Freedom

A few weeks back, we had the honor and pleasure of celebrating our mama’s 86th birthday, a few days late . All 28 of us children, spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, were gathered at a popular restaurant. My husband was asked to say the blessing. Up to this point, the room was filled with a tumultuous chaos of loud, raucous laughter, servers flying around, and conversations by many other families gathering together just like us. But, as my husband stood to say the blessing, the entire room went almost silent. Over a hundred people had respect enough to quieten down while we were praying. That right there is FREEDOM. Very few places outside of a church, will you ever see this happen. No one hollered. No one told us to be quiet. No one threw anything. Even if they didn’t believe, they respected our right and privilege to pray. This is a foundational promise in our constitution but was also a foundational work of the Puritans, as a new land was taken and molded by those same Christian principals. We are watching as our Christian privileges are being torn away piece by piece. Thank God I live in the Bible Belt.

If you have never traveled outside of the USA, then you may not realize that some of the choices that you make are not allowed in other countries. That’s our freedom. In many countries you are not allowed to express your thoughts or opinions without severe consequences. That’s our freedom. In some countries you are not allowed to marry whomever you wish. That’s our freedom. In some countries you’re not given second or third chances when you break the law or mess up. That’s our freedom. In some countries it is illegal to practice alternative lifestyles. It can result in death! Did you read that? You can die for wanting an alternative lifestyle. I don’t like alternative lifestyles. It’s an un-Godly choice but that’s the freedom you have in our country.

Many have and will continue to take advantage of our freedoms. And, many are working to slowly take away what freedoms we have left. BEWARE! This country was built by hard work, pain, and suffering to the point of death. Blood has been shed by hundreds of thousands so that I can sit here and write, so that I can openly speak my mind. Satan is working to steal, kill, and destroy all that we have as a free nation, that was founded on Biblical principles. None of us like liars and thieves. God clearly wrote in the 10 commandments, “Thou shall not bear false witness.” “Thou shall not steal.” “Thou shall not kill.” And there are 7 more. Wait a minute! Did you read that? Lying, stealing, and killing have been laws since the beginning of time. We didn’t need a government to tell us those were wrong. Now, it seems as if lawmakers are trying to find ways to make everything okay. It is not! Beware that our freedoms are not taken away. Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 clearly gives us our laws for living a Godly life freely. They are called "The Ten Commandments".

Don’t be ashamed to stand and pray. Don’t be ashamed to stand firm in your beliefs. Don’t be afraid because God is on your side. He has your back. Don’t give up your freedoms that many died to hang onto. Our freedoms are what make us unique. Our freedoms are what make us strong. Our freedoms are a privilege. We must preserve them for the Glory of God. We must, as God fearing people, take advantage of the time we have, to share our freedom, freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom to walk with God daily. We MUST teach our children and grandchildren about our freedom and the price that was paid to have them. Where there is freedom there is hope. Let freedom ring loud and clear as we work to spread God’s love and salvation.