Can America Return To God

CAN AMERICA RETURN TO GOD?

By Mark Beaird

Text: I Chronicles 7:14

"Nothing Happened Today" by Morris Chalfant

Britain’s King George III wrote the day’s activities in his diary: "July 4, 1776--Nothing happened today."

Nothing happened? America was born that day, King George. Her birth marked an epoch in history for the cause of human freedom.

For 218 years, we have celebrated our independence--our own right to do as we please in governing our own lives. What a wonderful country we live in--despite all its faults and failures. What wonderful freedoms are offered to us as citizens of the USA.

One of those freedoms is what I want to talk about today--FREEDOM OF RELIGION. We can believe or worship anybody or anything we want with no one to tell us differently.

Many thousands of Christians around the world die for that right each and every year. Yet in America--a country established for that very right--many will not give God the time of day, much less their lives.

What has happened that made millions now celebrate the "Freedom from Religion" instead of the "Freedom of Religion?"

Many have tried and succeeded often in getting God kicked out of our schools, sporting events, public places and work places.

It is not the god of the Hindu, Muslims, it’s not the philosophy of reincarnation or the New Age, it’s not homosexuality or condom distribution they want out. It is Jehovah God and Jesus Christ. "Spiritualism" has taken the place of Christianity. Spiritualism puts self on the throne and religion in general. Christianity--the founding guide for America--is under attack.

In the April 1994 edition of Reader’s Digest, an article by former Secretary of Education William Bennett entitled "What Really Ails America" had this to say....

"Today, much of society ridicules and mocks those who are serious about their faith. America’s only respectable form of bigotry is bigotry against religious people. And the only reason for hatred of religion is that it forces us to confront matters many would prefer to ignore.

To a great extent our society has gotten what it wanted - A society without God. But what good has it done? Bennett goes on to say....

"Last year I compiled The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, a statistical portrait of American behavioral trends of the past three decades. Among the findings: Since 1960, while the gross domestic product has nearly tripled, violent crime has increased at least 560 percent. Divorces have more than doubled. The percentage of children in single-parent homes has tripled. And by the end of the decade 40 percent of all American births and 80 percent of minority births will occur out of wedlock.

These are not good things to get used to.

The United States leads the industrialized world in murder, rape and violent crime. At the same time, our elementary-school students rank at or near the bottom in tests of math and science skills. Since 1960, average SAT scores in our high schools have dropped 75 points.

In 1940, teachers identified the top problems in America’s schools as: talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise and running in the hall. In 1990, teachers listed drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, suicide, rape and assault.

These are not good things to get used to, either.

We have become inured to the cultural rot that is setting in. People are losing their capacity for shock, disgust and outrage. During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Damian Williams was filmed crushing an innocent man’s skull with a brick, while Henry Watson held the victim down. When Williams was finished, he did a victory dance. Watson and William’s lawyers then built a legal defense on the premise that people cannot be held accountable for getting caught up in mob violence. ("I guess maybe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time", one juror told the New York Times). When these men were acquitted on most counts, the sound you heard throughout the land was no outrage, but relief.

This is not a good thing to get used to. What is the answer?

Bennett concludes with these words...

Today we must carry on a new struggle for the country we love. We must push hard against an age that is pushing hard against us. If we have full employment and greater economic growth-if we have cities of gold and alabaster-but our children have not learned to walk in goodness, justice and mercy, then the American experiment, no matter how gilded, will have failed.

Do not surrender. Get mad. Get in the fight." "Do not surrender. Get Mad. Get in the fight."

How can we turn this nation back to God? Can it even be done? Yes!

We can make a difference!

II Chron. 7:14

"If my people which are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."