America Has Forgotten

11/20/05

 

 

Ex. 23:14 “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

¹⁵ “Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

¹⁶ “Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

 

Dt. 4:5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. ⁶Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” ⁷What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

⁹Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

 

Dt. 4:23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. ²⁴For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

 

Dt. 6:10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹²be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

 

 

Dennis Rupert writes...

 

The Pilgrims set aground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. Weakened by the seven-week crossing and the need to establish housing, they came down with pneumonia and consumption. They began to die -- one per day, then two, and sometimes three. They dug the graves at night, so that the Indians would not see how their numbers were dwindling. At one point, there were only seven persons able to fetch wood, make fires, and care for the sick. By the spring, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower.

 

The Pilgrims obviously needed help and it came from an English-speaking member of the Wampanoag (wapp-a-no-ac) nation, Squanto. Squanto decided to stay with the Pilgrims for the next few months and teach them how to survive. He brought them food and skins, taught them how to cultivate new vegetables and how to build Indian-style houses. He educated the Pilgrims on poisonous plants, medicine, how to get sap from the maple trees, use fish for fertilizer, and dozens of other skills needed for their survival.

 

The harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one and the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast.

 

It is quite true that the word "thanksgiving" is not used in referring to the feast. Much is made of this by secular authors who attempt to reinterpret the Pilgrim thanksgiving. But the only letter that we have telling us about the first Thanksgiving praises God for the harvest, makes reference to the "goodness of God" in providing for them, and says that the feast was held so that they "might after a special manner rejoice together."

 

The event occurred between September 21 and November 11, 1621, with the most likely time being around  (September 29), the traditional time for English harvest.

 

The Pilgrim's first thanksgiving feast was not repeated the following year. In the third year, when many of them had become preoccupied with cultivating more land, and building on to their houses, and planting extra corn for trading with the Indians, they were stricken by a prolonged drought. Week followed week with no rain, until even the Indians had no recollection of such a thing ever happening before. The sun-blasted corn withered on its stalks and became tinder dry, and beneath it the ground cracked open and was so powdery that any normal rain would be of little use. And still the heavens were as brass.

 

 

Finally, in July, Governor Bradford called a council of the chief men. It was obvious that God was withholding the rain for a reason, and they had better find out why. Bradford declared a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, and they gathered in their blockhouse church and began to search their hearts. It turned out that even these 'saints', had things to repent for -- spiritual pride, jealousy, vindictiveness, and greed, as well as a number of broken relationships. One after another, as they became convicted, they asked God's forgiveness and that of their fellow Pilgrims.

 

A tender, peaceful spirit grew among them and was enhanced as each hour passed. Late in the afternoon, as they emerged from the blockhouse, the sky which that morning had been hard and clear (as it had been every morning for nearly two months), was now covered with clouds all around them. The following morning, it began to rain -- a gentle rain that continued on and off for fourteen days straight. Writing of it, Bradford said:

 

"It came, without either wind, or thunder, or any violence, and by degreese in yt abundance, as that ye earth was thorowly wete and soked therwith. Which did so apparently revive & quicken ye decayed corne & other fruits, as was wonderfull to see, and made ye Indeans astonished to behold; and afterwards the Lord sent them shuch seasonable showers, with enterchange of faire warme weather, as, through his blessing, caused a fruitfull & liberall harvest, to their no small comforte and rejoycing."

 

December 18, 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga:

 

"It is therefore recommended by Congress, that Thursday the 18th. day of December next be set apart for Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise; that at one time, and with one voice, the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that, together with their sincere acknowledgements and offerings they may join the penitent confession of their sins; and supplications for such further blessings as they stand in need of."

 

President George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving for November 26, 1789 to honor the formation of the United States government. His proclamation called for a day of prayer and giving thanks to God. It was to be celebrated by all religious denominations, but discord among the colonies prevented it from being practiced by all the states.

 

Thanksgiving failed to become an annual tradition at this time. Only Presidents Washington, Adams, and Madison declared national days of thanks in their terms. Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams considered the practice to infringe upon the separation of church and state. During the War of 1812, President Madison proclaimed three days of fasting and prayer in response to Congressional requests (August 20, 1812, September 9, 1813, and January 12, 1815). He was the last president to call for a national thanksgiving until Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Governors, on the other hand--particularly in the New England states, regularly issued proclamations of thanksgiving.

 

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. She was fired for the determination of having the whole nation join together in setting apart a national day for giving thanks "unto Him from who all blessings flow."

 

In 1830, New York proclaimed an official state "Thanksgiving Day." Other states soon followed its example. The Territory of Minnesota celebrated its first Thanksgiving Day on December 26, 1850.

 

By 1852, Hale's campaign succeeded in uniting 29 states in marking the last Thursday of November as "Thanksgiving Day."

Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's passion became a reality. On September 28, 1863, Sarah Josepha Hale wrote a letter to President Lincoln and urged him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day "of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father."

 

Lincoln issued a similar proclamation in 1864. U.S. presidents maintained the holiday on the last Thursday of November for 75 years (with the exception of Andrew Johnson designating the first Thursday in December as Thanksgiving Day 1865 and Ulysses Grant choosing the third Thursday for Thanksgiving Day 1869).

 

In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declare the next-to-last Thursday of the month (November 23rd) to be Thanksgiving Day. This break with tradition was prompted by requests from the National Retail Dry Goods Association. Since 1939 had five Thursdays in November, this would create a longer Christmas shopping season. While governors usually followed the president's lead with state proclamations for the same day, on this year, twenty-three states observed Thanksgiving Day on November 23rd, the "Democratic" Thanksgiving. Twenty-three states celebrated on November 30th, Lincoln's "Republican" Thanksgiving. Texas and Colorado declared both Thursdays to be holidays.

After two years of public outcry and confusion, Congress introduced the legislation to ensure that future presidential proclamations could not impact the scheduling of the holiday.. They established Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in November. The legislation took effect in 1942. Their plan to designate the fourth Thursday of the month allowed Thanksgiving Day to fall on the last Thursday five out of seven years.

 

There are those who want to remove any thought of God from our Thanksgiving celebrations. They wish to secularize the holiday and they reinvent history to attempt to prove their point. But it is evident from reading primary sources that Thanksgiving in America was always about giving thanks to God.

 

Our society is being viciously attacked daily by those who want to remove God from every aspect of our country!

 

America’s heritage is in the Living God!

 

The spirit of antichrist is strategically devastating us!

 

1 Jo. 2:18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.

 

1 Jo. 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

 

The US Supreme Court banned school prayer in 1963

 

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore was ordered by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson to remove the Ten Commandments monument that sat in the rotunda of the state judicial building in Montgomery.

 

Justice Moore was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the Southern Poverty Law Center headed by leftist activist Morris Dees.

 

 

Last Christmas (2004) in MUSTANG, Okla. – Voters incensed over a superintendent's decision to remove a Nativity scene from an elementary school's Christmas program took out their anger at the ballot box by helping to defeat bond measures costing nearly $11 million.

About 100 people protested outside the auditorium where the play was performed Thursday night. The protesters staged their own live Nativity scene. Some carried signs reading: ``No Christ. No Christmas. Know Christ. Know Christmas.''

 

 

U.S. communities fail to keep 'Christ' in Christmas
By Jennifer Harper

 

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

 

Is America ready for C——-mas?

Christmas has been sanitized in schools and public squares, in malls and parades where Santa's OK, Jesus Christ is not. "Jingle Bells" rocks, but forget about "Silent Night."

 

There’s a TV commercial for Kay Jewelers. Husband and wife are sleeping, clock ticks over from 5:59 to 6:00, and husband starts awake. He jumps out of bed and yells “Honey, get up, it’s the twenty-fifth!!!” Next, the whole family is bounding downstairs and you see the tips of a few branches with lights and out comes the gift. The wife opens it and it’s a beautiful diamond bracelet from where? Why, Kay’s of course! She is delighted, he is excited and wishes his lovely wife a “Happy Holiday.”

 

Show the advertisements.

 

Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

Atheist Michael Newdow, who first became infamous for challenging "Under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance, is attacking our Founding Fathers in court. As his new suit against our Pledge of Allegiance is pending, Newdow is planning to file another lawsuit − this time in an effort to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency.

 

Here are some issues the ACLU supports:

 

* Legalization of homosexual marriage
* Legalization of child pornography
* Legalization of prostitution
* Legalization of live sex acts in public
* Legalization of sex between adults and children

* The ACLU defends the North American Man Boy Love Association whose motto is "sex before 8 or it is too late."
* Removing "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance
* Removing our motto "In God We Trust" from our money
* Forcing the Boy Scouts to accept homosexual scout leaders
* Removing prayer from school and public events
* Abortion on demand, without parental consent
* Legalizing illicit drugs
* Physician assisted suicide
* Partial-birth abortion
* Mandatory sex education
* Legalized polygamy
* Tax supported profane art

 

Here is some of what the ACLU is against:

 

* Parental notification for minors having abortion
* School vouchers
* Filters on public library computers
* Student led prayer in schools
* Nativity scenes on public property
* Sex offender registries
* Broadcast decency laws
* "Choose Life" license plates
* Tax exemptions for churches
* Posting of the Ten Commandments of public property
* Prayers before high school football games
* Parental consent laws
* "Abstinence before marriage" sex education

 

Call your public school administrators and let them know that you appreciate Christmas school programs that include traditional Christmas music and the Christmas story.

 

Call your public officials about nativity scenes and that you appreciate the fact of them still being displayed.

 

When the church becomes “politically correct” we have lost the anointing of God!

 

 

 

Are you overflowing with thankfulness?

 

Col. 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

 

Col. 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

 

Col. 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

 

Ps. 100:1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

² Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

Don’t allow anything to keep you from being thankful...

 

Ez. 3:10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹ With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

“He is good;

his love to Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.