Tag Archive | Founding fathers

America’s Founding: The Cost of Ignoring God

Large Holy Bible on table in front of officials with Capitol building visible
Turning back on God cast dark clouds over our future. Damaged flag indicates a country in danger.

As Christians we have the freewill to choose whether we will love and obey God. Satan takes advantage of our freedom by enticing us to disobey God. And by manipulation, lies, and deceit he gains victim after victim. And do you know what his most powerful weapon is? Ignorance of God’s word, the Bible, and lack of communication with God in prayer.

To continue with this month’s theme of the Founding of America, we must understand that just as ignorance of God’s word and lack of communication in prayer can make us vulnerable to Satan’s enticements to sin, so it applies to our country.

Consider the ignorance of far too many Americans about the details of our country’s beginnings. About the hand of God as was evident by miracle after miracle (I mean how does a small group of people defeat a world power like England). With our ignorance of our country’s beginnings, we played right into the enemy’s hands. His tactics are obvious to anyone who is firmly established in God’s wisdom. Our founding fathers were spiritually alert to how we could fail as a country. In George Washington’s farewell address he reminds us of this:

reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

We are made in the image of God as most would concede. But do they grasp what that means? It means that we have the potential to reflect God’s character and authority. That makes us different from every other living creature. We can recognize right from wrong because we are God’s image bearers. But by rejecting God and His plan to redeem us, self rules and our image reflects the enemy.

Anyone or any country who denies God is left without protection from the enemy. Without the moral compass a belief in God offers, we are left to whatever influence we are impressed with. And that’s where Satan takes his advantage.

Our country should have learned her lesson when in June 15, 1962 school prayer was ruled as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then a year later in 1962 the Supreme Court ruled against Bible reading in school. What followed should have been expected. God was not only removed from our public school system, but the public arena as well. And here we are struggling in our desire to be religiously neutral. Declining in moral strength all along.

If our founding fathers, had decided to keep the government neutral when it came to religion, there would be no 250 years of freedom for American citizens to celebrate in 2026!

A Refresh on the Revolution…

There has been quite a bit of enthusiasm over our 250th birthday. There was the movie Young Washington which only wetted my appetite for more about our founding father. (And from what I’ve learned is, there will be.) The event Rededicate 250 held on the National Mall rekindled my hope for a return to the Christian principles embedded within our Constitution. Then the enthusiastic acceptance of our World Cup visitor friends, opened my eyes to appreciate my beloved country from a fresh perspective. Needless to say, I was inspired.

Since the Christian faith of our Founding Fathers is severely downplayed these days, I knew I needed a refresh on the facts of our Revolutionary days. So when I discovered Eric Metaxas’s book, “Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation,” I was intrigued. You know what drew me to his book? He told the whole story. He didn’t leave God out. That was and is the missing element of most history books of our day. And frankly I hungered for that missing element.

So I’m in the process of reading Mr. Metaxas’s book. And I’m enthralled. Being a Christian myself, Revolution enables me to see the leaders of our Revolution from a relatable perspective. It surprised me to know that our Revolution has been the only successful revolution of many world revolutions? Ours has lasted 250 years and is proof positive that adhering to the biblical principles within our Constitution is the reason why. For the world’s sake, in order to continue moving forward America must return to her Christian faith. And the words of Ronald Raegan, and Puritan pilgrim John Winthrop based on Matthew 5:14-16 tells us why:

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” John Winthrop

Raising up generations who are ignorant of the impact Christianity had on the formation of our country has produced the ignorance we are dealing with today. Did you know that it was reported that some of our leadership argued recently that our rights don’t come from God! This is shocking to me. However, is it any wonder we would be so misinformed about our country’s beginnings when we’ve lost sight of what motivated our Founding Fathers to establish such a country?

So I’m taking a refreshing plunge into a complete account of my country, thanks to Mr Metaxas. I do not care to continue in ignorance of all the nuances involved in the acts of faith and miracles of God that shaped our beloved United States of America. I strongly feel, if we desire to continue moving forward, we should be determined, as our Founding Fathers were, not to go without God.

What can I do for my country?

   I love my country, but I do not love the way she is behaving. I am a Christian and I believe that God created this world. (I seriously don’t see how any force other than God could pull off what He did in the Creation.)

   And I believe that God purposely provided a revelation as to who He is and what He did and plans on doing for the human beings He created, in the book we call The Bible. All for the purpose of revealing His plan for our salvation, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone!

   Most of our founding fathers believed in God, revered the Bible, and felt committed to establishing laws for our country based on the Truths of Scripture. But today, it is extremely difficult to find much evidence that our nation’s leaders believe in God and/or revere the Bible as our founding father’s did.

   There are prominent men and women who are declaring that our country is under judgement because our nation has turned her back on God. Considering the state of affairs in our nation, I hardly see how that could be denied. 

   But there is an aspect of the dilemma our country is facing that escapes most people.  I point this out on page 1 of my book:

   Scriptures are obvious in describing Satan’s plan in John 10:10a, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;…” (NIV) So what is it that the Enemy desires to steal, kill, and destroy? The answer is obvious – anything God has planned for us! 

   The second half of John 10:10 reveals an aspect of God’s plan for His children, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV) p. 1, FD

   I strongly believe that Satan’s first step in stealing, killing, and destroying the good plans God has for us (as individuals and as a country) is to direct our attention away from the Bible’s Truths. Once he has accomplished this then we become easy prey for his fiery darts (negative thoughts). 

   By removing the guiding force of the Truth’s contained in the Bible, Satan is free to manipulate us into destruction (again, individually and as a country). 

   And because we as individuals and as a country have been manipulated to turn our thoughts and attentions towards the World’s concept of truth instead of the Holy Bible, then we find we are no longer capable of recognizing or even respecting God’s Truths. Instead, of combating fiery darts with Truth thoughts from God’s Word, we find individuals and our country’s leaders defining right as wrong and wrong as right. (which by the way is described in Isaiah 5:20)

So what are we to do?

   First and foremost we must return to the Truth’s of Scripture. That is the only weapon that can successfully fight the fiery dart thinking with which Satan uses for our destruction. IF we truly desire for our nation to be healed then as individuals we must:

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14