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It Is Written

John Bradshaw

Grateful

Coming up next, please stay tuned for It Is Written, presented by Pastor John Bradshaw.

It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad, and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signaled victories over the enemy, who was of our own household.

It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes, as our soldiers in their camps, and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health.

He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our working men in every department of industry with abundant rewards." Isn't that something?

That's not the kind of language that you hear today.

This was part of a declaration written by President Abraham Lincoln.

It was issued on October 20, 1864 and it went on to say, "...now therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next, as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the universe.

And I do further recommend to my fellow citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events, for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union and harmony, throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations." This was the President of the United States of America urging citizens to reverently humble themselves in the dust and offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to God, or in this case, the great disposer of events.

Of course, the story goes back much further.

The Pilgrims arrived in this land in 1620, landing at Plymouth Rock, according to the historical accounts, and quickly encountering serious challenges.

Forty-five of the 102 people who arrived on the Mayflower died in the winter of 1620-1621.

Becoming established in the new world was extraordinarily difficult.

William Bradford, the leader of the Plymouth Colony, wrote, the dangers were great, but not desperate.

The difficulties were many, but not invincible.

That was a very optimistic viewpoint and offered by 1 who had survived the hardships.

You can understand why the Plymouth colonists celebrated after their first harvest in 1621.

God had graciously saved them and provided for them.

They looked to God as the giver of all good gifts, understanding what James wrote when he said, "...every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.'" That's James 1.17.

It was more than 200 years after what we might call that first Thanksgiving that Thanksgiving was officially recognized.

It's now celebrated in the United States every year.

Initially, a time of devotion to God, but now really a family event, which certainly isn't all bad.

Family, food, a day off work for most, and that's Thanksgiving.

The Canadian version also started as an expression of thanksgiving to God.

If I were to share with you what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving, I'd have to start by saying, I'm thankful for God, for family, for you, and for freedom.

Many of the pilgrims who came to this country were in search of religious freedom.

Mind you, once they got here, they weren't especially gracious about extending that religious freedom to others.

This is from a report published by Swarthmore University, a school located just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and founded by Quakers.

The first known Quakers to arrive in Boston and challenge Puritan religious domination were Mary Fisher and Anne Austin.

These 2 women entered Boston's harbor on the Swallow, a ship from Barbados, in July of 1656.

The Puritans of Boston greeted Fisher and Austin as if they carried the plague and severely brutalized them.

The 2 were strip-searched, accused of witchcraft, jailed, deprived of food, and were forced to leave Boston on the swallow when it next left Boston 8 weeks later.

8 Quakers who arrived after the 2 women were imprisoned and beaten.

Authorities forced the captain who brought the 8 Quakers to Boston to take them back to England.

In his excellent book, Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul, John M.

Barry wrote, Massachusetts imposed fines of 10 shillings for attending a Quaker meeting, 40 shillings for speaking at 1, and 40 shillings for every hour someone allowed a known Quaker to remain in his home.

Quakers themselves, upon first conviction, if a man, lost an ear, upon second conviction, the other ear, if a woman, severe whippings for first and second offenses.

For men and women both, upon third conviction the tongue would be bored with a red-hot iron.

Then, 1 month after cutting off the ear of 1 Quaker, Massachusetts specifically legislated death for Quakers who returned after banishment.

Now, while Quakers certainly did have some interesting ideas, you can't possibly justify persecuting someone for their religious beliefs.

Around the world there are many people who right now are not free to worship.

In some places, faith in Jesus can cost you your life.

But here where we are free to worship, the Pew Research Forum published an article in 2019 titled, In U.S., Decline of Christianity continues at rapid pace.

It showed that no matter how you cut it, the number of Christians in the United States is declining.

Free to worship, and more and more people are choosing not to.

How thankful are you for your freedom to worship?

Might not be something you think about on a regular basis.

But according to the Bible, there's coming a day when religious freedom won't exist for anyone.

This is Revelation chapter 13, starting in verse 1.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.

And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And I saw 1 of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed.

And all the world wondered after the beast." The chapter goes on to say that a second beast would enforce worship.

And keep in mind, In Bible prophecy, a beast represents a nation.

You'll see that in Daniel chapter 7 verses 17 and 23.

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." Today I'm thankful for freedom, thankful to live in a country where freedom is valued, Thankful to live in a land where I'm free to worship according to the dictates of my own conscience.

I'm thankful for the Declaration of Independence, which says that all are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

If you're thankful for your freedoms today, what are you doing about those freedoms?

I hope you'll utilize the freedom that God has given you and encourage others to know the Savior that offers everlasting life to all.

In his first letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul wrote, In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The gift of the Holy Spirit, but how do we take hold of it?

To learn more, request your free copy of the booklet, The Gift of the Spirit.

You may also write to It Is Written, PO Box 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37401.

Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship.

For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer free planned giving and estate services.

For information on how we can help you, please call 800-992-2219.

Call today or visit our website, HisLegacy.com.

If your children are doing well, if you're experiencing good health, if you've come through a difficult medical situation, if you have a job, money in the bank, food in the pantry, you're thankful.

And if you can check all of those boxes, then you're in rare company.

In 2019, 34 million people in the United States were said to be living below the poverty line.

The United Nations reported that in the year 2015, about 10% of the world's population, or 730 million people, lived on less than $2 a day.

While the numbers of people in extreme poverty have been declining, the COVID-19 pandemic saw those numbers rise by as much as 150 million, according to the World Bank.

I hope you can join me in saying that you're thankful for Jesus.

I was raised to go to church, but we weren't Bible readers by any means.

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