Our nation is heading in the wrong direction and much of the responsibility lies in the church. Still, there is hope – and it lies in the church, as well. Our founders understood the importance of personal freedom. Their journey toward freedom was similar to Israel's supernatural deliverance from bondage in Egypt.

This Friday marks one of the most tragic and triumphant moments in human history. On a hill shaped like a skull, the Son of God hung on a cross between two thieves. Satan surely thought he was witnessing God’s greatest defeat, but he was witnessing his own ultimate destruction and the possibility for those dead in trespasses in sin to come alive now and forever.

It is sad to watch the American people trust the “arm of the flesh” and the “deceptive powers in this present world” as their hope. The New Testament refers to Jesus as “the Blessed Hope”¹ and points to His promised return. This is a promise we can be assured of, but we should pray and hope for the abiding manifest presence of God in our daily lives. We have been left here as witnesses -- salt and light. God has not only commanded us, but has enabled us through the power of His Spirit and with the knowledge of His truth to impact this world in a positive and meaningful way.

God did a deep work in my life last fall when I was knocked flat by staph infection following hip-replacement surgery. The infectious disease specialist informed me that they were not only fighting for my hip, but also my life. At that moment it was as though Jesus suddenly sat down beside me and said, "You are going to be alright!"

As a husband, father, grandfather, and Christian, I am deeply concerned. I am quite certain in my recent commentaries and in every message I am sharing publically and in personal conversation, this concern is easily detected. I am not fearful. I am hopeful, but I am concerned.

I was an 18-year-old freshman at East Texas Baptist University when I heard a touching story. One of our chapel speakers shared how a man blind from birth had been led to a skilled surgeon. After performing the meticulous operation, the man's eyes were miraculously and perfectly healed. For the first time he could observe the beauty of God's creation.

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