America's roots; giving thanks to God

America is a young country compared to Europe and its history. For as young as we are you would expect that it would have taken much longer to get as far away from our founding ideals as we have. Sure, we still have Thanksgiving Day parades and a huge feast is observed by almost everyone. Many hopefully still bow their heads in prayer before the feast begins. But its usually a fast prayer with everyone chomping at the bit to begin the feast. But there is more to this holiday than this.

In 1620 102 people set sail on the Mayflower and spent two months on their journey which was not easy to say the least. The storms at sea were so horrific that the passengers were confined to the cargo area for almost the entire trip.To pass the time and comfort each other they sang Psalms.

On December 11, 1620, after 66 long, grueling days they reached Plymouth Rock. Their original destination was actually Northern Virginia, but unrelenting winds kept blowing them off course. 46 people died from the extreme cold that winter and food was scarce. By spring they were desperate and grateful to meet up with
Squanto, a native American who ended up showing them how to grow their own food.

During that summer, however, they were faced with an extreme drought. So without question and in one accord they decided to fast and pray and ask God for a bountiful harvest. By that evening, the rains poured down on their crops and saved all the corn, beans and squash that were growing.

Then in the fall of 1621they planned a celebration feast for them and all the Native Americans who had helped them to survive. 90 people partook of that first feast with the sole intent of thanking God for showing them favor. Besides the corn, squash and beans its said they also had duck, venison, goose, fish, various berries and nuts. This feast and celebration of thanksgiving to God continued for 3 days!

It would not happen again until 1623 when another drought threatened their survival. After that Governor Bradford called for another day of thanksgiving to God in 1676. In 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a communal celebration in which they also gave thanks for their victory over England and their freedom to worship. It was President Lincoln who finally established Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday on the last day in November in 1863.

So the next time you hear a president, such as Obama, state that "America is not a Christian nation" you may want to question just how learned he truly is. Shouldn't a man who is representing us and has control over our military at least know the history of the nation he's in charge of, even if he was not born there? Yes, we were a Christian nation. That is why God showed us such favor as to grow this nation into the great nation that it once was.

But we have all but turned our backs on Him. We have booted Him out of our court rooms and schools and turned prayer into a criminal act. We shun His laws and no longer raise our children to know Him and fear Him. Prayer and fasting as individuals is rare and as a nation is unheard of. We place our values on money, possessions, vacations, idolatry of all kinds and thereby teach our children the same. Convenience and self centeredness  rule our lives and ends the lives of our unborn children.

Thanksgiving, like everything else has lost its true meaning. As a nation what we need now is a national day of prayer, fasting and seeking forgiveness for all of our trespasses. That will never happen of course...but if only it could I would not be surprised if our national abundance began to return by that same evening.

May your Thanksgiving day be blessed with the presence of God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.