The Fourth of July is just not about family picnics, cook-outs, vacation time, or fireworks. It is a day to reflect on why we really celebrate it. Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, celebrates America's formal declaration of independence from colonial rule. The Second Continental Congress officially adopted the final version of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776..But beyond the official creation and adoption of one of our nation's founding documents, how did the Fourth of July come to be a federally recognized holiday? After the American colonies officially declared independence from the British crown, it wasn't long before the occasion was celebrated. On July 4, 1777, Philadelphia kicked off Independence Day by "adjourning Congress and celebrating with bonfires, bells, and fireworks." This Independence Day celebration became more widespread at the end of the War of 1812. We continue to celebrate this day to celebrate our independence as a United Nation, founded on Christian principles, giving every man equal rights to worship as we please, to speak out and not be persecuted, and to pursue the American dream. If not for the brave Americans of that time, we would not have the life we lead today, perhaps still under the rule of England. Thank goodness for their foresight which form our great country. We hope you had a wonderful day remembering what you were celebrating.
Our sister-in-law had a huge ash tree removed from her yard this week as it was dead and in danger of falling on her house. A removal company truck arrived with just one employee. I wondered how he was going to do this by himself, as he hoisted himself with an automatic crane and began sawing off small branches on the bottom of the trunk, working his way up, using a power saw with just one hand and dropping the branches into a neat pile on the ground. I was amazed at the way he continued up the tree in a seemingly patterened way. In about an hour and a half, he had the tree totally down, leaving a foot no the trunk so a pot of flowers could be positioned on it.
and away he goes!
Almost 41 year ago Fred's brother and his wife adopted a baby girl, to add to their family They had adopted a boy a few years prior to this. When they asked son, Jeffery, what he wanted for a sibling he said he wanted a brother named Jack. Well, he got a sister named Jacci instead! Last year, Jacci's birth mother reached out to her, through the adoption agency as it was an open adoption, to search for her daughter. Jacci was contacted, agreed to fill out the paperwork, and did some facebook searching, and located her birth mother. Before the papers could be sent back to her, Jacci (after a few false starts) called her birth mother - the result was a very emotional meeting and melding of families. We were honored to be able to meet her birth mother for the first time on Saturday - again in a very emotional meeting. We spent the afternoon with family, laughing, recalling events in Jacci's life, crying at times, and created a larger family circle in the process. What a wonderful gift that this lady gave our family - so we loved on her and Jacci all day. Our sister-in-law (Jacci's adoptive mother) was just as much involved as everyone else, creating an amazing day. God does work miracles in people's lives.
We continued with visiting, relaxing, and just marveling in the beauty of a Wisconsin summer. We finished baby quilts for our soon to be 9th great grandchild, did some fun crafting, and enjoyed the past week of reliving old memories.
In a strange set of coincidences (no, not coincidence but God's plan) Vance's sermon this morning was about freedom- freedom in Christ. It was not preplanned, as he laid out the sermon series weeks ago. I smile as I see God's hand it this! We need to keep Jesus in the center of everything. Everything revolves around keeping a relationship with Him. We need to be careful not to substitute religiousness for relationship. We tend to set up a bunch of activity and rules to make an appearance of Christianity. Jewish Christians would keep a lot of their old rules and not a reality of the true Christ. The most important thing is a relationship with Christ. Don't be in love with a mystical experience rather than a relationship with Christ nor expect others to do so. we need to be in Christ, connected to the Head. Look to spiritual holidays, rules, and mystical experiences but do not overemphasize them as they tend to make you just look like a spiritual person. People who have more don'ts in their life are more spiritual. What makes a person spiritual? We are free to put Jesus at the head - the Lord of our lives. Your spiritual power will be found in your relationship with Christ. You need to be confident in this new identity in Christ. Let no one deceive you - Jesus is enough to make you complete. In the Old Testament, circumcision was an outward sign of a new life in Christ. When you are struggling, go back into your heart and remember when you were in Christ, raised through in baptism. Be free in your victory in Christ. Christ forgave our sins and nailed them to the cross. The perfect vision of Christ shows our own imperfections. You have your sins paid for by Him. That is why He said, "It is finished". punched Satan while He was on the cross - He appeared to destroy the devil's work.
The greatest freedom of all is our freedom of sin through the death of Jesus on the cross.
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