This is a Christmas message. Christmas will be here in a matter of days. It is the time to celebrate Jesus Christ and the love and Grace he has offered as a gift to all mankind. To honor the celebration appropriately, I try to remember to say “Merry Christmas”, not “Happy Holidays”. I am a Christian; Christmas is what I am celebrating. However, if another person greets me first by saying, “happy holidays”, I am fine with that. Because, it is a holiday season and I am happy. Generally, in such case I just reply, “thank you.” It makes no sense to start a religious war. I truly hope the other person is happy.

Like I said, I am a happy man. I am especially happy at Christmas. But lately, some folks are not so happy. I get that. I am not blind, deaf, nor dumb; neither do I live in a cave. I watch the news; I read my e-mail; and I surf the web. The more impactful evidence of the general unhappiness is when I talk to people, face to face. Sure, there are some cases of blissful ignorance in a portion of the people I talk to. There are not many however, because I do not personally know many secular-liberal-socialists.

You are beginning to ask yourself, “When is he going to address the little play on words in the title?” You immediately heard a Christmas song in your head when you read the title. You know the last word of that Christmas song line would be, “Christmas”, not “Crisis”. But neither are you blind, deaf, nor dumb. You know full well there is crisis in our world. I agree. In fact, the crisis and the solution are what this Christmas message is about. Stay with me, please.

Some liberals like to accuse conservatives of spreading gloom and doom. That is never my purpose. Indeed, I believe I am always a purveyor of Good News. Furthermore, in context of the present, my perception is that most conservatives are spreading at least some truth. If the truth is perceived as gloom and doom, well, that might be a personal problem. We already know it is liberal problem. You see, the truth never hurts. It always helps. The idea is this: if you know the truth, at least you can react appropriately to the correct information. If you react to the wrong information your result will be wrong. It makes sense, right?

“Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

Here are some of the extreme crisis indicators:

1) The “on-budget” debt of the U.S. Government is over $16,000,000,000,000, an amount that may take decades to resolve, if ever.

2) The “off-budget” debt of the U.S. Government is said to be in excess of $70,000,000,000,000, an amount that generations of Americans can never pay at any tax rate.

3) The U.S. Government is running an annual budget deficit of 1.1 Trillion Dollars and is borrowing to continue to spend money we do not have.

4) There are wars and rumors of wars. Asymmetrical conflicts with terrorists, insurgents, and armed thugs bent on tyranny are common and spreading across the globe.

5) Many nations are already bankrupt and seeking bailouts from other nations as the world economy continues to bend to near breaking under the weight of social engineering and social programs.

6) Nuclear weapons are in the hands of more radical tyrants than ever before. Iranian and North Korean leaders have made ominous declarations regarding their potential use of nuclear power.

7) The tax rate increases set to kick in in 2013 threaten to further increase unemployment, reduce investment and reinvestment in business, and reduce actual tax dollars collected, furthering economic decline.

8) America and the world are suffering from a massive dose of corruption of the heart and mind. The moral/spiritual decline is evident in the misconduct of governments and people everywhere.

Now let us review: I am a happy man. I am a Christian. I am especially happy at Christmas time. I am not a transmitter of gloom and doom. And yet, this happy man was able to quickly enumerate a list of eight problems, any one of which may induce a cataclysm. It was too easy. I do this because I want to be a source of truth. But as a Christian, I also want to proclaim the source of Hope and Light. Hope can sustain us in dark days. Darkness is the absence of light. Light displaces darkness.

How may I be a source of truth, hope and light? I can speak the truth. Jesus Christ said, “I am the truth and the light.” If there is a Christian remnant in America that are not deceived, they know in their hearts the last item on the list (number 8) is the established evidence of the true causes of all other ills: the sinful nature of mankind, and the great distance America has withdrawn from God.

Democrats believe that if they could fill the seats of Congress, the Oval Office and the judge’s benches with Democrats, the problems would be solved. They are wrong. While the Republicans are applauding the wisdom of that observation, let me say that they believe the same thing, except with Republicans filling the seats. Both are wrong, dead wrong. In fact, such an occurrence would probably result in even more corruption and worse government. “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

America has been on a gradual downhill slide for many years. Perhaps it began the day the Constitution was signed. That is certainly possible. Many of the first to land on these shores made covenants with God. They asked him to provide a way and promised that they would be obedient. For a time, all was well. Obviously, sometime thereafter, covenants were broken. The downhill is rapidly getting steeper.

Do not be deceived. Grace does not secure the future for America. The Lord did not promise an eternal life for the United States of America. But He told us the path to restoring our nation. We must follow that path. Here it is:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. –2 Chronicles 7:14

We can believe it, or reject it. Liberty and opportunity are not our birthright. They are slipping away at an alarming pace. You must consider your decision. Moreover, if your decision was already made in the affirmative, you must consider what you can do to awaken others. If there is a Christian remnant who is not deceived, we must act. The rotting fruits of secularism have corrupted our people, and the Lord has offered a solution.

We must act. It is Christmas; let us begin now. It will make us happier. Perhaps it will save our nation. Perhaps it will bring glory to God, joy to the world, and peace among men.

George Rogers Clark blogs at: http://www.myfreeblogs.us