I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD,INDIVISIBLE,WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
KEEP IT LIT!! KEEP IT LIT! For all of our other military personnel, where ever they may be. Please Support all of the troops defending our Country.
And God Bless our Military who are protecting our Country for our Freedom.
Thanks to them, and their sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July.
We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have,of which we should be eternally grateful.
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform;
so young, so tall, so proud.
With hair cut square and eyes alert,
he’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil;
how many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
NO, FREEDOM ISN’T FREE
!
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant ‘Amen.’ When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
of the mothers and the wives,
of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea. Of unmarked graves in Arlington .
At that [a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”2 And He called a child to Himself and set him[b]before them,3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [c]are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it [d]would be better for him to have a [e]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than [f]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than [g]to have two eyes and be cast into the [h]fiery hell.
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.11 [[i]For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.14 So it is not the will [j]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
15 “If your brother sins[k], go and [l]show him his fault [m]in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every[n]fact may be confirmed.17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as [o]a Gentile and [p]a tax collector.18 Truly I say to you, whatever you [q]bind on earth [r]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [s]loose on earth [t]shall have been loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them [u]by My Father who is in heaven.20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven [v]may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him [w]ten thousand talents was brought to him.25 But since he[x]did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the [y]debt.28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [z]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’30 But he was unwilling [aa]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from [ab]your heart.”
Total Forgiveness: Ch. 6, Part 1 – The Art of Forgiving and Forgetting
Ray reads the first half of the sixth chapter from R. T. Kendall’s powerful book that stresses the dangers of keeping a record of wrongs and shows you how to get rid of them. His example is Jim and Tammy of PTL fame as they appeared when Jim Bakker was released from prison and exonerated. Tammy had married someone else while Jim was in prison. He had been in prison for eight years before being released. How did Jim forgive his accusers, and how did he forgive Tammy? You’ll find out on this edition of Total Forgiveness.
Total Forgiveness: Ch. 6, Part 1 – The Art of Forgiving and Forgetting
Rayford Steele is about to do the eulogy at Pastor Bruce Barnes funeral. He then will go on to tell the huge crowd what is going to happen in the world almost immediately. This is a great chapter for those who want to understand more from the book of Revelation. The question is – what servants of the Antichrist are sitting listening to Rayford preach?
Take Time With God #97 – Who Christ sets free is free indeed!
Christ has set Christians free, but in order to remain free they have to guard their minds from believing lies that would put them in bondage again. Ray shares from Colossians 2:16–23 to deliver Paul’s warning.
Colossians 2:16-23
16 Therefore no one is to [a]act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath [b]day—17 things which are amere shadow of what is to come; but the [c]substance [d]belongs to Christ.18 Let no one keep [e]defrauding you of your prize by delighting in [f]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, [g]taking his stand on visions he has seen,[h]inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and[i]ligaments, grows with a growth [j]which is from God.
20 If you have died with Christ [k]to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”22 (which all referto things destined to perish [l]with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the[m]appearance of wisdom in [n]self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
KEEP IT LIT!
We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful.
I watched the flag pass by one day.A young Marine saluted it,
I thought of all the children,
