Sadly, our President, even though he stated last night that he wants God to bless America, will not acknowledge the Creator God of the Bible—in fact, he has done the opposite: actively supported the removal of the one true God from the public arena. His belief in this regard was seen, for instance, in the recent lighting of the national Christmas tree in Washington, DC, when the President began his speech by saying “happy holidays”—twice.

While he may use the word Christmas on occasion, we all know that when the President says “happy holidays,” like in his speech, it’s largely a deliberate way to keep Christ out of Christmas. He has turned Christmas-related events into secular ones, instead of acknowledging the Babe in a manger—the One who came to be our Savior over 2,000 years ago.

Now, Christians should respect the office of the presidency and pray for our elected officials. But when their actions go contrary to the absolute authority of God’s Word, then we should say something.

Also at the Christmas tree lighting, the first lady, along with the Muppet character Miss Piggy, read a story from the children’s book A Visit from St. Nicholas—a story about Santa Claus.

So the President and the first lady have told Americans that the real reason for the season is to have a happy holiday and enjoy stories about Santa.

At our Christmas Town program at the Creation Museum, we celebrate Christmas in the right way: we reflect on the greatest gift God gave to mankind—the gift of His Son, Jesus—and worship Him. He was the Babe in a manger—the God-man—who came to earth to provide the only way for humans to live forever with their God.

Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus Christ (as we should do every day of the year) and remember the true account (the historical record) of the birth of a baby. He was the incarnation of the Son of God—the Son of God who took on a fleshly, bodily form.

Second, did God hear President Obama at the end of his speech when he said “God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America”? I suggest God did not. Hear God’s Word from Isaiah chapter 59:

And the President has helped this nation be “defiled with blood.” He has condoned the murder of millions of children in their mother’s wombs. The same President who said “God bless the United States of America” on Sunday night actually said this in July: “God bless Planned Parenthood.” In other words, he asked God to bless the biggest child-murdering machine in America! Will God ever bless a nation that is so guilty of defiling this land with the shed blood of millions of children?

I humbly suggest that God “will not hear” the President when he asks for God’s blessing on this nation! How could God hear this plea when the iniquities of this nation and the President are so great?

May God have mercy, and may God raise up people to repair the breach in this nation—a breach that has allowed rampant sin and the mocking of God’s Word to permeate the culture.

The prophet Isaiah in chapter 58 declared, “Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” (verse 12).

This nation as a whole, and the President in particular, needs to repent before the one true God and return to His Word as the absolute authority in all matters of life and conduct.

The President can talk about the threat of continued terrorism all he wants. But unless this nation deals with gross sin that permeates the culture, I sadly predict that this nation will not see the end of terrible tragedies, like terrorism.