Freedom Isn't Free

 

Our youngest grandson had a solo part in his school's Veteran's Day program.

I am so thankful these children are being taught that our freedom isn't free and to respect those who have served, given their lives and those now serving in our military.

Billy Graham told this story about visiting a veterans' hospital.

"I once talked to a man who had lost a leg in World War II.  When I remarked about the price he had paid, he said, 'It was worth it, wasn't it?'" 

Ugh, y'all, that tugs at my heart making me realize I don't pray enough for our servicemen and women, nor be intentional to find ways to show appreciation.

I challenge you to read... 

A Veteran's Day Message from Billy Graham

https://billygraham.org/articles/a-veterans-day-message-from-billy-graham  

Here are a couple snippets from the article related to the "It was worth it" quote and what it means to be a servant and join the Lord's army.

"Out of this comes a great lesson to Christians. The Apostle Paul said, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:17, NKJV). In other words, Paul said that he bore in his body the branding marks of a slave. When he called himself a servant of Jesus Christ, he did not mean a paid worker, as the word connotes today. He meant a slave, in utter subjection to the Master. But this subjection is borne out of love and devotion to Christ, and it ultimately brings liberty.

In the ancient world, three classes of persons were branded on their bodies: soldiers, slaves, and devotees. When Paul declared that on his body were the marks of Jesus, he referred to the scars that had been left by the scourgings, stonings, vigils, and turmoil he had endured for the sake of Christ. They showed that he belonged wholly to Christ, his Master. He was a soldier, a slave, a devotee...

I am afraid that we in the Church are making a great mistake by trying to make Christianity popular and pleasant. We have taken away the cross and substituted cushions. But Christ said the world hated Him, and He predicted that it would hate us. He invited us not to a picnic but to a pilgrimage. He offered us not an excursion but an execution... Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have."

The Songs

"God Bless the U.S.A."  Lee Greenwood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KoXt9pZLGM&list=RD-KoXt9pZLGM&start_radio=1

"The Lord's Army"  (Kids song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeuoPQznpFo