Welcome to The Turnaround!
Introduction
Welcome to day 24 of our 52 Day prayer journey for the next generation!
Looking at our Nation, Corruption is rampant, civility is in jeopardy, fiscal irresponsibility has us teetering on the cliff of complete economic collapse, educational systems are failing, moral decadence is everywhere, churches are dwindling, family cohesiveness has dissolved, youth are confused, and children are neglected, unloved, and even aborted. We used to have strong families, thriving churches, and beautiful “American Values.” How could this tragedy have happened?
Insight
Our theme for this week is: Know the Status of the Children! Look, Mourn, Confess. Today we are looking at: Cultural rejection of the knowledge of God breaks the blessing of relationship with God.
From the founding of our nation, children were instructed in moral and Biblical values. The New England Primer was a cornerstone in public education for 150 years. Daily prayer and Bible reading were present in the classroom until the early 1960’s. In 1960, 90% of Americans identified themselves as Christians, 73% were members of a church, and 49% attended weekly services. Although church membership declined slightly to 70% by the early 1990’s, 90% still identified as Christians. As of 2023 only 68% identified as Christian, while only 21% attended church weekly. How could this tragedy have happened?
During the early and mid-1900s, educational and cultural leaders started pushing to remove God from our public life. As Secular Humanism gained traction, Supreme Court rulings in 1962 and 1963 removed daily school prayer and Bible reading from the classroom, accelerating the shift from Judeo-Christian foundations to a secular humanism curriculum. As our nation’s leaders chose to ignore God’s Word as our “instrument panel” in guiding our culture, we unknowingly began the downward spiral. By 1980, even the Ten Commandments were banned from classrooms. Biblical values and teachings which guided us for almost 200 years were deemed obsolete and irrelevant. And ever since, we have been reaping the destructive results of our leaders’ choices.
Today, moral relativism, identity politics, evolution, and the rejection of absolute truth dominate public education. Entertainment is desensitizing, corrupting, and destroying our children’s hearts and minds. On average, children will spend between 24-42 hours each week looking at screens. Immorality, lewdness, profanity, disrespect, deceit, and violence pour in on countless media venues. The evil and destruction ravaging our nation’s children today did not happen overnight, nor can it be changed with an election. However, just as Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls in record time, we too can restore truth to the next generation if we are willing to act.
Now is our moment in history to change the trajectory for future generations. Now is the time to rise up and push back the darkness currently drowning the children in our families, churches, and land, and say “Enough! Not on my watch!”
Turnaround Questions
Is your heart breaking for this next generation?
Are you intentionally disciplining the children in your life by regularly pointing them to Jesus?
Am I concerned for the children in my community? How can I actively get involved?
We are going to post some great resources for you to help disciple and get involved with your children and the children around you.
Prayer
Father in heaven, have mercy on our nation for rejecting You. Our children are suffering and being destroyed because we have strayed from Your truth. Father, please stir my heart with Your passion for the next generation, especially for the little children. Help me see how deeply You love each and every child. Lord, raise up a generation that loves what is right and hates what is evil. Strengthen and embolden Your Church to lovingly and courageously bring Jesus into their homes and their schools. Move mightily across our nation like never before, that we may see revival in this generation. May the name of Jesus be exalted and glorified. In His mighty name I ask these things, Amen.
