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Posts Tagged ‘9/11’

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep , we should live together with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-10

The Evil Ploy

Terrorism is a psychological tactic of the enemy, the purpose of which is to instill crippling fear in those who have a [real or imagined] personal attachment to its victims. Therefore, the terrorist, given a choice of killing ten men with a gun or savagely beheading just one with a dull knife, will opt for the latter because of its horrifying, emotional impact. Of course modern terrorism has gained greater momentum because there exists a media that will transmit these images around the globe within minutes of their occurrence; audio and video snippets awash with fear-filled analysis from an equally fearful commentator. We watch, we pause a moment to consider the future, and typically, we succumb to this evil ploy of the enemy – we are afraid.

Is there a remedy?

The terrorist knows we will pause to speculate upon the future, trusting our imaginative gaze will likely freeze at a point where his heinous acts could affect us most directly. Oh, he wants us looking forward, but only so far; he wants to keep our projections inside the box; a house of horror designed by satan himself. The enemy also knows if a Christian looks too far into the future, the fear he has will subside and eventually disappear. Therein lies our solution.

We’ve heard it said, “The next time satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.”

To that I say, don’t waste your time; satan knows Bible scripture better than you and I rom 8– he knows perfectly well what his future holds. This time could be better used to remind ourselves what our future holds, skipping over the ‘box’ entirely and gazing full-throttle into eternity, considering the reality of a blessed infinity. Thankfully, the Bible has much to say on the matter (click on the hyperlinks as needed).

First off, we have a future and a hope, our strength will be renewed, our Lord and Savior has overcome and so shall we, and we have a promised rest and a promised inheritance prepared by God Himself! This is no secret, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed…The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with (us).”

Need more of a glimpse?

Right now we are God’s children and when Jesus appears we shall be like Him. Our citizenship is most assuredly in heaven. We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit…the guarantee of our inheritance. We are fellow heirs with Christ Jesus, adopted by God, grafted into the vine, and made the very bride of Christ.

We need not fear!

Remember in Luke 8 how Jesus instructed his disciples to set out in their boat to go over to the other side of the lake? They obeyed, but a great storm came about and they immediately panicked. Jesus said to them, Where is your faith?” Where was their faith indeed! Didn’t Jesus say they were going to cross the lake? Jesus cannot lie. When Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place for us, He was telling the truth – like the disciples, we will cross over — where Jesus is, we will be too!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

What do we do in the meantime?

Keep doing what you’re doing (unless of course you’re doing nothing). Go to work, go to school, be a parent, be a friend, be a loving and outspoken Christian, and do it all for the glory of God, praying constantly for opportunities divine, and most importantly ‘teaching all nations (and) baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ Remember, in the darkness of terrorism, you may be the only light in the room.’

Our future is so bright the light of eternity can be seen on our faces, so let’s not cover it with a veil of fear.

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The following passages would have been a part of my Bible study on September 11, 2001

” Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living.” (Psalm 52:1-5)

And…

“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no *God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God? There they are in great fear Where no fear was, For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you; You have put them to shame, Because God has despised them.”
(Psalm 53:1-5)

*Please take note…

Some will read Psalm 53:1 and protest that Muslims do believe in God. Yes they do. But please know that the god of Islam is a false god. The false prophet Mohammad worshipped a moon deity and took the God of the Bible and perverted Him into a god that does not exist. It would be like me saying, “Mohammed was a woman dentist.” That’s just not true.

Pray For Our Enemies

oneWe can debate it all we want, but praying for our enemies is what Christians are commanded to do. Does this mean we cannot defend ourselves? No, that’s not what it means. We’re called to love our enemies too, but again that does not mean we’re to be defenseless.  So love and pray!

What then should we pray?

That Muslims would come to know the One true and Living God, and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is their only hope (and our only hope) for peace. And please don’t say this will never happen, for it will happen. It is happening. Thousands of Muslims; millions of Muslims have come to know Christ Jesus in a personal and saving way! Be persistent in prayer. The Jesus that went to the cross for your sins went to the cross for their sins too.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)

I understand that’s a tough message to swallow on 9/11.

Do it anyway and bless God.

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So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man. Judges 20:11

An Incensed Israel

What got Israel so fired up? In the previous chapter, a woman was horribly abused and killed at the hands of the Benjamites, a tribe of Israel—the account is one of the most bizarre stories in the Old Testament. It was seen as an act of terrorism against the nation of Israel as a whole; a wake-up call of sorts. The men of Israel mobilized in order that they could mete-out revenge for the travesty. And a travesty it was; in the first battle Israel would lose twenty-two thousand men; in the second battle, eighteen thousand—a full ten percent of their righteous army was wiped out by these Benjamite terrorists. How could this be?

God is on Our Side!

God unquestionably was on Israel’s side; the problem was that Israel was not on His side. The very last sentence of the Book of Judges sums up precisely where Israel’s priorities were, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” Judges 21:25. What seemed right to Israel (in those days) was revenge; fueled by hatred and they chose to rally around vengeance rather than God.

Israel Figures it Out

Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” Judges 20:26-28

Israel repents. Her sin was having become united in a cause, a mission, and a ministry, rather then being submitted to the God who guides us in all these things. Why is it so tragic and sinful to rally around a cause? Because when a cause is our motivator, after it is realized, any harmony that had developed as a result of it will ultimately break down. Don’t believe that to be true? Consider where the United States of America was as a nation in the days, weeks, and months subsequent to September 11 and where we are now almost ten years later.

A Look Back

As a nation our zeal was for retaliation and rightly so! We gathered together as ancient Israel did before the Lord and asked Him not of His plans, but that He would bless our plans as we sought our vengeance. I submit to you that when we proceeded with our agenda, God was indeed on our side, but we were not on His. Consider when was ancient Israel given the victory–after they fully humbled themselves and repented of their wicked ways. That godly principle has not changed one iota. Terrorism, earthquakes, tsunamis all serve to awake and unify nations, but when they do we would be well to remember to rally around the King and not the cause.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14


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