4/19/2026
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin
is a reproach to any people."
Proverbs 14:34
Today marks the beginning the America Reads the Bible as ministry leaders and national and international leaders, CEOs and ordinary people from all walks of life take their turn at the podium from Museum of the Bible's World Stage to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in one week. One week One nation One book! The idea was inspired by Bunni Pounds:
"Bunni Pounds is the Founder and President of Christians Engaged as well as a Senior Vice President for Family Policy Alliance and Family Policy Alliance Foundation founded by Dr. James Dobson. She is the author of Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession and the upcoming book with the foreword by Candace Cameron Bure - Stepping Up to Lead: Rebuilding a Nation in the Footsteps of Nehemiah. She hosts two podcasts - Jesus for America, a devotional podcast teaching through scripture, and Conversations with Christians Engaged, an interview weekly show inspiring people to pray, vote, and engage ongoing."
According to Intercessor's for America's post, "Pounds said the purpose of the marathon is to 'call the American people back to daily Bible reading for the well-being of our country.' She hopes young leaders of tomorrow 'will rise to really fix the leadership crisis that we have in our country.'”
In Nehemiah 8:1-3, Ezra read the Word of God aloud to the people of Israel resulting in an "awakening revival and repentance" which inspired the people to get back to rebuilding the temple. Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra who had been sent back to Jerusalem by King Darius of Persia to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah served as the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes of Persia, and he had received news from a friend that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates burned. Upon hearing this news, he told the King who sent him back to Jerusalem temporarily to rebuild the walls. So Nehemiah mobilized the people, and overcoming opposition, they rebuilt the walls, and the temple was completed. Just as Nehemiah had to mobilize the people, Bunni Pounds feels that "America Reads the Bible is a sacred opportunity to call our nation back to its spiritual foundations. Through a public, continuous reading of the entire Bible in our nation’s capital by our national leaders from all spheres of influence, we believe God can spark revival in individual hearts and inspire Americans to carry the Word forward in their lives and communities into the next 250 years of our national story."
Just as in Ezra and Nehemiah's day, the call of America to rededicate our nation as One Nation Under God has met with opposition by many, sadly by those who serve in positions of leadership and in Congress. This should be a bipartisan effort to bring honor to our nation by giving honor to the God we serve, the One who makes all things possible, but sadly this is not happening.
Because of the sad state of our nation, the in-fighting and open, and often inflammatory comments made against each other, our nation is in trouble. Now is the time to humble ourselves and pray, seek God, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 instructs. It is a time to put aside hostility and stand in solidarity. The National Day of Pray will be honored on May 7th, and it will be another time for us to repent of our sins, humble ourselves and seek God's face. May we answer the call.
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