Years ago, when reading the Bible, I had difficulty in understanding how the Israelites so quickly turned away from God after he had miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt. How could they so soon forget? Some of them went so far as to say that slavery in Egypt, where they had food and shelter, was preferable to freedom and privation in the wilderness. Succumbing to selfishness and hedonistic impulses, over time many turned to pagan gods — even to Bael, with its twisted sexual connotations, and to Moloch, the god of child sacrifice. Now I reflect on my own dear nation. I remember that in 1945 I went to our church with my brother-in-law, the pastor, and rang the church bells celebrating the end of hostilities in Europe. Four months later we rang them again to announce the end of World War II. After great travail, we had defeated the hideous evils of fascism.  We had, in effect, crossed the Red Sea and overcome an immediate threat to our freedom. Not every American was spiritual, but in every church and synagogue throughout the land sincere prayers of thanksgiving were lifted to the heavenly father. We happily entered into a period of relative peace and progress. Today I look around at America and am shocked at what I see. The waning influence of Christianity is of particular concern. Church attendance is gradually dropping, and there is a sharp division between those who tend to take the Bible seriously as the word of God as opposed to those who reinterpret it based on modern sensitivities. The weakened church no longer has a strong voice in the public square. As a result, anti-biblical social movements have developed that constitute a vicious threat to our society. Consider the LGBT+ idiocy, the WOKE craze, and the radical abortionists. They remind me of Bael and Moloch. How can we allow this to happen?  How can we turn our backs on God? Help us, Dear Lord.