First of all, Happy 4^th of July! This has to be one of the most important holidays in the United States. There are many holidays that we celebrate as a nation, but none set the precedence for everything else. None other could set the stage for what would become the greatest nation in the world.

Independence Day gave us the platform to launch a nation that in the words of Abraham Lincoln was, “a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” He went on to say, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from this earth. President Lincoln spoke those words at a most critical time in our nation’s history; a time of conflict and turmoil when the decisions that were made would have a long lasting effect on future generations.

As a Christian, I am also fully aware of the words of our Lord in regards to freedom. He said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” He also clearly announced in His first message in the temple that He came to set the captives free. It was, and is, the heartfelt desire of our Father that we would not walk around bound to the chains of sins, but fully alive and fully free. The Apostle Paul wrote of believers walking in freedom and not getting tangled in it again. Friend, we are born to be free. Sin was never meant to have dominion over us. Satan was never meant to be our master.

I sometimes pass by a facility that helps people with their drug addictions. How do they do it? By offering another drug? How many bars are within minutes of your home that are filled with people trading one chain for another? How many people trade one bondage for another, thinking that they are free, but rather just substituting another chain? My heart is grieved. I’m not judging because I myself am guilty of the same thing.

Over the last several years, I have been learning the freedom that comes from Christ. I am still on my journey but I can say that there are some chains that are gone for good. For that I am very thankful. For the others, all I can say is, I know God is able and I can totally rest in His strength, mercy, and overcoming grace. I walk as if I have already been freed because in Christ I have been.

Finally, I don’t believe it is a coincidence that in our nation the symbol of freedom is the bald eagle and God’s word in Isaiah defines freedom as an eagle.

This is how it feels to be free!