Saturday,
July 4, 2026
DIFFICULTY – DECISION –
DECLARATION!
Josh 24:14-15
14 Now therefore fear the
LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the
LORD.
15 And if it seem evil unto
you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
It is amazing to me how our nation’s
formation and Christian faith so strongly parallel. Our nation was formed out
of great struggle and DIFFICULTY.
The restrictions imposed by England upon the inalienable rights of the Colonies
fueled a hunger for independence. When “in the course of human events” the
tyranny of Satan becomes too much for sanity to side with, severance from his
devilish grip and an alliance with Jehovah is called for!
Some of the founding fathers never imagined that July 4th
would be a day to remember. It was July
2nd that they thought worthy of remembering. Consider the
following…
On
July2, Congress finally adopted a resolution in favor of
independence, and on July 4 approved the Declaration of
Independence. John Adams sat on the committee appointed to draft the document
and encouraged Thomas Jefferson to write the original draft, which was accepted
with some modifications. As is typical of John Adams, he recognized the
historical significance of the event but was just slightly off in his analysis
of how it would be remembered – he was convinced Americans would always
celebrate July 2 as “the most
memorable Epocha, in the History of America.”
John writes to his wife Abigail from Philadelphia July 3, 1776:
The
Second Day of July 1776 will
be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe
that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.
It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of
Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and
Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and
Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time
forward forever more.
You
will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I
am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost
Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet
through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can
see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will
triumph in that Days Transaction, even although We should rue it, which I trust
in God We shall not.
So, it is when the human spirit can no
longer sustain the pain of servitude to the evil one. He first must DECIDE and then must DECLARE.
Rom 10:10
10 For with the heart man
believeth [with the heart a decision is made] unto righteousness; and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Dear Lord, I have decided to
follow Jesus! Let me declare it to all who will hear! AMEN
