Thursday, July 4, 2013

Heroes



Today we are honoring the fallen, and our independence.  Those who have given their lives so we can live.  We remember our soldiers who have given their lives for us at great sacrifice.  Their families also having sacrificed a spouse or a parent so that we could have our freedoms.  We remember the firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew and their families who have sacrificed so that we could keep our lives, our homes, and our possessions. 

My wife and I watched a 4th of July parade today in Williams, Arizona where the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew was honored on several floats.  It brought a lot of tears.  We also saw a young lady who had what appeared to be cerebral palsy riding a horse, showing her courage in overcoming obstacles in her life as well as being an example to others to overcome obstacles as well.  To me, this was a day of recognizing heroes.  All of these people have lived honorable lives and some have given their lives honorably.  They should be honored by all of us.

I remember a man asking me once who I thought the strongest person in the world was.  He listed some names, and of course today I would add the names of the above to that list.  They all have shown great strength and courage.

But the strongest, most honorable, courageous person who ever lived would have to be Jesus, who deserves our greatest honor.  Colossians 2:13-15, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the sentence for our sin is seperation from God for all of eternity.  Death.  After sentence was given toward us, Jesus stepped down from glory and paid the penalty Himself, for an undeserving creation.  He then rose from the dead by His own Spirit of holiness.  Having paid the sin debt of all who come to Him, He took away the power of the devil to rightfully accuse us for our rebellion against God.  For those who receive Jesus as their Savior, their sin is gone, He clothes them in His own righteousness, adopts them as His children, seals them by His Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of their inheritance in Christ, and gives them eternal life.

Jesus, the Son of God, carried the sins of the whole world on His own shoulders to the cross and paid the penalty for us so that we could live with Him forever.  There was no one else that was able to do that. 

So, in the honoring of the fallen today, let us not forget to honor the One who died for us, and then rose from the dead to save us. 

And if you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, if you have never asked Him to save you from judgement by what He did at the cross, ask Him now.  Anyone who comes to Him, He will in no way cast out.

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