Introducing Pilgrim Ministries .... | Bob Moore |
The Pilgrims came to America to build a new Jerusalem and to spread the gospel among the heathen. John Robinson, their pastor, wrote, "Now as the people of God in old time were called out of Babylon civil and were called to come to Jerusalem, and there build the Lord's temple, so are the people of God now to go out of Babylon spiritual and to build themselves as lively stones into a spiritual house, or temple, for the Lord to dwell in." The Pilgrims crossed the vast ocean and entered an untamed wilderness to build a new community grounded in the principles of Christ. At no time since the Jews returned from their Babylonian captivity did a group of people have the opportunity to create an entire nation founded upon the true religion. The apostles called devout Christians strangers and pilgrims. The righteous are strangers to worldly ways. God has called them out from among the wicked and commanded them to be a separate people. Because they look for a better country, they are pilgrims among the nations of the world. The Pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock had separated themselves from the nations of Europe. They sought the kingdom of God and pledged themselves to its establishment. God blessed their efforts. They forged the foundation for the United States of America. Today's super power began when a small group of people dedicated to Christ tried to create a holy nation. Christian devotion and principles permeated every aspect of American life as the new nation won its independence and organized its government. Patriots were not only statesmen; they were believers. They opened their meetings with prayer, petitioning Providence for inspiration. They disciplined their aspirations to Biblical directives. They dedicated their property and lives to righteous principles. America was not only free; it was religious. God made America great not just because He wanted to bless dedicated Christians anxious to build a holy kingdom, but because He has a plan for our nation. The United States is a key factor in the culminating work of God. He is preparing the world for the return of His son. America has a part to play in that preparation. The pilgrims' effort to erect a new Jerusalem on this side of the Atlantic was accepted by Providence. God promised that the nation they were beginning would culminate in a holy kingdom on earth to which the Savior would come. During the past several decades America has gradually separated itself from its Christian moorings. Bible readings are not allowed in most schools. Communities are barred from sponsoring religious activities. Public prayer is often illegal. Meanwhile, violence is increasing. Immorality is multiplying. Crime is escalating. Our society is unraveling. Students are scoring lower on standardized tests. Employees are less productive. Families are deteriorating. The purposes for which the Pilgrims came to America are superior to the results our nation is now producing. Many people are beginning to realize that America's decline is related to the denial of its Christian heritage. Conscientious citizens throughout the land are calling the nation to return to the values and morals that made America great. Its divine mission still remains. As citizens depart from that mission, they suffer the consequences of their transgressions. They endure the degradation that violence, immorality and disobedience yield. Burdened by these consequences, many are awakening to the virtues that motivated our founding fathers. The purposes espoused by and the promises made to the Pilgrims remain incomplete. In a day of growing wickedness, they can still be embraced and fulfilled. Pilgrim Ministries is dedicated to the same intentions motivating the Pilgrims. It wants to see them completed. It wants to join the invitation calling the nation back to its Christian foundations. It wants to defend against the invasion that has quietly crept into our land to pollute our resources, undermine our institutions, corrupt our children and endanger our freedoms. It wants to help restore America to its divine purpose. The way Pilgrim Ministries will help restore America to its divine mission is to publicize the reason God created America in the first place and summon Americans to return to its Christian heritage. It will examine and announce God's plan for America. Through its publication, Pilgrims Promise, it will recount the Christian values and purposes embraced by our founding fathers, review the Biblical prophesies that predict America's divine work, and rekindle the Christian zeal that once motivated the whole nation to seek the kingdom of God. Pilgrims Promise is presented to the public to encourage Americans in a day when evil threatens to overthrow divine promises, and to invite all to return to divine purposes. Those responding, like Abraham, will at least see the promises from "afar off." Some will participate in their culmination. |