08 Jul July 5th Weekly Devotional
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4
May 15, 1776 at the Virginia Convention, the government of the Revolution for that colony instructed it’s delegates to propose that the general body declare that the states of America absolve their allegiance to Great Britain, and king George III.
Richard Henry Lee, speaker of the delegation introduced the formal resolution: “That these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and Great Britain is, and ought to be, hereby dissolved….
A committee of five was appointed to draft the declaration, and Thomas Jefferson was chair.
On June 28th, the draft was submitted to Congress. On July 2nd, a few changes were made by the whole Congress, and on July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the document as “A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled.
John Hancock was actually the only representative to sign the Declaration on July 4, the majority of the others signing on August 2nd, but they all made it clear that “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures’ God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
What a great day in our Nation’s History. 250 years, which in a Nations’ years, is still an infancy.
July 4, 1776 was arguably the beginning of our Great Nation’s History, fought for by so many heroes before us, for Independence.
But this is no comparison to the Great Independence that had already been fought for and obtained so long before.
A.D. 33. The date is what we call, Easter Sunday, at dawn. Matthew 28:1-8, Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
Jesus Christ signed and sealed our Independence from sin and eternal separation from the Father. He signed it with His perfect blood when He died on the cross for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
He was the perfect Sacrifice. The perfect Lamb. He takes all our sin and imperfections away. He did it, because of His and God’s great love and mercy for us.
We live in the most wonderful country in the world. We have more freedoms than any other country, ever. Are we thankful? Are we taking as much advantage as we can? We have unlimited access to the perfect Word of God and we have more opportunity to spread the Gospel than any other.
Are we using the gift that God Almighty has so richly blessed us with?
Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for all men, including kings and all who are in authority? Why?? So that all men can come to the knowledge of the truth.
So in a busy week after a 4th of July weekend, 250 years from our Nation’s birth, pray for all men, including our own rulers, so that we can continue to have these wonderful freedoms. And while you’re at it, pray for all other nation’s rulers, so that they may be convicted, somehow someway, and that those other nations may enjoy the same freedoms we have, and we can all live in peace, because this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
