Liberty In Our Land

"He who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience)."
                                                                                                                                  James 1:25




In the Old Testament, when the nation of Israel sinned and rebelled against God, they often ended up either in captivity or were exiled from their land. During the Babylonian captivity, God used Babylon as His instrument of judgment for Israel's idolatry, sin, and rebellion. King Nebuchadnezzar lead his armies against Judah until most of Jerusalem was destroyed, including the Jewish temple.

Ironically, it is always the people and the nations that declare themselves to be "free" from God and His ways that end up in servitude or captivity. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of captivity is "the state of being kept in a place (such as a prison or a cage) and not being able to leave or be free: the state or condition of being captive". Freedom becomes obsolete, as does the ability to make free choices. Interestingly, captivity provides the illusion that there is independence when, in actuality, there are tight boundaries.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, The United States grows more in captivity everyday. According to a study done by Columbia University, there are currently 40 million Americans that meet the criteria for addiction to nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. In addition to this number, there are another 80 million who are deemed "risky substance users" which threaten public health and safety.

It would be bad enough if the statistics for bondage ended here. However, they do not. There are another 40 million people who visit internet pornography sites on a regular basis. Approximately one out of every five internet searches on mobile devices are for pornography. Studies have shown that as addiction to pornography increases, so does desensitization and acting out sexually, which also causes public health and safety issues in our nation.

Still, there is more. There are also addictions to: gambling (8 million people), shopping (18 million people), work (47 million people), food (17 million people), sex (12 million people), and video games (28 million people). Anytime people cannot control their actions or make rational decisions there is a bondage, especially in the face of negative consequences. When there is a bondage there is likely a deception that accompanies it that denies its very existence.

These are just the documented addictions of our society. But, what about social media? Cell phones? T.V.? Entertainment? Comfort? Selfishness? The truth is, anytime we are compelled to do something we don't want to do or we do not do something that we want to do, there is a form of bondage (Romans 7:15).

Jesus died not only for us to be set free from bondages, but also for us to be free to do what He has called us to do. The apostle, Paul, said this, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Philippians 3:12). We let go of the hindrances and sin that holds us back so that we can take hold of all that Jesus died for us to have.

This requires that our spirit be stronger than our flesh or our soul. Only this will stop the downward spiral of bondage and captivity that we see in our nation today. Henry Ward Beecher said, "The real democratic American idea is, not that every man shall be on a level with every other man, but that every man shall have liberty to be what God made him, without hindrance."

Even within the churches in America, there are still two overreaching problems that hold us back. The first problem is that we are not connected enough to God and the second problem is that we are too connected to the world. If this were not true we would not have statistics within the church that emulate the statistics within our society.

We must be determined to get more God into our lives and less of the world. If we are committed to doing this we can boldly declare what Paul did, "For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:19).

God wants to refresh and restore our nation, just as He did for the nation of Israel. As was prophesied, after 70 years of exile, the Jews returned to Israel and began building the temple. People returned to God and a revival broke out in the land. The Israelites rejoiced because they had been delivered from the hands of their enemies!

This Thursday, on our National Day of Prayer, would you join me in recommitting your life, your family, and our nation back to God? Would you be willing to fast and pray and declare freedom for the captives? If, in unity, we would pour our hearts out to our loving Heavenly Father and believe Him for a mighty move, I believe we would see the same results the Israelites saw. We would, once again, see God's faithfulness to His people, His judgment of sin, and the absolute certainty of His promises. Perhaps, we could once again hear the bell ringing of Liberty in our Land


   "God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard it and defend it."
                                                           Daniel Webster