The smell of charcoal and the smoke from exploding fireworks was still lingering as this post went out, and a few grills and griddles might even still be a little warm as evidence of last night’s festivities. Today and tomorrow will still be considered “4th of July Weekend,” but we all know it’s not the 4th of July anymore. The 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation is just ‘one’ short year away now, and today is the ‘5th’ of July 2025. That big fiery ball lighting up the sky this morning didn’t come from “Harvey’s Discount Fireworks.” It’s the sun announcing God’s familiar reminder that yesterday has passed. A new day has begun, and it’s time to prepare for whatever comes next. 

Special Memories ~
When my wife and I lived in Williamsburg, VA, Independence Day was a very special time for the whole community. We loved going down to the Historic area where much of the original town had been reconstructed to show what Williamsburg was like in the Colonial era. Costumed guides were stationed at key points like the Governor’s Mansion, Christianna Campbell’s Tavern, and the King’s Arms restaurant. But on July 4th, the most important place to be was on the ‘green’ surrounding the Colonial Capitol.

An especially impressive part of the Independence Day celebration for us was a ceremonial reenactment of changing the flag at the Colonial Capitol. Watching the British flag being lowered and then seeing “Old Glory” rise to take its place was always a moving experience. As those stars and stripes would unfurl in the summer breeze, and notes of the National Anthem would begin to ring out, unrestrained patriotic cheers and grateful tears would join in. It became a spiritual as well as musical anthem of praise that victory had been won. Tyranny had been vanquished, freedom reigned, and that red, white, and blue flag would stand forever as a symbol of what can happen when people who love freedom join together and put their trust in God.

Maintenance Is Required ~
But when we woke up the next morning back then, we discovered that, just like now, the big day had passed. July 4th was gone, and it was a whole new day. I’ll bet you noticed the same kind of pattern as well, and I’m thinking that God might have been trying to tell us something. Whether the 4th of July was a major celebration for us or some kind of heartbreaking defeat, the question July 5th brings with it is what do we do with it – or about it. Our history has proven that the freedom our Colonial warriors celebrated as the British flag was lowered almost 250 years ago now would only last as long as our willingness to sacrifice our lives to defend it.

Most likely, it was not July 4th when the Children of Israel marched through the Red Sea with walls of water on each side of them as Pharaoh’s army pursued them. The feeling of finally being free from their cruel taskmasters and endless oppression must have been overwhelming. But whatever the date happened to be, and on whatever calendar they followed, they discovered the next morning that the big day had passed, and their new freedom brought new challenges with it. 

That brings us to the simple point that I think we should be careful not to overlook on this first day leading us into the final full year of a very special Independence Day weekend in 2026. It’s found in one of the most familiar and often-quoted comments that Jesus made. In the midst of an ongoing confrontational engagement with His Jewish opposition late in His ministry, Jesus made this statement:

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31–32)

 A Different Kind of Freedom ~
Jesus’ offering may sound commonplace to us, but for untold multitudes in every generation, including our own, freedom is something they have only been able to dream about. The zealots in Jesus’ day wanted freedom from Roman oppression and advocated insurrection, but that was not the kind of freedom Jesus offered. Jesus was not talking about deliverance from despots and dictators. What He offered was freedom from the bondage and condemnation inherent in the sins we commit, which is of infinitely greater worth. But in thinking about that freedom in light of the freedom we’re celebrating this weekend, I’m noticing similarities. For instance:

• • Oppression and bondage are predecessors of both concepts of freedom.
  • A powerful enemy stands in the way in both cases.
  • The cost of freedom in both cases is measured in terms of sacrificial blood willingly shed because of love.
  • The freedom in both cases is conditional. There is an “if” in regard to both.
    • “If” you’re not an American, the freedom celebrated on the 4th of July doesn’t apply to you.
    • “If” we don’t abide in His Word, the freedom Jesus described doesn’t apply to us. 
  • When the battle for freedom is won, the fight to preserve it and defend it begins.

Confessing our sinful condition, and declaring personal belief that Jesus’ death and resurrection, is our only hope of forgiveness and life with Him that goes on forever. But suppose we did that and sort of declared it to be our spiritual 4th of July? 

• • What happens when we wake up on the 5th of July? 
  • Do we just praise the Lord that we’re “saved” and stop thinking about it? 
  • Is freedom guaranteed from now on and there are no more battles to fight? 
  • Does the enemy just hang his head in defeat and walk away? Hardly.

A Predictable Saboteur ~
Just consider this for a moment … If knowing [i.e., intimate knowledge from personal application] the truth is the power source that ensures our freedom, what do you suppose the enemy might use to distort, pervert, manipulate, and infect that freedom? How do you suppose he might deceive us into using what we consider our freedom to lure us into more bondage? You’re so right (you guys are geniuses – again …). The enemy wants to trip us up with lies and counteract the freedom that makes us strong. But Jesus made His ongoing defense strategy crystal clear . . . It’s to abide in His Word, and that means that we’re to do more than just read it. It means to live in it, or more accurately, to have it come to life in you and in me. 

So, as we continue to celebrate the freedom we’ve enjoyed since that 4th of July ‘almost’ 250 years ago, let’s keep the most vital of all freedoms alive and well by doing what Jesus suggested. Let’s greet the ‘5th’ of July by opening our Bibles and adding to that intimate, personal understanding of the values and principles Jesus taught. 

We at Gallagher’s Pen wish all of you a patriotic, freedom-loving weekend … 

AND  …

🇺🇸  A  HAPPY  ‘5th’  of JULY!!  🇺🇸

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • • If you’re not an American, the freedom celebrated on July 4th doesn’t apply to you and if we don’t abide in His Word, the freedom Jesus described doesn’t apply to us. When the battle for freedom’s won, the fight to preserve and defend it begins.   @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • Confessing our sinful condition, and declaring personal belief that Jesus’ death and resurrection, is our only hope of forgiveness ‘and’ life with Him that goes on forever. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • Jesus made His ongoing defense strategy crystal clear . . . It’s to abide in His Word, and that means that we’re to do more than just read it. It means to ‘live’ in it, or more accurately, to have it come to life in you and me. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • Jesus made His ongoing defense strategy crystal clear . . . It’s to ‘abide’ in His Word, and that means that we’re to do more than just read it. It means to ‘live’ in it, or more accurately, to have it come to life in you and me. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)

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