If you are deeply concerned, as I am, about the direction our nation has been heading for the past several years, you may also be concerned about the future of your children and grandchildren. We certainly are here at the Davidson home.
If you read my column last week when I talked about the history of our nation, you will better understand what I am going to say. Our country was founded basically by English Puritans who were being persecuted by the Church of England. Being disenchanted, they left, and after a stopover in Holland, they came to our shores and fought a Revolutionary War to win our Independence. We became a nation when the original 13 colonies banded together, wrote the United States Constitution to govern us, and placed the power in the hands of the people. As you know, we now have 50 states in the Union that form the United States of America.
The single thing that gives me great hope for future generations is that our forefathers placed their hope and faith in Almighty God. A quote can be found on the capstone of the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument in our nation’s capital, “Laus Deo,” which is Latin for “Praise Be to God.” There are many other Biblical quotes on public buildings all across Washington, D.C. There have been three Great Spiritual Awakenings in our nation’s history, and we are past due for another one. Here is the definition of a Spiritual Awakening: It is a series of religious revivals in American Christian history. Each of these great awakenings is characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical church ministers, a sharp increase in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of a new religious movement and denominations.
In the early days there were several noted pastors who helped bring these Spiritual Awakenings about. Some of these men were Solomon Stoddard, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent and Billy Sunday, plus countless others. And there was one other crusader who every Christian admires and respects, and this is the late Dr. Billy Graham. He passed away on February 21, 2018, at the age of 99 years. During his lifetime he held 417 crusades in practically every country in the world. The first Billy Graham campaign was held on September 13-21, 1947, in the city auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was attended by 6,000 people. He would preach the Gospel and ask people to come forward and ask Jesus to be their savior and pray together. Over 58 years Dr. Graham reached more than 210 million people, (face to face or through satellite feed).
He was truly a great man of God, and I would like to end this column with a question, and believe me, there is a connection: Would you rather have a revival taking place in your town or city or have a mass shooting in your schools? As a postscript to you my fellow American: Have we become so educated and enlightened today that we think we don’t need God? Well, if you think that way, I have news for you, we have not. In fact, if our nation is to survive, we must return to God, who is truly the author and finisher of our faith.
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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)