Don't be distracted: Souls need saved for anything to change

Problems and frustration seem to be everywhere. So many seem angry and ready to tear things down or just overwhelmed and numb.

Whatever you see as the biggest problem today, God has the answer. Imperfect people can't provide perfect solutions like He can, though the devil will try and soon will deceive the world by uniting all against God's perfect love, a time you must prepare for as I show here. I also show how to avoid it (or spread around to help people if it's too late) in this post. Here you can see how to turn to Him, and how turning things over to God will free you.

I know I made that sound very simple. However, you can easily start a Gospel presentation that way.

How to start true change 

It starts with an individual choice. Because let's face it, if you want to go to Florida becasue it's really cold this winter, you have to go the right direction or you'll end up in Alaska, and no road to Alaska will get you to Florida.

 

Many expect protest and rage over a variety of things, but hearts must change through God's love and forgiveness. That means for ourselves first so we can be reconciled to Him, forgiven and saved from sin? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We earn spiritual death because of our sin. That is separation from God forever, from His wonderful love and mercy and separation from any goodness or peace. The good things so many truly want.

God promises us that if we receive his free gift by faith, though, we will go to his perfect Heaven someday where there is no pain, no suffering, no sorrow, no sin. And, He'll give His peace to you whenever you turn to Him once you've trusted Jesus personally to save you.

You can make that choice today. Just call on Jesus by faith, believing He died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead.

You can pray a prayer something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I am not perfect and don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I know you died for my sins, you took my punishment for my sins, and you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I call on you to save me, I trust you to forgive me, I ask you to forgive me and come live in me and make me new inside. Lord Jesus, today I believe that you saved me not because of any work I've done, but because of simple faith in calling on you to save me. In Jesus name, amen."

We must choose individually whether to follow God or the devil every day. We can be sure of our Salvation once we are saved, but we lose blessings and rewards when we stray from Him.

God provides a way for us to follow Him which is very simple if we come together as equals before Him. We complicate it so much as people. We also add things that don't need to be there.

Focus on eternal, call on Him to solve here and now

We are easily distracted by things on the outside. But, causes we stand for and  man-made things we love won't last forever. God may or may not want us to support them - it depends on if they line up with the perfect will of our Creator. Some do, but many things people support don't. Also, sometimes there are important causes but we must remember to put God first and let him use us to make things right in  Godly way, not through disruptiveness. Sometimes, like with certain scandals, it is most important to seek the Lord and pray evil be revealed quickly. As hard as it is for some, myself included, t, let go and let God work, it is important to keep giving things over to Him since He handles issues of the heart best and always has a better solution than people can have.

We must look at the heart for God to change things, and give that heart to Jesus, as I have shared when discussing things like the reconciliation needed for Revival.

Jesus loves everybody. He always has. The cross is not political. It is sad that some try to politicize it. But that doesn't mean it is. It only means that people are using it the wrong way - selfishly, not glorifying God.

It's just like if you lift a lawn mower to trim the top of your hedges. That doesn't make it a hedge trimmer, nor is your mower bad.

The true answer to everything is to take it to God who forgives any who come to Him in Repentance becasue He makes them new inside. He can even revive this nation, but it must begin with us.

it must involve talking with each other and coming to an agreement, understanding and not just planning one's own agenda. Imperfect man can't create a perfect system,  so it stands to reason that we all bring different thoughts of what things represent and need to get along.

However, just 'getting along" isn't going to create a perfect world - that won't come till Jesus returns. We still should work as hard as we can to support Godly causes, but followers of God should be known for what they're for - a loving God who forgives sin and makes people new inside and so on - not just what they're against.

Anything else - as much as we may love things like our country - distracts you from the real issue.

Trust God to heal this land - counter-intuitive but logical

I posted numerous times that God's justice is better than man's, and how God will bring peace and justice when He reigns. We need to be careful because, as noted, the Antichrist will come first and try to lure people into his false peace.

 

 God's peace is something you can have now and forever.

It may feel counter-intuitive, because we want to solve things ourselves. However, since we, as imperfect people, can't create something perfect becasue of that heart problem, it makes sense to need to solve that heart problem first, in ourselves and then in others.

God can use us to heal the land, but it must be through cnostructive, not destructive things. If you drop something on your toe, you might soon forget about your headache, but you might also have a broken tow because of it. That might make you forget your headache but it won't heal it. (So, if you wondered if I'd come up with a different analogy for a change, there it is. :-) )

This is why I've posted before about resilience being important, and the importance of teaching it, so we can be constructive in our actions. Of course, rumor has it that some people are siply paid to protest, but I won't get into whether I even believe that.

The important thing is tht it doesn't matter how much we try, how much we clamor for change, true change can only come from heart change, and that can only come because the Holy Spirit is working in hearts. And, the Spirit will only work in hearts when we repent of our sins and turn to God. then, he will hear from heaven and heal this land.

 

 We need people to follow Him and not be distracted by all the mess around them. It's not going to last.

 

What we can take with us if nothing here will last - signs of a healed land

So, if everything here is going to disappear someday anyway, what will those who trust Christ s Saviour take with them?

The rewards they earn for doing Godly things here for Him, and the souls of those they helped.

A healed land would have people helping others - including you, the reader - for God's sake, not angrily acting out for selfish gain in things that won't even last.

It would have everyone working together for good, just as many people seek now anyway.

It would have all of these thigns done for the glory of God because people wouldn't be selfishly thinking only of what they can get out of it, they would not be throwing money at sensual thigns that can only harm relationships.

This nation hasn't been perfect - it has ideals that it hasn't lived up to, but we can take the right kind of action by calling on Jesus to heal us and to change hearts from our own all the way to the White House and everywhere in between.

Rather than taking thigns totally the wrong direction, falling into the hands of the devil, we can and must call on the Lord and turn to Him for salvation and for Godliness to return to this land.

Honesty, kindness, compassion, etc. - Use freedom to return to God's standards

The last post came quickly, first thoughts after hearing of a crisis. That first thought was to go to God for help, knowing we are not fighting for victory, we're working from a point where we already *have* victory.

Now, that is an important thing to do when we face a problem, go to the Lord for help. But, with more time, when the world is between acute crises, s Paul Harvey used to say, what should we be doing?

Absolute right and wrong have existed since the foundation of the world. This world was made perfect, with no sin, disease, death etc. Once sin came into the world, such kindness, compassion, respect, etc. was not universal - to say nothing of all the other sins that were occurring. So, God provided a way to cover that sin, with all the sacrifices made up until Jesus being symbols of what Jesus Christ, God in flesh, would do for us. This is why John the Baptist sees Jesus and instantly cries out, "Behold the Lamb of God which take us away the sin of the world."(John 1:29)

We, as one human race, were meant to communicate and fellowship in a caring way without any interference by outside differences. What differences there were in personality were meant to be celebrated and not be hindrances to communication..More importantly , we were meant to be honest, kind, caring, respectful, and many other things to everyone, regardless of who they were. We were not meant to be selfishly uplifting ourselves at the expense of others, or putting others down needlessly. Certainly, we were meant to tell the truth in love (like, "Honey, you're a great cook, but Brussels sprouts in ice cream just doesn't seem like it would taste good.)  And, we were meant to be able to laugh at our own foibles. (Such as , you'll never believe what flavor ice cream I tried to make - it was so silly!")

While we weren't perfect, we insisted upon those attributes of honesty, kindness, self-control, etc.for much of our history. It is only in the last decades that we have ignored such things, and that has been to our great hurt. It's true that in numerous ways years ago our hearts were far from the Lord. But, we shouldn't throw it all out, because there were many great attributes we insisted upon as normal for a civilized, God-honoring society.

Why we stopped honoring those time-honored truths is very complex. At times, we were too legalist, and rather than sorting out which rules were appropriate people decided they didn't want any rules. There was no desire for a relationship, it was all about rules, and where there is no relationship there is no feeling of wanting to follow those Godly values; it's not true love when you follow rules because you have to, there needs to be that want to do so. In fact, one way that change of heart upon repentance has been described is that one's "want to' changes, their desire for certain things changes.

Where do we fit in?

 First, we shouldn't expect the world to act like the Bible says true followers of Christ should act. It used to more often, though even then there were of course exceptions. Crime occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, but not with the frequency of today, for instance. Now, however, it should be easier to tell the difference between followers of Christ and the world

Sadly, it isn't always.

So, the first step is to be in the world but not of it. Follow those Godly rules of honesty, decency, compassion, and so on, while building a relationship with Jesus Christ so He will help you to draw people to Him.

And, so when yo pray for this country, He will hear you, as He will be a faithful friend, but like a true friend, He will say in a loving way, "Hey, you know this situation, here's a better way to do it where you'll show a more Godly example." And, of course, we know that Jesus Christ set the ultimate example. He won't try to keep you from making Brussels sprout ice cream, of course; His leadership will be in the areas of decency, courtesy, etc.. This is not so he can stop our fun but so we can have even more fun, so He can help us to have that life more abundantly He promises in John 10:10. After all, He gives us things such as in Philippians 4:8 we can focus on that are wonderful and fulfilling becasue they are much deeper than the oftentimes shallow things of today that don't last.

When people see our relationship with Jesus and how abundant our lives are, they will want to follow. That means those who have trusted Christ as Saviour and see you taking the lead, it also means those who hve never trusted Christ as Saviour.

The Holy Spirit's part

God plays a part, too. The Holy Spirit lives in each person who has trusted Christ, but His job is also to work int he lives of the unsaved and woo them to Christ. Here is a great article on the Spirit's work there, but to sum it up, the Holy Spirit is not there to convict people of the need to behave morally, he is there to convict people of the fact they fall short of the glory of God and need the Saviour; they need Christ's righteousness imputed to themselves becasue they can't stand on their own.

But, notice that this still requires us to work at not being like the world. Becasue, if people don't see a difference in us, they may say, "Wait, where's the fruit of this salvation you speak of?"

God understands that we all struggle at times. But, that's why He calls the Spirit the Comforter, so He can guide us in a loving way to follow Him, as we are comforted that He is there with us. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:17; that means a continual filling, a total control by the Spirit. It's how we can more easily flee from temptation(James 4:7-8) and take that way of escape God promises when we face temptation.(1 Cor. 10:13)

Of course, one can try to explain that just because someone says they are Christian doesn't mean they are, and that one should look to God's Word, but understanding that would require a common sense that is lacking in many today.  So, how do we get that common sense back to restore America?

Restoring common sense will require God healing our land

There is a delicate balance between legalism and liberalism. It could be argued that the body of Christ has rarely had the right balance throughout history. But, what can't be argued is that a society founded on moral principles such s decency, fairness, compassion, mercy, etc., held those standards because they believed them to be right - common sense, really. it wouldn't be unusual to hear a person say, 100 years ago, "Well of course we need to be honest and have self-co0ntrol and..."

Where our culture has gone, though, we need God to heal us. But, the good news is that He is a God of second chances. We may face some major battles, but He can do it.

He needs us to take the lead, though.

That means he needs you, as a prayer warrior, as a spiritual leader no matter what age, gender, etc., as discussing at takethespirituallead.blogspot.com.

To encourage such things without seeming too preachy may be difficult, but look at the impact social media has on culture. It has been a part of some major positive and negative things. If you just keep tweeting this post and urging others to read, though, jsut that will be a major step. In fact, this should be done to any post in this blog as we must urge people to come to know the Lord. Because, only then will we see a change.

We can certainly be inclusive within the rules - we are all one race, of the same blood, and we know that your young people need help. Not everyone had a stable, two-parent home but everyone has access to Jesus Christ to guide and direct them if they just call on Him. They can also go to sites like Jesus2020.com (en Espanol, jesucristo2020.com) and click to talk to someone about the Lord. Young people can get organized, women can get organized, to take a stand against the meanness and oppression of the streets even without men present. Because, if God be for us, who can be against us, as the Bible says.

Our inner cities but also our suburbs and everywhere else need revival. It starts with you. And, that starts with knowing the Lord. So, I ask, have you come to the place in your life where you know if you died today, you would go to Heaven? And, what are you basing that on?

Salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.(Eph.2:8-9) God doesn't want us to be able to boast we were somebody special to get there, just as here on earth He doesn't want people to be puffed up in their own pride. It is so simple, each of us is only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life.

And, while it is not the words that save, but Jesus who saves when you put your trust in Him, something like this in your own words as a simple heart-mind decision is all it takes... "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I believe you took the punishment for my sin when you died on the cross and then you rose from the dead, becasue I can't save myself by my own good works. But, Lord Jesus, I believe you did all that was needed to get me to heaven, because you are God in flesh. Lord Jesus, today I choose to call on you to save me, I call on you to please forgive me and invite you into my heart and life, to make me a new creature. I repent, I turn away from all my sin and I trust you to save me. And, I believe by my simple faith that you have saved me and come into my heart and made me new inside. In Jesus' name,A men."

It could be short than that - Admit, Believe Call/Choose is a common way I've heard, as is Confess, Believe, Accept.

What matters is that God wants to save His people . He wants to hear our prayers. he wants to protect the children but nobody is stepping out in faith and praying for Him to do so and doing what they can, such as by spreadign the word and by sharing the Gospel.

Won't you please join in the movement to declare this our Independence Day, to be free to return this country to common sense - not on our own strength but with God's Holy Spirit leading the way. And, of course, being those Christlike examples, following the whole counsel of God, so that the world can see a difference and see, "Wow, those Christians love each other with an unconditional love, they care about others, they're so full of the joy of their relationship with Jesus Christ and not hung up on the outward appearance They aren't overwhelmed by lusts. They're not vulgar and mean sounding. I want what they have."

Because, when it comes down to it, we're just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.

How God can heal our churches and country, plus balancing Heavenly and earthly persepctives - a "modern day parable" to help illstruate

So, you might ask, what exactly are we asking God to do when, while focusing on the eternal (I'll explain in the 2nd half how to balance eternal vs. now), we ask Him to come heal our land?

That's a good question. We first want to pray for God's will to be done, and His main interest is in seeing that others call on Jesus Christ for salvation. He desires a personal relationship with each of us. He loves us even though we are all sinners, we consistently fall short of His mark of perfection, and so taking the punishment for our sin was necessary to reconcile us to Himself.

He wants each of us to be with Him forever in His perfect Heaven, where there is no pain, no suffering, etc.(Rev.21:3-5)  Nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the wonders that await us.(1 Cor.2:9)

So, it's far better than the best country people could make, and thus we must keep our focus on our Heavenly home while still praying for our own country. At the end of this post, I share how with what was a special post but - since this blog is about how to pray for America - seemed best as part of this post.

It should be apparent from earlier posts on repentance that He is most interested in changing us so we can be Christlike examples and therefore win others to Him. Each of us may be the only Bible someone will read, through our actions and attitude.

There are easy illustrations to use to answer questions about hypocrites, etc.. For instance, these. One might say just because I say I am The King of Norway and do lots of mean stuff it doesn't mean the real king of Norway is like that. Or, one might say that just because a person goes around pretending they have a dog, walking an imaginary dog, and talking like they have a dog even though it's clear they don't, dogs still exist. That person might not have a dog, but other people can. And that person's pretending to have a dog would not make you enjoy dogs any less. There are doubtlessly many other good examples to use.

However, they should see a difference in us and not have to rely on someone explaining the people who just pretend. People need to see genuine believers, genuine love and compassion and humility and making things right when we mess up, not just complaints about others. This is why I emphasized personal repentance first so much.

So, after that and praying for souls to be saved - getting specific as we can - then what?

Remember that each believer has the Holy Spirit living in them. The Body of Christ is to be united through the Spirit. The Church, then, should be an organism. However, just as there must be repentance revival among the body - that is, each of us - there must also be a sense in churches that they need to return to the Lord.

If the Spirit is not quenched - and the above guide is to prevent that - the Spirit can teach what to pray, just in the ambulance example from one post. He doesn't speak as much as He guides, though He can be heard in a still, small voice at times. It was more a persistent guiding that led me to start this blog and a Twitter account. I didn't know where it would lead, I simply followed the Lord as he led. So, clearly the Holy Spirit plays a big part here.

We need to pray that peoples' hearts would be changed first, because some things come because people forget there is an absolute right and wrong which God created for the world to function; just like a lawn mower is built to cut lawns and you'd never use it to trip branches off a tree for obvious reasons. People have made some things to seem like they belong in that class even though they don't, to please their own desires. For instance, there are no racial distinctions - we are all one race, the human race, and one group of people should never be placed above another. But, that doesn't mean there is no right and wrong. It just means we must trust God's Word and not that of selfish, sinful man.

Hence, the Church must be friendly. It is vital that the acts of the Pharisees never be repeated. People must feel as if they are welcomed, no matter who they are, and no matter what they have done. If a person is willing to look into Jesus Christ, and to a change on the inside, which is what repentance is, then they will be willing to change from any sinful ways. Of course, such people must be kept out of leadership positions until they demonstrate that they have changed from, for instance, alcoholism. But, this is in keeping with any organization. You don't join any company and suddenly become the president or CEO. First, there is a period of discipleship. This is why Jesus says to teach them, not just win them to Him. Indeed, this should be the strongest rebuke of is there a Pharisee mindset because Jesus was most critical of the Pharisees.

When God heals a nation, that means that His Holy Spirit comes and works in hearts. The Holy Spirit's primary function is to live in and guide believers to become more Christ like. However, it serves to convict the world of sin as well, as we see in John chapter 16.

This is because the Church must be Christlike. That, of course, is why so much emphasis has been placed on repentance. That starts with individual believers uniting to change the body of the Church, if necessary starting home churches which, of course, are doctrinally sound in the crucial areas - Jesus Christ, God in flesh, 100% man and 100% God, dying to take the punishment for one's sins and rising from the dead, and salvation being by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, & that calling on Him with a repentant heart to forgive and save the individual is all that's needed to save them.

Too often, we have focused so much on watering things down that we have forgotten it is Jesus Christ who saves sinners, and not we ourselves who does the work. While the ultimate focus must be on Jesus, programs help if the programs are Christ-honoring. This means staying away from the emergent church. We must not work to simply get them in church. We must disciple people to have that relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because, we must not just promote a religion. We are called to present the Gospel so that people can be born again and have a vibrant relationship. Jesus promises in John 10:10 to give life and life more abundantly, and it is that more abundant life we can only have if we have eternal life. Eternal life starts the moment one trusts Jesus Christ as their Savior.

What else can the church do?

One reason churches don't preach God's Word is because there are counterfeit Bibles. Just a few examples show that there are problems when one gets away from the one Bible which uses the original Antioch texts. Whole books have been written exposing these problems. And, they don't even get into some of the other versions, because logically it would be confusing to continue to keep flipping back and forth between 200 versions which all come from the Alexandrian family of tests yet are all different. This version is not archaic and is very understandable, more so than the modern ones.

The church must also stay away from false teaching. An earlier post discussed how Islam and Christianity are not compatible. The god of Islam is not love, whereas God is love in the Bible.

That is one of many examples. However, that comparison is also one of a number of problems that churches face. There are many people in churches who don't realize how deep they are in the world's system, a system which ignores God and pledges allegiance to false gods. These false gods can be money or fame for instance, or even literal false gods.

We are called to be in the world but not of it. That means not acting like the world or having the rude and vulgar vocabulary of the world.

Also, young people should be encouraged to start prayer and devotion clubs in the public schools where they are actively presenting the Gospel themselves. They are perfectly allowed by Federal law if other clubs are in the school. They must simply be totally student-initiated and student-led. And, young members can disciple others in other ways, too, being great is something God calls you when you are totally devoted to Him and let Him do the leading no matter what. takethespirituallead.blogspot.com has a lot about that.

So, we can pray our country and states 'll pass laws to protect people and also to give people the freedom God wants us to have. Remember,  God values freedom because it's better to love Him because we want to, not because we have to. However, taht can't happen till hearts are changed, that means us as believers and then others coming to Christ as they see a change in the body of Christ.

As noted, though, we must keep our minds focused on our eternal home in Heaven.For where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also(Mat.6:21), and it is far better to have our hearts on thigns that will last fever.

I'm sorry this is longer than I'd planned, but I wanted to close by saying how we can balance our focus on eternal rewards and love for our country This is a retelling of a Memorial Day post that, at the risk of sounding like a poor attempt at one of Paul Harvey's commentaries, is a modern day parable if you will.

You are on a flight. A flight to the most awesome, wonderful place you could imagine. You are going there to live, and all that you want or need will be there with you when you get there. So you have no luggage. In fact, you didn't even have to buy a ticket because you were given a free one. All you had to do was receive it and trust that it would pay in full your way there.

However, it's not a direct flight. You have a layover in a certain city and you don't know when the flight to your final destination will take off, so you.are put up in a motel. The way our weather was this past winter with record snows and many storms and delays there might be quite a few people who are familiar with this.

Now, you're put up in this motel, just like the other passengers. To you, it's just like home, but  it's nothing like where you are going. In fact, you notice right away there is lots of poverty and in fact outright oppression in certain areas. You find that parts of it remind you of home, and you have your ideas for how solve the problems, but at the same tiime, the stark contrasts between this and your final destination bother you. Indeed, not everyone on the flight is staying at the same motel. Some are put up in 5-star rooms where Presidents have stayed, others are put up in places that make Motel 6 look like the Ritz-Carlton; they don't even leave a light on and you wonder if each room comes with its own outhouse. Or worse, they'll have to share. The accommodations seem to be given out at random, but while some think the airline has flipped, they are reassured by others that what matters is that everyone will have the best accomodations in their new home.

And yet, despite the disparity, there is abundant beauty in this city. It has brilliant, majestic scenery of every type imaginable, and the splendor is such that you sort of wish you could stay. In fact, there are some people who claim that it's just as good as where your connecting flight will take you, though you know from your flight brochure that's not possible, that where you're headed will be far lovelier.

As if the scenic beauty of your layover isn't breathtaking enough, you start to see evidence of something even greater. Freedom. So many in your layover city are celebrating as you go to your motels. They laugh and have fun and play andwork in so many different ways; their only problem is that many don't realize that this city you have arrived at is not their final destination. In fact, some seem completely oblivious to the fact ou have a flight someplace else, and refuse to believe it possible. Others see you as Joe Tourist and sort of mock your ways.

Still, there are some who might be willing to accept and put their trust in the free tickets you are willing to give them, tickets which are God's, not yours, but which He has let you give our to any who will take them. It really mystifies you when some people insist they want to pay for a ticket themsleves.

But, despite the peculiarity of some of the people on your layover, you leave the motel you were placed in and explore the area, since you've nothing better to do till your flight leaves. There are some parts you won't enter because of your love for the One who paid for your free ticket Himself with His own purchase price - and for that you may be ridiculed by some. But, overall, as you explore, you find the people and the community events very lively and fun. In fact, if you weren't going to your final new home, it might not seem like a bad place to settle down. It's a nice place to take a vacation, anyway, even if it doesn't have all the comforts of your new home.

Speaking of community events, you realize that you have really lucked out. There is a great big festival tomorrow, and your plane won't be taking off till after its over. you would certainly rather attend the festival than sit and mope in your motel room, so you make plans to attend.

At that festival, you discover that it's a celebration of freedom; freedom just like you were given by the purchaser of your free ticket to your new home. The buyer of your ticket values freedom, in fact. he loves the notion as much as anyone there; in fact, there were many, early in the history of this city, who revered the One who bought your ticket because of that freedom. They weren't all headed for your final destination, but the concept of freedom was a lofty ideal for them, which they fought for.

At this festival you also see braves men and women who have fought for that freedom even now. You learn of powerful, dark forces which have tried to capture the city, to conquer it, to hold it hostage through fear and terror. But, these braves men and women would not let it be conquered. They gave everything they had in order to ensure that others would be able to enjoy that freedom. Even those who used the freedom to oppress.

Of course, you know that the One who bought your ticket with His own currency, the only currency which would buy that ticket, hates oppression. It grieves the Purchaser of your free ticket in fact, so He made sure there would be no oppression ijn your new home. And, he has promised to have in derision those who use their freedom for evil purposes; you read that in your flight brochure. But, while you are on that layover, you wonder, what can be done? The ones who oppress seem to be greater and greater in fnumber, because the bitterness they arouse causes the oppressed to sometimes wish to be the oppressors.

the only way is to change those oppressors' hearts. They may not listen to you, but maybe they will. However, to truly change their hearts, the oppressor and oppressed each need to meet and get to know personally the One who bought your ticket. Just like you did when he gave you that free ticket to your new home. Then, He will teach them not to oppress but to love and forgive.

In the meantime, you recognize that the great freedom which is celebrated by where you have your layover truly is something joyful. Despite the oppression, it is a wonderful place, because the freedom to do so much else is there as well. No, they don't always honor the One who gave them that freedom, or the ones who died to protect them from those who would conquer them and take away that freedom. However, freedom is something you know the One you love, the One who gave you that free ticket, cherishes.

And, so, while on your layover, you enjoy that festival celebrating freedom. But, at the same time, you go to it with a mind that while it is a wonderful place to visit, and you know you will have a good time, eventually you will be going somewhere even better. And, in the meantime, you try to help others in that city to know personally the One who gave you that free ticket, so they, too, can go to that new home. Indeed, you may even see the dangers of conquest and choose to give all that you have to defend that freedom, because you cherish it so much. And, because you know that even if you have to give up everything defending their freedom, in the end, you have that free ticket to your new home already purchased.

American freedom has been purchased with a price - the blood, toil, ears, and sweat of people from the War of Independence to the present. And, Jesus Christ bought our freedom with the purchase price of His own blood(Acts 20:28), so we who who were in bondage to sin can be made free. His gift is free to all who call upon Him for forgiveness of their sins. he gives each person a free ticket to Heaven and only requires that they receive it instead of trying to pay their own way there.

While here on Earth, we have a layover; we don't know how long it will be, it'll be different for each of us till the Rapture of the Church when all go together. But, in the meantime, we ust let Jesus Christ continue to mold us to being more like Him in His love, mercy, kindness, etc., while keeping our own individual personalities. He is working to change each believer on the inside. And, while on this layover, we must also be telling others there is that free ticket available for them if they will only call on Jesus and receive it by faith. there might even be someone reading now who feels the Spirit prompting them to pray a single, sincere prayer of repentance for their sins, trusting that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for their sins and rose fromt he dead and inviting Him into their heart to save them as they turn from their sins and turn to Him.

Also while on this layover, most reading this are in a land, America, which has great freedom. (Those who are in other nations can of course use this illustration in their own way, the crucial part is, make sure you know you are going to God's perfect Heaven where there will be no pain, no suffering, no death, etc.) That freedom has been tried and tested, used and misused, fought over, trampled down and held back up again as a shining beacon in a dark world. It is not the shining beacon that heaven is, but it has appeared as such when compared to the rest of the world many times.

So, when praing for America, and remembering those who gave their lives this Memorial Day, remember that America, like God, provides freedom, something that is special - or should be - for all people. it is a wonderful example and should be celebrated as that wonderful example. Its freedom is to be applauded and we should work to improve the lot of those who are in our country - and the world.

However, just as in that illustration you were merely enjoying that festival on a layover till your flight to a joyous new home celebrate America and work for the betterment of it keeping in mind that our minds should be fixed on what lies ahead, that flight out, and on making sure we are the kinds of shining examples of love who can be believed when we share with others the love of Jesus Christ and the freedom he gives from sin. He frees us from the Penalty of sin through His death on the cross. Once a person trusts Him as Saviour. He frees them from the Power of sin by letting them draw closer to Him and guiding them to be more Christlike. And, one day, he will free us from the very Presence of sin.