Maybe it is my age. Maybe it is not being able to turn my mind away from all the things I must do before leaving for a conference in Maine. Whatever it is – I hate when it shows up! Insomnia! I commanded my body to sleep. I claimed sleep. I rebuked lack of sleep. In my mind, I even rebuked my husband who dared to sleep!

Often when I cannot sleep, I quietly find my way through the dark to the living room. I will drop in my favorite chair and prop up my feet. Sleep still stays as far away as possible. This happened recently, so I decided to turn on the television to see if it would put me to sleep. (Yes, I know I could pray and read, but there are times I just want to veg out!)

There is little that I care to watch, but recently a few friends talked about a new show. They said, “You must watch this.” It is soooo good!” I have also seen many friends praise this program on their social media posts. After turning on the television, I saw that the program was offered as a choice, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. After three minutes of watching the program, I was …   Let me speak in the Amplified Version: I was shocked, appalled, disturbed, astonished, and stunned!

The language in the first three minutes was shocking to me. I turned it off, and that program will never be played in my home again.

I remember a time in the USA that this kind of language was unacceptable in the open. Now, presidents, senators, congress members, and even believers find no problem with filthy language.  As a nation, we slowly walked to the edge, and now it seems we are in full-blown free fall in accepting the unacceptable.

Am I here to bash the USA? NEVER! I love this country. I lead a prayer group of almost four hundred people, and our sole purpose is to pray for the United States of America. I still get tears in my eyes when I see Olympians from the USA win a medal and stand on a podium while The Star-Spangled Banner is playing. I cry when I see vets come home to reunite with their loved ones. It is not unusual for me to cry when I hear Lee Greenwood sing “God Bless the USA.” I love this country.

It is also true that, as a nation, we have gone in directions that God never intended, and we are paying the price. Some blame it on liberals and others blame it on conservatives. There is plenty of blame to go around. What is the answer?

God’s people are the answer.

When Our Lord, Jesus Christ, came to this earth, He did not start a club. He started the Church. Oh, I know, it technically was birthed on the day of Pentecost, but without Jesus, there would be no Church. Jesus began changing people, who began changing their world.

Jesus said it this way, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18). Jesus declared that He was building a Church, strong enough to have victory over all the power of hell.

If you have accepted Christ as Savior, you are part of the Church, the called-out ones. Jesus said, “I am going to change the lives of people and build my Church (the called out) with them, and they will be called out and different from the culture. It will be a Church that can stand against all that hell represents.”

What if the Church became the Church that Jesus described? What if I became the Christian Jesus described? If we stopped blending in with the culture, and become those Christians, what difference would it make in the Church? And, if the Church began to walk closely with God, what difference would it make in the city … the state … the nation?

God said this is how a nation is healed: “If my people, who 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Notice that God said, “My people called by my Name.” He says nothing about the secular world. If we want to see our land healed, God said that it starts with His people. That is you, and that is me. This verse teaches us that God responds to a repentant, humble heart. I want to have a heart like that.

The hope for America is God, and God works through His Church.