Contact: Mike Tilley, 404-591-3057

OPINION, July 23 /Standard Newswire/ -- What happens to a tree when its 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.

The Mayflower Compact specifies that the colonies were established "for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith." The Virginia Charter instructs the colonists to help "in the propagation of the Christian religion to such people as yet live in ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God." The Delaware Charter defines one of the purposes for its settlements as the "further propagation of the Holy Gospel." The charter of Rhode Island commits to "the true Christian faith and worship of God." The Charter of Maryland explained a "pious Zeal for extending the Christian Religion."

In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers acknowledged God as our country's Divine Protector. In an 1844 U.S. Supreme Court case, the Court said, "Why may not the Bible and especially the New Testament be read and taught as a divine revelation in the [school]" ... Where else can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament?"

The 1777 Congressional Thanksgiving proclamation called for the nation to offer "solemn thanksgiving and praise ... and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, penitent confession of their manifold sins ... and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ. ..."

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, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old" (Lamentations 5:21).

The reason for our country's decay -- our economic turmoil, our social ills, the church's coldness and apostasy from the Truth, pastors in the pulpit without a backbone, citizens living in fear, the decline of our culture -- is because we have departed 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. Our Creator God cares deeply for us as individuals and as a nation. He wants to bless our country in His sovereignty and mercy, but we need to repent of our pride and willful independence. We need to start a revival of prayer and thanksgiving and confession to God.

A great awakening in America is not beyond hope. Revival will happen when we repent. Real spiritual change will happen when we call our nation to repentance. Real change will happen when we live according to biblical standards. Our Almighty God can return this nation to its roots. He is waiting to offer His mercy and forgiveness. We need to join together in humility to pray for our own repentance, for that of our nation, and for the souls living in this great country.

Join Michael Youssef in praying for America daily at www.GodSaveOurCountry.com.