By Bruce Cannon
Mitchell County
In the fall of 1938 Irvin Berlin penned down some lyrics that became a second national anthem of sorts. Originally sung by Kate Smith, this song became a prayer of sorts and is one that every Christian in America should pray fervently:
“God bless America, the land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above
From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home.”
We all understand there is a desperate need for God to bless America, BUT an understanding of the Scriptures tells us that He cannot, and will not, bless America because of the sins she has committed. You and I know that we have blasphemed the Lord, mocked His Word, and censored His Name. We have outlawed the name of Jesus in many corporate prayers, placed people in governmental and “religious” positions that are not Christian and we worship every false God worshipped in our world right here in America. We are sanctioning gay marriages, changing the gender of babies, allowing children to be adopted into homes where they should never be placed and the list goes on and on and on literally.
The Lord is very specific about His holiness and His requirements to be able to have fellowship with, bless, and forgive people. There must be genuine humility, an understanding of our needs, and genuine repentance before He can or will bless.
Let me paint a more clear picture of our need for His grace, mercy, and blessings. Our financial position as a nation is awful. We are paying more in interest on our national debt than we are spending on our military. We are using drag queens to get men (and women) to enlist in certain branches of the military. We are so divided as a nation that it is being said by national leaders, such as Mike Johnson, the current speaker of the House, that we are at civil war. He also said in mid-June that we are on the verge of World War III. Do we need divine intervention?
When our streets are unsafe, our families are in sad shape, our schools are not places of learning as they should be, our churches are inept and our government has no clue as to what to do, we need divine intervention!
You and I both know the Word and it is very clear what must take place before God will hear our cry and heal our land. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, the Lord told Solomon, and us too, “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.”
The only hope for our plight is the Lord! The government can’t save itself, or its people. It is so divided and corrupt! How we need to ask the Lord to either change the hearts of our leaders or help us get them out of office. We desperately need people with deep Christian convictions ruling our country instead of those who do not share our core Christian values ruining our country!
Business can’t save us. So many of our businesses, larger or smaller, can barely save themselves. Schools won’t save us. Sad to say, the curriculum being taught in so many school districts stands in direct opposition to the values of the Word. No institution on the face of the earth can save us…only God!
May we take Kate Smith’s song to heart and may we apply the principles of 2 Chronicles 7:14 as we approach God’s Throne of Grace. May we on behalf of our nation seek His face, turn from our wicked ways and truly repent of our sins so that we might have His help to forgive our sins and heal our land. We need this badly; even more so our children and grands. What are we handing down to them as we give them a nation in such desperate need? Amen, God bless America…please!
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Bruce Cannon is the Pastor of Pine Branch Baptist Church in Spruce Pine, NC
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