As we celebrate our nation's freedom this month consider the words and thoughts of Rudolph Norden, former writer/editor of Portals of Prayer.

John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, once stated, "Our institutions of freedom will not survive unless they are replenished by the faith that gave them birth."

Likewise our spiritual freedom will corrode unless we nurture and defend it. Wrote Saint Paul, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).

Christ has freed us from something -- from the demands, slavery, and curse of the Law. The Law said, "The soul who sins is the one who will die" (Ezkiel 18:4). Jesus Himself took our place, rendering perfect obedience to the law. When He suffered death, He took upon Himself the punishment for our disobedience of the Law, thus freeing us from the fear of death. This freedom is so wonderful that we can never give it up, can never exchange it for a yoke of slavery to the letter of the Law.

Christ also freed us for something. His truth, the Gospel of our salvation in Him, sets us free to serve Him. It motivates and enables us to do His will, not from a feeling of compulsion but by love, as the holy apostle has written, "Serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13). Be releasing us from the bondage of the Law, Christ has set us free to be His voluntary servants, even as He Himself is the Servant and Savior of us all. Set free from cares and worries, we are enabled to worship our God with joy and to find happiness as sons and daughters in His family.

Consider all the institutions founded on the exercise of Christian freedom: our homes, churches, schools, hospitals, havens for the ailing and aged, daycare centers for children. What Mr. Dulles said of civil freedom applies to Christian freedom as well: We daily need to replenish our Christian institutions with the faith that gave them birth.

John 1:31-32 "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the freedom I have in Christ. Help me to use it in a right way. Amen

Pastor Russ