Defend Freedom, Defend Jesus – Vote For Truth!
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(9) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10) Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (11) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (12) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ (Romans 12:9-12)
There is very little in the way of discussions regarding our past wars; even the most recent war (the 20-year Global War On Terrorism, focused in Iraq and Afghanistan) is pretty much forgotten, to the point one of our Presidential candidates proclaiming we no longer have military members in active war zones. (We do, in Iraq, Syria, and a recent deployment of soldiers manning anti-missile systems in Israel). It should be remembered that six days after Election Day (5 November) we will be celebrating Veterans’ Day on 11 November.
What should Americans expect from their veterans? Typically, we have this turned around; our veterans should expect our respect in honor of their service, that the veteran gave up part of his/her freedoms to serve. But the American citizen should expect that the service our veterans gave (continue to give) should be honorable, done with great humility and humanity. In Romans 12, Paul describes what our servicemembers should strive to attain; to be Righteous, and be against evil.
Those in service should not blindly follow others but yet be willing to stand up and fight for their fellow brother in arms and for each American. The servicemember should be ready to serve, especially to serve the Lord and His Truth. The servicemember learns to ‘embrace the suck’; to fight through and make best of any situation no matter how bad it may be, believing that hope that the US still stands for freedom and opportunity.
Let’s put this now in the viewpoint of our service to God. We expect from God His blessings. What does God expect from us? He expects us to be like the veteran; we give up our freedom to do God’s work, so we should ready and serve him in humility and in honor of Him. Christians need to be Righteous and fight against evil, to only follow Him and him alone, and to stand up for our fellow Christian to defend him for attack. The Righteous in Christ should not complain about ‘bad times’ but in God’s power and direction get though those times and be joyful.
We should never give up our freedoms to gain earthly security; Ben Franklin once stated they should we give up our freedoms for security, we will get neither and do not deserve either. Remember what Freedom has cost us, and remember what freedom provides us. Freedom deters tyranny, which brings punitive restrictions and often death and destruction. The Founding Fathers understood that Freedom is God-given to us and it is our duty to protect it. Don’t forget the lessons of the past; tyranny leads to destruction, often disguising it as good. Socialism, totalitarianism, oligarchies, and communism all expect freedoms be curtailed for the feeling of security and common good. However, feelings are misleading. Seek the Truth through Jesus and allow it to provide you security.
In addition to thanking a veteran on Veterans’ Day, you can also defend freedom by voting for Truth. Remember the past and ask the Lord for the lessons He has for you in those recollections. Pray for the Lord to provide you discernment and to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in voting, as led by His Word. Thank God for all that He has done and will do and praise Him for His blessings!
