Happy 4th!

"The blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church."

— Tertullian, 2nd Century AD 

And with that joyful quote, I wish you all a happy July 4th! 

Actually, it is for that quote that I am happy to live in the United States of America — Texas branch. The church is facing great persecution in this world and many martyrs are shedding their blood as I type these words. Quite a few nations are closed to evangelism (though they cannot stop the Holy Spirit) and some are violently opposed to the Christian God. I remember sitting in the chairs at Gainesville Bible Church one Sunday evening and listening to a pastor from Pakistan share about the struggles believers are enduring in his country as well as across the Middle East. My eyes were opened even wider to the suffering facing Christians around the globe.


Tertullian was right. The church was born into persecution and persecution has caused it to grow through the ages. But what we believers face here in America, from ridicule to... well... ridicule is nothing compared to what the church has faced through the ages. Persecution has been light here. And I see this as a great blessing of God to those living in America.

Many times I fear that we Americans take our religious freedom for granted. We assume that we'll be able to use God's name in public anytime or continue meeting in church buildings without a government monitor. But America is the exception and not the rule. We are free! And we should be ever so thankful that God has given us such freedom.

That's why I take a deep breath here on July 4th. I am SO thankful to live in a place that, despite any political opinion, is still free for Christians to worship the Lord our God. The freest religious society on earth, I believe. I am thankful for God's many blessings on America, from financial wealth to victory in war. God has given us rain on our crops so our country has never suffered from a lack of food. And He has worked through our political system to bring about His will in our land and in our world.


God has blessed America. I think He will continue to bless us. And I'm ever so thankful to Him for allowing me to live here. 


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