How should we remember 9/11?

September 11th holds a special place in my heart. It was a catastrophic day that changed the course of my existence. I give thanks to God for that day (not for the terror, but for the good that God wrought from the terror). I look back and think often of the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. God exalted Joseph, making him second only to Pharaoh in the kingdom of Egypt and eventually Joseph ends up saving his own brothers from famine. Upon finding out that it is Joseph whom they sold (the punishment for which is death) they seek his forgiveness to which he replies in Genesis 50:

"Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

My soul leaps at this statement because it fits me precisely. About a year after joining the Marines on October 4th, 2001 (because of 9/11) I gave my life to Jesus and asked His forgiveness for my sins and the way I had lived my selfish life. I saw that though wicked men had meant the terror attacks of that fateful day for evil, God had used it for my gain and saved my life.

The anger, fear and loathing I felt in those days has been replaced by a foundation of love, trust and hope in Christ so that I may now repeat after the Psalmist in chapter 91:

³ Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

I say all this to suggest that you remember 9/11 not for the violence of the day, but for the heroism of the human heart that was exposed in so many people. Search your heart for those qualities you saw that made you proud and emulate them: The sacrifice people made when they laid down their lives for their friends and strangers, the firefighters and police who climbed the stairs into the inferno, the military personnel who served, the ones who lined up for blocks to donate blood, money, teddy bears and anything else that would bring healing and comfort. Remember the flags that flew from car windows, off of bridges and out of windows. Remember the smiles, nods, handshakes and conversations we had with strangers in those following weeks when we all saw with clarity the importance and need of a loving community.

For you Christians, remember the call from 1 Peter 2 and be that community others would seek to join in the face of distress and calamity:

"...you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light... Keep your conduct among [unbelievers] honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God... For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God."

Keep the faith, do not be afraid and never lose hope. We do God's work and He has already won!

Those in charge or protecting us are unwilling to label evil.

President Obama has allowed a murderer to get off lightly in public opinion after massacring 14 people at Fort Hood by telling us "not to jump to conclusions." The Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Casey, has allowed a murderer to get off lightly, thus destroying the morale of our war fighters, by telling us "it would be an even greater tragedy if... our diversity becomes a casualty here." The FBI has allowed a murderer to get off lightly in the eyes of justice by saying it's "not an act of terrorism." Well what the hell is it exactly when you have psychotic, terrorist links to your murderous actions? It is treason mixed with a healthy dose of terrorism and if not dealt with we will all be victims of its deadly embrace. Call evil what it is and fight it or say goodbye to the tenuous liberties that others earned for you to enjoy. All it takes is one generation that lacks the willingness to stand for truth to lose liberty for themselves and all those who come after.

An excellent article by Mark Steyn can be found here.

The absolute confusion behind our failures.

"Breaking The Habit" by Linkin Park

This song is probably the world's best answer to what troubles it; namely confusion. Consider the chorus:

I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not alright
So I'm breaking the habit
Tonight

The world cannot give a satisfactory answer to the evils surrounding us. In fact, the mere mention of evil determines that the person mentioning it believes in good. But where does goodness and evilness come from since we can comprehend it when we see it? It cannot be ambiguous or morally relative as we are prone to be. Apart from one above us who defines it and holds us accountable to it we cannot give a satisfactory answer. Let's look at it from a personal perspective.

It's easy to view the world and realize how messed up it is without considering our own hearts. We should be asking ourselves whether or not we are living a life that is reflective of Truth. Most of us look at the world and see how evil it is but don't look at our own hearts and see the wickedness that is trapped within. However, we cannot shrug away the piercing eye of that truth or else there would be no place for our feelings of guilt and shame. Such feelings demand that there be a consequence for the actions that led to such emotions. We would not feel guilty of our actions if we did not realize that we deserved judgment for what we have done.

How is your truth reflected in your life? Does what you believe match up with how you live? Who will suffer the consequences of your guilt? Justice demands that it be paid for. Either you will pay the cost of disobedience towards the One who gives Truth or One who lived perfectly according to the Truth will pay the cost for you. To clarify, a segment of Isaiah 53 speaking of that Savior is given below:

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

As to the world's answer, you have it in its entirety below. The actual video is below the lyrics.

Memories consume
Like opening the wound
I'm picking me apart again
You all assume
I'm safe here in my room
Unless I try to start again

[Bridge:]
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused

[Chorus:]
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not alright
So I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit
Tonight

Clutching my cure
I tightly lock the door
I try to catch my breath again
I hurt much more
Than anytime before
I had no options left again

[Bridge:]
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused

[Chorus:]...

[Bridge:]
I'll paint it on the walls
'Cause I'm the one at fault
I'll never fight again
And this is how it ends

[Chorus:]...

Hope amidst the hopelessness.

I have often wondered what the Christian church would be like nowadays if it were just coming out of the system of laws and ceremonies that God had established prior to the New Covenant. To be obligated to commit sacrifices for every personal sin at one's own expense would be a difficult burden to bear. Then to know that the high priest once a year would still have to go make intercession for sins by entering into God's presence behind the veil of the Holy of Holies... Where would our hope be? What would be the purpose of our sacrifice? All it could show us was our poverty of spirit. However, what else could give us cause to trust in Christ were we not destitute?

I would feel dispossessed knowing that there was no sacrifice capable of being given by me that would be able to cleanse me of my blood guilt. God desires mercy over sacrifice but I am not merciful. How great my need for a Savior Messiah is! To know that God looks at my heart and finds my sacrifice useless should be crushing but, Oh! To know that He looks at Christ's heart and finds him pleasing for us!

God, in love, gave His Son to be our scapegoat in order that He could bring to fruition His scripture in Romans 12:1 where it is written, "I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship." Through Christ's merciful and deathly sacrifice, we may now live mercifully: A sacrifice of life. We love because He first loved us!

Because of this love, I can share with you some bits of the horror stories from the Rwandan genocide and how God's love has enabled murderers to find forgiveness from God and victims to forgive those who murdered their families. These glimpses into evil (and good's power to overcome it) come from Christianity Today in an article entitled "Reconcilable Differences."

When the killings began, [Felicita] Mukabakunda, a Tutsi, hid in nearby marshes while [Marc] Sahabo and other Hutus went on their rampage. She overheard them say that they planned to take turns raping her before killing her. She also heard Sahabo say he had killed her father, her uncle, and four other family members.

[Surviving the genocide] Mukabakunda learned that 29 family members-including 16 brothers and sisters-had been murdered.

Felicita speaks of the hatred she harbored in her heart towards Marc and how she wanted him to die a "slow, painful death," preferably at her hands. Facing this hatred that works in the hearts of both groups of tribesman, Theo Mushinzimana, the in-country director of Rwanda Partners (RP) says, "When you have a Tutsi who has forgiven, this is huge. It's a process that requires great truth-truth that only God's Word can make possible."

A Rwandan Anglican priest by the name of Nyirindekwe Celestin tells of confession and reconcilitation only being possible through Christ:

It's very hard to forgive a killer. It takes power from above to transform a person. Our main focus isn't to tell people to forgive, but ot accept Jesus as their Savior, and let him transform you. Only then can you forgive.

One program of reconciliation invites the victims and perpetrators without either knowing that they will meet together face-to-face. It is part of the healing process as the victims are able to pour out 15 years of pent up hatred and, under the watchful eye of local police, takes most of the first day. The arbitrator of this program, Rugirangoga, says, "The killers do not say anything. They are insulted and spat upon, but they keep quiet, because they feel guilty, and they want these people to forgive them."

This takes us back to Marc Sahabo and Mukabakunda Felicita. Felicita was encouraged on numerous occasions by her brother to forgive Marc for the murder of her family. The soil of Marc's heart had been plowed by the Spirit and he came seeking forgiveness. He says, "My heart was changed by Jesus. I wanted to ask the victims for forgiveness, to tell them I was no longer the killer they used to know."

When they finally met face to face, Sahabo got down on his knees before Mukabakunda, folded his hands, confessed his crimes, and begged for mercy. Mukabakunda put her hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eyes, and said simply, "I forgive you."

Sahabo felt like he "just came out of a shower, a clean man, except it was like a holy shower, because I felt clean on the inside." For Mukabakunda, a heavy burden lifted, and the migraine headaches and nightmares she had suffered for ten years immediately disappeared and have not returned.

Marc and Felicita are now best friends and their families spend much time with one another. The two friends now ride a bike between villages sharing the story of the power of God's grace and His healing power.

"I'm not scared of him anymore," says Mukabakunda. "Without Jesus, I'd go back to hating Marc. But because of Jesus, I have forgiven Marc, and I love him now."