- July 4th is a celebration of our freedom as a nation from the British Crown.
- The population of America in 1776 was 2.5 million.
- The population of America today is 326.8 million.
- Our freedom has cost the lives of over 1.1 million soldiers according to Megan Crigger in her article on PBS.org.
To realize what freedom does not look like, consider a description of life in North Korea as told the Daily Signal by Hyeonseo Lee.
“As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee believed that her country was the best on the planet.
She believed that Americans were evil, South Koreans were starving to death and North Koreans were better off than everybody else. Every North Korean believes this.”
She discusses this at length in her new novel, “The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story,” and spoke with The Daily Signal about her experiences as well.
As Lee explains, propagandized since birth, the people of North Korea know nothing of what life is like outside their own borders. The brutal dictatorships of Kim Jong-un and his predecessors Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung have socially engineered a system void of any freedoms whatsoever, and have positioned themselves as the sole source of information in the country.
“Three generations of Kim regime leadership brutally repressed the people, to the point where the North Korean people don’t even realize that there is something beyond North Korea,” said Olivia Enos, research associate in the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation. “And it’s not getting better.”
There is a complete lack of freedom of thought and belief in the North Korea Lee grew up in: no freedom of the press, no freedom of movement and no freedom of speech. Nights are pitch-black due to power outages or lack of electricity, neighbors and friends are encouraged to spy on one another and becoming pregnant by a Chinese man is punishable by death.
Life gets infinitely worse for anyone who speaks out against the regime in any way. These perceived traitors can be tortured, thrown into secret prison camps called kwanliso or publicly executed. Their families are also punished.
“Guilt by association in North Korea means that if you commit a crime, not only will you be punished, but also three generations of your family will be punished. Your parents, your grandparents, your grandchildren,” explained Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch.”
Let’s all pray and thank God for our freedom. Let us ask Him to protect our country and help us to do what is right before His eyes. Let us honor all those who have sacrificed their lives to give us this freedom. Let us remember this is why the Pilgrims came to America: to be able to freely worship God.
He has blessed us abundantly with peace and prosperity. He has used our country to bless Israel and the rest of the world. (He has asked us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. He is coming back to rule as King of kings from Jerusalem.)
As more and more deny God, seeking their selfish desires, contradicting His Word, let us humble ourselves and seek His face in prayer and obedience. Let us turn away from evil and seek what is just and good by His standards.
We need His healing for our country and forgiveness for our sins. We need to pray for the leaders of our land to fear Him and to seek His will in their decisions.
We need our pastors to rededicate themselves to preaching the unadulterated Word of God to spiritually dying hearts.
- Only Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. There is no peace outside of Him.
- Only Jesus Christ is King of all kings. There is no just rulership without His guidance.
- Only Jesus Christ is the savior. There is no eternal life outside of Jesus Christ as the creator of all life.
- Only Jesus Christ is the Light. There is only darkness outside of His protection and favor.
May He bless America today and for many years to come, allowing the Gospel to be preached all over the world until His fullness of times.
May He protect and keep us from evil leaders who desire to lead us into a One World Government with a dictator who would remove our freedom like North Korea.
Happy Independence Day! God Bless each one who desires His blessing on our country!
