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Good Memorial Day 2020 to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
This is a very special day. . .not only for America, but for millions of people around the world, especially those over age 60 or so!
Here’s a question for us to consider: What if there was NO Memorial Day in America?
What if America had ultimately refused the desperate cries for help from Europe and Asia in 1915 or 1941 or 1953, or 1969 or more recently in Central Asia and the Middle East or other places American soldiers lost their lives fighting for the freedoms of others? What does American Memorial Day mean to the people in places like Berlin or Seoul or Paris or London or Amsterdam or Rome…or your town?
This past weekend we’ve been looking at the story of the Ascension of Jesus back to heaven following His death and resurrection. I wonder if Memorial Day is another of those special days here on earth which moves Jesus and God the Father, to look out across the masses of people in heaven and rejoice…considering the results of Jesus saying YES to His Father’s Redemption plan which required His ultimate sacrifice? Revelation 7:9 is a future picture of what is seen…“…there before me was a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne in front of the Lamb…”
What if Jesus had said NO!? What if Jesus had concluded the price for human freedom from sin bondage was simply too high? You’ll remember His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane as He contemplated the price our redemption required and yielded Himself to His Father’s will. (Matt. 26:42)
I have a 95 year old friend who has told me stories of what it was like for him, as a young corporal in the US Army, the day they liberated one of the horrible Nazi concentration camps, which was part of the holocaust. I have another dear friend who has told me some of her memories as a child in the Netherlands when the bombs fell and Nazi soldiers invaded her town.
So what does Memorial Day mean to you my friends… all over the world?
This is a day unlike any other. A day in which we memorialize death, specifically the death of men and women killed in battle. On this day our nation once again reflects. What price are we willing to pay for freedom…ours and freedom for others? Freedom isn’t free is it my friends? Freedom from tyranny, from bondage and slavery, from the aggression of brutality often requires the ultimate price be paid. Today we honor those who have paid that price.
But freedom is also not permanent is it? Freedom earned today must be respected and defended tomorrow. Sometimes freedom is defeated when a conquering enemy is more powerful. Sometimes freedom is abdicated by succumbing to selfish desires. Sometimes freedom is slowly given away one decision at a time, over time.
On this Memorial Day as I look over the world I’m concerned that freedom earned at the price of so many lives, is valued very little in so many places, even here in America. What do you see my friends? What are the millions of free people in the world doing, with their freedom, including you and me?
Freedom allows us to make decisions, but sometimes those free decisions actually enslave us, right? The horrific evil of abortion is an example of that. In our freedom, more than 60 million unborn, but alive children have been legally slaughtered… but I’ve never met a woman who has had an abortion who can look me in the eye and say “I’d do it again in a minute”. Oh the pain and suffering that comes from that freedom choice!
Our prisons are filled with those who abused their freedoms. How many would give anything to undo the horrible things they did and take back the pain their freedom choices caused others? And how many have said, “it’s only one little drink” and yet they’ve lived in the bondage of alcohol for years. How many thought it was a party drug, and now desperately survive in the living hell of drug addiction? How many families have been ripped apart by a pornography addiction or are in poverty because of a gambling addiction? My friends, while freedom is wonderful, unwise use of freedom can enslave a free person, isn’t that true?
So here’s a powerful word from God: “The fool says in his heart, there is no God. The LORD God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” (Psalm 14:1,2) What does God see as His eyes look over our world this Memorial Day? As COVID-19 has ravaged our world health and our economies, what has God seen in the hearts of mankind? Are we seeking God YET, this Memorial Day?
Here’s a great word of hope for us on this Memorial Day my friends, as we consider what Jesus accomplished in our deliverance: “It is for freedom that Jesus Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.“ (Galatians 5:1)
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance. From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind, from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth. He who forms the hearts of all considers everything they do…the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love…” (Ps. 33:12-15,18)
Oh my “Walking with Jesus” friends, I hope this Memorial Day you’ll take some time to really think about what freedom means...especially the freedom from sin bondage and sin condemnation that Jesus earned for humanity in His victorious death and resurrection! Thank Him, Praise Him… and consider that our earthly Memorial Day is significant, but it pales in comparison to what Jesus accomplished for you and me!
I’ve enclosed a link to a powerful Memorial Day tribute. Consider how our world has changed since President Reagan made these comments 38 years ago!! And consider how many more courageous men and women have died since, earning and defending freedom that is precious, but so easily misused.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Click to read today’s chapters: Galatians 5:1; Psalm33:12-18. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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