One Nation Under God.

Let’s pray into this.

No matter how this election goes (as we are in a holding pattern amidst the investigation into egregious voter fraud), we are a nation more divided than ever before.

As events unfold, things are not going to get any easier in some of our already tumultuous relationships.

My heart is always drawn back to prayer.  In the midst of this debacle, there are intercessors all over this country AND the world, praying against the deception, tampering, fraud…for the darkness to be brought into the light.

Lord, we pray that You would expose all that has been done in secret and bring it into the light!  We pray that there would be a hunger and thirst for righteousness (integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting).  We pray that NONE of us would be settled with a falsified outcome, but that we would instead pursue and pray for truth to be revealed!  We pray for a nation that desires an election process that will be enveloped in integrity – that this present election would be exposed to the light, and that Americans will be able to trust that EACH voice counts.  THAT is why we vote – and Lord, we pray that You would help this nation transform our democratic process to be one that is true.

During these last few months, I have come back again and again to the foundation of this country, the hallmarks that set this nation apart from others.  I have researched and delved into history I never once before considered.  And as I do, I find again and again a foundation to be proud of and in turn a nation to root for!

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

In August 1892, a former Baptist minister by named of Francis Bellamy penned words that would one day become part of a pledge that children all over this country recite every school day.  Bellamy, a socialist in his time, penned the words to improve upon an earlier “pledge” written by Captain George Balch.  It was published in a children’s magazine September of that same year, to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas.

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In 1923, words were added to make the pledge specific to this country: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

And here is the part that speaks so loudly to me in regard to the time of history in which we now stand.  In 1954, after lobbying from various groups, Congress approved the addition of the words “under God” and President Eisenhower signed the bill into law later that year.

“In 1948, Louis Bowman, an attorney from Illinois, was the first to suggest adding “under God” to the pledge. Bowman said that the words “under God” were said by President Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address. It was not until February 7,1954 that the push to add “under God” to the pledge was successful. George MacPherson Docherty, a Presbyterian minister, gave a sermon based on the Gettysburg Address, entitled “A New Birth of Freedom,” while honoring Lincoln’s birthday with President Eisenhower present. Docherty argued that the country “might lay not in arms but rather in its spirit and higher purpose.” He also stated that “there was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life” and cited that that Lincoln’s words “under God” as words that set the US apart from other nations.”  –“The History of the Pledge of Allegiance”, (Flags.com, 22 December 2019)

“The bill’s sponsors, anticipating that the reference to God would be challenged as a breach of the Constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, had argued that the new language wasn’t really religious. “A distinction must be made between the existence of a religion as an institution and a belief in the sovereignty of God,” they wrote. “The phrase ‘under God’ recognizes only the guidance of God in our national affairs.””  –“The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance”, (Smithsonian Magazine, November 2003)

“Under God” was included, by law, while our nation was seeking to set itself apart from the Cold War era and the wide-spread secularization movement promoted by Marxist-Leninist countries.

“”According to the conventional narrative, the Soviet Union discovered the bomb and the United States rediscovered God,” [Kevin] Kruse says. “In order to push back against the atheistic communism of the Soviet Union, Americans re-embraced a religious identity.” –“How ‘One Nation’ Didn’t Become ‘Under God’ Until the ‘50s Religious Revival”, (interview with author Kevin Kruse, NPR, March 30, 2015)

As a nation, we once must determine who we are as a people. Just yesterday, we commemorated the 400^th Anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact and “11-11 Jesus,” rededicating this nation as “One Nation Under God”!

We are in a season of SHIFT.  We have a choice where we stand.  We can be silent and stand on the sidelines, simply awaiting the details and results to unfold.  OR we can take a stand and pray without ceasing until the tide turns.  We were built on the foundation of the Living God!  Will you make an appeal to heaven and recommit your heart to that endeavor?  Will you pray that this nation, our churches, and God’s people would turn back to the foundation we were built upon?

 ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols…

But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols.
Be appalled at this, you heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.  (Jer 2:8, 11-13)

We have turned our eyes away from the ONE, the one who called the world into being, the one who gave each one of us life – what now will you do?

“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry forever.
 Only acknowledge your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,’”
declares the Lord.

“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you… Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.  (Jer 3: 11-15)

There is ONE NAME!  And His name is Jesus!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.  (Phil 2:9-11)

Let’s go back to our roots.  Let’s reestablish this nation as ONE NATION UNDER GOD and recommit our hearts to the only one who has the power to save.  Let’s plead the blood of the risen Lamb over this nation.  His sacrifice was made once and for all.

We are calling for believers across the nation to CELEBRATE COMMUNION THIS COMING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15 as a declaration of Jesus’ victory over the enemy. This demonstration of our unity in Christ will strengthen our corporate resolve and bear weight in the courts of heaven.