The True Freedom in Christ and Our Nation Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

A Note from Tim Tim here. I'm so glad you're part of this journey. Below, you'll find today's Fresh Manna Devotional. I pray it speaks to you! Explore more on my website → The True Freedom in Christ and Our Nation  by Timothy Burt   June 30, 2025   The night was dark, the water was rough, and the mission seemed almost impossible. A group of exhausted soldiers, led by General George Washington, rowed quietly across the icy Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776. Their chances looked slim—morale was low, they lacked supplies, and defeat seemed just around the corner. But Washington pressed forward, trusting that something greater was possible even when everything around him said otherwise.   That daring move led to a surprising and much-needed victory in the Battle of Trenton. It gave new hope to a struggling nation. This wasn't just about military strategy—it was about courage, perseverance, and faith. The war wasn’t over, but that moment proved that breakthroughs can come when we refuse to give up, even in our darkest hour.   As we celebrate the 4th of July, we honor the sacrifices made for our nation’s freedom. But there's an even deeper kind of freedom available to every person—no matter where you live or what country you call home. It’s the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus.   The Apostle Paul once wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV)   At first glance, that verse might sound confusing. Paul wasn’t talking about being set free from a human government or physical chains. He was talking about a different kind of burden—the kind people carry in their hearts and minds.   Many people feel like they have to be perfect to be accepted by God. They try hard to be good enough, follow the rules, go to church, or do religious things to earn God’s approval. But no matter how hard they try, it never feels like enough. That’s the kind of pressure Paul was addressing.   What’s important to understand is that God doesn’t want perfection from us. Instead, He wants us to change and grow—because that change will bless our lives and help us avoid many of the problems we create for ourselves. He isn’t looking to judge us by a strict checklist or to trap us with rules. Rather, He desires a slow, steady transformation that happens over time, without pressure or fear. This process leads to a closer relationship with Him and a better, more peaceful life—bringing freedom and peace of mind and heart as our love for God grows and we experience His guidance and personal transformation.   That’s what Paul meant by freedom. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from fear. Freedom from feeling like we have to earn God’s love. When Paul says, “Stand firm,” he’s encouraging us to hold on to that truth and not slide back into the mindset that says we have to perform or prove our worth. Jesus didn’t rescue us so we could go back to living under pressure. He freed us so we could walk in peace, knowing we belong to Him.   Even some of America’s founding fathers understood that true freedom needed a foundation deeper than politics. John Adams once said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In simple terms, he was saying that without hearts guided by faith and moral character, freedom wouldn’t last.   And isn’t that the same in our personal lives?   God gives us freedom, but if we forget what He’s done for us—or if we ignore it—we end up back where we started: weighed down by fear, worry, or pressure to prove ourselves.   When Washington crossed that icy river, he didn’t know what would happen. But he stepped out anyway, believing the cause was worth the risk. And when Jesus went to the cross, He did so with that same kind of determination—only He wasn’t fighting for a temporary victory. He was fighting for your heart and for eternal freedom—freedom that no one can take away.   So this Independence Day, as we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy as a country, let’s also remember the deeper freedom Jesus offers us.   Let’s: Stand firm in that freedom. Refuse to carry the old burdens of guilt and fear. Live boldly, not to earn God's love, but because we already have it. Because the greatest freedom isn’t just what we’ve been set free from—it’s what we’ve been set free for: to love, to serve, and to live in peace with God.   “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV) In His love, Pastor Tim Burt Support This Work © 2025 Tim Burt Ministries. All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend | Unsubscribe You’re receiving this email because you opted in at timburt.org.

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The story of Robert Johnson & my tryst with the Blues plus a video to watch

͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Chasing The Blues — The Crossroads & The Grave Of Robert Johnson The story of Robert Johnson & my tryst with the Blues plus a video to watch Gaurav Krishnan Jun 28   READ IN APP   Around my early twenties, I began a sonic expedition into crate digging & discovering new music online. This was after my stint as the in-house DJ at one of the most popular pubs in my college township of Manipal, where I studied engineering for my undergraduate degree. In what was my first part-time job ever in my youth, I guided those immaculate nights for all my peers by playing the smoothest sets every night at the pub. I was 19 at the time. This went on for three years, where I played at the pub every alternate night of the week during our semesters. But after I graduated and got employed in sales & marketing jobs, & continued my professional career, there was a lot missing in my life, especially music. That’s when I decided to start my own YouTube music channel & in the process began to discover & unearth music spanning the decades. But no genre hit me harder than the Blues. I discovered Howlin’ Wolf initially and was awestruck. Those wails & moans & some mean guitar, Tom Waits, in an old post I wrote on my Medium, likened Howlin’ Wolf’s vocals to the Empire State Building when he said: “I’ve always looked to [Wolf] for guidance, and probably always will,” “He does have a voice that is otherworldly. It should be in a time capsule somewhere. When you’re a kid and you’re trying to find your own voice, it’s rather daunting to hear somebody like Howlin’ Wolf, because you know that you’ll never achieve that. That’s the Empire State Building” But it wasn’t just the Wolf, I went way back digging into records by Son House, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sonny Boy Williamson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly to Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker and of course, Robert Johnson. I also wrote about how Blues musician Blind Willie Johnson ended up on a golden record NASA sent into space (linked below) Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground Gaurav Krishnan · November 24, 2020 Read full story There was something common about all these Bluesmen. They sang about pain, a deep-rooted pain from years of toiling in cotton fields in the blaring heat, to life in slavery. They carried with them their African roots, in chants & music & myth & rituals, and all this culminated slowly into the Blues. The Blues — the musical art form that would inspire Rock and Roll decades hence. And something about that pain & turning it into rhythm & music struck a chord with me. While Fred McDowell’s Live at the Gaslight session remains one of my favourite ever live albums of all time, I was particularly inquisitive about Robert Johnson, not only because of the expertly crafted guitar parts in his raw recorded music, but just the enigma & folk legend behind his life. Robert Johnson via Deviant Art There was something about his life’s story & legend, and his wails seemed to stem from some unearthly pain, and his guitar-wielding ability was pretty unearthly as well. That’s when I began to read more about the lives of these Bluesmen. And the mysteries and myths that surrounded Robert Johnson added that extra bit of flavour. Disappearing, going to the crossroads, a deal with the devil, and an untimely death at 27, it was stuff straight out of a novel or a movie. As the story begins, Johnson wasn’t very gifted on the guitar, as per accounts from people during the early years of his music career. However, as accounts suggest, he disappeared for some time (about a year according to some accounts) without a trace and returned with impeccable guitar skills. Suddenly, he was an expert guitar player, and perhaps one of the greatest to ever play the instrument. As the story goes, Johnson supposedly met the devil at the crossroads & sold his soul in exchange for his expert guitar playing ability. The story stems from African folklore that suggested that spirits guarded the crossroads & offered favours in exchange for something valuable to the person looking to make a deal with them. Robert Johnson via Deviant Art Recently, I came across a couple of articles by writers here on Medium, wherein they wrote about their journeys to the heartland of the Blues — the Mississippi Delta. As writer Erik Rittenberry writes in his post Chasing the Ghost of Robert Johnson in the Mississippi Delta: “I’m in the Mississippi Delta. Deep down in it. The most southern place on earth. It doesn’t take too long driving around here to realize that this is one of the few places left in this country unscathed by the gnarled appetite of modernity. “And I’m here for it.” “It’s a place with excess crops and a grim past. A place where the sins of yesterday loiter in the soil and white-portico mansions sit majestically behind cotton fields that whisper untold truths.” “I am here alone to wash away from the soul the “dust of everyday life.”” “I want to breathe it in. Feel the purity of that southern wind roll across my skin. I want to wander under the ruthless sun and drift down deserted dirt roads. I want to talk to the people of this desolate land. Listen to the music. In the land of the Delta Blues, under the infinite skies, I want to be here, madly alive, living life like a poem.” While another writer named Lori Erickson writes in her post The Devil, Robert Johnson, and Me: A Spiritual Journey into the Mississippi Delta: “It was near midnight, the story goes, when teenage Robert Johnson met the Devil at a crossroads and traded his soul for mastery of the Blues.” “Did it really happen? Probably not. But in Clarksdale, Mississippi, myth and music are so tightly entwined that a monument now marks the crossroads. The Devil may have been a no-show, but the Blues showed up, and never left.” “My husband and I traveled to the Delta for a different kind of pilgrimage: a journey into the heart of American music. I’m an author specializing in the intersection of spirituality and travel, and I’d come to explore how the Blues — raw, wrenching, and strangely holy — fit into a new book I’m writing.” “I didn’t expect to be so moved. But in this land of cotton fields and juke joints, Robert Johnson’s ghost still lingers. And so do the deeper truths the Blues carry — about suffering, survival, and the soul’s longing for mercy.” Both the articles, which I read a couple of times each, to get an idea of what the Mississippi Delta would be like, got me thinking about how I want to visit the US & drive down the legendary Highway 61 & explore the heart of the Delta & soak in the vibe of the region, visit old rundown juke joints, talk to the people there, discover rare Blues records, & visit Robert Johnson’s grave. Of course, Robert Johnson’s story is just myth & folklore. But the story intrigued me enough to create a short video essay/animated documentary about it, which I uploaded on Twitter and here on Substack, because of copyright issues with the music on YouTube & Instagram. It’s a short five to six minute documentary about Robert Johnson’s eerie, legendary story, along with some rare cuts of his music. You can watch it here: The journey to the Mississippi Delta is a pilgrimage my soul yearns for, & whenever I do visit the US (whenever that is), I’m going to make the road trip straight down South to the region. It’s an innate desire deeply burned into my soul, despite residing in India all my life & being Indian (you won’t find too many Indians into the Blues). It’s a journey for all the Blues I’ve ever listened to over the years, and sung, danced or played along on my guitar to, like an old-time lowdown in my bedroom, feeling the pain of the musicians mirroring my own & the grooves setting the tone for the nights, here in my hometown of Mumbai. As a quote I wrote in one of my poetry books suggests: “You don’t sing because you’re happy.. you sing because you’ve got the Blues”. I hope that visit happens soon, because it’s part of my bucket list. It’s me chasing the Blues — at the crossroads — just like Robert Johnson. This post was originally published on my Medium publication The Music Magnet. You can follow me on Medium as well: https://medium.com/@gaurav_krishnan There’s a bit of a difference in my articles here & on Medium, so follow me there for access to all my articles. Thank you for being a valuable subscriber to my newsletter Light Years! If you liked this post & found it informative, feel free to share this publication with your network by clicking the button below… Share Light Years by Gaurav Krishnan I hope you found this post informative & it helped you in some way. As always, feel free to subscribe to my publication Light Years & support it & also share it if you’d like. Get it in your inbox by filling up the space below! Enter your email address below to subscribe to Light Years! It’s a decision you’ll love in the long run! Upgrade to paid If you’d like to thank me for this post, if you found value in it, you can buy me a coffee instead of, or alongside subscribing to my publications, by scanning the QR code below so that I can sip my next brew of coffee, all thanks to you! :) You're currently a free subscriber to Light Years by Gaurav Krishnan. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2025 Gaurav Krishnan Mumbai - 400031 Unsubscribe

God's Majesty in a Deck of Cards: An Inspirational Story Fresh Manna by Pastor Tim Burt

A Note from Tim Tim here. I'm so glad you're part of this journey. Below, you'll find today's Fresh Manna Devotional. I pray it speaks to you! Explore more on my website → God's Majesty in a Deck of Cards: An Inspirational Story  by Timothy Burt   June 27, 2025 I've always loved this one so I thought I'd repost it for you to read or read again! God’s Majesty in a Deck of Cards (Author Unknown) The battlefield was unusually quiet that day. No gunfire. No mortars. No land mines shaking the ground. For the first time in a while, silence wrapped around the young soldier like a rare gift. He knew it was Sunday—the holiest day of the week.   Sitting on his bunk, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old deck of cards, spreading them out in front of him. As he did, the door swung open.   “Why aren’t you with the rest of the platoon?” his sergeant asked.   The soldier looked up. “I wanted to stay behind and spend some time with the Lord.”   The sergeant’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the scattered cards. “Looks more like you’re playing a game.”   The soldier shook his head. “No, sir. Since we’re not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books here, I’ve learned to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.”   The sergeant crossed his arms. “Oh? And how do you do that?”   The soldier picked up the first card. “The Ace reminds me that there is only one God. The Two represents the two parts of the Bible—the Old and New Testaments. The Three stands for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Four represents the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Five reminds me of the ten virgins; five were ready for the bridegroom and were glorified. The Six is for the six days God took to create the heavens and the earth. The Seven represents the day He rested. The Eight reminds me of Noah and his family—the eight souls saved from the flood. The Nine is for the ten lepers Jesus healed; only one returned to thank Him. The Ten stands for the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses. The Jack is a reminder of Satan—once one of God’s angels, but cast out for his wickedness. Now, he’s the true joker of eternal damnation. The Queen represents the Virgin Mary. The King? That’s Jesus—the King of all kings. The soldier looked down at the cards, then back at his sergeant.   “But it doesn’t stop there. When I count all the dots on every card, I get 365—one for each day of the year. There are 52 cards in the deck, just like the 52 weeks in a year. The four suits remind me of the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. And each suit has 13 cards—just like the 13 weeks in each quarter of the year.”   He exhaled, voice softer now. “So when I need to talk to God, when I want to thank Him, I don’t need a Bible. I just pull out this old deck of cards, and they remind me of everything He’s done for me.”   For a moment, the room was silent.   The sergeant swallowed hard, his expression shifting. Then, with tears in his eyes and a weight in his voice, he asked, “Soldier… can I borrow that deck of cards?” May this be a reminder to take time to pray for all our soldiers—those who leave home, risking their lives to protect ours. May God be with them always.   Psalm 111:3 (NLT)"Everything God does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails."   In His love, Pastor Tim Burt Support This Work © 2025 Tim Burt Ministries. All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend | Unsubscribe You’re receiving this email because you opted in at timburt.org.

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