Of Marriage

"It is a question, not easily answered, whether marriage was appointed by the Divine Parent, merely for the propagation of the human species, or for the education of children. Whether one or the other, or both were reasons of the institution, it certainly was appointed by God, honored by Jesus, and declared to be honorable unto all by St. Paul." Elder John Leland, The Virginia Chronicle 1790

"And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:23-24

Our Wedding, Feb 5, 1995 Chehalis, B.C.

This week, my husband (Dave) and I celebrate eighteen years of marriage. We met one year plus a day before our wedding. We both worked at Trinity Western University--both of us having graduated from Trinity a few years before. We were friends for four months, then dated for four months, then engaged for four months.

Just recently, Dave and I were musing about whether a marriage would be nullified in the eyes of God if the laws of the land hadn't been properly followed. When first married, I'd occasionally wake up from a dream where I had experienced the horrors of being improperly married. Such is the life of a person with a vivid imagination.

I am exceedingly grateful for the institution of marriage. What a horrible lonely life I would have but for my husband and my children. I feel for those who must raise their children on their own. How overwhelming a task it must seem.

For the most part, weddings are grand events in Canada, taking the larger portion of a day with celebrations often going into the wee hours of the night. Our wedding was quite simple by comparison, and we would have made it even more so if family didn't feel a full roast beef dinner with all the trimmings was not an absolute necessity. But I'm chasing a rabbit trail.

Weddings in Colonial times (in general) were much more simple affairs. In Virginia, before the Declaration of Independence, "the rites of matrimony" could be done two different ways.

1. A license was issued to the bridegroom from the clerk's office in the county of the bride. This cost the bridegroom about 20 shillings and 50 lbs of tobacco. The license was then delivered to the clergyman on the wedding day to 'solemnize' the rites. He'd be paid 20 shillings for the service.
2. The clergyman posted banns of marriage for the couple on three Sundays at the cost to the groom of eighteen pence and for the 'joining of the couples together' he received 5 shillings.

As you can imagine, the poor folk would take the second route to marriage.

Most weddings were solemnized by parish preachers (parishes being that of the Church of England). However, some Presbyterian ministers provided the service. If the marriage was done by license (route 1 above), the parish preacher took the 'solemnizing' fee even if the actual ceremony was done by a Presbyterian minister.

Our marriage process was not that much different from the 1700's.

Dave and I did not have a typical church wedding. We were married in the lodge at Pioneer Chehalis along the Chehalis River and nestled in the rugged mountains of British Columbia. A more beautiful setting there could not be. We had our pictures taken in the trees along the river. Having taught horsemanship clinics for several years at this location, I knew the weather would be perfect, and it was. (And no, the picture above is not done in a studio but onsite, just outside of the lodge where the ceremony was held.)

We had to apply for a marriage license as well, but I didn't need to be a resident of B.C. (although I was). Dave had to pay for it (probably around $100). The license is only valid for three months. Within that three months a marriage ceremony with two witnesses needs to be performed.

In B.C., you can choose from a civil or a religious ceremony. The minister performing a religious ceremony has to be registered with the government, just like in Virginia in the 1700's. The minister performing the ceremony completes the Marriage Registration Form and sends it to the agency where the marriage will be registered and the legal record kept.

"After the declaration of independence, in 1780, an act passed the general assembly to authorise as many as four ministers in each county, of each denomination, to solemnize the rights;" Elder John Leland, The Virginia Chronicle 1790

Dave and I were married by a Lutheran minister, and the wedding witnessed by many family and friends. For us, it didn't matter the denomination of the minister. He was a friend of Dave's and able to marry us and that was enough.

In Virginia, many couples could not have the minister of their choice before 1784. They were limited to the authorized ministers in their county. After 1784, any ordained minister could apply for a license to solemnize the marriage. The license was given to the preacher, and after the ceremony, he was to certify to the clerk that indeed the solemnization occurred. The groom paid five shillings to the preacher and fifteen pence to the clerk for registering the certificate.

What was our conclusion about the validity of a marriage not done according to the law of the land? God does tell us to obey the laws, so we should make every effort to abide by them. However, mistakes and misunderstandings do happen. I think the vow before God would stand. Perhaps a simple fixing of the mistake by making it legal according to the state law would give all peace of mind.

After eighteen years of marriage, the only thing I can remember about those days before knowing Dave is how lonely I was. He truly is my hero, because he took this less than adequate woman and made her his wife, providing me with a friendship that will last through eternity.

Much advice can be given for marriage, but one thing I know for sure, humility and grace before God and your spouse must prevail through the whimsical winds of love. And I hope my dear husband has found the money he spent to get a wife returned to him a hundredfold. I know I've been blessed beyond measure.

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 

While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear...

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

I Peter 3:1,2,7

The Courage of Mrs. Leland

"The case was this: my wife, who was seated near the head of the bed, when she saw the Captain step from the bed with his sword drawn, and draw back his arm to give the thrust, like a female angel, sprang like the lightning of heaven, clasped her arms within his elbow, around his body, locked her hands together, and held him like a vice, till the men took away his sword. We then took a lantern and went into the road and carried on our meeting."
John Leland, The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland p. 27

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." 

Deuteronomy 31:6

Elder John Leland preached the Gospel from Massachusetts to North Caroline. He started as a young man in 1774 and continued traveling and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ through the War of Independence until his death in 1841. He faced many dangers and threats, but God provided for him a strong and courageous helpmeet in his wife.

When Mrs. Leland held back the captain from thrusting his sword through her husband, she did so to prevent the captain from stopping her husband's preaching. Invited to preach at a woman's house, they were stopped at the gate by the woman's son, the Captain. However, her husband let Elder Leland in and the people came to hear the preaching. When Elder Leland opened the meeting with singing, the Captain attacked. Mrs. Leland likely saved her husband's life.

Raised by an abusive step-father, Mrs. Leland endured hardships as a child, like her feet partly frozen off and an illness that left her speech impaired. Then, as a wife, she was often left alone to care for numerous children with little means and facing many dangers from soldiers, runaway slaves, and vagabonds during the war. 

Though she endured much affliction, from near shipwreck to evil spirits, she did not endure them alone.

"It has been remarked of Mrs. Leland, that her faith was strong. Indeed, on some occasions, it seemed to rest on grounds that partook of the character of revelations. An instance of  this kind occurred in the storm by which they were overtaken on their passage from Virginia to New England, in 1791. After twelve hours of incessant watching and agonizing prayer, expecting momentarily to go to the bottom, she appeared to sink into a slumber; but presently turning to her husband, she exclaimed, "We shall not be lost." She had received this assurance from a figure in white which seemed to stand before her, measuring off piece after piece of a long white cord, and which said to her, "The vessel cannot sink, I have undergirded it.""

The Writings of Elder John Leland, p. 45.

 Two things we can learn from her life:

• Affliction and hardship bring strength to those who humble themselves in the Lord
• Strength to endure hardship and affliction will come from the Lord when we look to Him.

When we have reached the end of our strength, God offers us more from His fountain, if only we would drink.

Hard times have come and passed, and yet we will see more in the future. How we face them reveals not only our character but our faith. In this new year, we may see attacks on our faith from our government, from the community, and from individuals, not to mention those leaders of other countries who hate the Kingdom of Heaven. Each moment we must chose between trusting God and walking in obedience or compromising our faith for the 'comforts and safety' this world feigns to offer. When we chose to trust God, He will not fail to provide us with the peace that passes all understanding. I wonder if perhaps we may have opportunities to see the 'figure in white' He sends to watch over us?

"...Who are kept by the power of God through faith...though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:...

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;..."

I Peter 1:5-7,13

Resolute for the Kingdom of Heaven

"My heart was greatly attached to the Holy Scripture. I have not yet forgot the burning desire--the soul-longings that I had to know what was the mind of God, contained in his word. I would read--then pray--then read and pray again, . . . that I might know the truth as it is in Jesus." John Leland, The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, p. 14)

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Matthew 13:44

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46

Like most people, come year end I begin to look to the next year and reflect on the past one. I love the work God has been doing in my life, though many times His lessons have been bitter pills to swallow. Rarely has there been a year in my adult life that I've looked back and said, "What a wonderful year I have had." I suppose that is partly due to my analytical mind, which always wants to 'fix the problem.' Such a mind tends to seek out problems in order to satisfy its compulsive desire to make things right.

However, this time I look back and give a solemn nod to the events of the year. I'm glad for what I've been through, what cutting away God has done of cancerous mindsets, sins, and what-not. I haven't yet "arrived," but I can see God's merciful and gracious hand at work to mold me into the person He would have me be for His glory and honor--and that is why I live.

I confess, I go into the new year recognizing a flaw in me I often point out is the problem with others: the desire for comfort and rest from all hardships. Aye, most people would not consider that a flaw. Nonetheless, I look to what weakens our society and those close to me, including myself, and I see the lust for recreation, entertainment, and comfort. I say lust because there is nothing wrong with enjoying life. But when it becomes a lust, it replaces what is good about 'enjoyment' with addictions, substituting what should be consuming our lives with what should not.

What does all this have to do with the kingdom of heaven? Like John Leland, the man finding the treasure in the field or the merchant man finding the pearl of great price, the burning desire for the kingdom of heaven has a two fold effect. First, all else in one's life seems of little value. Second, only one thing seems worth living for: the kingdom of heaven.

The coming of the kingdom of heaven was preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples. It is not an earthly kingdom. When Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, the entrance to this kingdom was opened to all who believe. One becomes a citizen of it by being born again. One is born again through faith in the death of Jesus Christ as payment for one's sins, in His burial, and in His resurrection. This faith changes one's life. Many claim this faith, but their lives haven't changed. If you measure the lack of change in their lives against what Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is like, then you will likely conclude they have not bought the field or the pearl.

Reflecting upon the 'selling' of ALL in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven, I asked myself, "What have I not yet sold?" I am already a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, but am I fulfilling the whole duty of a citizen? Can a stranger, when he encounters me, tell that I am a citizen of this great kingdom? If I am still carrying the baggage of this worldly kingdom then I cannot fully reflect the heavenly kingdom. Thus, I am resolute to know the mind of God and live a life worthy of His kingdom.

Reflecting upon the 'buying', I asked myself if there was anything hindering me from being fully committed (like when one purchases a valuable item is fully committed to ownership) to this kingdom of heaven. Like the patriots of our country during the War of Independence, am I willing to suffer great loss in order to help others, including my children and future grandchildren, to gain the freedom found in the kingdom of heaven?

Weariness tends to pull one's attention away from the plow and to the shade under the tree or the spring of fresh water. Sometimes we mistake entertainment or recreation for the only shade tree or the only source of fresh water. Yet the true source is found in Christ: in the studying of God's Word, the worship of our Lord Almighty, and the fellowship of the saints (meaning fellow believers).

I am weary right now, and yet in my heart beats a desire to not seek refreshment from movies or sports or the variety of entertainment the world provides. I know that when I am weary these things can often leave me feeling empty and even fill me with more anxiety. They are only momentary diversions, not true sources of help.

Looking to the new year, my resolutions may seem to some a bit backward. I look to endure hardships and to teach my children how to endure them. Not that I plan to seek out trouble, but that I be willing and ready to 'sell' those comforts or pleasures that draw me away from God. Most of all, I plan to get back to the basics of life: hard work.

My father was a hard worker. His notion of a relaxing Sunday afternoon was hoeing the trees or checking the cows or riding the fence line. I loved going with him. Such peace could be found riding beside him or sitting in the truck, and even in putting my hoe in the dirt.

We rarely ever watched sports or a movie on TV. Of course, we only had two or three channels. Our lives didn't halt when a football game or a hockey game came on TV. Dad put a full days work in on the farm, and then after the sun set, he would pull out his Bible and study with the same fervor with which he worked. What a wonderful example he was to me. I want to be like him and find my pleasure in both my work and in my walk with God.

What a change this resolution is this year from last year. Last year, I thought I needed to spend more time relaxing and enjoying life so I planned to spend more time playing games or seeking what others considered good fun. I found out I sought the enjoyment of life in the wrong places. I forgot the great pleasure work could bring. This year I want to 'sell' it all and 'buy' the field. Doing so will bring greater joy than any entertainment, any comfort, any pleasure the world can bring. I want to work that field for Christ, because in it is the greatest treasure of all, the kingdom of heaven.

What are your New Year's resolutions?

Then I commend mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, tahn to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 

From Entrapment to Liberty

"There I stood upon a rock, and made my vows to God to forsake all sinful courses and seek the Lord, if he would direct me how." John Leland, The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland.

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;..." Isaiah 61:1

Many of our country's forefathers held John Leland in high esteem. Yet in his journal we discover he often felt unworthy to preach and perhaps ashamed of his past prior to being saved. In my opinion, this humbleness enabled him to be used of God.

I fear, like John Leland, that many people live in shame and never learn to accept God's forgiveness.

In my years in the camping ministry, I listened to many stories from young women who had suffered at the hands of a man. Often such encounters would lead the girl into a life of entrapment. Feeling as though she were damaged goods, she'd allow herself to be in a position again to receive such abuse, perhaps even seeking it out thinking that was the only way to be 'loved.' Once a victim, she moves into engaging in sinful behavior and becomes trapped in a vicious circle, not able to discern between good love and brutal lust.


Elder Leland felt a great conviction against his former life. We don't know what that former life entailed, but we can see his great sorrow for it. We know that prior to God grasping his heart, he attended dances and other 'frivolities' and that he was ashamed of this. The above statement was a result of witnessing the baptism of a young lady he'd danced with. Her commitment to change and discovery of a new life obviously impacted him.

In Isaiah 61, we find hope for the victim of this vicious cycle of a sin committed against them thus leading them to engage in sin themselves.

The speaker in Isaiah 61 is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. After the Prophet Isaiah recorded what the Messiah would do with respect to Israel and the Gentiles, we see the Messiah focusing on the individual and on His plans for each person:

• "To preach good tidings unto the meek." Note, it is to the meek. The meek are those who are poor, humble, and afflicted. Those who are proud will not look to God for help. They look to themselves for inner strength and power, or to their knowledge of science and humanities, but they do not look to God.
• "He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted." When a person experiences the consequences of sin, it is heart-wrenching. When a person feels crushing shame for a sin, conviction to change can rise from the dust. Jesus was sent to be a cast or a splint for the injured heart, thus providing a way for that conviction to bring change.  As such, Jesus makes a way for healing to happen and to prevent or protect from further injury, IF the person is willing to humble herself and let Him work in her life. But like a broken bone, healing may take time.
• "To proclaim liberty to the captives." Like the young ladies I mentioned above, many people are held captive by a sin they cannot gain victory over. But Christ was sent to proclaim liberty. Where does that liberty come from? When He was on earth, He met many people enslaved by sin, including the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). When she expressed some faith by calling Him Lord, He didn't condemn her but told her to "go, and sin no more." He proclaimed to her liberty. Then He gave Himself to be the final offering for sin. Upon Him our sins were placed so that we too can "go, and sin no more."
• "To proclaim...the opening of the prison to them that are bound." When sin shackles us to the walls of our wretched life, death holds the keys to our prison door. When Jesus died and was buried, He went into that prison and took those keys. And when He rose again, He conquered death and gave freedom to all who will believe, accept Him as their sin offering, and then follow Him out of that cell. For the young woman who abandoned her body and self-respect to the use of men or for the moment of ecstasy, He opened the prison. Will she trust Him and come out?
• "To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God." When we give ourselves over to Him, accepting the liberty He offers and walking through that opened prison door, we can have hope that God will prevail against our enemies. They cannot touch our soul. They cannot take away our Heavenly Home and the freedom we have in our heart and will someday have in Heaven. That hope enables us to hold up our heads and walk a straight path. What can man do unto us? We are safe and secure under the wings of our Saviour for eternity.
• "To comfort all that mourn." Like John Leland, we at times look back and wish we'd not lived the life we did. We wish we'd made other choices or not allowed ourselves to be in a position of vulnerability or become a victim and slave to sin. But in Christ, we find comfort. We will not forever be under the dark cloud of the sins of our past. When we get to Heaven, we will remember them no more.
• "To give beauty for ashes." The world around us is burning away in the lust of its eyes and the lust of its flesh and in its pride of life. It affects us. We experience the consequences of man's sin even as all creation does. But in our hearts, we find beauty in Christ. We find beauty in the hope of eternal life He gives us. And one day, we will stand in Heaven and be awed by the beauty of His presence and the place He has prepared for us.
• "The oil of joy for mourning." Scarred, we mourn what might have been. Pain of sins deepen our sorrow, but when we look to Christ and what He has done for us, and what He has planned for us, we receive the healing balm of joy. How can you not have joy when you reflect on Him and the tremendous love He has for you?
• "The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." When we focus on the entrapment of sin in our lives, we are weighed down. But, when we focus on the freedom we experience in Christ, we can do nothing more than praise Him, and that praise rests upon our shoulders like a delicate chiffon scarf.
• "That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Did you notice? Trees of righteousness. You don't become that by staying in the captivity of sin. "Go, and sin no more." Victory over sin requires action on our part. We must leave the old life and plant ourselves in Christ and the life He wants us to live. Only when we live according to His ways will He be glorified. And honey, we are created for His glory.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." 

Ephesians 2:8-9

John Leland: Convicted and Saved

In the summer of 1772,... When I was returning from my frolicks or evening diversions, the following words would sound from the skies, "You are not about the work which you have got to do."...And without any usual horror of mind or dread of damnation, the charms of those youthful diversions, which had been sweeter to me than the honeycomb, lost all their sweetness, nor could I conceive how there could be any pleasure in them." 

John Leland, The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, p.10.
(Miss L. F. Greene, G.W. Wood, 29 Gold-street, New York, 1845)

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."

I Peter 3:10-11

The above quote is the testimony of the Baptist preacher, John Leland, who helped Madison win the Virginia battles for religious freedom.

Eighteen years old at this time, John Leland was already very knowledgeable of the Bible, having read and studied it since he was five. John's family was religious.Yet, John struggled to get past the thought that he, "was almost in all evil, full of vanity, exceedingly attached to frolicking and foolish wickedness."(p. 10)

His experience that summer evening began a series of events within his heart, reaching to the very depths of his soul. These experiences would change the course of his life. He went to another "evening frolic" to determine if he had truly died to such a lifestyle. In his own words:

"Accordingly I went, but found nothing to please, but everything to disgust." (p. 11)

Later that summer, he watched the baptism of a young woman he had danced with in the past. She had been converted after hearing Elhanan Winchester preach.

"What I saw and heard at the water, greatly effected me. There I stood upon a rock, and made my vows to God to forsake all sinful courses and seek the Lord, if he would direct me how." (p. 11)

Still he worried about his salvation. He concluded that first he must be deeply convict of sin; that if he were converted he'd feel as though:

"a surgeon should cut open my breast with his knife, take out my heart and wash it, put it back again and close up the flesh" (p. 12)

And that if he should ever believe in Jesus he would:

 "see him as plainly as I could see an object of sense."" (p. 12)

Having drawn those conclusions, John Leland pursued faith and salvation. He saw himself a sinner, was convinced that he was condemned, and discovered "the sufficiency of a Mediator," (p. 12) settling his hope on the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

But he was concerned his conversion was not what it ought to be, until he meditated on Ephesians 1:13b "after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise". He heard in his mind God say to him, "Ye are already sealed unto the day of redemption." (p. 13)

John Leland keenly felt the hold of sin on his life. And as keenly as he felt it, he also rejoiced in the grace of God, freely given to all who receives it. He became a powerful preacher, effective in spreading the Gospel from Massachusetts to Virginia.

If only we all would feel the depth of sorrow Elder John Leland felt for his sin. Perhaps then, we would begin to grasp the greatness of God's grace and seek to live out lives pleasing to Him.

John Leland's struggle to know God's salvation impressed me. He, who had caroused with the youth and danced with the ladies, when convicted by the Holy Spirit, found that old life dead to him.

His passion for the Lord grew and became the driving force of his existence, even to the point where he willing risked being beheaded for his faith. When a woman asked to be baptized, she warned him that her husband threatened to whip her and kill the man who baptized her. He answered, "If you will venture your back, I will venture my head." (p. 20) She was whipped, but he did not lose his life.

Have you ever come to eschew parts of your life that were not pleasing to God? Have you ever become overwhelmed by the knowledge of your sin to the point where you understood your condemnation--that you indeed deserve hell? Have you ever discovered the sufficiency of God's grace through Christ and settled upon the hope of Christ's atoning blood--Christ's payment for your sin?

So many people today claim the title of Christian, yet do not live a life demonstrating the death of sin in their lives. Yes, we still live in the flesh, and therefore we will still sin. But do we eschew evil? Eschew means to shun or keep away from. Therefore, to eschew evil means to keep away from evil.

Peter wrote to Christians who saw and experienced first hand persecution for 'eschewing evil,' for not walking in the 'will of the Gentiles.' How little God asks of us in shunning that which is contrary to His Word, when He took upon Himself the likeness of man and bore our sin on the cross.

"Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of win, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."
I Peter 4:1-5

The Soldier

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." George Washington

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" I Peter 3:15

Patriots in the 18th century fought for freedom. At that time, freedom from the tyranny of a king across the ocean was utmost on the soldiers' minds. Many pastors ( like John Gano whose claim to fame was baptizing George Washington) or ministers joined the fight, both from the pulpit and on the field. These men fought for the freedom to preach the Gospel as they saw fit. Their Lord's passion for saving lost souls the captain of their zeal. The war these pastors fought both on and off the field still exists today.

 John Leland, Baptist preacher in Virginia during the War of Independence wrote:

"Souls appeared very precious to me, and my heart was drawn out in prayer for their salvation." The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, L.F. Greene (p.20)

His heart so burdened, he fervently prayed that God might give him success. And God did:

"From November 1779, to July 1780, I baptized one hundred and thiry, the chiefest of whom professed to be the seals of my ministry...The chiefest of my success was in York, where Lord Cornwallis and the British army were made prisoners, in October 1781. Matthew Wood, Robert Stacy and Thomas Cheesman, (all preachers afterwards,) were the children of this revival." (p.21)

Even officers fought on both the spiritual front and the war front. Colonel Harwood entered one of John Leland's meetings with the intention of stopping him. However, John Leland stamped the floor and "made no more of me than if I had been a dog." The colonel left without stopping the preaching of the Gospel.

Captain Robert Howard determined to 'lash' John Leland out of York county, because the elder had baptized his wife. The captain lost the battle, and he became "serious, penitent, believing, and was baptized." Afterward he accompanied Elder Leland to meetings.

Those preachers who sought to win the souls of many lost before and during the revolutionary war stood with those soldiers who sought to win freedom. Against threats and persecutions, they spread the good news of the free salvation given by God to all men.

Today we celebrate the faithful service of those in the military. Without their great sacrifice our freedoms would be lost. They deserve our honor, our respect, and our gratefulness.

Let us also not forget the Soldier who took the hill at Calvary. He won the war for our souls by giving His own life. Let us stand along side His soldiers who fight in the spiritual fields of our lives, on their knees and with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Let us join them as Captain Howard joined John Leland. Let us listen to them as George Washington listened to John Gano. Let us be willing to suffer as Christ, our great Captain of the Lord's Army and of our salvation, suffered on our behalf.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
Hebrews 2:10