Things to Remember on Memorial Day

Pr 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people.

There’s a story about a city fellow who was visiting relatives on a farm and the farmer gave a whistle and his dog herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw.

"Wow, that’s some dog. What’s her name?" The forgetful farmer thought a minute, then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That’s it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"

There are times when we humans can we be quite forgetful. Been there, done that, haven’t you?

What is your worst happening of forgetfulness? Did you ever get in your car, reach for your keys and didn’t have them? Or you couldn’t remember your own phone number or house number? Or the street where you lived? Or the names of some of your children?!

If we were put in the right situation at the right time, we all can be quite forgetful.

Memorial Day is all about remembering and this post is all about Things To Remember on Memorial Day.

I love my country! We are blessed indeed to be citizens of this country! But we need to remember what made this country great and what will cause this country to loss its greatness.  Make no mistake that this countries greatness is fading. Here is a hint why.

The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama. Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama! The judge's poem sums it up quite well:

America the beautiful, or so you used to be. Land of the Pilgrims' pride; I'm glad they'll never see.
Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand, Oh, sweet land of liberty; your house is on the sand.
Our children wander aimlessly poisoned by cocaine choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain
From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away From the teaching of God's love and a need to always pray
We've kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown. When earth is but His footstool, and Heaven is His throne.
We've voted in a government that's rotting at the core, Appointing Godless Judges; who throw reason out the door,
Too soft to place a killer in a well deserved tomb, B u t brave enough to kill a baby before he leaves the womb. You think that God's not angry, that our land's a moral slum? How much longer will He wait before His judgment comes?
How are we to face our God, from Whom we cannot hide? What then is left for us to do, but stem this evil tide?
If we who are His children, will humbly turn and pray; Seek His holy face and mend our evil way:
Then God will hear from Heaven; and forgive us of our sins, He'll heal our sickly land and those who live within
But, America the Beautiful, If you don't - then you will see, A sad but Holy God withdraw His hand from Thee.

~~Judge Roy Moore~~                 IN GOD WE TRUST!

I. ON MEMORIAL DAY WE REMEMBER OUR PATRIOTS  Merriam Webster defines patriot as “one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests.” Note the first key phrase: “One who loves…”

A. Love Requires Sacrifice Who has sacrificed more than the American Soldier? In just over two-hundred years loved ones have waved the final good-bye to more than one million men and women who go to oppose tyranny and defend the oppressed.

1. Revolutionary War and War of 1812: 6,695

2. WWI: 53,402

3. WWII: 291, 557

4. Korean War: 33,741

5. Vietnam War: 47,410

6. Gulf War: 147

7. Iraq War: (As of Friday May 23, 2008) 4,081

8. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Civil War  618,000 – 700,000

9. John 15:13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

10. These patriots have freely and valiantly sacrificed their lives upon the altar of freedom for you and for me.

B. Love Requires Service - Note the second key phrase: “and supports.” The American Soldier serves his nation that our way of life may continue.

1. It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.

2. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.

3. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

4. It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

II. ON MEMORIAL DAY WE REMEMBER OUR HEROES Merriam Webster defines hero as, “one that shows great courage.”

A. A person normally becomes courageous by performing an extraordinary and praiseworthy deed.

B. From the beginning American Soldiers have epitomized the word hero and demonstrated uncommon valor.

C. The American Revolution found courageous soldiers to fight for independence. Tyranny discovered fierce opposition in World Wars I and II. Faithfulness was found in Vietnam and Korea. And now, terror is answered in Iraq. The American Soldier stands for what is right because duty calls. He defends. He assists. He serves. They are heroes.

III. ON MEMORIAL DAY WE REMEMBER OUR FREEDOM

A. Freedom is the motivation of the American Soldier because, like most Americans, they believe that “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The American Soldier sacrifices and dies to this end.

B. This morning, I am proud to remind you of the reasons for Memorial Day. It is a day to honor our patriots and heroes. We remember their sacrifices. We remember their final good-byes. We remember their blood.

C. We also celebrate the freedom they purchased for us.

CONCLUSION:

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze

A young Marine saluted it, and then

He stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He’d stand out in any crowd.

I thought, how many men like him

Had fallen through the years?

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers’ tears?

How many Pilots’ planes shot down?

How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?

No, Freedom is not free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still.

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen"

When a flag had draped a coffin

of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

at the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, Freedom isn’t free!!

Today as you enjoy your day off and go about your regular business, my challenge to you is to remember the Patriots. Remember the Heroes. Remember your Freedom. But remember that freedom is useless if it doesn’t have a higher goal. Free to sin is foolish but free to serve the Saviour that is precious.  Without His Sacrifice, Courage, and Heroic Death on Calvary we would not have the freedom to live eternally as God intended.  What made this country Beautiful was righteousness and what will restore her beauty will be the righteousness of God.      

Pr 14:34  Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people.

Freedom is not Free and Salvation is not Free though it is freely given by a thrice Holy God if we will trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary’s Tree.

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