September 10, 2007

  • September 11, 2001       We Have Not Forgotten

    I watched this footage live on that day… I saw the airliner plunge into the second building and explode.

    2,974 innocent lives were taken. We still mourn for them. Yet they did
    not die without honor. They witness to the value and purpose that God
    has for the lives he has given us; our own and that of others. They
    remind us that every day is precious and each person He brings in our
    lives are precious gifts from Him.  They also remind us of other things.

    It reminded me why God said, “Do not murder.”  And yet some folks think
    that they are greater than God to do something like this and then claim
    that God told them to do it.


    Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

    Galatians 6:7 (NASB)

    It is also clear why He destroyed the world in the Flood saving only
    Noah and his family, because of its continual violence and corruption. 
    It is clear that such violence and corruption has returned today… just
    as in the days of Noah and just as He said it would in the Bible. It
    reminds me that God knows what’s going on and knows the plans of the
    evil one even before they are committed.

    It also reminded me of what God really desires from man.


    He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of
    you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your
    God?      Micah 6:8 (NASB)

    and also,


    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and
    dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the
    law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you
    should have done without neglecting the others.     Matthew 23:23 (NASB)

    Such a thing would have never happened if the people who did this truly
    believed in God. It doesn’t matter how many times one bows and prays
    before God, if one is not just, merciful, kind, humble, and faithful,
    their worship is rejected. I remember seeing the video when these folks
    were rejoicing in the wickedness they had done and it was revealed to
    me that Jesus said it rightly…


    You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of
    your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in
    the truth because there is no truth in him  Whenever he speaks a lie,
    he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
    lies.      John 8:44 (NASB)

    But yet perhaps their worship and service to the devil was praised? Who knows?

    Yet, there is more…

    It reminds me of God’s mercy.  When we see such acts and injustice
    committed against innocent people, one wonders why God just doesn’t
    shut everything down and judge this wickedness, then I remember…


    But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for
    fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But
    do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the
    Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one
    day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness,
    but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
    come to repentance.     II Peter 3:7-9 (NASB)

    And we see that He is only waiting to take care of all of it so that
    everyone who will may come to Him. What we have seen has brought some
    of their followers to their senses and they have turned away from error
    and turned to God all over the world.

    It also reminds me that God does this when we don’t deserve it and makes it available to all…


    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.      Romans 5:8 (NASB)

    and He makes the call for you to consider your own life. Rejection of
    the true God yields a story that brought the devastation and
    destruction into the date of 9/11, yet acceptance of His Son, Jesus
    Christ as Lord and Savior is the only way to life and peace in Him and
    redeems the message that hell brought to the world and creates a new
    life for those who believe.


    But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR
    HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you
    confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that
    God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a
    person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
    confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER
    BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." For there is no distinction
    between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in
    riches for all who call on Him; for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF
    THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."     Romans 10:8-13 (NASB)

    Life is too short not to know Christ as your Savior. Mr.Vee


Comments (5)

  • I don't care whether people "know Christ as their savior".  I care whether they really understand what Christians mean when we say that Jesus is the Christ.  I am not a pietist ("ask Jesus into your heart" or "pray to receive Christ") or an evangelical ("Christ as savior").  What really matters is that people really understand what it means that Christ has come into the world--including God's total foreknowledge and control of history, His plan of salvation from the foundation of the world, the verification of Jesus' credentials that He is the Christ, etc.  I don't know what kind of label to put on my theology--I just call it "Christian".  Most Christians don't have a problem with it--it's very encompassing and solidly biblical.  If people really believe that Jesus is the Christ, they will indubitably call upon Him for salvation.

  • Hmmm...sounds like we're all on the same page to me...just different ways to explain it.  Where I think there is a difference with people is between the term "Christian" and "Christ-Follower".  I've known so many people who are no more true believers in Christ than Bin Ladin...yet they attach the label "Christian" to themselves.  I grew up in a mixed home...my father was Jewish and my mother was...non-Jewish.  However, we all considered my mother (and my sister and I as well) as "Christians" because we were not Jewish.  We were far from being true "Christians".  I work with dozens of non-Christian "Christians" here at my job everyday.  So, when you use the word "Christian", does it really mean much?  It should....but more times than not, it doesn't mean a thing.  When someone describes themselves as a "Christ-follower"...just look out!  Now they become targets of persecution, and ridicule by the world and also surprisingly by the non-Christian "Christians".  Why?  Because saying you are a "Christian" in the eyes of the world lumps you in with the other hundred million religions around the world.  Stating you are a "Christ-follower" or even that "Christ is your Saviour" puts you in a catagory all by itself. 

  • we had missionaries from turkey speak in our church on sunday, most turkish people think that all americans are christians, they also believe that what they see portrayed on tv is the way of american life, scary stuff.

  • One thing that upsets me is that terrorists are so evil that they will actually "celebrate" 9/11 with more killings. Also, they are killing not only inocent westerners, but also people from Afganistan and Iraq, which means that they don't even like Muslims. I just hope that more and more Muslim people will see that and reject their ideas (and embrace Christ!!!)

    Blessings

  • Hi, all... Thanks for your comments... Sorry I've been busy with work stuff and its taking a while to get back here.

    Soccerdad - I think that you really do care. If you did't, you wouldn't have the heart of the Father who sent His Son to die for us.

    Rob4Life - Thanks for giving us some perspective. We need that a lot.

    illgrindmyownthankyou - The message that needs to go out is that TV is "make believe". Sure, one sees pictures yet there is no context on which to base them. So the news isn't really "fact". I know this. I once took courses on television production and I know how to skew opinion just by camera angles and lighting. I can't stand to watch TV anymore because I see "them" deceiving everyone to match what they want you to believe. It goes well beyond this but most people know this but conveniently forget.

    BibBlog - Yes, the Muslims have much internal conflict. All you have to do is read their "book" and understand that it was written for the "entrapment" of the mind. There is no liberty nor salvation in there. It is a form of what God said would happen when one rejects the salvation offered by Christ. There is a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of fire that will consume God's adversaries. (Heb 10:26-27) This is the message of the Koran. The death and fire is their expectation and they are obsessed with it. So they kill themselves and others and force everyone to believe in the condemnation they have within themselves. So we need to understand that it is liberty to trust in Christ where the judgment was already passed on the Cross for our sin. Actually, if one rejects Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, what they believe is all that is left... i.e. the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of Fire. Anything else is deception. Blessings, Mr.Vee

Comments are closed.

Post a Comment