The dream in the hearts and minds of our founding fathers was that America become "one nation under GOD."

President John Adams was on the committee that helped draft our Declaration of Independence. He said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." Today, we are no longer "one nation under God" because our individual lives are not "under God." It really is that simple. The dream is lost because we're lost. The pursuit of happiness has turned into a self-centered quest. The Bible says, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).
 

There is an obvious absence of GOD in many of America's corporate boardrooms.

Their god is money. Profits are all that matter. The collapse of Enron and the shredding of documents by their accounting firm demonstrate a complete disdain for any kind of moral, legal and ethical responsibility. Individuals in radio, television, movies and the internet constantly promote illicit sex along with the lie that there are no emotional and spiritual consequences. Their god is lust.

Dr. Richard A. Swenson, in his book Margin paints a dark depiction of our decline when he says, "Forty years ago our nation's school children were being disciplined for talking, chewing gum, making noise, and running in the halls. Today the biggest discipline problems are rape, robbery, assault, vandalism, drug abuse and murder."

GOD made America great because GOD makes individuals great.
 

When you have a nation full of great people, you have a truly great nation. Greatness is carried inside you. It's a matter of the heart. It's about how you think, how you feel on the inside, and the way you think and act toward others. Great people live by God's standards. Since many of us have been taught for so many years to value self above others, many of us are going to need reprogramming. Making God's ways "our ways" is the key that unlocks the secret of life.

"What doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul" (Deuteronomy 10:12).
 

Only GOD can change our hearts, our nation, and get back our dream.
 

Dick Halverson, former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, writes in his book, No Greater Power, "America's future, whatever hope our nation has, depends on the people of God being the people of God. Christians have got to be Christians.... As representatives of God's kingdom in the world, our failure, our sin, deprives the world and America of the purifying, healing, redeeming influence of righteousness...Hence, the timeliness of a familiar word from God..."
 

"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 NIV)."
 

So, fellow American...where do you start? First, be true to your country and true to God. Live your life each day with a pure heart, a clear conscience and a strong faith. Be brave and always tell the truth, even when it hurts. Live a strong, noble life, and don't be afraid to stand up for what you know in your heart is right even when it costs you something. May all your dreams come true. Not the selfish, surface ones but the real, deep dreams that not only benefit you but others as well.
 

Prosper and live with real hope that there is a reason for your being here, that you matter, that you have a bright future-that our country has a future, and that it's a good one.

But before you can be true to God, you must understand and accept for yourself what He has done for you. The sin and rebellion we spoke of before is common to all of us, and it has personal consequences as well as national ones. Unless that sin is atoned for-paid for there will be a penalty that is due.
 

"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
 

There is no way any of us can pay this penalty on our own...it's too high. So God sent Someone to take care of it for us-His Son, Jesus Christ. And He died to do it, in order to bring us back to God.

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures...he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:5-6).
      

The way back to the lost dream begins by finding your way back to GOD. You can start by praying:
 

Father God, I believe in You. I believe also in Your Son, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior. It's my heart's desire to turn away from sin. I ask You to forgive me and empower me, by Your Spirit. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness, and make me whole according to Your will. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 Tom Dooley - Dist. by ATS