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September 2010 DevotionalFaith and Freedom - Part 2This is the second part of an article by Pastor Rick Rogers. Part 1 was the August 2010 devotional.
Without the Christian faith there will be no true freedom, and the gracious blessings that accompany it. Scripture warns, nations that forget God are turned into Hell, cf. Psalm 9:17. World history confirms the warning, and our founding fathers warned the generations about maintaining our Christian heritage:
Folks, either we can be informed of the Truth, and care enough to live as committed Christian patriots, fulfilling our responsibilities, working hard, teaching the next generation, getting involved in the process … or we can apathetically pretend it won’t effect us. Steyn continues, “You can live as free men, but, if you choose not to, your society will die.” We must not allow that to happen; we must do what we can to awaken the sleeping and keep our heritage alive. Toward the end of his life John Adams said, “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make good use of it! If you do not, I shall repent it in Heaven that I ever took half of the pains to preserve it!” There are several things you can do to maintain faith and freedom.
Richard C. Rogers, Pastor |
Herein lies a vital change - the perversion of our Laws. Americans want the freedom to do whatever they desire without any restraints. Genuine freedom is liberty to do what we ought to do in the best interest of others; secular freedom is the liberty to do whatever we want to do – in spite of others. Sad to say, the latter view has had much judicial support and the strength of a secular state on their side. Our Laws were not established or intended to protect an individual’s depravity, and such a lamentable perversion of “freedom” cannot last. It’s been stated, “The Supreme Court has essentially usurped the authority of the Supreme Creator.” God establishes Law and authors liberty – not the state.
What have we done to preserve our heritage? Whatever may be said, one thing is clear – we have not done enough, for our faith and our freedom are both diminishing at an alarming rate. We must know our history and care enough to preserve it. Where are we at culturally? Surveys repeatedly show that Americans are ignorant of their legal rights and their history. Seemingly we have had so much for so long we simply take it all for granted; we live to work and get more “things.” We are entertained, cared for, secure, … and we simply become lazy and apathetic about things that matter most, things that we can pass to the generations to come. Conservative author Mark Steyn warned about America’s “… possible terminal manifestation of an old civilizational temptation: Indolence … the greatest enemy of a republic.”
