manifest destiny
Manifest Destiny was a cliché coined in 1845 to reflect the popular 19th Century sentiment that the United States and its republican democracy was destined to extend west, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This sentiment played an important role in the Louisiana Purchase, the Trail of Tears, Fifty-Four Forty or Fight presidential campaign slogans, the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, the War for Southern Independence, and the driving of the ceremonial 17-karat gold spike at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869 to complete the first trans-continental railroad. Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, were actually encouraged to take advantage of the Homestead Act a move out west as early as 1865. A famous editorial in the New York Tribune declared:
Washington is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting, and the morals are deplorable. Go west, young man, go West and grow up with the country.
(Wow, if Washington, DC was morally deplorable in 1865, what in the world would you call it today? Swamp is far too flattering)
Anyway, the concept of Manifest Destiny and the Go West Young Man! rallying cry motivated settlers to migrate west, compelled missionaries to carry the Gospel west, and gave rise to the authentic cross-country journey that inevitably associated west on the compass with real adventure.
Back in 2003, I considered it manifest destiny that I pedal a bicycle all the way to the Pacific Ocean at Neah Bay, Washington from Surf City, North Carolina . . . publicly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and distributing copies of God’s Word in the highways and byways all along the way. My conscience whispered Pedal West Young Man . . . and PREACH! I did, 4,600+ miles, and Full Proof Gospel Ministries was born amidst a slough of truly divine appointments. That banner photo above was taken the morning of July 11, 2003 when we set out for the starting line.
Since I rolled my front tire into the cold Pacific waters outside of Neah Bay on October 30, 2004, I have traversed the United States for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus the Messiah, witnessing to both Jew and Gentile, AT LEAST SIXTEEN TIMES, including twice more on a bicycle. There have been college campus preaching tours, big city preaching circuits, and ventures to literal ends of the American road system. Here are a couple of old photos that truly sum it up:
A few years ago, real opportunity for distributing copies of the Hebrew Scriptures to Israelis working in shopping mall kiosks became apparent, a manifest destiny of sorts between stints in South Asia and South America. Thus, the cross-country shopping mall circuit was born. Sometimes, these were very fruitful. In 2016, we drove 13,000 miles in 5 weeks and combed 37 shopping malls. We distributed 30 Old Testament Tanakhs and 20 Hebrew New Testaments on that route. It might not seem like much, but that is MUCH in terms of Jewish outreach. We also witnessed the Gospel to foreign nationals from 18 different Gentile nations. The next year, 2017, we targeted 42 different shopping malls and got 30 Tanakhs and 23 New Testaments into the hands of Israeli young people. Sometimes, these circuits weren’t so fruitful, though God’s idea of fruitfulness is never about numbers and always about Divine Providence (Isaiah 55:8-11). In 2018, 15 malls in the Northeast only yielded 3 encounters. Notwithstanding, a few copies of the Scriptures did go out, and there were some Jewish encounters while preaching on college campuses. Last year, we combed 19 malls and only found two Israelis in the very first mall where we stopped. They refused to take the Scriptures. Notwithstanding and in all of this, the Lord’s Divine Hand of Providence was obvious, and we were regularly reminded that the manifest destiny of the believer in the work of the Great Commission is OBEDIENCE over results.
West Edmonton Mall (Edmonton, Alberta) in 2016
We definitely DID NOT find any Israelis at this dank and depressing mall. But, we did tract up the place.
Winter is coming to a close in 2020, and manifest destiny again calls! Early Monday morning, Eric Trent and I will heed that call—Go West Young Man! For the next two months, we will be traveling out to the Pacific Ocean and back, completing another preaching circuit that will inevitably involve Hebrew Scripture distribution in shopping malls, some college campus preaching, and outreach to hikers, backpackers, and climbers on a variety of trails and crags. There should be some opportunity to hook up with faithful brethren along the way, and we are hoping that this journey will also yield personnel for this summer’s Team Yeshua in both Peru and Colombia.
I’ve already composed a list of 60 shopping malls that lie along our circuitous route, including a few out west where we have found opportunities with Israelis before. This year, we have prepared gift bags that include a nice hardback Hebrew-English Tanakh, a hardback Hebrew-English New Testament, a sweet pair of $14 SWANQ hiking socks (thanks to MK Trading Company for donating the product), and a unique discount coupon for shopping online at MKSocks.com. Of course, this “coupon” bears a succinct Gospel message, and the coupon code for taking advantage of the discount is “YESHUA.” So, any Israelis we meet who want to take advantage of this offer will actually have to type in the name of the Jewish Messiah (he, he, he!). I have given out socks to Israelis in my travels, and they always love them, and these have proven a good bridge to demonstrate the free gift of salvation that is found in Messiah. So, we’ll see.
Such is how the LORD is leading. Your prayers are much appreciated, for us out on the road, and for our families back home. Lord willing, my daughter Bethany will be joining us later in California. Please pray specifically that the LORD puts lost sheep from the House of Israel into our path. We will go, we will map it out, we will walk the malls and the streets and the trails, but the LORD will have to put them into our path. I’m desirous of fruit like from our very first mall circuits and not like last year’s 1 for 19 stat. I mean hey, that batting average couldn’t even get me drafted on a kids T-ball team. Pray also for provision along this long journey. It’s always a blessing when the fuel prices are low. I remember driving across America in ministry with a towed RV back when gas got up to $4 a gallon! There will be expenses for gas, some lodging, and all the other stuff that goes with a cross-country road trip. But praise God, there are plenty of good believers out there who will open their homes and give us the joy of some good Christian fellowship.
We've prepared these gifts bags for Israelis working the mall kiosks.
Before I sign out and get to packing, please consider something for a moment. Jesus the Messiah commended the church at Ephesus for its WORK, its LABOR, and its PATIENCE in His message to them that John wrote down in Revelation 2:1-7. But then, our LORD rebukes this church that had a testimony of work, labor, and patience for His name because “thou hast left thy first love” (2:4). What does this mean?
This Scripture haunted me back in 2009 after we had grown busy with foreign missions, foreign travel, plenty of manmade schedules and deadlines in ministry, tons of Scripture printing and distribution, and the weariness of soul that comes with all that. Back then, the LORD reminded me of my first love, when I climbed on that bicycle in Surf City, NC and pedaled west all the way to the Pacific Ocean, that very first manifest destiny in ministry. Back then, there wasn’t weariness of soul, only the excitement of the unknown and true zeal for the Gospel. There was an ever-changing horizon where the details of each day weren’t planned or presupposed. There was a trust in the LORD to guide each step and to put exactly the right people into our path. And like the remnant who had returned to Israel after the Babylonian Captivity, the joy of the LORD was my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). That all got lost somewhere along the way. As I saw it when confronted with these things in the Word, I needed to first REPENT (I.e. ACKNOWLEDGE the problem, cf. Jeremiah 3:13) and then simply GO BACK TO MY FIRST LOVE. My first love in ministry was on a bicycle with no pre-determined schedule, and so in 2009, I climbed back on that same bicycle and pedaled all the way to the tippity-top of Alaska. There were so many divine appointments along the way, and so many seeds sown in that journey bear fruit even today, more than a decade later. Since then, the message to the Church at Ephesus is always in my mind, as we need to be reminded from time to time about the dangers of falling into man-centered ministry. So, back to that Scripture!
What did Jesus mean when a faithful church, faithful in work, labor, and patience (certainly more than what can be said for most churches) is rebuked for leaving its first love? I believe the answer can be found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian believers. In I Thessalonians 1:2-3, he praises the church, not for its work, labor, and patience (Ephesus’ testimony) but for its work OF FAITH, labor OF LOVE, and patience OF HOPE. They didn’t just have the right ministry, they had the right motivation, a motivation that Ephesus would later lose. A work for the LORD is just that, a work for the LORD. But, a work of faith is DOING WHILE BELIEVING THAT GOD WILL USE IT. A work of faith rests in God’s Divine Hand of Providence—truly believing instead of just holding out hope, GOD WILL instead of maybe God will. A labor for the LORD is just that, a labor for the LORD. But, a labor of love isn’t beset by the fear of man or influenced by manmade opinions or definitions. It is to labor in the Gospel because I love the LORD and the souls of men, not because I have to impress others or get numbers. Patience is a virtue, and patience is just that, patience. But patience of hope yields rest and not stress. Even in the busiest of times, a patience of hope is able to wait with joy upon the LORD instead of drudging through ministry as if it is some sort of prison sentence. Patience of hope rests in the Lord, waits patiently for Him, does not fret over evildoers, and acknowledges God in all ways, knowing that He will direct the paths and order the steps (cf. Psalm 37:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:9). Last year’s long and busy stint in Peru, Team Yeshua, and my recent whirlwind labor in Colombia have brought me back to thinking about these things as I did in 2009. The answer is not to get back on a bicycle, it’s to get back to what motivated me to get on that bicycle, that MANIFEST DESTINY as reflected in these words I penned in FPGM’s very first email newsletter, dated July 11, 2003, the night before I started pedaling from Surf City, NC:
Jamie and I just found out that she is pregnant. It changes nothing; it only adds an interesting twist to our journeys. We praise God for this and trust Him to care for us and the little one inside of her. I look forward to one day telling our child about what his/her parents were doing while he/she was gestating.
Ten months later, Bethany was sleeping in a drawer on the road, and I was still pedaling that bicycle.
Eventually, that day came! And, Lord willing, that little baby who was inside her mommy when I wrote those words will fly out to meet me in California as we endeavor in 2020 upon works of faith, labors of love, and patiences of hope together just like the old days. Wow, like Job “I will lay mine hand upon my mouth” (Job 40:4).
Dear believer, praise the Lord for your works, labor, and patience. But, please don't lose that first love in these dark days. I am reminded of the words of an old song by Scott Wesley Brown, a former missionary to Africa:
In these final days,
When the world is cold and dark,
And men refuse to worship you,
I will love you with all my heart.
As for me and my house,
We will serve you Lord,
And acknowledge all your ways.
As for me and my house,
We will serve you Lord,
And give you all our praise.
You can listen to the entire song HERE, a good one:
May whatever transpires in the weeks ahead strengthen us AND YOU in the LORD for the years ahead, until He comes! For His Coming is the MANIFEST DESTINY of all things.
Again, thank you for your prayers and support.
Jesse Boyd & the FPGM Team