Happy 4th of July!

Something emailed to me by Shirley Choat:

"That evening they brought to Jesus many who were possessed with demons;

and He cast out the spirits with the word and cured all who were sick."

~ Matthews 8:16

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"On this day, when we celebrate America's independence, it is good for us to remember our own dependence on God. When we hurt, God hurts with us. When we mourn, God weeps with us. As we grow up, we strive to be independent, much like the Israelites did in their four hundred years as slaves in Egypt. The sad thing is that declaring our independence too often includes independence from our relationship with God.

"The prophets warned against making treaties with foreign rulers because it meant relying on them instead of their Creator. Is there a nation or an individual who has God's ability to create? To give life? To heal? Jesus came that we might have wholeness and Life. He alone can give us that gift. To be independent of a slave master or a foreign enemy is one thing. To be independent of God, the One who gave us life and all that we are and all that we have or ever will---that is another matter.

"Just because many people live as if they were totally independent of God, doesn't mean they won't have to face the consequences. How much do you value your independence as well as your total dependence on God? Let us give thanks for our nation's independence and, at the same time, thank God that we are dependent on Him."

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"Thank you Lord, for many things:  my country, the freedom to serve and worship You; and freedom from sin. Forgive me for those many times I try to have independence from You, when I go my own way and do my own thing. I know that I am truly dependent on You for my very being. Amen."

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