In reflecting upon this holiday, we can only imagine the fear and trepidation our founding fathers faced as the imminent separation from England was approaching. We meet many people facing tremendous difficulties and fears in today’s world. The 4th of July celebrates the decisive action that our forefathers took. It was a moment in time from which there was no turning back. Their faith and commitment became the beacon of hope and freedom shining on a hill for every person to see. Their cry for freedom has become the rally cry for those held captive to oppression, poverty and fear.
As we have travelled the nations of the earth we have heard both villager and king declare that the freedom experienced in the USA is a model for all people. This freedom and independence came at a great cost. These brilliant thinkers of 1776 dared to believe in something greater than themselves. Facing fear, they stood up to proclaim new destiny!
Samuel Adams said,
“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.” (Note: Adams prediction written to his wife was off by 2 days, thinking we would celebrate the momentous day on the actual day the document was drafted.)
On this distinguished 4th of July holiday, let this be a declaration day for each household, ministry and business. A group of people with purpose did this in 1776 and affected the whole world! As we are called to affect the whole world, let us arise and declare our freedom from poverty and fear, and declare our alliance with King Jesus!
Regardless of what the economic and political pundits say about the “good ole USA”, we choose to meditate on the good promises of the Lord and declare His word!
When the fireworks go off we will be shouting “Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord! We are FREE!”
Happy 4th of July!
In the fall of 1988 Kevin and I were married. I had struck out on a new journey in life and was so excited—yet very apprehensive! Our goal was to impact the lost with the love of God. After we paid all of our bills and prepared for our first journey overseas, we had exactly $1.00 left over!
Now, I had gone to a faith school, been trained in faith principles and married a faith man, but still, it somehow seemed incredible to me that after sharing our vision with friends and partners we had only $1 left for our trip! How could this be? What should I do??
Well, I decided to go! I remember thinking to myself as I boarded the plane, Are you crazy? You’re going overseas for three months with only $1 in your pocket?!
To make a very long story short, when we arrived in Detroit on the first leg of our journey, we found that the airline had overbooked our next flight and was asking for volunteers to give up their seats for $400 per ticket. As you can imagine, we jumped at the opportunity! We took the money and ended up having a wonderful overnight visit with family and friends in Detroit.
I learned a great lesson. By making a decision to act, I put myself in position to receive a blessing. We often intersect God’s blessings as we travel life’s road. This is our day of opportunity, and I say “I AM READY!!”
When I was in Moscow one winter, record setting freezing temperatures froze the pipes of the heater units and caused a real flood, as well as a dangerous freeze inside. Our director had the good idea of an old iron gas heater in the center of the main room to warm up the house until we could replace the whole system. The heater had to be turned off at night, and the first thought in the morning was how to get the heater going again. A little spark was all it took, and everyone would gather round until the warmth began to spread.
Friends, don’t start your day without a spark. Yesterday’s spark won’t do! The fire has to be rekindled every morning. What is that spark to you? You probably know how to find that java jolt for your body, but it might take a little more time to spark the divine impulse within you that will lift you to a place of expectation and peace as you deal with the day’s issues. When you are warm then everybody around you will benefit.
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6).
“Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior…” (2 Peter 3:11).
We live in Florida where bugs thrive in the moist, humid, hot weather. If you don’t place some kind of protection in and around your house, soon you’ll be sleeping with the fleas and stepping on the cockroaches.
The devil is utterly defeated and powerless, but he is an opponent looking for entrance into your home. Like the roaches, he flees when you turn on the light. Our light is the truth of God’s Word. The devil cannot exist in truth, because he is the father of lies.
We observe this truth overseas quite often. Many times we present the Gospel to people groups that have lived in false religions or atheism for a thousand years, and suddenly in a moment, they completely change when they hear truth!
The only weapon the devil has is deception, and his only entrance into a born-again believer is the mind. He is looking for you to grab hold of a lie so he can have a foothold in your life. Allow God’s Word to wash your thoughts and steer your thinking into right paths, and you won’t be tripped up by the devil!
Scripture tells us in Isaiah 53:4 that in fact Jesus has borne our griefs and has taken our sorrows and our pains, yet we ignorantly thought that He was stricken and struck down by God.
Many years ago I was traveling across Russia in a sweltering hot train with no air moving and no way to open a window. The flu was going around everywhere and I was coughing from a deep burning pain that was attacking my chest. I remember as I lay back on the bed I picked up my Bible, and as I was experiencing these symptoms of flu or bronchitis this scripture in Isaiah leapt out at me.
I said to the Lord, “I have not considered what you did on the cross for me and I have yielded to this sickness that is trying to take over my body. Lord, I know who You are, I know You paid the price so I don’t have to suffer this sickness because God put it on You.” I remember at that moment with great confidence I said, “Lord, I will no longer consider you ignorantly, and right now in the name of Jesus I receive what you did for me 2,000 years ago and command these symptoms to go from my body!” I fell asleep right at that moment and woke up a few hours later without one sign or symptom of cough or a fever…not one symptom in my body at any level!
I encourage you today to take an aggressive stance against every form of sickness and disease trying to come against your body!
Most people think that their job is their work. That’s just not the case in God’s Kingdom!
Paul, talking to slaves two thousand years ago, told them to serve honorably with joy and there would be great reward for them. There can’t be a worse job with less natural reward, comfort or satisfaction, yet Paul looked beyond their slavery to their work of serving the LORD. Even slave labor is rewarded if done unto the Lord and not to men.
When reflecting on Peter’s work we don’t think of his fishing skills, even though fishing was his vocation. We think of his leadership skills in the church. We don’t model ourselves after Peter by getting a job on a boat!
Thinking of Paul the tentmaker, we don’t seek wisdom on how to sew tents. He earned money to pay bills by sewing, but we think of him as a great missionary and adventurer. He didn’t consider himself a sewer of tents, as but a man of God. How do you consider yourself?
Our own personal experience can be a formidable hindrance to walking in the abundance Jesus Christ made available to us. You might say, “I love God and I’ve never had any money. I’ve never been rich and God still loves me. If prosperity really is God’s will for me, then He would have given it to me a long time ago.” These objections are real, but that doesn’t make them legitimate! Just because we haven’t experienced something doesn’t mean it isn’t the will of God for us.
We lived in sin and experienced emptiness, separation and spiritual blindness before discovering salvation in Jesus. Does that mean it was God’s will for us to live in that dark world? No! We just hadn’t heard and responded to God’s Word on the subject. Our decision to act on God’s idea, His Word, and His substitutionary sacrifice for our sins opened a whole new world to us.
I believe we can change our personal experience in the financial realm as well. Armed with truth, you can go into the arena of need and come out a winner!
For many, salvation through Christ means an escape from eternal judgment. Often as I stand on the open fields of world evangelism, whether I am preaching or standing among the crowd, I find myself declaring the salvation prayer as if it were the first time I said it. Why? Because I understand the value of this word “Salvation.”
I am not simply uttering a religious prayer, but I am making a proclamation of my deliverance from fear, my redemption from sin, my discovery of healing, and the reality of God’s peace! This most simplistic Salvation Prayer opens my heart and my mind once again to the reality of God’s promises for me — His child!
One day as I was speaking to our partners via the internet, I sensed a strong presence of the Lord as together we made this simple salvation confession. Not an elaborate religious prayer, but a confession of the heart and a trust in the reality of Jesus and what He promised for you and me.
I cannot explain how such a simple prayer can transform people, churches, and even nations. Yet—I can declare to you that I have seen God respond to a simple heart desiring to know Him as Savior, healer, protector, deliverer, and comforter time & time again!
Let’s not make prayer difficult! Keep it simple! That’s how He designed it! Religion is the extra ingredient of unbelief added to the simplicity of Christ’s cross. Faith is the simple confession of a heart trusting in what He has done for us!
I’m trusting . . . are you?
Faith is a force coming out of the spirit man. It is being convinced of a truth spoken by God even though you don’t see it yet.
I remember an incident years ago when I was still learning how to walk by faith. I was facing a tuition payment at Bible school, and my boss had just told me she was closing the shop where I worked and there would be no paycheck! My roommate was pretty nervous about it because he had seen several students dismissed because of no payment.
It was serious yet I had the greatest peace, and when I arrived at school on the last double-due payment date I had joy in my heart. By now my roommate thought I was going crazy, but confidence remained fixed in my heart as I went up to the Dean of Students to explain my problem. He looked at my records and said there was no problem…that morning someone had paid in full for the semester!
It requires the utmost discipline to hold to that truth when all evidence says otherwise—in fact it’s real work! If your mind cannot stay focused, then you don’t stand much chance of seeing your faith miracle, because you will flood your thought life with doubts and fears, which will put out the light of faith. Our work is to believe!!
I believe the greatest necessity for having a changed life is seeing the end result. Christians who are not seeing much change in their life are probably not seeing the transformation that has already occurred in them. Paul said:
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” Galatians 2:20-21 (NKJV)
He didn’t add Christ onto His life, he began a new life! Paul valued the new and let go of the old.
For example, when your car gets old you have a choice to make. If you’re in Russia you get out the duct tape and wire to keep it going. That’s not very exciting. You could go to the mechanic and get a few new parts added to what you’ve got. Not very exciting. You go out and buy a used car. A little better, but still, not very exciting. But, if you go out and buy a brand new car…now that will get you excited!
If you’re not excited about your faith, you’re probably working with an “add-on,” instead of the brand-new you that God has made you!
