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Pilgrims’ Passage
They waded ashore through the freezing waters of Cape Cod Bay, fell to their knees on the sand and worshiped God for safe passage. Sealing a covenant they had made earlier that day “in the Presence of God and one another,” committing their land and government to the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”
It was November 11, 1620. A day marked by Heaven and earth as the beginning of a global revolution.
Tomorrow marks our first time celebrating Thanksgiving away from America’s shores—in the land of Israel. As a son of the Pilgrims, I find the journey of the Jews and the journey of the Pilgrims unmistakably intertwined. Like the people of Moses, they left everything and crossed the waters to escape the harsh dictatorship of the Pharaohs of their day, so they could worship freely without a sentence of death. They came to the “promised land” of America by invitation of the Lord Himself, by revelation from Holy Spirit.
And like their forefathers, they established this new land by covenant with the Lord and then forged their community to live out their covenant relationship with the Lord in daily life. No King but Jesus! Revolutionary.
Thanksgiving
Even their festivals even bore witness to the faith of their fathers. What we know of today as Thanksgiving was actually inspired by the Jewish feast “Succot” or “Tabernacles” as a communal act of worship. Celebrating the provision of the harvest given from the generous heart of their Father.
Two years ago, Thanksgiving converged with the first day of Hanukkah for the first time in centuries. The Jews even noted the convergence, calling it “Thanksgivukkah.” Jolene and I saw it as a convergence of these two covenantal legacies to whom we are eternally devoted. Thanksgiving—the celebration of the covenant with the Lord which birthed the land that became the United States. And Hanukkah—the restoration of covenant with the Lord by spiritual revolutionaries who took back their Temple and relit its sacred flame.
Thanksgivukkah. From 2013 forward, these celebrations became inseparable to us. We even felt so strongly about the significance of the convergence we officially launched our book Crown and Throne over Thanksgivukkah! Cool that it happened to mark our tenth anniversary, when God lit our flame on the first day of Hanukkah.
Thanksgivukkah—New Move of the Spirit!
What we did not know until later was that the prophet Bob Jones saw the convergence as significant as well. In fact, he spoke to Che Ahn that on Thanksgivukkah he saw a new move of the Spirit come into the earth! It was the very move he had been promised exactly 30 years beforehand. A sweeping move of the Spirit that combined the Book of Exodus with the Book of Acts and brought true deliverance to the masses. Let My people go!
And beloved, we are living in that time.
As we step into a fuller expression of this new move this year, lets resolve today to carry on this legacy, to truly be a revolutionary for Jesus. Because each of you have received a sacred torch, passed on from your forefathers at great cost. Freedom. Freedom to love Jesus Christ personally and wholeheartedly, freedom to worship.
Freedom to truly live.
God’s covenant blessing strengthen you now, in Jesus’ Name! And from our hearts, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to you, Jon and Jolene!!