What Happened To Liberty?

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Proverbs 18:10-13 KJV

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18, 19 KJV

No matter what happens in America or in the land, there is always a Word of The Lord to address the situation. And now–with 45–the gift of France should be returned and the National Anthem put on a shelf.

Oh, say! can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming;
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s re d glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Building walls instead of bridges, censoring what people can say or tweet, keeping out those in need, escaping tyranny and oppression–negates the purpose and intent of the gift given from France–Lady Liberty–who if she could–would be heartbroken and crying to see the state of America at this point.

Frances Scott–though an advocate of slavery–would have to see the utter irony of the line–“Over the land of the free and the home of the brave?” Or maybe we never were the land of the free and certainly not the brave when the leader of a “supposed” free world bullies and encourages bullying by others in his administration. We know anyone who attempts to bully others is not brave, but cowardly. 

Where has liberty fled? Where is the Congressional intervention that should be implemented in keeping 45 in check? Where are those with the backbone, will and desire to stand up to oppressive leaders who are attempting to employ a fascist regime.

Lord, we know we have complete liberty in You and perhaps that may be the extent of liberty in America for a time, but we shall with Your direction–continue the fight in opposition to oppression, and continue to defend the rights of the poor and the needy. Thank You for strength, wisdom and knowledge to do all things well–to Your glory!

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Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 NIV)

There are so many things that can throw us a curve and if we allow every little thing that happens to defeat us, we will never know the peace of God. Being anxious about things we do not control, keeps us from rejoicing in the Lord, changes our personalities, and results in the enemy rolling in the floor, laughing at us.

We are so consumed with being politically correct and not offending people that we have forgotten how to enjoy life, be silly, and laugh at ourselves. The Word tells us that laughter is like a medicine and if we learned to laugh more, releasing anxieties and the stress that accompanies it, we would discover a much more enjoyable life, no matter what our circumstances are.

How foolish is it for people to make a big deal over the design or color of a coffee cup? Really! Are we so needy for attention that we think we can tell a company how their cups should look? Or is it the media–so lost for real news that they waste their time and resources reporting on nonsense? What’s more important–the cup or the contents? And if it makes someone that upset–get your coffee somewhere else or learn to brew it at home!

And then we want to censor creativity with acronyms. Let’s face it–around this time of year, creative artists and marketing teams do all sorts of crazy things to garner attention and the expendable income they know could come their way. It’s their job! They cannot entice people to buy things without first getting their attention. Once again, if an item offends–don’t buy it! But just because it offends one person or one group of people, don’t interfere with others enjoying a sense of humor.

I don’t necessarily appreciate all the nonsense in commercials and advertising I see, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it and I’m certainly not reporting it to the media. My solution–I simply don’t buy the product or patronize the business. Ta-dah! It’s just that simple. There is no need to create a lot of hoopla about something, directing more attention to it, and then buying it anyway. And that is what some will do.

I’ve known people to complain about the contents of a book–outraged by something they don’t have to buy or read. If it’s going to offend, don’t participate. It is the height of foolishness to declare something or someone offensive and yet engage in the promotion of a product through negativity, or to continually berate someone--keeping them the focus of attention.

So, in looking back at what I just wrote–I guess those who protest against God and the Bible are not as offended as they claim. If they were, their focus would be on Him and His Word and not all the other foolishness that won’t help anyone enter into to eternal life. Imagine that!

Now, as Believers–we know we have no need to sweat the small stuff for our faith is in Him and our confidence is in His ability to change the hearts of men and women and to transform lives so that our focus will be–rejoicing in Him, stress-free!