Returning to Our Roots

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Returning to Our Roots By Michael Youssef, Ph.D. "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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).       When a tree's root system is destroyed, the tree can no longer access the nutrients it needs and it begins to weaken. The leaves wilt, the branches droop, the fruit ceases to grow. Eventually, the tree dies.       America was formed and developed from biblical roots, but today our leaders chop away at our foundation. They deny the core of our purpose. They allow invasive roots to choke out the Truth. Yet what do Christians do? We cling tightly to the rotting fruit on the drooping branches, while underneath us the truth of our country's past and the hope for our present and future are being destroyed.       Without the root system, there can be no fruit. The secular thinkers of this country would like us to think our country was founded on humanistic values and ideals. They view our country's birth as a philosophical and political event. However, the original words from the colony charters, the Declaration of Independence, and early political speeches all point directly to our country's foundation upon the Christian faith and biblical Truth. Our Founding Fathers believed that this is a nation with its roots in the Bible.       How horrendous that we have let these evangelical roots rot underneath us! The people of the prophet Jeremiah's day had also departed from their godly roots. The prophet understood that only God could change their hearts and said, "Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old" (Lamentations 5:21).       The reason for our country's decay is our departure from the One True God. We have rejected the God of our Founding Fathers.       We need to pray that God will restore us to Himself, just as Jeremiah did. We need to pray that America, starting with ourselves, will turn back to God.       Prayer: God, forgive us for rejecting You. I pray that America will return to biblical roots. Amen.

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