Happy Wednesday Children of God! And Happy Early Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was a kid, it was mostly because of the food, but as I got older, I also began to appreciate the benefit of taking a day to intentionally give thanks.
***By the way, Sofiya and I are GRATEFUL for our relationship with you and for your YES to the calling of Jesus on your life. We Thank God for you!***
These days, my love for Thanksgiving is on an entirely new level, because now I know the details about its true origins. The Thanksgiving story is one of the most amazing stories in all of history, because it is a story of faith, courage, perseverance, unwavering hope, and MIRACLES. I think it will encourage you to be reminded of it today.
Below are some pics I took at The Pilgrim Museum in Plymouth, along with an ultra-abbreviated summary of their story. The entire story is found in William Bradford’s book “Of Plymouth Plantation”, which you can hear an audio of below.
Let’s start with the first fundamental fact about the Pilgrims- they LOVED Jesus and they LONGED to worship Him freely, which they could not do in their home country England.
So, in September of 1620, after years of enduring intense persecution (beatings, imprisonments, fines, etc.), 102 men and women set sail on a 66-day journey across the Atlantic, relying on nothing but the wind to get them to their intended destination, which was Virginia. Their desire to worship God the way the Bible tells us to was so strong, they were literally willing to risk their lives for it.
Because of winds and storms (which God miraculously spared them from dying in), they ended up hundreds of miles from their intended destination- in Provincetown, Cape Cod. When they got there, it was totally desolate, and they were on the brink of starvation. They prayed and asked God for provision, and shortly after, they found enough food to survive on for about 5 weeks!
After exploring Cape Cod, they realized that it was not a place where they could likely grow much food, so…they set sail again, this time across the bay. When they landed, they realized that they were in a town called Plymouth, which was the same name as the town in England that they had departed from. They considered this to be a sign from God. Amazingly, in that same town they also found a natural water spring that provided an ABUNDANCE of water. Truly God’s provision.
This is the spring, still flowing strong after hundreds of years.
When they arrived in Plymouth, it was late December, and it was getting VERY cold. The Pilgrims hunkered down, but many of them died during the winter because of the freezing temperatures. Here is a poster showing those who were on the Mayflower and those who made it through the winter.
By March, only 49 of them were left. They all emerged from the first winter grateful to be alive but also totally unsure of how they would survive any longer. It is at this point that they met the Indian leader Squanto, and amazingly, he speaks English!
Squanto explains to them that he was once captured as a slave by British merchants, and that he lived nearly a decade in England where he learned conversational English. Incredibly, he was brought back to the exact place that he was taken from, and by the time the Pilgrims arrived, he had made many connections with the local Indian Chiefs.
At this point, he agrees to be the Pilgrims’ land guide to teach them where to fish, where to hunt and how to grow crops. He also agrees to be the mediator between them and the other Indians (many of whom wanted to kill the Pilgrims initially).
With Squanto’s help, the Pilgrims formed a peace treaty with the Indian Chief Massasoit, which remained in place for decades. The Pilgrims and the Indians then began to work together for their mutual survival and prosperity.
The Pilgrims, walking by faith this entire time, were still uncertain of whether they would ultimately be able to live off the land for years to come. This uncertainty came to an end, when after following Squanto’s planting advice, they had a harvest that was FAR beyond what they had expected!
The Pilgrims gave Jesus all the glory for the harvest, and they had a 3-day celebration to honor Him for His provision. This was the first Thanksgiving. Below is a painting depicting it. It is flanked by a statue of Squanto on the left and William Bradford- Governor of Plymouth, on the right.
From then on Squanto and the Pilgrims were great friends and great allies. Squanto was with them until the day he died, helping them survive and thrive any way he could. William Bradford described Squanto as “a special instrument sent by God for their good beyond expectation.”
And as they say- the rest is history. The Pilgrims then built homes, communities, churches, schools and businesses. They also lived in peace together with the Indians for decades and they led many, including Squanto, to faith in Christ. They also inspired many other persecuted Christians to make the journey across the Atlantic to enjoy the same freedom to worship. This led to the New England colonies forming, which at one point were made up of 98% born again Christians!
Of course, as time went on, many people with other motives were also inspired to come here. Some even did serious harm to the Indians. However, by that point the foundations of America had already been laid, and the land had already been committed into the hands of Jesus. His blessings and unmerited favor were with America from that point on, and even though we’ve made some terrible mistakes over the generations, God has honored the covenant that was made with the Pilgrims.
Here’s a really neat video that explains more about The Pilgrim story, specifically their relationship with Squanto and the Indians. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Click here to watch it- The Miracle That Saved America
One other aspect of this story that is also important for us to meditate on is that what you and I are doing through the ministry is actually an extension of the foundational mission of America that was established by the Pilgrims. This mission is well summarized in the Mayflower Compact (the covenant they made with each other as to how things would operate in Plymouth Colony):
And is further explained in a quote from William Bradfords book, explaining one of the main reasons why they came here. The quote is engraved on the statue of him that sits across from Plymouth Rock:
Kind of wild to think that the fact that we have committed ourselves to worshipping Jesus in spirit and truth, AND to advancing the Gospel throughout the nation, means that WE are truly living the ACTUAL American Dream.
On that note, it was another great weekend on the mission fields.
On Friday night, I was pleasantly surprised to see an abundance of laborers come out to Bayfront Park, including several new people. We had a good time and planted some good seeds throughout the night too. Here’s us praying at the end of the night.
The next day, my friend Pastor Robin from House Chapel was holding a community outreach event outside his church and he asked me to come and help him minister to the people. They had free medical checkups, games, food and music. Praise God- 55 people came throughout the day. They all heard the gospel, and many prayed to receive Jesus too. Here’s one pic I took while Pastor Robin was sharing the gospel.
Here’s a video that shows more of the entire set up, which was very well put together.
Pastor Robin had me come and speak the previous Sunday to stir up the congregation for the outreach, and praise God pretty much everyone in the church showed up to serve. Here’s some clips from that service/message:
After a few hours of rest, we geared back up for outreach and headed out to Riverwalk. It was such a fruitful time. MANY kids (maybe 15+) prayed to receive the Lord, and many adults were touched too.
One other interesting moment was when this woman came up to me with her phone out asking if I could pray for her sister, who was on the line. The woman told her sister that she comes to the park often to listen to us, and that she always prays with us when I lead a prayer on the microphone, so she could trust me. Funny though that she never talked to us until that night.
It was so cool to hear this testimony and to find out that we had been influencing her spiritually for so long, without us knowing. Makes me wonder how many other people have the same story. Also cool was that her sister prayed with me to receive Jesus on the phone.
Sunday at Siesta was great too. There were lots of people at the beach, and I saw a steady stream of them coming to the gift table throughout the night. Many people were ministered to, and many tracts were given out, and at one point there were even 20+ people listening to my message pretty intently, particularly younger people.
We also met this brother who shared a powerful testimony of how God saved him out of a life of paganism:
One thing that was quite special about Sunday was that it marked 400 weeks since beginning the ministry on Siesta Beach. To be technical, the beach was closed for 5 weeks during lockdown and once during hurricane Debbie, but every other weekend we’ve been there. By God’s grace, we have shared the Gospel with over 100,000 people there, seen hundreds come to Christ, and seen countless other miracles also. It has been such an amazing adventure!
Here’s a post I made with pics from past Siesta outreaches. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CeR8oBNK2/
And here is a recap of the prophetic events that led to birth of the ministry. Definitely worth reading.
Awaken 941 Prophetic History – Awaken Florida
Something else worth checking out is this podcast from Wallbuilders. It is about the results of a recent Barna study that showed that only 10% of church attending Christians have a Biblical worldview. The study also showed what kinds of things they tend to believe that are unbiblical. It definitely shows us that we are not only being sent to evangelize and disciple the unbelievers, but also the “believers” that are deceived.
Check it out here- https://www.buzzsprout.com/2077254/episodes/18242373
BIG thanks to Amber, Laney, Bridget, Mike M, Ken, Sarath, Jenny, Mauricio, Thom, Gene, Dave, Marcus, Marietta, Joe and Michelle for coming out to serve!
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! See you on the mission fields soon!
CV
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:1-8