Steve Teachings
True Liberty
Today is a great day in the history of our country; it is the 4th of July, the day of our independence. It was 235 years ago, that this country ended the imperial rule of England. Every 4th of July in great land of ours, we celebrate by having huge fireworks displays in every city, town, village and commonwealth.
People get the day off with pay a lot of times, so they head to all the parks and lakes to have a big family celebration while they Bar-B-Que hotdogs, ribs and hamburgers. We love the fourth of July and the fireworks.
But, a lot of the time we forget exactly why it is that we celebrate it, we forget, that a lot of blood was shed by our sons and daughters in order for us to enjoy these freedoms and liberties.
We forget that this country came about because of religious persecution and tyranny against the church of God. It is so far removed from us that most people don't even make a Pledge of Allegiance to the flag any more.
In God We Trust has been removed from our currency and now there is a bill before congress that the Speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, is this day trying to push through a bill in Congress that will make it a hate crime against an ethnic group if you say that homosexuality is not a normal life style.
Since when is a sexual preference an ethnic group.
What is the definition of an ethnic group ?
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines it as this
2. of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.
None of the definitions has to do with sexual preference, yet here we are in this day, July 4th, 2009, trying to make homosexuality a new, normal ethnic group, just so that some corrupt politicians can take advantage of the money that this group would offer to them to spread their immorality throughout this country.
Our forefathers would be turning over in their graves if they saw what was taking place now. The conscience of America has been slowly deteriorated over the last 60 years to the point that our constitution is now being used against us instead of for us.
So seeing that corruption that has run amok in this country as well as the moral values that have declined, the apathetic attitude of the people and church, it makes me sad to see that this once great country is now falling apart at the seams, and is now at the brink of Self-destruction.
How did that happen ?
We turned our back on the one who brought this country about in the first place, we turned our backs on the one who gave us our liberties, we were a chosen people to bring about the events that would bring us to the end of all scripture and prophecy. We were not an accident.
We can still turn this country around, there is still time, very little time, but if we start to act today, we can turn this around. If we don't, within 30 years people will see such a dramatic change that they will start to worry, they should, because it is too late at that point.
In 50 years, this country will be another Muslim country, with Muslim laws, and there will be no more 4th of July's for us to celebrate.
We have turned our backs on the God that blessed us, but, there is still time.
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, Isaiah 61:1
You go to any other country in the world where their freedoms have been taken away, where the Christian church has been forced underground, and you will see nothing but bondage to dictators and hopelessness.
This country was founded on the principle of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. It was founded on biblical principals and no matter what our politicians do to change it, it will never work like it does any other way.
When freedoms are removed from your faith-based institutions, you will see crime skyrocket, you will see fear in the eyes of the general public and you will see those who are here to protect the innocent will have their hands tied to protect the lawless.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The scripture says that if God is involved in your life you are free, because you are not in bondage to those things that make you dependent on anything. He can set you free from drug abuse, alcoholism or anything else that is trying to destroy your life.
When you are bound by addictions you have no liberty, you have no freedom, because whatever you have given yourselves over to controls every aspect of your life. You have to devote all of your time to feed the addiction that you are bound up by.
It consumes your whole way of thinking, it consumes your whole way of life and it convinces you that your are living in true freedom when you know deep within yourself that you really aren't free at all.
The scripture says:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Gal.5:1
True liberty, is being able to live a life of peace and happiness, it's a life that welcomes new adventure and the challenges. True freedom pushes you to do what is right for yourself and the community around you, it keeps you at peace with your neighbors, family and friends. It is not a bondage that we have to surrender to on a daily basis that eventually destroys our life and the lives of everyone around us.
There is no liberty in bondage, there is only slavery. If we look at ourselves and know that we have to make a change for the better or face regressing more into disparity and failure, then we can in no way convince others that we are living a life of happiness and joy like so many in denial do.
We have to do what we know is the right thing to do for ourselves and the people we love. If we are destroying the ones that we love with us, then we do not love them at all. If you love someone, you do not keep them in a life of despair and destruction, that is not liberty and that is not freedom. We have to do what is right even if it hurts us to do it.
This is a very powerful scripture. We can go through life with our spliced together Christianity if we want to, but, there is a thing called the bible that is a road map for our faith. If we say we believe in Jesus and the bible, then we better live the way that His word says we should live.
Some think that we can believe in Jesus and do whatever we want. They have a philosophy that makes them believe that just because you say Jesus save me, they can do whatever they want, even if it is against the word of God. Nothing is further from the truth.
This scripture we just read plainly states that they are deceiving themselves, because they have forgotten what kind of people they were supposed to be. They heard the word, but they didn't do it, it tickled their ears but that was all it did.
If we read on, we find that it goes deeper into the thought that James was trying to get across.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:25-27
That was pretty plain and to the point. If we believe in what God says, then we do what it tells us to do, no matter what. The perfect law of liberty walks hand in hand with the will of God. We don't come up with our own way of doing things because we will perish, God never compromises His righteousness.
If we do what He desires from us, then there is also a promise that He makes to us, He promises to bless us. God is a God of restoration, He makes all things new, He wants to restore the years that the locusts have eaten away, but in order to do that, we have to trust Him and know that he always has our best interest in mind.
Its easy to say that you believe in God, its easy to act all religious, anyone can do that, but to really live the life is not easy at all. Most that try it, will fail the first time, some won't even try at all, but the ones that follow through will shine like lights and you will know that they walk with God.
How can you tell they are walking with God ?
Because they don't have to use foul language to get their points across. Foul language is an outward sign of hidden pain and anger. Some people think that a foul mouth makes them look cool in front of people, they think foul language makes them look tough, but all it does is make them look ignorant and uneducated.
That's why the scripture says that Christians should bridle their tongue.
There is an old saying:
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.-- Abraham Lincoln
A man's word can deceive him, he can fabricate whatever irresponsible thought that he might possibly think of to justify himself and his actions, but if he claims to follow God and doesn't do what the scriptures tell him to do, the he only deceives himself.
The scripture say:
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:25-27
We are called as true believers to reach out past our wants and desires and put other people first in our lives. We are called to be people who change lives and make a difference. We are call to keep ourselves unspotted from this world, because it is in rebellion against the will of God.
If we are truly free and exercising liberty in this great country, then we have to be free of all the temptations, snarls and snares that this life has to offer us. We need to rediscover ourselves and find that person that we lost a long time ago that we used to like.
There is only one way to do that, and Jesus is that way..