As we celebrate this July 4th holiday, is it possible for us to have the same impact as our forefathers did for future generations?

Feed the flames of revival in yourself. Ask God to intervene in your life in a powerful way. Ask Him to reboot your spiritual system, to refresh and reenergize you. And then let that spiritual fire spread to those around you.

One of the joys I have as an elder of my local church is to lead God’s people in prayer. It’s a time of intercession for the church, a time of modeling prayer for members, a time of giving voice to our collective hearts. Every Sunday, our church focuses on one nation, usually whatever ends up falling on Operation World’s schedule. This past Sunday, ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, I set aside time to pray for our own nation. My prayer wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive theology of prayer or cover every single possible theme, but rather a humble attempt to lead our church in giving thanks for our country. Below is an adapted version of what I led our church in praying. Whether you wish to use this prayer personally or adapt it for your own purposes, I pray that it might help you give thanks on America’s anniversary.  Father, we thank you for our own nation as it celebrates its 250th anniversary today. You have determined allotted periods and boundaries of place, and you have allowed us to make our dwelling here (Acts 17:26). Even as we are citizens of the City of God, we pray that we would be faithful pilgrims in the City of Man. Thank you for the many freedoms that we enjoy as Americans—the freedom to assemble, the freedom to worship, the freedom to express our beliefs in the public square. Lord, use these freedoms not to lull us into complacency but to make us even more zealous witnesses for Christ. For all the blessings we enjoy in this nation, Lord, we also recognize the challenges our country faces. The loss of Christianity’s influence in the last several decades has meant an even more hostile response to those who hold traditional Christian teaching. We’ve seen greater rifts in society with competing values that seem irreconcilable. We want to take advantage of any way to influence the broader culture, including the wise stewardship of our votes and the passing of laws that uphold the good and restrain evil. To that end, we pray that you would raise more, even from our own midst, who could serve in political office, law enforcement, judicial oversight, and military ranks. Christians make the best citizens, so enable us to live out the call that the apostle Peter gave to first-century Christians in Rome: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Pet. 2:17). Enable us to lead peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim. 2:2). But above and beyond, Lord, we long for revival in our nation. We want to see changed hearts, not simply restrained actions. Few of us are going to be in positions of great cultural or national influence, but we know that you often work through our small spheres of influence—our homes, our neighborhoods, our church, our city. So bring revival here and change our hearts to treasure you above all. And as we set aside time for Fourth of July celebrations today, enable us to relish the gift of calling this imperfect yet good nation home. In Jesus’s name, amen!

The cover was innocent enough: a horse-drawn carriage gliding across the snow. I can’t remember the title or the author, only that my conservative, Christian grandfather gave me this book after buying it at Costco. He had no idea he was handing a 15-year-old girl smut, and despite knowing better, I had no intention of putting it down once my curious teenage flesh realized its contents. Because these sorts of explicit books often look harmless on the surface, many people stumble into them unwittingly. But with the rise of #BookTok and book influencers trending on social media platforms, there’s also a growing number of women, even Christian women, who seek out these books as a form of escapism. While reading fiction is certainly a worthwhile pastime, we need to use discernment about the kind of fiction we read. “Spice,” the popular term for explicit content in romance books, can fool us into downplaying the danger of these books. Spicy Books Are Pornography Many people associate pornography with pictures and videos. But by definition, it includes books as well. Explicit content doesn’t lose its danger when it’s printed on paper instead of paraded across a screen. Written pornography can burrow deeper into the imagination because it asks you to create the scene yourself. Many spicy books are written in first-person narrative, which research says creates “higher immersion and emotional engagement” than fiction told in third-person. Explicit content doesn’t lose its danger when it’s printed on paper instead of paraded across a screen. The negative effects of habitual pornography viewing have been well reported, including decreased gray matter in key reward centers of the brain; altered sexual appetites; and the need for heightened, even riskier, stimulation to achieve the same satisfaction. If the brain can be rewired this drastically during visual pornography, it’s reasonable to question whether repeated exposure to written sexual content is reshaping our minds and hearts in similar ways. Spicy Books Dishonor Marriage Early in my marriage, I still consumed spicy romance books as regularly as I did in my teens, but I felt “holier” because I was allowed to enjoy sex. I rationalized that reading these books could even encourage intimacy with my husband. But my reasoning was flawed because, married or not, we’re all commanded to honor marriage and keep the marriage bed undefiled (Heb. 13:4). Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:25–27), and reading fiction that doesn’t respect the design of marriage or the sanctity of sexual intimacy subtly trains our hearts to disrespect marriage and its Creator. These novels glorify sin, and over time, reading them dulls our discernment sensors. What once would have grieved us begins to feel normal and maybe even desirable. Just as the Bible warns that bad company corrupts good character (1 Cor. 15:33), keeping company with fictional characters who celebrate worldliness and sinfulness can lead us to corruption. Reading fiction that doesn’t respect the design of marriage or the sanctity of sexual intimacy subtly trains our hearts to disrespect marriage and its Creator. Moreover, reading these explicit descriptions can begin to normalize inappropriate sexual behavior. What the world finds sexually exciting is a deep, dark pit. It’s easier than you might think to go from reading straightforward bedroom scenes to scenes that would have once repulsed you: violent foreplay, throuple engagement, homosexual relations, and even a sort of bestiality in books that feature mythical creatures or shape-shifters. This type of literature is a mockery of God’s design, and it’s unwise for his children to consume it. Find Better Books I decided to stop reading spicy books when I realized I was desiring the main love interest in these books as if he were human. There were times I felt disappointed that my husband didn’t measure up to these fictional men, and at that, I knew I’d started to desire a lie more than the truth. But avoiding spicy content isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. Unfortunately, spice is no longer confined to romance books. Explicit content is now woven into nearly every genre, from the wildly popular fantasy novel Fourth Wing to the time-traveling historical fiction series Outlander. Here are some ways to find good fiction books that don’t include explicit content: Follow no-spice or clean bookstagrammers: Several book reviewers on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube give recommendations for wholesome reads. Some of my favorites are @bookloveramanda, @becomingbookbybook, and @christianbooksandcoffee. Check for reviews on Plugged In: Plugged In by Focus on the Family is a free review site. It has a limited selection of book reviews, but the ones they offer include a section identifying sexual content. Read one- and two-star reviews: Negative reviews on Amazon or other booksellers’ websites can be a huge help because they often mention inappropriate content. You can also search reviews for specific terms, such as “sex,” to find the most relevant reviews. Ask like-minded friends: There’s bound to be a book lover in your friend group or Bible study. Ask her what she’s currently reading or what books she’d recommend that don’t have sexual content. When it comes to any media consumption, my motto is now “When in doubt, do without.” The Bible is the only book we truly need. Still, God has given us the gift of enjoying books in various genres. May we exercise discernment about what we read that we may “have a clear conscience toward both God and man” (Acts 24:16). A good book can be a great delight, but no book is worth sacrificing your conscience.

Looking back over 250 years, we find that America’s beginnings were established by men and women who believed in God and in His word.