This is Veteran’s Day –weekend- celebration and thankfulness to all our military who serve to protect our Country-United States of America.  Our national military can give us natural freedom but there is one who gives us spiritual freedom that no other man can give us.  His name is JESUS.

Jesus came to deliver us from the darkness of our hearts-a sinful soul.

Jesus came to deliver us from the pain of sickness and disease-our body.

Jesus came to deliver us from the wrongful thoughts-our minds.

Provision for our soul:  John 3:16-18:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life; for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”.

These verses settle it.  God loves us. God provided a way to redeem us. God does not condemn us.

Provision for our body:  Palms 107:20:  “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction”.

Let’s face it; all sickness and disease are destructive to us.  Jesus is the Word that God sent. (John 1:1, 14)  Jesus healed all manner of sickness and disease when He walked on this earth. (Matthew 4:23)  Jesus is the same today as He was then. (Hebrews 13:8)  The name of Jesus is the name above every name; diseases have names.  (Philippians 2:9)  So the evidence from these Scriptures is that Jesus still heals today.  The question is not whether Jesus still heals today but whether we can believe for our healing in the Name of Jesus.  It takes faith to believe and the only way to acquire faith is by hearing and hearing the Word of God.  (Romans 10:17)

Provision for our mind:  Proverbs 16:3: “Commit thy works (thinking and activities) unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established”.

When something is established then its firm, stable and focused on the end result.  It is what we think about that determines our lives. (Proverbs 23:8)  So if we don’t commit our thinking to please the Lord we will have a difficult time living for the Lord.  Therefore it is important to monitor our thoughts. (Philippians 4:8) It is of vital importance to bring every thought under the scrutiny of the Word of God.  (2 Corinthians 10:5)  When our thoughts are established on the Word of God we make our way (our life) prosperous and we will have good success.  (Joshua 1:8)

The freedom we have to choose the way we think, speak and behave is a gift from God through Jesus Christ.  It’s His example of living that teaches us how to live for God; His compassionate power that heals our bodies from sickness and disease; and His way of thinking that shows us how we are to think and control our thoughts.  It’s all free to us and for us but it did cost something. It cost Jesus the death on the Cross, but thanks be to God for raising Him from the dead and giving us the gift of life in Jesus.

I challenge you this week that as you thankfully think about the freedom our military services provide for us, that you also think about the One who died to save you and give you life abundantly-Jesus-the Savior of the world.  But also realize it’s not enough to know that He is the Savior, each person must decide to acknowledge, accept, and confess that belief.  (Romans 10:9-10)  Today is the accepted time to make the decision to receive God’s forgiveness in Jesus.  (2 Corinthians 6:2)

It’s continual decisions on our part to choose to read, study, learn, speak, and live according to the Word of God; it’s our reasonable service to Him for His sacrifice for saving us and bringing us into His glorious Kingdom.  (Romans 12:1)

As I said the Gift of Salvation is free through Jesus; but to remain free from the darkness of sin we must accept our responsibility to maintain that freedom by keeping our heart right before God.  Though freedom is free to us – it still always has a price that someone paid for it.  The cost of a national freedom for military cost us in taxes continually.  Our nation can’t maintain our freedom without constant monitoring of our security.  Our spiritual freedom must be maintained too; by time spent in reading and studying the Bible; and praying according to the Word of God.

How we maintain our freedom – both nationally and spiritually – show the degree of value we put on our freedom. Thanks to all the veterans of the United States of America for serving and protecting our freedom; and thanks to God for sending Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer and setting us free from sin.