Illustrations

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”—Thomas Jefferson

Source: The Chautauquan, Volume 5, Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The moment it went into effect on January 1, 1863, every slave living in the Confederacy was legally free. But until they knew of their freedom, the legal fact had no impact on their lives. In fact, Union soldiers carried hundreds of thousands of copies of the proclamation and passed them out as they made their way through the South during the war.

Christ has set us free from power of sin. We must recognize that fact and live like it.

Charles Spurgeon used this parable to illustrate the bondage of sin. He said, “There was once a tyrant who summoned one of his subjects into his presence and ordered him to make a chain. The poor blacksmith—that was his occupation—had to go to work and forge the chain. When it was done, he brought it into the presence of the tyrant and was ordered to take it away and make it twice the length. He brought it again to the tyrant, and again he was ordered to double it.

The story is told of a young father-to-be who was pacing back and forth, nervously wringing his hands in the hospital waiting room while his wife was in labor. Finally, a nurse opened the door and said, “Well, sir, you have a little girl.”

He heaved a sigh of relief and said, “I’m glad it’s a girl. She’ll never have to go through the agony I’ve gone through tonight!”

Source: Unknown

A - Always trust them to God’s care
B - Bring them to church
C - Challenge them to high goals
D - Delight in their achievements
E - Exalt the Lord in their presence
F - Frown on evil
G - Give them love
H - Hear their problems
I - Ignore not their childish fears
J - Joyfully accept their apologies
K - Keep their confidence
L - Live a good example before them
M - Make them your friends
N - Never ignore their endless questions
O - Open your home to their visits

After bringing their first baby home from the hospital, the wife suggested to her husband that he try his hand at changing diapers. “I’m busy,” he said. “I’ll do the next one.”

The next time the baby was wet, she asked if he was ready to learn how to change diapers. He gave her a puzzled look, then said finally, “I didn’t mean the next diaper; I meant the next baby!”

Source: Unknown

One little tike’s apparent misunderstanding of the term broken home prompted this admonition from his father: “I don’t care if the basement wall is cracking. Please stop telling everyone you come from a broken home.”

Source: Unknown

A chaplain was ministering to a soldier in the hospital and said, “You have lost an arm in the great cause.”

The soldier replied, “I didn't lose it—I gave it.”

Jesus did not lose His life either. He willingly gave it for us so we could be reconciled to God.

Source: The Minister’s Manual, Gerard Benjamin Fleet Hallock

The following words are inscribed on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier: “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.”

If America remembers her unknown soldiers, think of the celebration that awaits countless servants of God who are relatively unknown on earth when they reach Heaven’s gates.

In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records said that Percy and Florence Arrowsmith held two records—the longest marriage of a living couple (80 years) and having the largest married couple’s aggregate age (205 years).

Both Mr. and Mrs. Arrowsmith have since died, but they left good advice for those who want to have a lasting marriage. Florence said, “You must never go to sleep bad friends. If you’ve had a quarrel, you make it up. Never be afraid to say, ‘sorry’.”