Freedom Comes
With Great Cost
As you gather with family and friends over this Memorial Day weekend, remember those who gave all in service to our country. On Memorial Day we in the United States of America honor the memory of our fallen throughout the history of our Nation. These brave men and women paid the ultimate price to keep this land free. Pray for all the families who grieve the loss of their loved one who served this great Nation.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of His earthly life on the cross for you. There is no greater love than the love He has for you to have laid down His life so that you could have eternal life. He died to set you free from the ravages of sin and destruction. Take today to align your life with Him whether for the first time or as a renewal of commitment.
Today, our volunteer Armed Forces warriors leave the comfort of family and home to lay their lives on the line daily so we can remain free. They are not drafted to service. They willingly step up to protect you and me. All will give some and some will give all…the ultimate sacrifice of their life.
Our brave service men and women sacrifice beyond measure to keep us free in this country. Their love of country and of the ideals that have made this United States of America great spur them on to defend our freedom. Many have and many will lay down their lives to keep us One Nation under God. Take a moment and think about the valor of these warriors who have served throughout our history. As you hang your American flag today consider the cost. You are able to fly this flag because of the countless who gave up their life. Pray for them, their families and this country.
A New Winds Blows
Memorial Day weekend coincides with Pentecost Sunday this year. I believe there is a prophetic message in God’s timing of this. When the followers of Jesus were gathered together ‘in one accord,’ ‘in one place’ the Holy Spirit descended upon them with the sound of a mighty rushing wind. On that first Pentecost they were filled with the Holy Spirit. There was a definitive shift in the atmosphere.
Now more than ever we need an atmospheric shift in this United States of America. We must stand ‘in one accord,’ ‘in one place’ spiritually to allow the door of heaven to open and send a mighty rushing wind across this land. This country was dedicated to Jesus Christ on the shores of Virginia in 1607. Countless men and women have died defending this country and that very dedication.
There are those today in leadership that threaten the very existence of this legacy. Only a move from heaven will keep us free. That move will only come if we are ‘in one accord,’ ‘in one place,’ humbled, repentant and prayerful. That is the promise of God but each of us has the responsibility to fulfill our particular part individually and corporately with other believers.
President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address speaks of the sacrifice of those fallen in the Civil War. I believe his words echo for all who have fallen in battle throughout our history as a Nation. He speaks of a ‘new birth of freedom.’ We stand at a crossroads in history. As every American freedom is threatened today, may freedom remain our battle cry.
May God bless the United States of America. May God bless our troops. May God bless you this Pentecost Sunday and Memorial Day and always. This Pentecost, this Memorial Day seek His face as to what you can do for your country. Let us be ‘of one accord,’ ‘in one place’ to usher in the mighty rushing wind.
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” ~Jesus, Matthew 12:25
“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” Jesus, Matthew 21:43
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s own life for his friends.” Jesus, John 15:13
“Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” ~Acts 2:1-2
“…If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” ~2Chronicles 7:14
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise…from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” ~Esther 4:14
“But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” ~President Abraham Lincoln, November 1863, Gettysburg Address
“We do hereby dedicate this Land, and ourselves, to reach the People within these shores with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth. May this Covenant of Dedication remain to all generations, as long as this earth remains, and may this Land… be Evangelist to the World.” ~Rev. Robert Hunt, April 29, 1607
“We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” ~Douglas MacArthur
“The purpose of all war is ultimately peace.” ~St. Augustine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E ~Lee Greenwood, God Bless the U.S.A.
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Islamic extremists and all forms of terrorism. Pray for Christians who face violence and death for their faith. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history. As Iranians and Islamic extremists are shouting ‘Death to America,’ let us speak life, hope and a return to God in America!
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who are proud to call ourselves American.
May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father God, we thank You for the ultimate price that Jesus paid to set us free. We thank You for each and every man and woman who steps up in this season to keep us free as a Nation. We come in agreement for hedges of protection around our troops and their families. We remember our fallen warriors and ask Your peace to descend on their families this day and always. Place deep in our heart the love of God and love of country that has guided our Nation from its inception. Lead us to pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters who suffer at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Open the eyes of our leaders to arise in this season to defend the very belief in You upon which our Nation is founded. Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.