Hello, thank you for joining me today for Give Him 15.

The title of our post today is,

Prodigal America is running back to Father's House.

I mentioned in earlier posts that I was in Washington, D.C. this week for some prayer assignments.

I also spoke for a prayer banquet regarding the Supreme Court.

All of the events were successful. I'm a bit weary, but persevering. When in D.C., I always find myself

reminiscing over the past 35 to 40 years, though the

journey has been long, it seems to have flown by as the years have a way of doing.

I admit that when it comes to patriotism, I am incorrigible.

This has always been the case.

I usually tried to sit in the back of my American history and civics classes

so I could catnap, or at least doodle without being caught.

My patriotism did not develop until God began to grip my heart with his purposes for America.

It wasn't that I ever bought into the anti-American movement of the 60s or 70s.

I always saw through that and had a general respect

for my country, as we all should. But there was no passionate love of America. Actually, when

Cece and I graduated from Bible College, our plan and desire was to go to another country, to do missionary work.

It came as a complete shock to us when the Lord began showing that he wanted us to stay right here and minister in America.

For the first several years of our ministry, I continued to struggle somewhat with this.

The charismatic and Jesus people movements had waned, and the church was on a subtle and relatively

unperceived, slippery slope toward apathy, complacency, compromise, personal aggrandizement and success,

rather than purity and a passion for Christ's cause.

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