Jesus Come Revive America: Forgive Us for We Have Sinned

By Dr. Debra J. Dean

Jesus Come Revive America answers the question, “Where are all the Christians” and moves beyond the apparent decline of morality in the country to a call of action for Christians to emerge with boldness, courage, and prayer for awakening.

The author also emphasizes that the most important decision a person will make in their entire life is to follow Jesus. That one decision determines their future. That one decision will determine if they spend eternity in heaven or in hell.

She considers questions such as:
• Are we living in a world of wickedness that is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah?
• Why has there been such a decline in common sense and morality over the past decade?
• Is there one sin worse than all other sins that will prohibit a person from going to heaven?

This book is a user-friendly approach to reading the Bible, understanding historical events, and practically implementing the Bible’s teachings in today’s world. It incorporates archeology, anthropology, geography, history, philosophy, sociology, and theology to help Americans prepare for the next Great Awakening. The author wrote the book with much prayer for divine wisdom to emerge on the pages for each reader.

Dr. Debra J. Dean, a faithful follower of Jesus, expands on the lives of regular people like Esther and Gideon, along with the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ, to highlight how they were bold and courageous. In doing so, she reveals how we can apply the same zeal for God today as we prepare for revival and learn to live a holy lifestyle.

The author is also a co-founder of His Kingdom Matters ministry, whose vision is that we will unite as a community of believers to support and equip one another while fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). In doing so, a spiritual revival will spread like wildfire across the globe like never before seen as souls are saved and lives are touched by Kingdom members in practical and miraculous ways.

His Kingdom Matters
http://hiskingdommatters.com/
https://www.drdebradean.com/

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665737708

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Copyright © 2023 Dr. Debra J. Dean.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3674-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3673-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3770-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901642

Archway Publishing rev. date: 01/31/2023

CONTENTS

Foreward

Preface

Introduction

From Dysfunction to Destruction from Within

It’s Time to be a Bold & Courageous Christian

Bold and Courageous Esther

Bold and Courageous Gideon

Bold and Courageous Paul

Bold and Courageous Jesus in the Temple Court

It’s Time to Prepare for Revival

The First Great Awakening in America

The Second Great Awakening in America

The Third Great Awakening in America

The Fourth Great Awakening

It’s Time to Live a Holy Lifestyle

The Ten Commandments

The Seven Deadly Sins

Seven Sins God Hates

The Unpardonable Sin

References

FOREWARD

Dear Dr. Debra J. Dean,

Congratulations on not only completing the first year of His Kingdom Matters monthly educational programs but on seizing the full story in your book Jesus Come Revive America: Forgive Us for We Have Sinned. As your sister-In-Christ, I am humbled and overjoyed to review your work of faith.

After reading your book, I avow that being an outcast in a sinner’s world is good. Your work is a necessary reminder of God’s intentions for humanity and His loving kindness. You are bold and courageous like the founding woman and men of this nation, and a believer, as I am, that the United States of America can be a haven for the world to grow in consciousness once again and to live for Christ. Your raw, gut-wrenching honesty and vulnerability show us that "Jesus is with me, always."

Your book is a commitment to love, not condemnation, to lift us up and align our thoughts and actions with scripture in pursuit of living a life for Christ and to sin-less. For Christians (backslidden and closeted) and non-Christians, it instigates a re-emergence of faith and family values for oneself or with your neighbors for the good of all. It teaches us how to increase consciousness and biblical knowledge, connecting to others and with Christ with specific prayers, acts of encouragement, and suggestions for biblical readings and other approaches.

This book has a casual, down-to-earth, yet thought-provoking style mixing well-researched history, geography, biblical scriptures, and your prayers, hopes, and experiences. Your vulnerable testimony encourages readers not to wait and see but to choose Christ daily.

Have we disobeyed and abandoned God? Yes. But can we repent and revive? Yes. There is hope, not to revise but to learn our history and to act now to avoid disappearing in the rubble soon… maybe even tomorrow. Through sanctification (moving from a state of sin) to glorification (a state of holiness), our faith is truly active. This is clear from your intense and authentic wake-up call.

In Christ’s Love,

Dr. Elaine C. Long, Christ-Follower, researcher, professor, and writer of Faith at Work: People, Places, Practices, and Tools

PREFACE

This book has been a long time coming and has involved much prayer from the author, her prayer team, ministry members of His Kingdom Matters, and many more people that have a heart to share the gospel with all people and the desire to save the soul of this once great nation. The three main events that have made this book a reality are (1) completing a doctoral degree at Regent University, (2) personal experiences of religious persecution, and (3) a conversation with a member of the White House Faith and Opportunities Initiative.

Dr. Dean had no idea what a doctoral degree from Regent University would do to her personally. At the beginning of her search for a school, she was primarily concerned with one that would allow her to complete the degree online and would not require her to take time away from her family and work for residency. Soon after acceptance into the program in 2013, she realized that it was a conservative Christian program that would likely result in spiritual warfare as she sought to have more of God in her life than in previous years. One of the best pieces of advice that she received was from the head of the program, who advised her to prioritize her responsibilities: (a) God first, (b) family second, (c) work third, and (d) school. Anything extra should be put on hold while pursuing the degree because there would not be time. That advice was essential to finishing the doctoral degree on Valentine’s Day 2017 with her dissertation titled, Religion and Spirituality in the Workplace: A quantitative evaluation of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This degree radically changed her life. Perhaps it was the timing of the events in her workplace and the world around her, but this degree truly seems like it was a gift from God at the right time and at the right place.

As Dr. Dean learned more about integrating scripture into her daily life, she began to feel like she didn’t belong in the world. She became guarded with the television programs she watched, the music she listened to, and the books she read. She was careful to guard herself to stay sensitive to the things of this world that would be important for Jesus to pay attention to. In other words, when watching worldly television, listening to worldly music, and immersing oneself in a worldly lifestyle, it seems as if the ways of the world are normal and acceptable. One will become desensitized if always immersed in the sin of the world. Dr. Dean did not want that for herself or for her family. In response, she was faced with many situations where she had to speak up for her faith at work and with her family’s activities. On one occasion, her son was playing frisbee with a local school, and they were asked to register on a website for a state tournament. The application had about 13 different gender options, and Dr. Dean refused to complete the application. She contacted the coach and said she was not going to do it. She said her son could play, but the questions were unnecessary. First, the question was inappropriate. There were not 13 different teams for these different groups of people, so why ask the question? Next, children could fill out the application, and such a question could cause unnecessary confusion. Dr. Dean was asked to meet with the coach about this decision. He worked at a local ministry and asked her why she was so adamant about not filling out the application. She said that she was surprised that more parents at the Christian school were not concerned with this. She also explained that we must be bold and courageous about taking a stand for what is right. In this case, the right thing to do was not to complete the application. On other occasions, Dr. Dean was passed over for opportunities in her workplace because she did not go with the flow. On one occasion, she and other managers in her department were asked to do something that seemed unethical to her. She spoke up and said she and her team would have no part in it. The meeting was dismissed. Later, the activities continued without her. She believes that standing up for her faith and moral compass caused her to miss out on several other activities to which she was not invited, but the other managers were.

The final straw that broke the camel’s back was a conversation with a student about an assignment for class. The student started the conversation but then quickly began to cry and asked, where are all the Christians. In the capital city of the United States, she and her team felt like they were lone soldiers trying to bear the burden of spiritual warfare and isolation. Dr. Dean had felt like that in her own corporate job but on a much smaller scale. She did not want anyone to feel like they were alone. That conversation resulted in an email sent directly to the leaders of the White House Faith and Opportunities initiative, where Dr. Dean was called a very important soldier (I would contend General) to our work. The email continued by saying, she is a much needed Soldier in our fight---for such a time as this.

Dr. Dean launched His Kingdom Matters in March 2021. The goal of the ministry is to unite believers, so they do not feel like they are alone. Members can come together virtually or establish local chapters. The ministry is similar to Toastmasters groups, where curriculum is provided and small or large groups can work together to encourage and equip one another. This ministry has also been referred to as a Bible study on steroids as it is helpful for individuals, couples, families, or any group to walk through scripture and understand how to practically live like Jesus in the 21st Century.

INTRODUCTION

Have they lost their ever-loving mind? Just when I think it couldn’t get any worse. Just when I thought this world had gone crazy. Just when I think the rapture must be near. Something else happens that makes me question, What has happened to this world we live in? and I cry out in desperation, Lord Jesus, come revive America.

This book has been in the making for years. Maybe the reason it has taken me so long to write this book is that I started this chapter thinking I had witnessed the worse human behavior possible, and then someone else outshines them in the demonic category with pure evil, stupidity, rudeness, and disrespectful conduct. Have you ever thought about this? If you are paying attention, I am sure you have. The evidence that surrounds us daily causes me to question if we are living in a world of wickedness that is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. Is it possible that the United States of America has plunged from the greatest nation on the planet with endless opportunities for American dreams to a country that rivals the evil and adulterous ways of Nineveh? I’m often questioning if the world we live in is as bad as it was when Noah built the ark or when the tower of Babylon was being built.

This chapter will highlight a few of those stories that I have witnessed over recent years as we set the stage for the desperation of humanity to know and accept Jesus Christ as our one and only True God and our one and only Lord and Savior. Perhaps the problem with humanity can be blamed on the media. Perhaps it can be blamed on the school system or the family. Perhaps it can be blamed on our environment. No, the reality is, that the desperation of humanity can only be blamed on sin. Sin that is no longer called sin because no one wants to be offended. Sin that is taught as a relative term that what is right for me could be wrong for you and what is wrong for me might be right for you. When will we awaken to realize the world doesn’t work like that?

Have the people of this world completely lost their ever-loving mind? These are my exact thoughts as I walked around the airport on a sunny, yet blustery cold Wednesday in January 2020. This was before the world stopped with the COVID pandemic and everything was seemingly normal as I reflect on it several years later. However, that day was enough for me to put pen to paper, and that day alone was an adventure that summarizes the purpose of this book.

I am a Christian. I am also a wife, mother, and grandmother. I am educated and conservative. I had a successful career in the financial services industry for more than 25 years. And, I fear for the future of this once great nation, the United States of America. A country founded on Christian principles. The decline in common sense and morality over the past decade is concerning, to say the least. More importantly, I fear for the future of your soul. Yes, you and your soul are of concern to me.

On my way to the airport that morning in 2020, the driver of a small car laid on their horn to weave in and out of traffic. As they passed me, I saw the driver with pink hair accelerating at a rate of speed at least 20 miles over the speed limit. Today that seems more normal than it did in January 2020, but at that moment, the road rage and pink hair stood out as a cause for concern.

As I walk from gate to gate in the airport, I saw signs for All Gender Toilets and Cannabis Amnesty Boxes. I saw more lap dogs and same-sex couples than I did in 2019. And, so far, with my 3-hour layover, I have only seen two young Navy sailors compared to the hundreds I saw back in August of the year before, the last time I made this same trip from Kentucky to Virginia.

My Facebook feed was dotted with confusion about the Iranian attack on a U.S. Embassy. I saw posts apologizing to Iran because they attacked our embassy and President Trump authorized an order to kill Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian Major General responsible for the first U.S. Embassy attack that year. I saw debates on both sides supporting the president’s decision and those opposing him. To add insult to injury, I also scroll through the news of abortion being the number one cause of death for three years in a row and more posts about legal rights for animals and fundraising events for the Australian wildfires. It was as if we cared more about animals than we did people.

To make matters more personal, I received an emailed complaint to start my day with a student upset that I asked her to include Biblical scripture in her assignment at the Catholic school where I was teaching. The school sided with the student and asked that I remove the scripture requirement from the assignment because it offended her and wasn’t relevant to the class I was teaching.

I presume that as you read this introduction, you are also making a judgment about me, my character, my reputation, and my intelligence. This picture you are painting of me is one based on less than 1000 words.

And so it begins; this book will proceed to explain my side of the story. A story that was boiling in 2020 and raging in 2022 throughout American soil. A story that is painful to write, but necessary to say. A book that many advised me not to write because it would shape me as an outcast in the world we live in and cause me to be without work, it could cause me to be ostracized, without friends, and with a tarnished reputation as a conservative Christian.

This book will explain the issues I have personally faced as a Christian American woman. It will also share stories of others that quietly, fearfully, and reluctantly shared with me. Stories that need to be shared with a broader audience in the hopes of redirecting the course of religious freedom for our once great nation and most importantly, hope for the soul of each person that they may choose an eternity in heaven instead of suffering forever in hell.

I pray this book will give you hope for the future, courage to be bold, and a sense of compassion for all people. I hope it will give you a sense of all sides of the issue and a heart to seek understanding. I also hope it will somehow unite people across the globe and bring civility to the nations. And, most importantly, I hope it will give rise to a rebirth of Christianity throughout the world, a spiritual revival of people deciding to live for Christ and seek their eternal home. An awakening that we desperately need.

Before we begin, this book is not authored by a scathing, upset, and bitter person. I consider myself to be an introvert, a somewhat intelligent thinker who earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from one of the most conservative Christian universities. A shy and hardworking woman who earned her degree while working full-time and having six children. I’m not one that enjoys conflict, but I believe God has placed me in such a time as this to write this book and bring light to the situation. I’m also not a holier-than-thou person who never sins. I am a sinner just like the rest of us, but I am trying to do better each day.

Throughout the