In listening to the local and national news, there seems to be uneasiness and a rather grave concern about the state of our country.

Please permit us to share some thoughts about transforming and healing our land. Let’s start with a short Bible reading from 2nd Chronicles, chapter 7, vs. 14, which should give us cause for hope about our nation. “…and if my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven, and pardon their sins and revive their land.”

Now, let us take note of the status of our country; where it is currently and what we need to do about reclaiming a Godly America. Today, America is the world’s leader in such dubious rankings as violent crime, divorces, number of unmarried couples living together, number of teenage pregnancies, number of voluntary abortions since the 1973 Roe. v. Wade ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, number one in illegal drug use and number one among all industrial nations in illiteracy.

When did all of the above start happening? These rankings, not coincidentally, commenced around 1962 when the Supreme Court Justices decided to take prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible out of our public schools. Thus, in effect, telling God that He is no longer welcome in our classrooms or in the government of our country.

Granted, the majority of Americans are still Christians or otherwise godly people who are appalled at the way our country has declined morally over the past 46 years. Unfortunately, we Christians have become the silent majority, while the ungodly continue to work diligently to further undermine and erode our once great nation.

The fact that America was established as a Christian nation is substantiated by the fact that the 13 individual states, in their respective Constitutions, placed a strong emphasis on Christian principles. Delaware, the first state, in its Constitution, established in 1776, stated: Every person appointed to public office shall say, “I do profess faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ his only Son and in the Holy Ghost. One God blessed forever more and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be given by divine inspiration.” The other twelve states had similar provisions in their Constitutions. It was these Christian principles, we believe, that made America great.

As our forefathers pointed out, the U. S. Constitution was made “only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.” With no regard for the Ten Commandments, prayer or Bible study in our public schools or in our government, what kind of an outcome can we expect?

George Washington, the father of our nation, in his presidential farewell address had this to say about our country. “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” Where are these supports today?

Benjamin Franklin in the 1787 Constitutional Convention, reminded the delegates: “We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God’s ‘concurring aid.’ If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” We should all know the answer to that question!

We’ve been assured in the Bible, that “except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” So how can we, as a nation, possibly continue to build, grow and prosper without God?

George Mason, the father of our country’s Bill of Rights said, “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this world. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, providence punishes a nation’s sins by national calamities.” Consider, for example, the killing of 50 million American babies over the past 35 years through the practice of “legalized” abortion. This atrocity has left America with an aging population, with a great void among our youth, who, otherwise, would be serving our country in meaningful occupations, defending our country, funding our ailing Social Security system while continuing to build a strong, healthy and vigorous nation. As a nation, we are paying a heavy price for allowing the killing of babies to happen. Also, could it be that Hurricane Katrina, the “9/11” national tragedy and other catastrophic floods and devastating fires that our country has recently experienced, may be a way of getting our attention and reminding us, as a nation, that we are not doing well at all without God?

We all know that crime is rampant in our country and we also know that crime, basically, comes from the heart. What better way to control the heart but to know, love and serve God and love our neighbor as ourselves? These are the two great commandments. You might say the bottom line of the Bible.

So what can we, as individuals, do? First off, we can pray fervently and continuously to God, asking for mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation. We can quit killing babies through the atrocity of abortion and better educate such abortion-minded women about the miracle of childbirth and of the baby’s inalienable right to life. We can commit to helping these mothers bring their babies to full term and, if advisable, help them choose adoption as the better option. Locally, the Hope Pregnancy Care Center, a non-denominational, Christian organization, offers wonderful, practical, life saving services to new mothers and fathers who find themselves in the family way.

We can encourage people to speak up to our elected officials and tell them we need to get God back on our side, or better yet, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “I and this nation shall be on the Lord’s side.” That, we believe, truly is our only real hope!

We are fortunate to have a Christ centered local hospital that provides care to the poor. In fiscal year 2007-2008, St. Claire provided $10.1 million of charity and uncompensated care in treating and caring for the poor. Then, too, we are blessed with the establishment of the free medical clinic for the uninsured, which opened a few years ago.

Still, we all need to accept more individual responsibility for health care. Too many people go to the hospital emergency room at the first hint of a health concern.

We can campaign for a national health plan for all persons- the rich, the poor and the in-between, as we are God’s people and He doesn’t favor anyone over another. The administrative cost of salaries and processing health insurance claims by this country’s some 2,000 health insurance companies is estimated to cost three hundred billion dollars. Reducing this cost would free up doctors to treat patients nearly 100% of their time, thus eliminating the 20% of their time they now spend with insurance questions and bureaucracy. The money ‘saved’ could be applied to provide health care coverage for the estimated 50 to 60 million Americans who do not have health care coverage. We can also legislate to make pharmaceutical companies compete in the open market with their prescription drugs. That too, could effect a significant reduction in costs.

We can reform our jails and prisons by offering rehabilitation services instead of just locking up criminals. In this community, our District and Circuit Judges recently agreed to participate in a Drug Court program where drug or alcohol affected inmates may be released from jail, sentenced to three times a week meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and/or to a Christ centered 12 step program called Stepping into Freedom and released to work. Some 20 facilitators from five different Christian Churches in Morehead have received training in this program and several inmates appear to be making real progress in overcoming their addictions and getting their lives and their families back together.

For the past 16 years, we have had volunteers going to the Rowan County Detention Center on a weekly basis, helping inmates earn their High School Equivalency GED Certificates and teaching inmates positive Living Skills to help them transform their lives and thus become responsible, law abiding citizens.

So, in summary, each of us can get involved in the spiritual welfare of our community. Instead of cursing the darkness, we can each “light a candle” and make a positive difference in our city, county, state and nation. Presently, there are a great number of people who are really hurting, morally, physically, emotionally, socially, and/or economically. Certainly, we can do as the Bible says, pray constantly. Together, we can make a significant difference. In closing, as we approach the Christmas season, we say, God bless us all and God bless America.

Bill and Catherine Riley
Morehead