God's Independence Day

God’s Independence Day

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

            One of the men at our church explained what happened to the brave men who put together the Declaration of Independence.  When they signed their names to it they became wanted men.  They were declaring our freedom from Great Britain who then ruled our thirteen colonies which became the United States of America.  This made them traitors to the King of England and hardly any of them survived untouched. 
            One of the signers; John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, the following letter at the time:
          “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch 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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
           Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.  And, so it has been that we celebrate the Fourth of July with families, friends, parades, guns bonfires and fireworks. 
          In order to have the freedom that we have today, the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence sacrificed all they owned; their own lives and the lives of their families.  It takes sacrifice to make freedom available.  This is also true in our spiritual life.  It took a sacrifice to save us from Hell.  That sacrifice was Jesus Christ!
         God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross that we might be saved.  In other words, set free from sin and death.  How can that be?  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  The day that you believe this and then do what the Bible says, “You confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  You will be free at that moment; “free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:2)
         This is God’s Independence Day for you and you can celebrate it the rest of your life.  When your time on this earth is finished, you will continue to celebrate for eternity in Heaven.
          If you believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die, you are sadly mistaken.  Only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will enter heaven.  God’s gift of his Son is free, but very costly.  Don’t mock it or shame it because God will deny any people that do.
         We just celebrated our country’s Independence Day; why not celebrate God’s Independence Day if you have not done so.

1. Pray and ask God to forgive you of any sin in your life.

2. Believe that Jesus died for those sins.

3. Ask Jesus to come and live in your heart.

4. Thank him for loving you enough to die for you.

Then you are saved!  You are Free! Go tell somebody what happened to you.