Yesterday marked the 250th birthday of our nation. The following was penned many years ago by the brother Johnny Ramsey. I want to challenge us to think biblically not nationalistically. I want us to continue that line of reasoning as we consider this great land we live in and love.
Since Jehovah rules in the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:25) and in His sight “the nations are as the drop in a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15), we must face up to our immediate responsibilities if we are to preserve America. As Isaiah fast weaves God’s people must preach the Gospel (Rom. 1:16); Pray for our leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-4) and practice righteousness (Tit. 2:11-12), instead of voting.
In one of the most familiar statements regarding national concern, the poet James Russell Lowell declared in the lengthy poem The Present Crisis, “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide. In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good or evil side.”
Mr. THEME FOR 2026
You know, an impartial appraisal of American degeneracy demands that godly citizens awaken, arise and meet the challenge before us. It was May 26, 1940, during one of his fireside chats, that President Franklin Roosevelt made this monumental statement that is so apropos today.
“We build and defend not for our generation alone. We defend the foundations laid by our fathers. We build a way of life for generations yet unborn. We defend and we build a way of life, not for America alone, but for all mankind, . . .”
Those even remotely conversant with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the parallels in world affairs today ought to be convinced that now is the hour to stand up, speak out and help save America.
So many people in the world are looking to us for guidance, maturity and leadership in the crises of life. However, presently, America is a great disappointment to many friends of the past due to the rebellion and immorality of a whole generation of our citizenry.
Will it be said of us, as it was of Rome, that “our vicious lives alone have conquered us” and “there is more wickedness being committed than can be counted.”
Truly, America is on the verge of committing national suicide even as we race to the stars and beyond!
What can we do to stem the tide of reprehensible conduct that will eventuate in hell? There are several things we must restore if America is ever to be strong again.
- Godliness In Our Homes
- Respect for Authority
- Bible Preaching
- Evangelistic Zeal
- Personal Purity
In the final analysis, the real salvation of any nation is the personal integrity of individual citizens. There is no substitute for purity and virtue and Christ-likeness. It is in this area that America is suffocating. Our morals are at an all-time low ebb. Can God allow our age of nudity, filth, licentiousness and adultery to long endure? When shall we awaken to the satanic influences we have created, allowed and catered to? There must be a major backlash on behalf of decency and common sense or we shall, as a nation, crumble into the dust. Truly, “a monstrous ounce of wickedness is going on” and only the pristine beauty of Christianity can overwhelm its odious charms. Unless a deep spiritual surge comes soon, the carnality of America will bring sudden and sure decay. What a tragedy should our epitaph read, “Here lies America … a nation that died for the lack of righteousness by its citizenry . . . Where were the Christians?”
But across the centuries and the meandering scenes of time, the voice of the Christ firmly cries, “Follow Me.” Our destiny-now and eternally-will depend upon our response to that plea.
In the days of the Civil War, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln was a visitor at the White House. “I had been spending three weeks with Mr. Lincoln as his guest. One night I was restless and could not sleep . . . from the private room where the president slept . . . I heard low tones, for the door was partly open. Instinctively I wandered in, and there I saw a sight which I have never forgotten. It was the president kneeling before an open Bible . . . his back toward me. I shall never forget his prayer: ‘Oh, thou God that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cried for wisdom, hear me. I cannot lead these people, I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without thy help . . . O God, hear me and save this nation.’” —Author unknown
“Righteousness exalteth a nation” – Proverbs 14:34
-Johnny Ramsey, 1981