please, don't claim to be Christian if you have no qualms about threatening the children of those whom you do not agree with. Please, please, please, allow others to be able to enjoy some time with their families and friends without being threatened or attacked. 

Jesus did, indeed, die for the unrighteous. We are all unrighteous. We are declared righteous only by being washed by his blood. But, for those especially who claim to be God's children; please, please, please, for the sake of the whole world, stop calling righteous what is unrighteous. Stop calling what is a sin, not a sin. Stop deluding yourselves into thinking that you are doing God's will when you are really doing your own will. Our own wills lead only to death; our deaths and the deaths of others.

It is the eve of Independence Day. If we are not careful; if we continue to disrespect the rights of others, we will destroy this country from the inside out. 

May God help us all to learn to respect the freedoms and the rights of others that we might live in at least a little more peace even here in this world. 

God's Peace - Pr. J