I love the Fourth of July Holiday; watermelon, cookouts, ice cream and fireworks. As we enter into the Fourth of July weekend, the word Freedom comes to our mind. As we reflect on our freedom, we remember those who have died for our freedom, and who continue to protect us. I am extremely grateful for those who serve in our military, and on our police force that protect us daily. I am also extremely thankful I have a Savior who died to give me a freedom that conquers all things, even death.
We are at the campgrounds getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July. Yesterday I was riding my bike when a small dog caught my eye. The dog was obviously interested in some type of animal, so he charged after it, only to be yanked back by his leash. The dog had a certain amount of freedom, but was limited by the stake that held the rope. As I watched this scenario play out, I thought about how we as Christians live our lives as though we are staked to an invisible rope. There are times in our life when God is calling us to do something, but when we are almost there or ready to take the leap, we allow fear or doubt to jerk us back into our safety zone. However, our safety zone we create for ourselves is a façade. The only real danger is not leaving the safety zone we have created, and jumping into God’s will. Jesus died on the cross so we could live without restriction in His name. We say this famous Bible verse all the time “We can do all things in Him that strengthens us” (Philippians 4:13), but do we live it? Do people look at our life and know we are willing to do anything God ask of us because we have confidence in the verse we just quoted, or did it just sound good to say?
Our camp Pastor told a story this week about him and three friends on the high dive. They all agreed to do whatever the first person did no matter what. The first friend did a half twist beautifully, with a tiny splash in the water. The second friend tried, but did a back buster with his whole backside. He said you could hear the loud smack of flesh on the water. The third friend appeared to be a little nervous. He stalled, and then finally moved down the board, leaps up in the air, only to do a pencil into the water. For those of you not familiar with the pencil, you simply jump straight up and then enter the water straight as a pencil. The point was the first friend was living in total freedom, the second friend was trying his best and leaving fear behind, even if the first attempt was not a success, the third friend chose not to even try because it might cost too much.
Galations 5:1 says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Has God called you to do something that is going to cost you something? Maybe He has called you to give up a job for a greater calling, witness to a friend that might cost you a friendship, spend your money for the Kingdom instead of yourself, leave your home to be a missionary, give up things in your life that are not pleasing to him, the list could go on and on.
I will leave you with David Rhodes comment, ““The world tries to tell you that you can have all the taste for half the price, but God’s word says it might cost us everything, yet its worth it all.”
I hope you will find Him worth it all !!
Happy Fourth of July- Let Freedom Ring
We are at the campgrounds getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July. Yesterday I was riding my bike when a small dog caught my eye. The dog was obviously interested in some type of animal, so he charged after it, only to be yanked back by his leash. The dog had a certain amount of freedom, but was limited by the stake that held the rope. As I watched this scenario play out, I thought about how we as Christians live our lives as though we are staked to an invisible rope. There are times in our life when God is calling us to do something, but when we are almost there or ready to take the leap, we allow fear or doubt to jerk us back into our safety zone. However, our safety zone we create for ourselves is a façade. The only real danger is not leaving the safety zone we have created, and jumping into God’s will. Jesus died on the cross so we could live without restriction in His name. We say this famous Bible verse all the time “We can do all things in Him that strengthens us” (Philippians 4:13), but do we live it? Do people look at our life and know we are willing to do anything God ask of us because we have confidence in the verse we just quoted, or did it just sound good to say?
Our camp Pastor told a story this week about him and three friends on the high dive. They all agreed to do whatever the first person did no matter what. The first friend did a half twist beautifully, with a tiny splash in the water. The second friend tried, but did a back buster with his whole backside. He said you could hear the loud smack of flesh on the water. The third friend appeared to be a little nervous. He stalled, and then finally moved down the board, leaps up in the air, only to do a pencil into the water. For those of you not familiar with the pencil, you simply jump straight up and then enter the water straight as a pencil. The point was the first friend was living in total freedom, the second friend was trying his best and leaving fear behind, even if the first attempt was not a success, the third friend chose not to even try because it might cost too much.
Galations 5:1 says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Has God called you to do something that is going to cost you something? Maybe He has called you to give up a job for a greater calling, witness to a friend that might cost you a friendship, spend your money for the Kingdom instead of yourself, leave your home to be a missionary, give up things in your life that are not pleasing to him, the list could go on and on.
I will leave you with David Rhodes comment, ““The world tries to tell you that you can have all the taste for half the price, but God’s word says it might cost us everything, yet its worth it all.”
I hope you will find Him worth it all !!
Happy Fourth of July- Let Freedom Ring
RSS Feed
