Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

John Adams

The question of what a righteous people can do when their nation is taken over by an unrighteous leadership is one that every Christian must answer. Notice that I did not say a question that every patriotic American should answer, because patriotism without religion and morality is less than worthless, it is dangerous!

John Adams was certainly not alone among the founding fathers when he made this statement. His feelings on our nation's survival being tied to God was almost unanimous among the men and women who were instrumental in the forming of the new nation. I point this out so that you will understand my thinking on the first thing that the righteous must do, when trying to figure out how our once great nation can be restored.

I believe that the first thing we must do is to turn back to God! Further, the only way that we can turn back to God is to be aware of what His law requires. That means we all must get very acquainted with all that the Bible teaches.

Go back to yesterday's example of the small town with one policeman. An evil man steals the lawman's badge and gun, and then declares himself the new law. Then, when the townspeople try to correct the injustice, the local judge declares that thief the new legitimate power. What can the townspeople do? Do they submit to evil, or do the rise up against authority? The answer is,that they submit to righteousness!

King David pointed out this truth, when an evil king was removed and a righteous king (David) was crowned: "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of God is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him" II Samuel 22:31

So, the first thing that I believe we must do in order to re-establish the righteousness of our nation, is to turn to God through reading His word. If we don't start here, I believe that we will end up in a worse state than we find ourselves in now.

One more thing: Turning to God is not easy, nor is it popular. It will require a strength and determination that most men and women simply do not have. That, I believe, is why we find ourselves in the mess we are in today. To begin to get out of this mess, we must be determined to stand with God. David stated his own determination to stay with God when a evil king was seeking his life in this way:

My heart is steadfast, Oh God, my heart is steadfast.

Psalms 57:7(a), NIV

When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding...

Proverbs 28:28(a), NIV

I believe most righteous people find themselves confused over the events of the past month. It is bewildering, to say the least, when what seems to be obvious cheating is rewarded. It is especially confusing when those who have been placed in positions of authority for the very purpose of righting such wrongs, instead, uphold the unrighteous act.

I liken it to a small town with one policeman. Suppose that policeman is knocked over the head and his gun and badge are stolen. Suppose further that the one who steals the badge and gun then uses them to take over the former policeman's position. Then suppose that the wrongdoer is turned in for his crime, only to be vindicated, and the people who turned him in are told that they must submit to his authority and are now at the mercy of this despot. What, then?

This seems to be the very position we find ourselves in, so, again, what are the righteous to do?

I'll leave you to mull that over for your own solution, because you are surely going to have to come up with one. I'll try and suggest some ideas of my own, tomorrow, but the fact is that you are going to be held accountable for whatever you do, so it might be a good thing to start thinking about it now.

Until then, here is a great truth to be thinking about - it is found in the only book that can really help you now:

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

Proverbs 29:25, NIV

The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. Proverbs 14:15, (1978 NIV)

It's been quite a year, hasn't it? A disease popped up and turned the world on its head. All of a sudden we went from a world where people pretty much tended to their own business, to a society that shut themselves in their collective homes and waited for whatever authority that they were under to tell them what to do.

How has that worked out so far?

Just think about what we have done in America: We have allowed the authorities to shut down our businesses for "safety's" sake. They promised it would protect both our lives and the lives of our grandparents. But now we have had literally hundreds of thousands (perhaps more) of our small businesses - businesses that were the product of the blood sweat and tears of generations of the very families we sought to protect - permanently shut down. For "safety's" sake! And now many people who had worked all of their lives to build these businesses have seen their dreams destroyed and have been cast onto the rolls of welfare.

Worse still, many public officials in our nation decided worship was dangerous - and many who wear the name of Christian agreed. So they stopped worshipping together and many even went the "extra mile" of reducing their Bible study and prayer life. At the same time many of the same public officials deemed that abortion clinics, casinos, and liquor stores would be allowed to remain open - for these were essential American activities. Is it any wonder that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito came out the other day and chastised the American people for being too willing to give up their liberties?

Now we have witnessed an election that has been wrought with scandal. It doesn't matter who you wanted to win, but shouldn't you want a fair election? Yet we are being told not to worry, that our leaders have everything under control. Nothing to see here. Just move on and accept whatever people in power want you to accept.

Do you know what is next? They have developed the vaccines that will "save" America, yes my good friends, it will even save the world. It is true, that small portions of the products of our abortion industry have been reported to have been necessary in the development and production of these "life saving" vaccines. But, don't let us worry our pretty little heads that the unborn had to die so that we might be safe. After all, isn't this what heroes do?

Solomon was right when he penned those inspired the words from Proverbs some three thousand years ago: The simple really will believe anything, if they think it is in their best interest to do so. But, even if any of these foolish things that we have been doing over the past year should actually lead to a bit more "safety" for us all, be sure of this: It is a safety that we neither deserve nor will be able to long enjoy. For those who give up liberty for safety have always found that they had neither in the end.

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Benjamin Franklin, 1755

I sought the LORD and He heard me, and delivered me from all of my fears. Psalms 34:4, KJV

If you were to look at the calendar you might think that today is the 24th of November. And you would be right if you are looking at it from merely a physical point of view. However, if you are looking from a spiritual viewpoint, today is the 1st of Eternity, for in reality that is exactly what this day is. In fact from God's perspective everyday is the first day of eternity.

Consider this truth by examining the passage above. In this Psalm, David is recording the events surrounding the time he fled from King Saul. The ironic part of this is that until that day David had been a champion in King Saul's service. In fact, it is likely that there was no man in Saul's kingdom who was more loyal to him than was David. But, kings being who they are, Saul somehow decided that David was a threat to his power and had determined the best solution was to just kill him.

So David went from being a commander in the army of Israel, to public enemy number one - just like that. To compound his peril, in his haste to escape Saul, David had fled to the land of the Philistines - to the hometown of Goliath. If you recall from your history, David had inflicted a heavy loss upon the Philistines some time earlier by defeating their champion Goliath, thus beginning the downfall of the power of the Philistines. Essentially, David had gone from the frying pan into the fire.

What is David's reaction? He seeks the Lord. And the result of this reaction? He is delivered! So, David goes from one enemy to another and instead of having his life end, God delivers him to a new life: In effect, the first day of his eternity!

Would such a "rescue" be helpful to you? We have seen a year like few others. Everyone seems to be panicking over physical terrors, from disease and political intrigue, to financial difficulties and food shortages. So what are we to do? What did David do? Did he give up when things looked bleak? No, David sought the Lord! He prayed and God heard that prayer and delivered him. And he got a new start to a new life!

And we can too... if we have the wisdom and courage to do so.

Do you?

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For He says, "In the time of my favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.  II Corinthians 6:1-2, NIV (1978)