War

I was at work when I first heard the news. Someone said the television was on in the conference room so I went to have a look. Oh my goodness.

The second plane hadn't hit yet. Everyone was thinking it was just a terrible accident that we were witnessing. Then the second plane came into view and it hit the second tower.

Okay, what is going on? It slowly began to sink in that this was intentional. And after that, all of our lives changed. We never looked at ANYTHING the same after the events of that day.

I was not a Christian back then. That would happen five years down the road. But 9/11 was the beginning of the realization that we were living in a world that was at war. A spiritual war. And we had just been attacked.

It doesn't matter where we were. It doesn't matter who the people were who attacked us. What matters is we ARE at war. Whether we want this war or not is irrelevant. We have it. The question is, how will we respond?

First, we must respond with prayer. Praying for the innocent victims of that horrible day, pray for the fire responders who, even today, are losing their lives from the carcinogens they inhaled that day. But pray also for our enemies. Jesus commanded us to do that in Matthew 5:44b. But most of all realize that we are now at war against an unseen enemy. We must stand tall in God's army. We will prevail. But only if we follow the orders handed down by our King. That we must stand and that we must love one another.

"10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:10-17

As I type this I hear thunder in the distance. That tells me a storm is coming. The events of 9/11 were the thunder of a coming storm in this country. How will we prepare?

Budweiser 9/11 Ad

The Day After

There is a difference between how we feel the day of a major event like 9/11 and the day after. It is the difference between unbelief and reality, between captivity and freedom, between loneliness and love.

In the moment, we are not thinking rationally. We react. The day after, we think more than the day before. We begin to cope.

I remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. Exactly. Most people remember where they were and what they were doing. We tend not to remember the day after because it was part of the coping process. Part of who we are today.

9/11 changed a lot of things. The Sunday after 9/11 for example, church attendance soared. Why? Perhaps it was because we were seeking some kind of safety in the constancy of God.

The disciples, the day after Jesus was crucified, were scattered. Maybe they got together and talked about what had just happened. If Jesus truly WAS God, how could He die like that? They were afraid and in hiding. Eternal life is a tough sell when the one who promised it had just died.

God is our one constant through life. He is there at the beginning. He will be there at the end. And in between He walks with us, comforts us, teaches us and loves us. He is there the day before our biggest battle is even on the radar.

He is there as we transition from birth to life outside the womb. From a hospital bed to life eternal, He is there. In a broken relationship He is there. Through the unbelief, through the coping, helping us pick up pieces and put them back together.

What was it like, the day after? It is grabbing a hold of the pieces you have left and fitting them together as best as you can. Then we move on from there, forgetting that God is the glue that holds us together.

The day after 9/11 we all vowed to "never forget" and "always remember". However that is not our nature. We tend to cope and move on in our self-reliance. We will rebuild! We tend to leave behind the very God that helped us through just the day before.

God wants us to always remember Him. To always honor him. Not for just an hour on Sunday, but every hour of every day. There should be no "day after" in our love for Jesus. It should be every day.

Today is the day after 9/11. It is the first day of the rest of your life. Live it, not for yourself, but for God. That is how we can honor Him and remember Him. By living FOR Him.

"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." - John 5:24

The Commands of Jesus: Turn The Other Cheek

"But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." - Matthew 5:39

Have you ever been slapped in the face? I haven't. Maybe I just never did anything bad enough to warrant being slapped. I have been SPANKED but never slapped.

Even though I have never experienced being slapped I am pretty sure I would NOT willingly desire to be slapped in the face again. I base this on my experience of being spanked as a disobedient child. I never said, "Thank you, may I have another?" Getting spanked brings a whole new meaning to turning the other "cheek." So what exactly did Jesus mean when He commanded us to turn the other cheek?

I think what Jesus is looking for is for us to be slow to act out in anger. At least initially. But I also think He wants us to go beyond that. To think before we act. Maybe by turning the other cheek we have an opportunity to do that.

I also think that by turning the other cheek we have an opportunity to demonstrate to our "slapper" that we love them too much to slap them back. I guess what I am trying to say is that . . . what would Jesus do in that situation. Let's go to the Bible. We are going to read about Jesus being questioned near the end of His life. He is about to get slapped.

"19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest."  - John 18:19-24

Jesus did not retaliate against His captors. He reasoned with them. He made them think.

When people hurt us do we strike back at them? I have seen many people doing this very thing on Facebook. They lash out at who ever hurt them. By doing so thay aren't doing ANYBODY any good.

I think what Jesus wants us to do when someone hurts us is to not say anything. Let them not see that we have been hurt at all. In fact, I think Jesus would want us to pray for the person who just hit us.

"43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," - Matthew 5:43-44

The next time someone attacks you, either physically or emotionally, don't strike back. Instead pray for them. Ask them what's wrong, that they would lash out at you. Jesus wants us to love our neighbors but that is a story from a future installment of The Commands of Jesus.

Time for a tough question. In light of this command from Jesus, to turn the other cheek, to not retaliate against our enemies, what do you think we as a nation should have done after 9/11? Should we have done nothing? Did we act appropriately in God's eyes? I'm not saying we did wrong. Perhaps we were being used by God to punish the people who killed innocent people. Did the leaders of our country ask us to pray for our enemies? Something to think about.


Budweiser Superbowl Commercial 2011