Its a beautiful morning in the neighborhood. Its 37 degrees and has the fall feel. Great to be alive and blessed to live in America. However, for those of us who believe God rules in the kingdoms of men, there has to be grave concern about the future, not because our faith in God is weak, but because we trust God's word.

From a human standpoint, there are serious problems in our land. Our economy according to Greenspan is going through a "once in a century" tsunami that is destined to lead to escalating unemployment, increase in homeless population, less profits from businesses, and more government control of our economy. Retirees have seen their savings disappear. I could have finished paying for my house with the money I've lost in the last two months. I'm not alone.

The world scene is no more promising the the domestic. Russia continues to flex its remaining muscles, Iran threatens a pre-emptive strike on Israel, North Korea threatens to continue its military build-up and China progresses toward a financial take-over of our country.

The media has proved itself to be aiding and abetting in a move toward silencing certain voices in our country. Congress is most likely going to reinstate the fairness doctrine and silence radio talk shows that have in recent years offered an alternative to the msm. The left and the right have grown more shrill with the passing of time, but the right is going to see itself squeezed out of the conversation. All that will be left is the left. Oh conservatives can write books, but the populace seems more influenced by sound bites then by books.

Unions will no longer have a secret ballot which will give far more power back to union leaders.

Big business has shown itself to be more interested in gold fixtures in the private bathrooms of the CEOs tha the well being of their employees and the country as a whole. Small businesses are closer to the people, but will have a harder time surviving because of increased taxes placed on them.

However, these problems are but the tip of the iceberg. They are but symptoms of far bigger problems that may seal our fate. Two recent reports get closer to the real problems. According to a survey of the American people, 80% of those polled say there is a dirth of leadership in our land. Our founding generation produced Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. How could our founding generation have so many great minds and dedicated leaders while today we search as Jeremiah did for a few true leaders and all we find for the most part are partisan politicians who will say anything and take any position just to get elected and once elected, campaign promises and positions become irrelevant until its time to run for re-election.

Another report informs us that children of Americans are less likely to graduate from high school than their parents were. Our graduation rate is the lowest of any industrialized country in the world. Why is this so? Well, look at our homes. Divorce rate is about 50%. Single parent homes are growing much faster than two parent homes. Children spend far more time alone than I did when I was growing up. I doubt if those hours are filled with study time. In a sports saturated society, many minority students grow up idolizing T.O. and dreaming of their own professional football career and the money and lifestyle that will be theirs. When it doesn't work out, they turn to "whatever". Until more black leaders like Bill Cosby and Thomas Sowell emerge to help instill the values of education, faith, and family, many will continue to go down a path that will lead to ruin and dropouts. Let not whites think we are doing better, many of our daughters are following such icons as Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears. Have you seen Brittany's latest video, it hardly encourages education!

The point is----our problem is a moral crisis that reached the point that may be beyond return. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers realized that the form of government they were instituting would only work when people policed themselves by morals growing out of religious convictions. Though many of the fathers were deists and not conservative "evangelicals" they still realized the importance of faith to the future of the American experiment in liberty. That's why our founding documents spoke of inalienable rights granted us by our Creator, and sought to protect religious freedom. Modern courts have largely undone what the founding fathers put in place. The Christian voice is being systematically removed from the market place of ideas by "separation of church and state". As a result ultimate moral truths are being surrendered for relativism and pragmatism.

Where are the voices of God who will stand in the breach and call for a return to the old paths of absolute moral truth such as the truths expressed in the 10 commandments. God is....marriage and family must be valued and preserved( marriage as a man and woman )... property rights must be preserved (thou shalt not steal and that applies to government also)...Truth must be the coin of our currency( Thou shalt not bear false witness ). Think of some of the things that have been said about Sarah Palin. Above all life must be protected. These values will define a nation. These values are not restricted to Jews and Christians. Read Amos, chapters one and two. Countries without a revealed law were still expected to maintain self evident values that come from natural revelation. All men everywhere should see the wisdom of defending life, marriage and truth even if they don't recognize God. That's why God held accountable nations who knew not God.

Our country has been super blessed and we have a heritage that includes God as the source of permanent moral truths. Yet we've allowed our country to evolve into a selfish, lifeless, truthless culture that is now confused about what to do and seeking everywhere for an exit strategy. Hosea said if you sow to the wind, you will reap the whirlwind. I pray that we will survive the reaping.

Read Micah 7:1-7 and practice verse 7. God bless.