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Free at last!
A devotion written by Pastor Stephen Helwig for the July issue.
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Freedom. Independence. It’s more than parades and picnics and fireworks. It’s more than hamburgers and watermelon and apple pie. It’s something that brave men and women have fought for and defended with their very lives. The Fourth of July. Independence Day. The United States of America. The land of the free and the home of the brave.
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Standing on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke about justice and equality and freedom. He shared his dream that one day all Americans of all ethnic backgrounds would live together peacefully. He said that when that day comes, freedom would finally ring throughout our country. “Let freedom ring” were the words that he repeated over and over again until he brought his speech to a dramatic conclusion with the words “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
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We share that dream for our country. We all want to live our lives here peaceably without violence and oppression. Working toward that goal is an ongoing challenge in this life.
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My wife and I were sitting in our living room, enjoying the quiet of having all our kids in bed. Just as the peace began to settle on our house, a car alarm suddenly went off in our neighborhood. Loud. Blaring. Don’t you hate that? At 10 p.m.? No one stopped it. . . .
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One hundred seventy people graduated from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., on May 14.
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At the graduation service on May 27, 26 graduates received diplomas for successfully completing their seminary studies at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.
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