Remembering 9-11



"Blessed is the nation..."



In our Men’s Prayer Group this morning we sang, America the Beautiful. The less familiar third verse says, “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!” I thought, in general, of the 3000 people who were murdered eleven years ago. But I thought, in particular, of the many first responders—all those people who voluntarily placed themselves in harm’s way.

For all of us who were adults on this day eleven years ago, we will never forget their valor.

It’s remarkable to think back to how the country responded. We were united and we were humbled. There was wide-spread acknowledgment that—we need God. And people turned to God in prayer. Even our politicians. Even in Washington!

Eleven years later, in the midst of relative prosperity and safety, the old self-sufficiency has crept back in. There is not nearly as keen a national sense that we need God. And we are solidly in the grip of disunity.

Hmm? I wonder if there’s a pattern here? Humility and a wide-spread open recognition of our need for God produces—unity. Self-reliance, self-sufficiency and even eschewing God diminishes our national sense that we need God, and results in—disunity.

But I will always struggle to understand.

As the Islamist leaders openly acknowledge, “You love life; we love death.” Meanwhile, people continue to flock to this land of freedom and life. People continue to flee (or strive to) the oppressive, death loving regimes of the world.

In humility, and with a profound sense of reliance on God, the Psalmist said, “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).

Come Home

This post is from the current edition of The Message.

Have you ever noticed that when you are separated from your normal routine you miss some people or things more than others? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Absence will cause you to miss some things intensely, such as your husband or wife, your kids, high calorie/ high fat desserts. Absence will cause you to miss other things less and less. You didn’t miss not going to the dentist, did you? We say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

  But does it?

  It all depends on your personal passion.

  The observation is true, “Absence diminishes little passions and increases great ones, just as the wind blows out a candle and fans a fire.” Some who once had a passion for the Lord and His church are absent from both. Whether the wind of absence extinguishes your fire or fans it depends on your passion for God. If your passion for God, His people, and His activity is a little passion, you may already be growing comfortable in your absence. You may already be comfortable in filling the Lord’s day with the newspaper, reruns, and ball games.

  But if your passion for God, His people, and His activity is a great passion, you may already be growing increasingly uncomfortable in your absence. You may be continuously pressed with the nagging conclusion that you’re missing out on something meaningful, missing out on experiences and relationships that are irreplaceable. If you are, it is because you still have a great passion for God.

  So come back home. It’s never too late. It says in the Bible, “‘Return to me and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Mal.3:7). So come back home. You’ll find friends here. And you’ll find people who share your passion for God.