Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days: then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia”.  Daniel 10:12-13  NASB

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.  Revelation 20:1-3 NASB

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. If you live in the United States of America, you have probably put your right hand over your heart and recited our Pledge of Allegiance more times than you can count. I can recall as a child in school it was something that we did every day before beginning our classes. The first pledge was written by George Thatcher Balch, I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands. I pledge my head and my heart to God and my country. One country, one language, and one flag. The text that we use today was written by Francis Bellamy in 1892. Louis Bowman, an attorney from Illinois, was the first to suggest adding the words “under God” and many began reciting it that way in 1948. It wasn’t made official until President Eisenhower, who had just recently been baptized as a Presbyterian, enthusiastically added the words and made it official on Flag Day in 1954.

Our first scripture passage is from the book of Daniel. Daniel had prayed and his prayer was heard, but the angel who came to him had been delayed for three weeks because he was fighting an evil angel in Persia. He left a good angel in place of preeminence in influencing Persia, but this scripture passage speaks of the battle between good and evil over the control of nations.

We see from the scripture passage in Revelation 20 that this will continue until Satan is bound and can no longer deceive and influence nations. If we are not under God, we are being deceived.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we are told that God will heal our nation if we will humble ourselves, pray and seek Him.   We are told in Psalm 91 that if we choose to reside in the shelter provided by God that we will be safe in His shadow.

My friend, we have come a long way down since 1954. Our nation was founded on Biblical principles. But, if you look around today, you don’t see much of that in our government from local to federal. You don’t see many Biblical principles in the businesses that we pour money into. You don’t see a whole lot of Jesus in our schools and in our communities. And even sadder, you don’t see a whole lot of Jesus in many homes today. Are we rapidly becoming a nation deceived?

I am as guilty as any of complaining about our politicians, but the Bible tells us clearly that we are to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1).  This verse says that we should pray for all who are in authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  We do it for us, not for them. There is nowhere in the Bible that says that grumbling and complaining about those in authority will bring us peace.

My friend, our nation is in bad shape. You. But the good thing is that we can still pray without being arrested. We can still attend church without violating any laws. We can still worship God. We can still have a close relationship with Jesus Christ and publicly tell others how awesome that is. But if we don’t use those rights, we may lose those rights.

I told you at the beginning of the year that I was not going to make any resolutions, but I am trying to do some things differently. One of those things is to turn our nation over to God. I will lift our leaders up to God in prayer. One thing I know for sure is that they will either get with the program or God will deal with them. I have seen this many times in other situations. But either way, I know that this will bring me peace and tranquility.

Don’t let the devil deceive you into thinking that your grumbling and complaining will change things. Only prayer changes things. Only God has the power to change things. When we think that we can change things we are filled with pride. When we trust God to change things, we humble ourselves to Him. So which will you choose?

If we truly want to be one nation under God, then we must agree to live in the shelter of God’s fortress. We must agree to seek refuge in Him. We must agree to trust Him with all that goes on in our nation. We must realize that the battle between good and evil is alive and well at all levels.

I’ve read the end of the book and I know that He wins. Therefore, I will align myself with God knowing that He’s got this! I hope that you will do the same. Maybe then we truly can be one nation under God again.

Have a great day!