Remembering September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001 is a day we’d all like to erase from our lives, but it is a day that we will never ever forget. I remember where I was when the mobile phone rang and my assistant, Angela, tried her best to explain to me what was happening up in New York City.

My first thoughts were these: World War III is underway. In hindsight, those words probably describe what began on September 11, 2001 better than any others. This war may look different than past world wars, but no one would doubt that there’s a raging battle underway on planet earth.

While I made my way back to our local church on that horrific day, one of my partners in ministry, Vic, was hooking up the cable TV news in the children’s church room. As we watched the film footage, we were all overwhelmed emotionally and surely speechless. Later that week, I put my thoughts on paper in the form of a sad song. As this is the eighth anniversary for remembering September 11, 2001, I thought I’d share the words of the sad song with you:

“September 11, 2001”
A Short Sad Song for One Long Day

September Eleventh, Two Thousand One,
a beautiful sunny day had begun.
When suddenly from out of the skies,
terror rained down and tears filled our eyes.

It was one minute past 8:45,
bad things were happening, trouble was nigh.
Madmen had hijacked four of our planes,
and used them as missiles to put us in flames.

Up in New York, towers were falling.
On bended knee, to God we were calling.
Before the nightmare came to a halt,
we knew in our hearts, it was our wake-up call.

(Chorus)
Lord, let us hear your voice.
And help us make the choice,
To make You Lord of our lives.
We need you so,
Down here below.
Embrace us.
Please hold us tight.
Yes, we need You Lord.

In closing, let me remind you that on that first Sunday after 9-11-2001, I preached on the Hope we have in our God. One Scripture selection I used was from The Message Paraphrase of the Holy Bible. It is found in 2 Corinthians 4: We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.

Let's remember September, and let's never forget that our Hope has a name -- JESUS. He is our Good News even in the face of Sad Days.

ALL JOY!
Grateful