Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
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.

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 his 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.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Patriotism is NOT a sin.

Let me share briefly the story of one veteran that is very dear to my heart. Let me tell you about my Dad, Harold N. Rhodes.

Dad was born January 20, 1924 in Twin Branch, WV. He graduated from high school in 1942 and enlisted in the Air Force just a few months later. He was 18 at the time. WWII was going strong and it was pretty much expected that you would go and fight for your country just as soon as you could.

Dad was part of a ten man crew that flew a B-24 over Germany. He was the engineer and top turret gunner. Today there is only one man left alive from that crew. WWII vets are dying at a rate of about 1,100 per day according to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. It won’t be long until they will all be gone.

If a crew survived 30 missions they could come home. Dad and his crew were on their 29th mission when they were shot down. There was heavy ground fire that took out the number 2 engine on their way to the target, Politz. They didn’t have far yet to go so they feathered the engine and continued on. They reached their target and were able to drop their bombs.

After dropping their bombs they turned back over the Baltic Sea. Because of the loss of the one engine, they were trailing the other planes in their flight. They had no sooner made their turn for home when they were surrounded by 18 German fighters.

That is where the story gets really interesting. If you want to know what happens next you are going to have to go to the site dedicated to Dad and his crew by clicking here.

Remember and thank those who paid the price for YOUR freedom.

Can you teach theology to a three year old? You sure can. There is a perfect example of this on my daughter-in-laws blog. But before you read the story, take a good look at these pictures and the story will make more sense.

Grandson, Titus, age 3 watching Papa present the gospel.

They took Jesus

and wrapped him up in grave cloth

placed Him in a tomb and covered the door with a rock.

On the third day the rock was rolled away

and when they looked inside, what did they find? They found the grave cloth all neatly folded

but Jesus was gone.

Now read the story.

Oops, Jesus is still there.

Jesus loved me when He died,
Loved me enough to be crucified.
But His death didn’t last very long,
Because His power is so strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Easter tells me so.

Jesus’ came back from the dead
I know because the Bible said.
Jesus is my Lord and King;
Love and praise to Him I bring.
Yes, Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Easter tells me so.

When I die, I’ll rise up, too.
We’ll all be in heaven, me and you.
We’ll see Jesus face to face.
Up in heaven, that happy place.
Yes, Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Easter tells me so.

The Easter story brings much joy
To us all, each girl and boy.
Jesus is my Savior now;
Heaven and earth to Him must bow.
Yes, Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Yes Jesus loves me;
Easter tells me so.

Be on the lookout. The banner at the top of this page is going to be making a major change VERY soon. You are going to be excited to see who Jest Kidding has just partnered with. Our ministry is moving on to reach even more kids than ever in parts of the world that we have never been.

Sheldon Rhodes and Jest Kidding are all about reaching kids for Christ. We always have been, always will be. Many things may change but God’s love for kids never changes.

Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.”

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special - Don’t EVER forget it.

It seems like the founding Fathers of this small town had some foresight and wanted to insure that the residents of their town had some religious values and teaching. They had set this intersection with it’s four corners to be used for churches. At this time, there were churches on three of the corners. The fourth corner was used by all three churches for parking. However, if someone ever wants to build another church, the fourth corner would be available to them.

At first thought you might think this was a wonderful idea. However, let’s see if maybe we can sneak a peek at how God might be looking at this. First of all, all three of these churches were “Christian” churches. There wasn’t a Jewish temple, a Muslim mosque or a Morman church. They were all main line Christian denominations. It might be safe to say that they all believed and worshiped the same God?

They all believe in Jesus Christ as God’s own Son. That He died on a cross for our sins. That He was buried and rose again on the third day. They all believe that the Bible is God’s Word and they all believe that reaching the World for Christ would be a good idea.

There are some differences. They all baptize but not all the same way. They all have music but not all the same style. They all have Bibles but not the same translation. They all have Bible school for their kids and may even use the same material but don’t have it the same week. They all park in the same parking lot next to each other but go to different buildings to worship and fellowship.

We have four kids. I just can’t imagine what it would be like as a parent to have all four kids living so close to each other on four corners and not being willing to get together. I can’t help but think that God must feel a bit hurt to see His children, who all love Him, not loving each other enough to come together as one body for worship. Each of His kids seem to think that their way is right,  the other”s way is  wrong to the point that they can”t come together for a couple of hours a week to worship their only Father.

Wow, that sounds like I’m really for ecumenical. If you really know me, you would know better than that. However, I do believe that on the major points there are more churches that believe the same things than those who don’t. There are points that we may differ on but in the big picture, these are relatively minor. But you say, “These things aren’t minor, they are MAJOR differences.” Yes, they are major differences but they are minor as to what is required to be part of God’s family.

The day really will come when all of those who believe in Christ as their Savior will be together in Heaven. There are going to be a lot of surprised people there when they look around and see a ton of others there that they knew believed different than they did. Some of us may even find people that we parked next to in the same parking lot as we each went to our separate churches. Is God proud of His kids or is He a bit disgusted and disappointed in the way they act?

“To dwell above with those we love, oh twill be such glory. To live below with saints we know, now that’s another story.”

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” 1 Peter 1:22

One Solitary Life

“He was born in an obscure village,
The child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until He was thirty.

He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never went to college.
He never visited a big city.

He never traveled more than two hundred miles
From the place where He was born.
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself.

He was only thirty-three
When He died.
His friends ran away.
One of them denied Him.

He was turned over to His enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing,
The only property He had on earth.

When He was dead,
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that have ever marched,
All the navies that have ever sailed,
All the parliaments that have ever sat,
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that One Solitary Life.”

Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away,

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say

December 25th is just a ‘Holiday’.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod

Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa

In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe’s the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears

You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate ‘Winter Break’ under your ‘Dream Tree’

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Christ is the reason for the Christ-mas Season!

Thank You Vets

Maybe it has been going on longer than I know about, but last year was the first that I remember any business really doing something to honor vets. Home Depot did a big thing for the vets. This year Applebee’s really did it up big by providing veterans with a free meal. I mean a MEAL. Not a snack or a sample - a meal. Thank you Applebee’s.

You see, during the time that I served, the military guys really didn’t have much respect or honor. Guys coming back from Vietnam were certainly not welcomed back as heroes like we welcome troops coming back from the gulf area today. It seems like most of the guys in the Army at least during that era, were not in Nam because they wanted to be. Back then we were still drafting guys. They were in but many not by their own choice. Then they were sent where they did not volunteer to go. Yet when they came home (if they didn’t get killed first) they came back to a nation who was against them personally. That was just wrong.

Then there were those like myself who signed up freely without being drafted. We came back to the same non-welcome committee.

I don’t care if you were in favor or not of the Vietnam war, the gulf war, WWII or any other war, we owe our freedom to the men and women in uniform that has made and is making or keeping our freedom. Without a strong military our country would not be the wonderful place to live that it is and has been.

If nothing else, I feel that the events of 9-11 caused a major change of attitude towards the military. I know how great it must feel for a vet to have someone come up to them now and say, “Thank you for your service to our Country”. I hope you don’t pass up any opportunity you have to thank a vet.

Be faithful in praying for the leaders of our Country and for those who faithfully show up each day in uniform doing what needs to be do so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms we have. Personally I always hated the saying, “Rather red than dead”. Not me, I was and still would be willing to fight and die fighting to keep freedom alive.

Thank you Applebee’s and every business that has done something to show honor to our hereos of freedom.