Celebrating Freedom | Fuel For The Weekend

 

I am looking forward to a long weekend! It is going to be so nice to catch up on some rest, work on some projects, do some writing, and enjoy the holiday weekend. Here in America, we are celebrating Independence Day. I am so thankful for the men and women who have served, died serving, serve now, and will serve in the future. I do not take my freedom for granted. I know how quickly our rights can be taken away. But I am also thankful for freedom from sin. I am thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to cleanse us and wash us in His precious blood so we can live with Him for eternity.

In Galatians 5:1, it reads, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." This is a great word for a time like this. We are to stand fast in the liberty that Jesus made us free. We don't have to work for it, try to earn it, be good enough or popular enough. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and choose to live for Him, we simply must stand firm on the Rock of our salvation, the foundation we build on, and that rock is Jesus. The next part of that verse is telling us what not to do. Don't pick up bad habits you laid down when Jesus set you free. Don't get messed up by running with the same crowd of people who you were pulled away from. If there are people who bring you down, tempt you to do things you shouldn't, and try to make you spend less time on your relationship with Christ, it is time to separate yourself from them and don't get tangled up with them again. That old behavior, those old lusts, that old way of thinking and doing things will get you snagged in a trap planted by the enemy so you become a servant of sin again. Don't do it. Hold on to the freedom you have. 

John 8:36 says, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." That's pretty clear! If Jesus Christ has set you free from sin, you are free. You can celebrate your liberty in the act of love demonstrated on the cross at Calvary. Look at your life. Examine your thoughts and motives. Are they pure? Do you seek to honor Christ? Are you living in a way that would please the Father? Are you listening to Holy Spirit as He leads and guides and directs you?

Galatians 5:13 says "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." In other words, we have been called to liberty, freedom in Christ, but we should not take advantage of our liberty and start indulging our flesh. We are to come away from that old sinful nature and walk in liberty. We are to lovingly serve one another. There are so many needs all around us. Let's take the time this weekend to look for ways to serve and love others. Let's remember why we celebrate 4th of July in America and then remember why everyday should be a celebration of our freedom from sin. Jesus saved us and by His grace and mercy He keeps us. Let's love each other and help one another Home.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend whether you celebrate or not. If you are working, I pray you are safe and have a great work day. I hope you get some time to rest and relax. I am glad to have a long weekend to recuperate from all the sleepless nights and around the clock care I gladly gave to my baby girl. I am wishing you all a wonderful weekend as we kick it off together. May something I have shared today be strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Veterans Day | Bible Study

Happy Veterans Day! I am so thankful for the men and women who sacrificed for my freedom! God bless you all. I know it is hard on military families to have their mom/dad, wife/husband, son/daughter in the military and miss holidays, special events, birthdays, and other celebrations but what a wonderful gift you have shared with me and my family and countless others across this great land!

I have a lot of relatives who are/were veterans, including my father-in-law Roy. We are so thankful for the gift of service they have shared. I am so blessed to be free and I do not take it lightly. I realize freedom is never free and many paid the cost with their very lives.

We, at Blue's Blessings would like to thank every veteran for their service! Kadesia designed these Veterans Day Activity Cards for this month's subscription boxes. I am excited to share them here on my blog.

I realize this month's Bible study posts have been different than other Bible studies I have shared but I wanted to emphasize the special honor it is to celebrate our heroes and read what God's Word says about the sacrifices these men and women made.

JOHN 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

There were many men and women who literally gave their life for their country. The folded flags and marked graves tell the story without words. As those they left behind tried to put one foot in front of another, numbly navigating this life without their loved one, their hero was gone but not forgotten. Jesus said there is no greater love than for someone to lay their life down for their friends. He should know because He did the same thing. He laid down His life for His friends and His enemies. He took the thorns and the nails for the very people who placed Him on that cross. I want to remind you of His last words as He died for the salvation of the entire world.

LUKE 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." 

LUKE 23:34 Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do." And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.

LUKE 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." 

Jesus knew what was going to happen after He died. He comforted the daughters of Jerusalem and told them to cry for themselves and their children because of the wickedness all around them. He asked forgiveness for the very ones who were crucifying Him! He had mercy on the cross as a criminal cried out for salvation.

With the final breath in His body He was comforting, forgiving, and saving. He was loving to the very end of His life. I don't know about you but if I was tortured and beaten and crucified, forgiveness of those who were wounding me would not be the first thoughts in my mind. Yet, Jesus, the Son of God, could have called down the host of angel armies in heaven who were no doubt on the verge of heaven looking down in grief and pain at what we had done to the Master! They were ready and waiting for Him to call them to bring Him relief and take Him Home but Jesus never summoned them. They would have obeyed in an instant and spared Him of the heartache and the grief He experienced in the garden the night before. Jesus did not take the easy way out. No, He paid the extremely high price for a world that did not love Him first, and some did not love Him at all. Could you do that?

We might be willing to die for someone we love but none of us has enough love, compassion, grace, and mercy to be tortured and killed for someone who hates us. It's okay though, because we do not have the power Jesus has to forgive. Our death would not mean much. We could not redeem fallen humanity with our life. Jesus did that.

So on this Veterans Day as we remember and honor the brave men and women who laid it all on the line, and those who continue to do so, let's not neglect to thank God for the sacrifice of His Son Jesus who died for our sins.

God bless you and God bless America and America bless God!

~Bridgett Owens