was kept in hiding.

      /cont. insert>

PASTOR’S PEN CONTINUED

His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or 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. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and gristmill were laid to waste. 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. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

 Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

 They gave you and me a free and independent America.  We enjoy the land of the free and they made this the home of the brave. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So please, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4^th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the incredible price they paid.

And, one final thought.  Let us give thanks this Independence Day to He who has made us truly & totally free; free from sin and death, free from condemnation, the Great Liberator, the one & only, Jesus Christ.

 Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

 Remember, our freedom was not without cost; whether bought by the blood of patriots or purchased by the blood of our Savior, our liberty has come at a great price. Let us be thankful always.

 With Liberty in Christ,

 Jeff