I Still Remember. Do you?

According to wikipedia...

"The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.[2][3] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights.

The death toll of the attacks was 2,996, including the 19 hijackers..."

I was getting ready to head into the office that morning when the attacks took place. The news was reporting the fact that there was a hole in one of the World Trade Center buildings. I had no idea what kind of plane it was. My wife asked me what was going on and I remember telling her that I thought some poor pilot had accidentally crashed into a building in New York. It was about that time that the second plane crashed into the other building. In that moment I knew that this was a planned attack on our country.

We sat their amazed by what we were seeing. My children were just two and four. They did not have a clue as to why we were so shocked and perplexed.

I missed my morning meetings that day. The staff and I gathered for prayer around mid-day. Once the towers had fallen and the skies over our nation were cleared and it was obvious what had happened, several pastors from our city planned prayer vigils at our churches and a joint one later in the week. All we could do was pray.

Do you remember that day and where you were and how you got through it?

Let's be sure and pray for the families that lost loved ones that day and in the subsequent wars that were caused by those attacks. Let's be sure and pray for our nation's security and for the men and women in uniform that are protecting us today. Let's also pray for the salvation of Jesus Christ to come to these angry lost people that see no greater value in their life than to create death with it. Their hope, our hope, and the hope of the whole world hinges on a world-wide spiritual awakening where families of all colors and nationalities turn to Jesus.

Disappointment

Life is full of ups and downs. Like it or not we all have ideas of what we want to have happen, but as the song goes, "you can't always get what you want." We are taught to "dream big" in Western Society and those that make their dreams a reality are celebrated and everybody else is, well... not.

Things are not always going to be the way we planned or hoped they would be. That stinks. It hurts. No one likes to swallow that pill. There are some people that do get what they always wanted and good for them, but lots won't. Even when our careers aren't great, our kids struggle, our marriage is tough, or our health fails, we can still enjoy the lives we've been blessed to live.

God is still in control and ultimately things will turn out right. We cannot see all the moving parts of God's plan, but we can know that God wins in the end. Those that are with Him win in Him. It may not be among the cheering crowds or with gazing admirers, but we can live meaningful joyful lives. We may face one struggle after another day after day, which can be disappointing, but those that trust in God can be encouraged and full of hope. Our confidence comes from knowing that we are loved by God and that He is going to reveal His power to provide through our challenges. This brings Him glory and saves us from despair.

2 Corinthians 4:7–9 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Why Make It More Difficult

Yesterday, someone very near and dear to me stepped out in faith and shared the Gospel with a Muslim friend. The Muslim was confused on a number of basic doctrinal issues that the Christian was able to easily answer and explain. The Muslim was able to share the tenets of the Muslim religion and answer pointed questions about the Islamic faith system. By each person feeling free to share the unique characteristics of their faith a clear distinction was recognized.

Once they got to the grounds for entering into God's presence, the difference was made clear. At this point the doctrine of the atonement of Christ became appealing to the Muslim.

This Muslim person is now planning to attend worship with the Christian and consider the truth claims of the Christian faith.

The question is why? What was different? This Muslim lives where churches are all over the place. Why will the Muslim enter a church now?

Here are some reasons:
1. The Christian had been praying for the Muslim and God is at work.
2. The Christian simply shared the hope of the Christian faith clearly and honestly.
3. The Christian respected the Muslim's intellect and faith tradition and in love and grace shared the truth of Scripture.
4. The Muslim was able to disagree without being attacked and receive answers to questions without being judged.
5. The Christian asked the Muslim to attend and be with the Christian. It is a friend going with a friend to hear what gives them purpose, hope, joy and peace.

The one question the Muslim did have was why the Christians in Florida were burning the book the Muslims hold as sacred. This Muslim did not understand why people that claim to be like Jesus would do that because that did not seem to be the way of Jesus.

The Christian shared that the Muslim was accurate and that Jesus came to share truth in love. As they talked, the Christian was able to explain the way evangelism was done in the Bible showing the love and sacrifice of God's people and assured the Muslim that there are a lot of confused people that do not always honor the name of Jesus even though they claim to speak in His name.

How sad that this Christian in North America had to overcome that last hurdle. The Gospel is offensive and needs to be the only offensive thing about a Christan.

This encounter makes me think about how difficult it will be for the people from my church that are in Muslim nations sharing the Gospel trying to plant churches to be effective. I imagine the greater danger they could be in because of these angry people burning books in Florida. How sad that the Gospel message is being muddied needlessly. Why make it more difficult for Muslims to know the love of Jesus?

When It's Ok to Hit Somebody

Yesterday my son Jackson put on pads and a helmet and hit someone on purpose and I applauded him for it. It is a strange thing to see you son line down with the intended goal of striking another person to bring them to the ground. He did it. He loved it. He’s playing football.

Football was an important part of my life. I was a good high school player and got a football scholarship, but found that I was not cut out for the college game – too fast for me. The things I learned in football have helped me as a Christian called to lead and shepherd God’s flock.

Football is a team sport and so is the Christian life. Football requires sacrifice and so does the Christian life. Football has superstars that make the headlines, but the real work is done upfront in the trenches. The same is true in the church. Football requires you to have compassion and at the same time the ability to confront and defend and so does shepherding God’s flock.

One of the most important lessons I learned in football was to go all out or not at all. If you go all out, you rarely get hurt or hurt someone else. People get hurt in football when they ease up. If you lose your form or soften your stance in a hit, you will get hurt. You can never put your head down. Good contact comes from a straight back with the head and shoulders leading the way. The legs do the work and the arms follow to finish the task of arresting another player to the ground.

The same is true of the Christian life. You must go hard or you will get hurt. The devil hates God and all those that reflect His image. There is nothing the enemy wants more than to cause the downfall of as many people as possible.

The Christian must approach each day ready to fight. Each morning as my feet hit the ground I say to God, “Here we go, Lord. I am yours and will serve your purpose.” That gets my mind focused in the right direction. Throughout the day I have to keep my head up looking for opportunities to join God where He is at work. His Holy Spirit will inspire me and enable me to do all that He commands. Once contact is made I have to move my feet and grab on to what the Lord has for me.

Living this way is liberating. I don’t have to worry. There is no time to complain. God has things for me to do today. So whether it is praying, reading, speaking, or helping someone in need I must go all out. I do this not because I am smart or brave or good, but because God has enabled me to by His grace. He has chosen me to be on His team and enabled me to live in His love and strength. When I live in the joy of the Lord, I do not give the enemy a foothold in my life and avoid injury and defeat.

The Highs and the Lows

If God allowed us to live on the “mountaintop,” we would not experience trials, but neither would we achieve any victories. -Blackaby. You can read the whole devotion from September 7, by clicking here.

This is a truth that I know, but often forget when it's time to descend into the valley. On the mountain I feel safe. On the mountain life is fun. On the mountain God feels as accessible as my next breath. On the mountain sin seems as stupid as it really is. On the mountain those I love are well. I hate to leave the mountain.

I took Asher to the park the other day. The more I think about it the more I realize how much like a three year old I can be. Asher rarely wants to leave the park with all the fun, laughter, and fellowship that it provides. He wines and complains and even works against my will to detain us. I do the same thing when its time to leave the mountaintop.

At the end of this Labor Day weekend where I have been with family and friends it is now time to get back to hard work. There will be needs, schedules, temptations, and pain. It's life.

Like my Heavenly Father, I persist and require Asher to go back to the real world where there are schedules to keep, more stringent rules to follow, and places to be that are not fun. In this world Asher has to make hard decisions. He fails, but also succeeds. This is the world where he will learn the most.

My Heavenly Father has led me to many mountaintop experiences. He has also led me to many valleys. In both experiences He has proven faithful. I am trusting Him today with my life.

I am also praying for friends that are in hospitals praying for those they love. I am praying for those that need jobs. I am praying for those that are heartbroken. I am praying for those that are afraid. I am praying for those that are in the valley trusting that God will see them through and thinking about that next mountaintop for them and the refreshment they will find for their soul.

Peace Is Possible in the Midst of Pain

Here is the rest of the story from the video we showed this morning.

God All to Myself

"...every believer may and must have his time when he is indeed himself alone with God. Oh, the thought to have God all alone to myself, and to know that God has me all alone to Himself!" --Andrew Murray

One of the great tragedies of life is the little time that we children give to our Heavenly Father. We rush about stressed out worried about so many things, when only one thing is needed that will not be taken from us when we engage in it. As we rest in God's presence meditating on His Word and His love for us, we receive a gift that nothing on earth can supply. There is in that sweet place strength, peace, joy, hope, forgiveness, inspiration, encouragement, truth, renewal, creativity, courage, and so many other blessings that to list would take all morning.

Each morning I read these free devotions:

http://www.blackaby.org/

http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/desert/

I use the M'Cheyne Reading System, which supplies a minimum of four chapters a day and enables me to read through the entire Bible each year.

How do you spend time alone with God?