OUR NATION’S TRUE FOUNDATION

America is truly blessed among the nations of the world…but many of its citizens have lost their understanding of who we are and how we began. Let’s dust off some little-remembered facts about the beginning of our nation. Did you know?

… In 1776, 11 of the 13 colonies required a candidate for public office to be a Christian.

… In 1777, the Continental Congress voted $300,000.00 to purchase Bibles for distribution throughout the colonies.

…94% of the writings of the Founding Fathers quote from Holy Scripture.

…50 state constitutions mention ‘God’.

…The Liberty Bell is inscribed, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” {Leviticus 25:10}

…The incoming President takes the oath of office with his right hand on the Bible ending with“so help me God”.

And speaking of presidents, let’s look at some quotes from those distinguished gentlemen.

…” No book in the world deserves to be so unceasingly studied, and so profoundly meditated upon as the Bible.” John Quincy Adams

...”America was born a Christian nation. America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture.” Woodrow Wilson

…”If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem to difficult would soon disappear.” Harry Truman

…” Almighty God…with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogance. Lead us to the saving of our country...” Franklin Roosevelt (from a national radio broadcast on D-Day, 6/6/1944)

…”Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
… If we ever forget that we are ‘One nation, under God’, then we will be one nation gone under”. Ronald Reagan

It seems to me that the late President Reagan was spot on! In the past two hundred years we’ve gone from living as a nation “under God” to a people living with the threat of going under! As Christians we carry a portion of the responsibility for this moral decline, because we’ve been intimidated by those who believe the Gospel was meant to be shared exclusively in pulpits and soup kitchens, but never to interfere with the smooth running of government. The so-called philosophy of “separation of church and state” was never part of the Founding Fathers’ vision for this nation. {It can be found in ‘The Communist Manifesto’ by Karl Marx.} Rather, the Christian faith was to be the beacon, the touchstone, the plumb line by which its citizens guided their private and public lives.

What’s become of that ideal? Today, many Christians have given up on America. Some think it’s too late to salvage our country from God’s own judgment. Others shy away from the political system because they see it as corrupt, and still others aren’t sure that politics should be influenced by the principles that Christ taught. Now all of this would come as a great surprise to George Washington. Do you know what his first official act was as President? He kissed the Bible!!! Then he conducted a two hour praise and worship service in Congress! {And ya’ll say my sermons are long!!!}

My friends, we can’t give up hope in America….we are this country’s hope!! And we aren’t helpless either! I recently read an article by Jerry Shirley who listed five things Christians can do if we want to
be obedient to God’s Word.

1. We are called to participate in PAYING for government. It’s one of the responsibilities of citizenship. {Romans 13:1-7}

2. We are called to PRAY that those in government will be led by the Spirit to make right decisions for the welfare of our people. {1 Timothy 2}

3. We are called to PRAISE our government. Despite our problems, America remains the greatest nation on earth and we need to support her and honor her leaders. {Romans 13:2-5}

4. We are called to PARTICIPATE in government. It’s our Christian duty to stay informed and vote...to put our faith into action.

5. We are called to persuade our government. As a republic, public opinion shapes political policy.

When Christians share the good news of the gospel, its influence grows, and that witness will prevail for the glory of God.

My fellow Christian-Americans…we aren’t helpless and we shouldn’t be hopeless. As Christians we have been blessed with spiritual freedom. As Americans we have been blessed with political freedom. As Citizens of this great nation we have a responsibility to speak out on issues that concern us. Isn’t it time for us to go “back to our roots” so that “…this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…”? {Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln}

Faithfully,

Kathy+