9/11: One Nation Under God

"What in the world is happening?" May not have been what I was exactly thinking, but it was going through my mind on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. As President George W. Bush had not been in office too long, I had not been in full-time ministry too long when this major catastrophe happened. For me, it had just been a few months since I started ministry and this event rocked me personally and professionally. I was not even prepared to handle the congregation in this situation. It was definitely a day I will never forget.

It was a day that probably anyone from 10 years of age on up (on that day) will remember. It impacted our nation, communities, schools, and families so much that it was searing on our emotional canvases.

As we are a nation founded on biblical principles, resolving to remain "one nation under God" is a must for Christians. They must resolve to keep their faith a priority when it comes to decisions as citizens in this country (aka voting). As we reflected on 9/11 on Sunday, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Pray ~ Pray for our country - its leaders, its protection, its service departments. Pray for our community. Pray for the victims' families. Pray for our enemies. There is seemingly so many things to be praying for, regarding this event. What would you add?
• Stand Up ~ When you feel strongly for something that affects your freedom, stand strong for it. Whether you're right or wrong; win or lose, to stand up for what you believe in has a lot of respect within the action.
• Understand Our Vulnerabilities ~ As a country, we felt our vulnerabilities attacked. Probably no one thought that someone would plan such a horrific act - taking planes and using them as missiles. If there would have been any suspicion, I would bet that our defenses would have been incredibly high. However, our defenses were low and our country attacked causing 3000+ killed on that day. Additionally, we must keep in mind our vulnerability when it comes to our soul. Satan is always trying to attack our weak areas. What are your weak areas? Acknowledge them, so you know how to protect them.
• Strength Does Not Mean Strong ~ As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 33:16 regarding a king not being safe no matter the size of his army, I am reminded that our country may be one of the best armed military countries in the world, we are still not strong. A country that is committing itself to God is going to be strong. God makes the country strong and can bring down any size of army/country in an instant! May we keep our country one that relies on God to help keep up its strength.

Our country is one that millions of people in the world wish they could live in. We are blessed to have such a country. May our nation remain fixed on its biblical principles of which it was founded. With these principles in tact, let us continue to be "one nation under God!"

Now it's you're turn...What are your thoughts after reading the post?...

Mayday, Mayday!

It has been nearly ten years since the 9/11 attacks. The attacks used airplanes loaded with innocent people as “living missiles.” People were probably doing a lot of screaming as planes were headed downward or into one of the buildings, or as they were impacted by the planes hitting different buildings.

“Mayday” comes from a French word m’aider, which means “come help me.” Whether it was 9/11, the Titanic, earthquakes, tsunamis, or countless other emergency situations, people are needing help.

One of the cool mysteries of the Bible is the lineage or genealogy of Jesus. From Adam and Eve, clear through Joseph and Mary, Jesus’ lineage has been filled with some interesting characters. Also intertwined in this lineage are situations that, to you and me, almost caused Jesus to not happen, but God prevails through any situation.

Sunday, we looked at this “emergency” side of the lineage of Jesus – times when Jesus was in trouble, in one form or another. However, though it all, God prevailed. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week… (to review the texts/subjects covered, click here to listen/watch the recap)

• Out of Control Life, In Control God ~ Within the texts, we see situations like Cain killing Abel or Hezekiah getting sick or Jesus so hungry He needs bread. There are situations in our life that makes it seem like things are just totally out of control. However, even in the midst of any chaos, God is always in control – not only in the lives of “Bible” people, but in ours as well.
• Tempted? Resist! ~ I cannot imagine what hunger Jesus must have felt after being in the desert for 40 days! It would have been real tempting to fall into that first temptation. I think we all have been in a situation where you feel you can eat about anything due to hunger. Jesus was probably there. He resisted, so can we…let’s do it – even if it seems life is going down in a hurry.
• Do Something With Your Salvation ~ If there was no Jesus (Click here to watch Acappella’s song on YouTube of “If There Were No God”) then we’d be without a future, without hope, without eternal joy…just plain WITHOUT! Since there is a God and His Son, let’s do something with our salvation by bringing a light to someone’s day. Use your talents to make someone see your faith!

Can you hear it??? People hollering out as their life is going down…Mayday, Mayday! aka come help me!!!  Let’s go and help them!!!