In 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert were hurling through space at thousands of miles an hour on their way to the moon. Lovell had orbited just before Christmas in 1968, and two other crews had already landed on the moon and returned safely to earth.

But when Swigert conducted a routine stir of the liquid oxygen tanks, an electrical short caused an explosion that crippled the spacecraft and threatened the survival of the crew. Quickly assessing the seriousness of the situation, Lovell uttered words that are as memorable as they were understated: “Houston, we have a problem.”

Thanks to the skill and dedication of a huge team of engineers and mission controllers, Apollo 13 made it home safely—although that crew never got to walk on the moon.

For many years our society has been hurling toward a secularized, pagan future. In spite of isolated events to jar the spiritual consciousness of our nation, America has consistently refused to recognize, “we have a problem.” Instead, like a frog in a pot, we’ve witnessed and lived through changes so gradual that they were almost imperceptible at first. Of late, those changes are accelerating wildly, and a growing number of people are beginning to realize that we are headed toward disaster.

The Signs of Society are even more obvious in many ways than the Signs of Nature. What is harder to pinpoint is the root cause of a given moral and societal change. Obviously, sin is at the heart of all our problems. But individual hearts committing—or tolerating—sin builds into a force that is pushing us all on a disastrous trajectory.

Looking back, it is apparent how far we have fallen in just the past 20-30 years. What lies ahead? God’s Word offers prophetic insight to those with eyes to see. It also lays down a challenge to anyone who would seek to serve as Salt and Light—and aspires to be an overcome.

Steel yourself and examine where we have been, where we are, and where we are heading. In fact, get down on your knees, prayerfully asking God to strengthen your heart and embolden your witness in a world that is growing darker by the day.