From The Pastor’s Heart
Greetings Church Family! Hope everyone’s summer is off to a good start. So far the weather and the temperatures have been kind but I fear those days will soon be over. Such is Summer in Southern Illinois. As you are all aware, July brings with it one of this country’s oldest and most respected holidays: July 4th. Like so many other holidays we celebrate, I fear that once again we get so involved in the “hoopla” of the celebration that we forget what we are celebrating for. I would like to use the bulk of my newsletter article this month to refresh our memory.
July 4th 1776 is a date that should always be remembered in American History. This is the date that a group of people from different states, backgrounds and social standing signed the most important document in American History. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia on this date and put the kingdom of Britain on notice that no longer were the people of American going to be subject of their kingdom’s rule. What most people don’t think about or realize is that by signing this document, these men committed an act of treason against the mother country, a crime that was certainly punishable by death. Of the 56 men that signed the Declaration:
5 were captured by the British and tortured until they died.12 had their homes ransacked and burned.
9 men died from wounds that occurred while fighting for the army.Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
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, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.British soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. 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 from exhaustion and a broken heart.As we prepare to celebrate the 4th of July, let us be grateful for the freedoms and liberty we enjoy and never forget the people who paid that price for us.
May God Bless America!
Bro John
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