Nebraska,

Forget anything? Have you considered that tomorrow (May 7) is our National Day of Prayer?

“One Nation, under God…” wasn’t added to our Pledge of Allegiance until 1954. Eisenhower was sitting in a church service, listening to a Scottish pastor who had asked his son about the pledge they recited in school. It suddenly struck Eisenhower that our pledge could be said by any nation in the world. There was absolutely nothing to keep it from applying to Nebraska or Moscow…until you add the words “under God”.

Eisenhower went back to the White House and immediately pushed for the addition. It’s the pledge we say today. And it’s not just idle words. Truly, if we cease to be under God – with the moral authority that defines our greatness – we will cease to be.

And there is no need to tell you we are dangerously close and sliding fast. Many of you believe it’s already too late. It may be but it’s not ours to judge. The Revolution was mostly a series of defeats, with just enough success to take one more step. And we were blessed for taking that one more step.

The lesson for us is the same. We’re down; we’re badly bruised. But until it’s over, it’s not over.

Our job is to be under the Author, who is also the Authority. And the only way to stay there is to take time to remember and render thanks for surviving this long, with the humble request for the grace and strength to go on.