Independance Day

Happy 4th of July!!

Tomorrow I will celebrate the birthday of my country--the United States of America. One tidbit I heard recently is that before the civil war people referred to the USA saying "the United States of America are..." but after the civil war the country became finally united and they changed the wording to "the United States is...".

Billy Graham says this: "During the national observance of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, I was struck by the great emphasis on the number of immigrants who had often left everything behind. Coming to America with nothing but the clothes on their backs, they risked their lives for something they valued more highly than everything they left behind: freedom.... Their experience is a picture of what we must do when we come to Christ. We must forsake our alliegiance to this world, leave behind all that it offers, and become citizens of a new Kingdom--the Kingdom of God. His statue of liberty is in the form of the Cross."

I praise God that He has given me a country that allows me to worship Him freely and only pray that I will not shy away from the responsibility that comes with this privilege.

--by grace