Good morning Advent Family,
It’s easy to look at the world and feel like everything is shifting: Values changing. Culture moving. Conversations getting louder, sharper, more divided. If we’re not careful, we can start to see our calling through the lens of conflict instead of Christ. But Jesus didn’t say, “Win the culture.”He said, “Go.”
Acts 1:8 moves outward—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth—but don’t miss this: Judea was still their people. Their region. Their broader community. Samaria takes it another step and goes beyond their region to their nation. Yes, America is changing, that truth is undeniable, but the deeper question isn’t, “How do we fix the culture;” it is, “Who is truly King in our hearts?”
This isn’t ultimately a culture war. It’s not about reclaiming influence or restoring a version of the past. The kingdom of God has never depended on political dominance or cultural alignment. It has always moved through surrendered hearts. Jesus isn’t looking for defenders of a system. He’s calling disciples who are submitted to His Lordship.
And that starts with us.
Before we can call a nation to follow Jesus, we have to ask where we’re still holding onto our own idols—comfort, control, identity, power, even the subtle belief that our way of life is the goal instead of His kingdom. Sometimes we want God to transform “out there” while quietly protecting things “in here.”
But revival doesn’t start in systems. It starts in surrender.
Going to your country means loving people, not labeling them. It means listening before speaking. It means living in such a way that Jesus is unmistakably Lord of your life—not just in what you say, but in how you treat people, how you respond when you’re misunderstood, and how you carry both truth and grace.
It’s slower than we’d like. Less flashy. More costly. But it’s real.
Because the change we’re longing to see in a nation will only ever flow from hearts that have been changed by Him. Maybe the prayer isn’t, “God, fix America;” maybe it starts with, “Jesus, be Lord of me—completely.”
Search my heart. Expose anything I’ve placed above You. Teach me to surrender what I’ve been holding onto. And send me—not to win arguments, but to love people and point them to You.
That’s how a nation begins to change. One surrendered heart at a time.
Loving Jesus and You,
Kimberly Jewell
Family Ministry Director