Memorial Day...A Day to Remember!

In the last 240 years our nations has endured: The American Revolutionary War.  The War of 1812.  The Mexican-American War.  The American Civil War. The Spanish-American War.  World War 1.  World War 2.  Korean War.  Vietnam War.  Desert Storm.  Enduring Freedom.  Iraq War.  Afghanistan War.  Plus hundreds of other missions and conflicts around the world that has taken the lives of our men and women serving the nation they sworn to uphold and protect.

Freedom isn’t free! It is costly, demanding, and sacrificial.  Hundreds of thousands have lost their lives in the pursuit of preserving independence and freedom.  Within our own nation, there was a desire to become an independent nation and break free from the taxation and control of Great Britain.  An estimated 25,000 revolutionist died in the pursuit of preserving independence.  The American Civil War was a gruesome and deadly display of hatred. The nation was divided over slavery and the spread of slavery to the States to the west. In 1861, history records that over 620,000 lives were lost and countless men; women and children were injured all because of a desire to control someone else. 

Losing a loved one is never easy, no matter how one passes from this life.  However, losing a loved one for the cause of freeing a nation from slavery because of the color of one’s skin, religion or ethnicity gives his or her death one of nobility. 

Memorial Day is a day to remember the men and women who fought on the battlefields to protect us from the enemy.  It is also a time to say thank you to God for creating men and women who has the willingness and drive to keep our nation safe.  

Freedom is not free!  It’s costly and sacrificial!  To live in a nation where we have freedom is precious, however, there is still one freedom that is far greater than living in a free nation!  This freedom came with a price.  It separated a father and son.  And, it cost a man his life.  Not just any ordinary man, either.  The man?  They called him Jesus.  His name alone means freedom (He saves). 

All of humanity was in the prison of sin.  Hopeless.  Chained.  And, locked in the grips of Satan.  Galatians 3:22 says, "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin...." Isaiah 59:2 says that our sins have separated us with God.  And, God said in Romans 1:18 that He hates sin.  Our sins have barred us from experiencing the joy of spiritual freedom and have locked us up with no way out! 

Jesus came to rescue us from the grips of Satan.  Romans 5:6-8, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Jesus’ sacrifice declared our independence from Satan in Romans 5:9, "Since we have now been justified (Declared Free) by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

And, Jesus made it possible for us be set free from sin, John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus is our freedom fighter and gives us independence from Satan. His death and resurrection made it possible for us to live a life of spiritual freedom. Today, I say thank you to the men and women who fought for freedom and died in the pursuit of it.  I also say thank you to Jesus for his unwavering commitments to free us from the hands of a hatful devil that is bent on destroying each of us. 

Remember, Be God Controlled!

Brian