What we think about Easter determines the course of our lives.

All holidays are meant to be reminders of significant people or events in history. But Easter stands alone in it's potential to personally impact a life.

The story of the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ would certainly be an interesting tale, full of mystery, suspense, wonder, miracles, crime, love, hate, greed, etc. But if that were the end, that's all it would be - just an interesting tale. I'm sure there would still be a good number of followers, many books written about the selfless martyr, rules to live by based on his teaching, speeches given in his honor to commemorate him, and lots of streets and buildings named after him. But that's all. He would be an idea, a philosophy, a set of teachings that man would attempt to make into a means by which one can become righteous, making him good enough to be accepted into the next life.

But Jesus did more than be born, live, and die. He was resurrected! And His resurrection validated everything He taught while here on the earth, placing it in a class by itself, in the place of TRUTH. There is no other religious leader, good man, or prophet who can lay claim to being the embodiment of Truth. Jesus alone is the Truth. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through  Me." ( John 14:6 New International Version) The Bible is God's gift to us to explain His plan from the beginning of time as to how we may become righteous in His eyes, and the main character is His Son, Jesus Christ.

The one who truly believes this, that a Man has been sent from God to tell us about what lies beyond the grave and how to live in such a way as to experience a relationship with God, will make all his decisions with that truth in mind. He will be like Ezra. "For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel." (Ezra 7:10 New American Standard) The man who believes in the resurrection will think about what God will say to him regarding how he raised his children, how he ran his business, how he treated his neighbor. It will be his goal to emulate the character of Jesus His Lord; to love his enemies, to forgive, to treat others as he himself wants to be treated. When he fails, he will go right to God in prayer, ask for help, and go at it again. All the while he will grow closer and closer to his heavenly Father, taking on more and more of the character of His Savior until that final day when he will be told, "... Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (Matthew 25:34 New International Version) The one who believes in Easter with his whole heart has made it his life's goal to know God and please Him above all. 

Easter is not a one-day-a-year holiday to him, it is an every day conscience choice to love the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind, all his strength and to love his neighbor as himself. It will direct the course of his life.

Easter is a good time to ask yourself if you have ever read through the entire Bible. If it is Truth, then shouldn't we want to know what is in it? And if it is Truth in the form of a person that we can know, shouldn't it speak to us? Many people write off the Bible as outdated stories, irrelevant reading, a crutch for life, old fashioned thoughts that have little meaning for today, but they have never read it for themselves to see. It is a book that stands alone because it it is a living book. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 New International Version) Don't let the message of Easter pass you by another year. See for yourself if there really is Truth to follow in this world and Truth to set the course of your life by.

What happened to the signers of the Declaration?

I heard a sermon in church yesterday that reiterated the truth that true freedom is found in Jesus Christ alone. Dependence on God and obedience to His word along with self government allows a people to experience the greatest amount of freedom. Freedom is not doing what we want. Freedom is living responsibly with the bounds of God-given laws, which our nation was founded upon. 

So what happened to those who wanted this kind of freedom? There are variations in writings on the subject, but here are a few I found especially interesting and sobering. 

What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers and large plantation owners. All were men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty could be death if they were captured.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, (Really? That would instantly restore integrity to our government!) and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. His home on Long Island was destroyed by British calvary in the fall of 1776. Mrs. Lewis was captured by the British but was eventually released in exchange for a British officer's wife. Mrs. Lewis died two years after her release. Altoghether, eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died of exhaustion and a broken heart. Morris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Perhaps one of the most inspiring examples of "undaunted resolution" was at the Battle of Yorktown. Thomas Nelson, Jr. was returning from Philadelphia to become Governor of Virginia and joined General Washington just outside of Yorktown. He then noted that British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters, but that the patriot's were directing their artillery fire all over the town except for the vicinity of his own beautiful home. Nelson asked why they were not firing in that direction, and the soldiers replied, "Out of respect to you, Sir." Nelson quietly urged General Washington to open fire, and stepping forward to the nearest cannon, aimed at his own house and fired. The other guns joined in, and the Nelson home was destroyed. Nelson died bankrupt.Nelson's house is still standing at Yorktown and there are cannonballs embedded in its east wall.

New Jersey's Richard Stockton, after rescuing his wife and children from advancing British troops, was betrayed by a loyalist, imprisoned, beaten and nearly starved. He returned an invalid to find his home gutted, and his library and papers burned. He, too, never recovered, dying in 1781 a broken man.

Among the first to sign had been John Hancock, who wrote in big, bold script so George III "could read my name without spectacles and could now double his reward for 500 pounds for my head." If the cause of the revolution commands it, roared Hancock, "Burn Boston and make John Hancock a beggar!"

And there are others. 

Take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the  price they paid. 

Remember Freedom is never free!

May God help us to live our lives worthy of what so many have given their lives for....the privilege of governing ourselves within principles of truth so we wouldn't have to be governed by oppressive rulers. 

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