Let Freedom Ring.  By Sara Cain.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”  – 2 Corinthians 3:17

This scripture is one that I feel certain our founding fathers had on their minds when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and our U.S. Constitution. There is no true liberty anywhere on earth, except by way of Holy Spirit within us, leading us, guiding us and teaching us.

I love our country. I’m patriotic to the core. I am so grateful to be a U.S. citizen and live with all the blessings that come with that. I’m thankful for this privilege on so many levels. But I’m a citizen of Heaven first, and my heart has been stirred today about something that may make you uncomfortable.

This past week Facebook was flooded with posts basically in two categories. One type was about celebrating the 4th of July with fireworks, barbeques, and flags and reveling in pure joy.  Other posts were of 2 Chronicles 7:14 calling us to humble ourselves and turn back to God to save our country because we have fallen so far away from our founding principles.

So I went to my “meditating place”- my swing by the pond – and thought about the thread that was sewn in the beginning and followed it to where we are today, which is a nation desperately in need of Jesus.

How did we get here? This is what came to mind…

Going back long before we declared our independence, we were immigrants coming to look for religious freedom. Reading through historical documents tells us that when the first settlers began forming a government, this nation, they based their hope and theology on God. They created and shaped laws that honored God. The Pilgrims came to seek freedom FROM a mandated religion so that they could live an honorable life in relationship with God without interference of a rigid government dictating who, what and how they could worship, or worse, prevent them from worshiping at all, and they succeeded in this goal.

So where did we go wrong, that we should become a nation whose various government entities work to tear down every law that honors Biblical principles, and make laws that seemingly come straight out of the pit of hell?

I believe the seed of evil was planted right along with all those other seeds of the first crops of that first generation.

Because we know God’s character, we can know that His desire was that those first people immigrating to this land would be unified with the peoples already inhabiting his marvelous land. God loves unity. Our name The United States of America certainly represents what He wanted.

I believe He wanted the indigenous people to guide the immigrants into understanding God better through nature and by teaching them how to steward the earth, God’s creation, how to let go of the mindset of “mine, mine, mine.” The native peoples also modeled other moral principles that could bless and unify people, no matter how different their previous life experiences.

I believe God also intended that these immigrants should share with the indigenous people their knowledge and skills and inventions they created.  Most importantly, they would share the gospel with them, revealing more of God’s character through the Bible and introduce them to Jesus.

What a wonderful plan, as all of God’s plans are …

So what went wrong?

When news about the vastness and richness of this land reached the “old world”, along with more pilgrims seeking a place to freely worship God came the released and escaped prisoners, would-be criminals, and less savory folks from all walks of life. Along with those seeds for crops came seeds of evil.

Arrogance and Pride – I’m better than you, I deserve what you have.

Greed – the lust for more and more and more.

Deception – falling for and speaking false narratives.

Lustful Appetites – trading divine guidance to pursue physical gratifications.

Unfortunately, those seeds also helped grow us into the nation we are today.

It’s true that we have an amazing, beautiful heritage of Godly people setting up a “nation under God,” and I am so thankful for all those people who came before and created our nation founded on Godly principles.

But we need to recognize that defiling our national blessing, and many in our government not even trying to hide the evil that they do, didn’t begin in the last decade or two; it began in that first generation when some of the settlers took us down the road of abusing the indigenous peoples and the many resources, both alive and inanimate, of this great land. This isn’t our only historical sin, by far. The message of “humble ourselves and return to God” needed to start way back then.

My intention here is to open our eyes to see the truth of our situation. To humble ourselves as the scripture says includes acknowledging ALL of our country’s history and asking forgiveness for the sins of our collective past, as well as our own individual sins.

I am thankful for our Constitution, and our nation’s forefathers who were guided by divine wisdom in laying the foundation of our country. It’s no utopia, and it is inhabited by flawed and sinful humans, but the foundation is solid, and now it’s up to us to do our part to build on that divinely inspired and empowered foundation, and to be spiritual warriors in the battle against evil that is working so hard to destroy it.

Some time ago God put it on my heart to stop looking at politicians in general as politicians, but rather as individuals that He loves and for whom Jesus died. This puts them ALL on our personal prayer lists as we pray for the lost souls of the world. He is asking us to pray that their eyes would be open, their hearts softened, and that Truth would overcome Deception in their lives, so that they might be saved. A person who gives their life to Jesus will be a divine tool rather than a destructive force on the side of Hell.

As Christians, we don’t need to fix our country… we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and pray for the enlightenment of Heaven and salvation of souls. When this happens, God moves, Heaven opens, and people and communities, and yes, even whole nations, are healed. This is our assignment!

I have great hope for our nation because I believe God’s promises!

Another scripture that we are founded on, both our country and hopefully our individual Christian journey, is Galatians 5:13,

“My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other in love.”

If we truly lived this way our lives and our country would look much different now. We need to be the people God planned for us to be, the ones who reveal His Kingdom to the lost.

This is our nation’s birthday, counting down to our 250^th birthday coming next year, and that’s incredible! I’m so looking forward to it.  I am celebrating with praise and thanksgiving!

I am deeply grateful for the life I have lived for 74 years in this great nation. I am proud of what the U.S.A. has been to the world. No country on earth has been more generous to the peoples of the world. Whenever there is a crisis, we are the first to respond with money, goods, and volunteers. We have served as peacekeepers around the world. We have been a champion of liberty for all the eyes of the world.

Give thanks for what is praiseworthy.

Pray for a solution and resolution to what is not.

Contribute always to making it better.

I love my country, but it is not my god, nor do I look to any politician, statesman, or person of influence to be my savior. I am passionately patriotic, but Jesus is my Savior.

A friend shared the following scripture and comment on the 4^th of July.

“At last we have freedom, for Christ has set us free! We must always cherish this truth and firmly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.” -Galatians 5:1 TPT

“Jesus Christ has set us free through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection! Our founding fathers believed in His sacrifice and what God would do for them as they wanted to live in a nation that worshipped God. May we never forget the sacrifices made for our freedom from our sins and for America.” – Diane Blumert

May the Lord bless you and God Bless the U.S.A.

P.S.

If you have never been to Washington D.C., I encourage you to put that on your bucket list and reserve a specialized Christian bus tour. It’s remarkable what is hidden in plain sight in the sculptures and art in the memorials and government buildings. While we are citizens of Heaven first and foremost, God has placed us in this country in this time in history, and we can show our gratitude to Him by learning the truth of our nation’s history and destiny.