Bill Elder - Author and Consultant

Over the years, I have sadly watched our nation retreat from many of the positive values that were commonly accepted only a few decades ago. Values such as love of country, belief in a supreme being, support of our military, respect for authority, honesty, humility, a strong work ethic, a spirit of optimism, doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, treating all people with dignity and respect, belief in the sanctify of life, etc., have all gone by the wayside.

We, as Christians, know that all is not right with America. I sometimes wonder what has happened to the country that I knew and loved. I never thought that I would see a time in the United States when there was overt antagonism toward Christians and Christianity. It is as if the people leading this charge are attempting to completely rid our nation of any reminders of God. This is a shock to me because I have always been told that our nation was established on Christian principles. It is a mystery to me why so many people seem to hate a religion that is based on loving people. How is it possible that a certain segment of our country wants to change the definition of marriage? These people want the marriage of two people of the same gender to become legalized nationally. Unbelievably, these same sex marriages have already been made legal in a few states. Another issue — one of the strangest movements afoot today — involves the attempt to prohibit English being publicly recognized as the official language of our nation. Bizarre! Finally, one of the most heartbreaking issues that we face today is the thirty-five plus years’ legalization of abortion. Some of the supporters of this stance are not satisfied with early term abortions being legal, but are also pushing for late-term abortions to become permissible upon request.

I was recently reading in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters of Genesis about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and was struck by some of the striking similarities between the depravity of these cities and the current moral condition of the United States. The point of this story is that God sometimes withholds judgment on a nation that is openly wicked in its ways if there are enough righteous people in residence. If not, He will eventually destroy it. The question is, do we have enough righteous people in the United States to cause Him to spare us our deserved judgment?

I believe that we can stop our country’s downward spiral and begin a reverse trend by recognizing that our hope lies in God’s good intentions toward His children. One of these good intentions is detailed in II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” By “my people,” I believe God means people who know Him, who enjoy a relationship with Him. I think that He is saying that if we Christians humble ourselves and pray and seek to truly know Him, abandoning any habits and ways which are evil, then He will forgive us and RESTORE OUR LAND! What surprises me here is that He doesn’t talk about what nonbelievers should do — just those of us who call ourselves “Christians.” To me, this means if we — we Christians — obey this command, God will restore our land, benefiting both Christians and non-Christians.

If we do indeed believe that God’s promise to heal our land is relevant for today, how do we go about realizing it? As I mentioned earlier, II Chronicles 7:14 states that we can receive this promise if we (personally and as a group) do the following: humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.

What does God mean in II Chronicles 7:14 when he says he will “heal our land”? I can’t say that I know exactly what a “healed land” would look like. I do, however, believe that God will somehow diminish spiritual apathy and opposition, stirring up an awakening among both believers and ultimately nonbelievers and restoring His favor on our nation. I believe that if we, as believers, will fulfill the conditions of the promise that He has set forth in II Chronicles 7:14, He will provide these blessings and unimaginable others to our United States. I believe that, despite the unbelievable moral and ethical downslide that our nation has suffered, God will keep His promise. I think that He is waiting for us — for Christians — to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and abandon our wicked ways. I believe that God is willing to withhold the judgment on our nation (much like He was willing to do for Sodom and Gomorrah) if we prove to have an element of sincerely righteous people. I feel that we do indeed at this point have a significant number of righteous people in the United States and that if we join together in appropriating His conditional promise, He will respond. I challenge believers — starting with myself — to join forces with other Christians in a movement to fulfill the conditions of this promise from God. The future of our nation may depend on our willingness to do so.

The number forty holds a particular significance in the Bible. It is associated with a period of time spent searching, wondering, listening, and receiving revelation. There are at least ten instances in the Old and New Testaments where the number forty is mentioned, either in terms of days or years. With the significance of this number in mind, I would like to challenge you to commit to examining yourself on a daily basis (for a minimum of forty days) for the purpose of humbling yourself before God, acknowledging that you are a sinner, confessing your sins, asking for forgiveness, seeking God’s face, and turning from your wicked ways.

If you are willing to join forces with other Christians (as an individual, church, Sunday school class, small group, etc.) in accepting the forty-day challenge to humble yourself, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from your wicked ways, please sign up in the indicated area on this website. Our goal is to get one million people to commit to the Save Our Nation Movement. I hope that you will join this cause as I truly believe that the future of our country depends on our willingness to do so.

Please remember that the God we believe in is mighty and in control of everything that happens on Earth. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases.” This suggests that God is in control of the lives and actions of our national leaders — our President, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, etc. — directing them to do whatever He pleases, even if they do not acknowledge Him.

If you have any questions or are interested in scheduling me to speak in your area, my contact information is listed below, or you can leave a comment on this page.

Please use the form below to sign up for the Forty-Day Challenge as an individual and receive more information about Save Our Nation.

(If you are a church leader and would like to accept the Forty-Day Challenge for your church, Sunday school classes, or small groups, please sign up at this link.)

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