July 4, Independence Day, 2010

Dear Friends,

Today we celebrate LIBERTY––how sweet the sound, how it stirs our souls. Why? Could it be that it's because Liberty is part of our DNA? Why have so many given so much in defense and pursuit of Liberty? I believe it's because we have been created in the image of God––we bear His likeness and we were created to love what He loves, and hate what He hates. He sent His Son into our world on account of Liberty; “I have come to set the captives free” “I hate injustice” “it was for Freedom that He came” Yes, the Love of Liberty is a part of every human being, and only a lie from hell could say that it is not––would say that some people are just different, that they are better off with a little “slavery” for their own good, their own security (whether this slavery be spiritual, cultural, societal, political––or any combination of these that results in the wrong type of dependency, a dependency on anything other than God). And like the God in whose image we were made, we too will  “proclaim Liberty to the captives”! It was for this purpose, for this precious Liberty, that our forefathers sacrificed “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor”.

Imagine with me what other Americans have felt as they have celebrated July 4. Imagine the pride, the joy as well as the Holy fear in the hearts of those first Americans upon hearing our Declaration of Independence proclaimed for the first time back in 1776. Imagine what it felt like to celebrate Liberty while the desperate fight for that Liberty dragged on during our War for Independence. And then imagine the celebration on the July 4 that came after the British surrendered, after the victory in the War for our Independence was secure! Then imagine being an American slave prior to the Civil War, watching free men and women celebrating their Liberty, wondering if true liberty was meant to cross all racial and cultural bounds. And then imagine those same children of God celebrating July 4 after the Emancipation Proclamation, and then just a little later as their Liberty was finally guaranteed by our laws and Constitution! Imagine celebrating July 4, 1942, just months after Pearl Harbor, when the future of our nation and the world was terribly uncertain, and then imagine the celebration of this Day of Freedom after the victory in World War II was finally accomplished (at an unimaginable cost)!  Imagine the celebration in the hearts of the Iranian hostages and their families as they celebrated the Fourth of July in 1981, the first Independence Day after their seemingly endless foreign captivity. And remember how WE ALL felt, just after we survived 9/11, celebrating Independence Day that next summer––with the gratitude and the unity that infused our entire nation in that all-too-unique and precious season!

And now today, as we see ever more clearly how precious Liberty is, and how fragile it is and how easily it can be lost––how unique in history is the gift of this nation and the blessings of Liberty that have been its heritage––we see more clearly how EACH and EVERY generation must CHOOSE to fight and defend Liberty against all the evil forces (without, and within our borders) that would seek to destroy our Liberty and attempt to “hold it in the tomb”.  And while we know that we have a critically vital part to play in Liberty's victory, we acknowledge that ultimately, “the Victory is the Lord's"!  The same “Power”  that raised up Christ, that gave Liberty  to the captives  bound by spiritual evil––is the very same “Power” that was invoked to break the bonds of tyranny at our nation's founding. It's this same “Power” that inspired the Emancipation Proclamation, and freed the American slaves. And it is this very same “Power” that will preserve and restore our nation's Liberty today! Only this “Power” can, and will––if we submit our wills––break the chains of despotism that are being imposed on us now by power-hungry men and women who have ignored the proper laws of God and man so recently in this nation.

So today, we celebrate Liberty––in all its grandeur, in all its Holy majesty, with humble hearts of gratitude for all who have sacrificed so much for it, determined now do OUR part in preserving and extending this  precious blessing of Liberty in our time, and to our posterity for ALL  time!

God bless us, keep us, and save us,

and may God bless the USA!

Ricky Lee Jackson

(AKA: Rick the Doctor)