Many years ago a group of courageous men declared independence from the tyranny of English rule. It seems the issue was unjust taxes. They won their “independence!”

Fast-forward 236 years, take an honest appraisal, and see where we are today.

Some want to substitute the word freedom for independence, but they are not the same. You can be “free” in a jail cell, and you can be in cruel bondage walking the streets freely in your independence.

Adam and Eve declared independence in the Garden of Eden, and all of us have been in bondage ever since.

We as Americans need a declaration of dependence. First of all, we need to personally ascribe allegiance to the living God of Heaven and receive the salvation provided through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s son.

Next, corporately, we need as a people to return to almighty God, submit to him as master and creator, and humble ourselves before him daily.

The brightest minds and the deftest politicians will not get us out of the mess we are in.

Where does it start? With you and me. We acknowledge that we are the problem, and we ask God to begin with us in the small circle of our lives.

Once we declare dependence on the almighty God of Heaven, we begin to influence those closest to us, until the widening circles converge and erupt into a movement.

God is not against us; he is for us. He is waiting on us to cry out to him for mercy and for his help.