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Sermon Illustrations > Discipline > William Booth

William Booth


Our Daily Bread, June 28, 1989

In the 1880s a young man who was an earnest Christian found employment in a pawnshop. Although he disliked the work, he did it faithfully "as unto the Lord" until a more desirable opportunity opened for him. To prepare himself for a life of Christian service, he wrote on a scrap of paper the following resolutions:

"I do promise God that I will rise early every morning to have a few minutes&md;not less than five&md;in private prayer. I will endeavor to conduct myself as a humble, meek, and zealous follower of Jesus, and by serious witness and warning I will try to lead others to think of the needs of their immortal souls. I hereby vow to read no less than four chapters in God's Word every day. I will cultivate a spirit of self-denial and will yield myself a prisoner of love to the Redeemer of the world."

That young man was William Booth, who later led thousands to Christ and founded the Salvation Army.