Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
7 6 2026
250 Years of Faith…and a Battle We Still Fight
“Two hundred and fifty years. That’s an extraordinary milestone. Nations rise and fall. Governments come and go. Yet for two and a half centuries, America has endured. That’s worth stopping to thank God for. We owe a debt of gratitude to generations of men and women who never came home, and to countless others who came home carrying scars the rest of us would never fully understand. Freedom has never been free.
Some people argue whether America was founded as a Christian nation. Depending on who’s talking, you’ll get a different answer. But here’s what isn’t hard to see. We came to America to freely express our religious freedom. And Christianity has had an undeniable influence on our country’s history. One Nation Under God. Our laws, our constitution, our schools, our charities, our view of human dignity, even the idea that all people are created equal didn’t appear out of thin air. They grew in soil that had been deeply influenced by Scripture.
Has America drifted? Of course it has.
You don’t have to watch the news very long to know we’re living in a culture that increasingly pushes back against biblical morality. What was once common sense is now controversial.
Truth has become whatever feels right at the moment, and anyone who suggests otherwise is often labeled intolerant. None of that surprises God, and honestly, it shouldn’t surprise us either.
But can I tell you where I think the bigger battle is?
It isn’t in Washington. It isn’t in Hollywood. It isn’t even in the courtroom.
It’s in my house and it’s in yours.
It’s the battle we wake up to every morning.
Some of you are carrying things nobody else knows about. You’re trying to hold a marriage together while smiling at work. You’re wondering how the bills are going to get paid. You’re praying for children who seem to have wandered away from everything you taught them. Some of you are caring for aging parents while your own body reminds you that you’re not twenty-five anymore. Others are fighting loneliness, disappointment, fear, or simply trying to keep discouragement from taking over.
Sometimes we’re not looking for a miracle. We’re just looking for a little breathing room. That’s why I love how honest the Bible is. It never pretends life is easy.
It simply reminds us where to stand while life is hard.
John writes, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
Notice he doesn’t say, “One day you’ll win.” He says you’ve already overcome through Christ.
I wonder how many mornings we forget that.
Paul says our battle isn’t against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12) Then, almost immediately, he tells us to take every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5) Isn’t that interesting? Why would he connect those two ideas? Maybe because every spiritual battle eventually finds its way into our thinking.
The enemy knows if he can convince you that you’re defeated, discouraged, forgotten, or beyond God’s reach, he doesn’t have to do much else. He’ll let those lies do the work for him.
But they’re still lies. The war was settled at Calvary. Are you listening?
What you and I are fighting now are real battles, but they aren’t battles to decide who wins. Jesus already settled that question. Maybe that’s what I want to remember this Fourth of July.
I enjoyed the fireworks. I’ll thank God for America. I’ll pray for another spiritual awakening.
But when Monday morning comes—and it always does—I want to remember that I’m not walking into another week hoping Jesus shows up.
He’s already there.
I’m not fighting to become victorious. I’m standing on ground He has already won.
Look, I know, that doesn’t make tomorrow easy.
It just reminds me that I never have to face tomorrow alone.
And boy do I need reminding and reminding and reminding. How about you?
Let me close with this: I’ve been thinking a lot about what I write this week. The truth is, I don’t think I’m really writing devotionals anymore. I think I’m trying to have a conversation with you. I want to get you thinking. Maybe challenge you a little and sometimes, a lot. Maybe encourage you when you’re running on fumes. Maybe remind you of something you already know but simply needed to hear again. If, somewhere in these few minutes together, “we both” take one more step toward faith, courage, and obedience, then our conversation was worth having.
Father, thank You for this nation and for the freedoms we often take for granted. Help us never forget those who sacrificed so we could enjoy them. But even more, thank You for the freedom found in Christ. When tomorrow’s battles come, remind me that I stand on the finished work of Calvary, not on my own strength. Keep my mind anchored in Your truth, my heart fixed on Your promises, and my eyes on Jesus. Amen.
Where has the enemy convinced me that I’m fighting a battle Christ has already won?
As America celebrates 250 years of freedom, am I living in the spiritual freedom Jesus died to give me, or am I still allowing fear, discouragement, or guilt to keep me in chains?
“What part of this hit home for you this morning? What are you carrying today that needs prayer? If you’d like, send me a prayer request here. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit in together. (where two are gathered.) You are not walking alone. Just hit reply…
I read every response.”
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