I had the privilege of having a great American History teacher my junior year in high school:  My Dad.  As we celebrated as a family yesterday at his brother’s cabin–I thought of him a few times.  He had an incredible influence on my life and I am so glad that he was my teacher.  At our home one night, I can remember my dad telling me about an American Indian warrior’s great testimony about George Washington…so I looked it up.  I just wanted to see if I could read what he was telling me about.

 

http://home.portervillecollege.edu/jwiens/george_washington.htm

As details of the battle emerged, it turns out that either George Washington was extremely lucky, was bulletproof, or was being supernaturally protected. One Indian warrior testified that he had shot at him 17 times. He exclaimed that “Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet!” Another Indian, Red Hawk, had shot and missed him 11 times. He had not missed a shot before, and became convinced that Washington was being supernaturally protected by the Great Spirit. In 1770, fifteen years after the battle, an old Indian told Washington that he had sought out to meet him. He had been fighting in the battle that day, and he had told all the Indians with him to shoot at him, and make sure that he died. When they all missed, he told them to stop. On that evening, he predicted that Washington would never die in battle, and would be “the founder of a mighty empire.”

 

Perhaps this was the article that my dad was referencing…..but I think the spirit of this story holds to what we talked about on that night many years ago.  The testimony of our great nation, under God, from a people who were our adversaries.

 

As we take in the memory of the fireworks, the barbeque, and the gatherings—we should fondly make note of how we came to be a nation.

 

I tell my students all the time that they are free.  They can worship freely, they can live freely, and they can work as hard as they would choose to better their situation.

 

This is what my father and his brothers and sisters did.  They grew up in Hugo poor and made the most of what they had material-wise:  Nothing.

 

This is because when you combine freedom, hard work, family, and God’s blessing—-great things can happen.

 

What brings God’s blessing?

 

That is something we each need to look into as we move forward……

 

A few things on my heart today would be:

 

Strong Families

Hard Work

Gratitude

Generosity

Loyalty

 

I know that there could be many more things on that list so I will leave them for you to fill in…..but my point is this.

 

Jesus gave us freedom from three things that we could never have defeated on our own strength:

  • Satan
  • Sin
  • Death

 

What could our country look like today if we truly acted on that freedom?

 

Our country is in a period of transition.  We have many things on the horizon that will make or break us.

 

But here is the good news:

 

2000 years ago Jesus sealed up our freedom on a cross between two thieves.  He poured out His blood and took the punishment that we deserved that we might live again……..Satan, sin, and death were defeated in one act of incredible love that we could never talk about enough…….

 

So go forward in freedom…..and seek God’s blessing in your walk.

 

Because in those things—-great nations are born.

 

 

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J