Word for Today, Thu, 20 Sep 2001: Can You Hear Me?

#1 · September 20, 2001, 3:46 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on September 20, 2001, 3:46 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Any time tragedy surrounds us, especially when it personally
affects us, we simply don't understand what's going on. That has
certainly been the case for virtually every American citizen, and
probably for everyone reading this message, whether a citizen, a
resident, or just someone interested in matters of faith.

One of the most common reactions to situations that are tragic
and beyond our comprehension is: "Where were you God?" or "How
can a righteous God allow..." A good understanding of scripture,
a searching spirit, and a faith to believe in what we cannot see
are essential to getting past those kinds of questions. We all
ask those kinds of questions. Perhaps some of us are asking them
right now.

Larry Davies continues in a discussion of these things. The
answers are not laid out today, but the framework is there.
Though the answers are not contained in this note, be assured
that there is a God. He cares. He knows what's going on. He is
also completely in control, though we may not visibly see it at
the moment.

Do any of you know the song by Mark Schultz called "He's My Son?"
The song has broken onto the popular music scene, though it was
originally written as a song in memory of a family whose son
suffered from Leukemia. The words are powerful. Here's just a
snip of words from the song:

"God, who he needs right now is You..."
"Can You hear me? Can I take his place somehow? He is not just
anyone. He's my son!"

My wife and I now have a copy of the CD with that song on it. My
wife's brother, Tom, is suffering with Leukemia. We realize that
what we all need right now is God. But as we listened carefully
to the words, we realized that God has ALREADY given His Son for
us! What a great gift of love! Do you think that God could
possibly understand the pain of loss? I think so... no, much
more than that. I KNOW SO!

Let's read what Larry's comments are, and await the ongoing
discussion of this tragedy. As we think about it, think about
the love of God. If He loved us enough to give us the life of
His OWN Son, don't you think He also loves us enough to help us
cope with all tragedies, even the recent ones?

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: "Sowing Seeds of Faith..." <sowseeds@nesbeonline.com>
Subject: September 11, 2001: A Response

** Important Note: Please accept my apologies if you are
receiving this twice. There are some glitches in the program and
I'm still trying to find them.

A special thanks to Kirsten Porter and excerpts from her moving
lament, "One Nation Under God." The conclusion to the lament and
the column will come next week.

Sowing Seeds of Faith:

September 11, 2001: A Response, by Larry Davies

God, where were you yesterday? I looked for you everywhere! You
were so hard to find! My father came home from Bible study,
dropped his car keys, a bag of groceries, his Bible to the
counter and looked at me: "This is a crazy world," he said in a
voice pained and flat. I did not understand until he turned on
the T.V. God did you see?

The television flashed black and white footage of two hijacked
planes flying into New York crashing into the World Trade twin
towers God where were you? New Yorkers ran through the streets
tucking their faces in their shirts. The ash and smoke, death
and dying were all around in my America?

There were men and women: did you see them, God? Jumping from
the buildings like birds with clipped wings. Did you hold their
hands when they made the leap into your world? The Trade
buildings came tumbling down like a child's wooden block tower.
God did you see?
-- From "One Nation Under God" by Kirsten Porter

There are days recorded in history, so crucial, so memorable that
we even remember the details of where we were when the event
occurred: Stock Market Crash, Pearl Harbor, The President Kennedy
Assassination, The Challenger Explosion, The Oklahoma City
Bombing. Now we add, September 11, 2001 as a day, which will
forever be seared in our brain as a day of unspeakable horror.

There was the corporate president who was delayed taking his son
to school. Upon hearing the news, he rushed to his world trade
center office and even went partly up the stairs before being
forced back. All seven hundred employees are missing. He cried
and cried before national TV cameras and vowed to keep the
corporation running in order to support those seven hundred
families.

There are the firemen and rescue workers working tirelessly night
and day, digging through tons of wreckage hoping to find any sign
of life. Through cell phone calls, we learned of several
passengers who assaulted the hijackers in the fourth plane and
averted another possible attack aimed at the Capital or the
White House. But what a price they paid for their
bravery. Kirsten continues her poem:

God, I tried to eat yesterday but my cereal tasted like ash and
death. God, I tried to sleep yesterday but my heart hurt and I
kept waking to the memories of police officers pulling people
from the wreckage like treasures from a buried chest. Brave
firefighters choking on smoke and tears fighting the fires, the
death. Americans saving themselves, each other and then I found
you, God.

An email from a church member: "Here is a question that I have
pondered since the bombing. In the Old Testament there are
numerous accounts of battles, many of which involved tremendous
loss of life. These were warranted and often (but not always)
threaded with statements that God was on the side of the victors.
In the New Testament Jesus tells us we should turn the other
cheek: Pretty blunt."

"To me this presents a real paradox. My initial feelings were
shock, followed by anger, followed by a desire for
retaliation. Part of me wants to say we follow the words of
Jesus and turn the other cheek, but honestly my strongest
feelings are toward solving the problem, which would result in a
massive loss of life. I have heard comments that God can
forgive; His forgiveness does not remove the consequences of
your actions. If the U.S. doesn't take care of our enemies, they
will continue to escalate attacks against the free world. If we
do take care of them, a lot of innocent people will suffer. My
gut feeling is these concerns are chewing away in our minds."
Thanks. Ray

Next Week : Answers: Now what? How should we respond as
Christians: As Americans?

Katy, one of our subscribers sent this very interesting site of
reactions around the world:
people.delphi.com/andybeals/thankyou.htm

Sowing Seeds of Faith... Weekly devotions with ATTITUDE, humor,
great stories and a down-to-earth Bible study.

Would you like to receive twice weekly prayer needs from around
the world? Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
Donate cash, emergency relief information
dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

Any time tragedy surrounds us, especially when it personally
affects us, we simply don't understand what's going on. That has
certainly been the case for virtually every American citizen, and
probably for everyone reading this message, whether a citizen, a
resident, or just someone interested in matters of faith.

One of the most common reactions to situations that are tragic
and beyond our comprehension is: "Where were you God?" or "How
can a righteous God allow..." A good understanding of scripture,
a searching spirit, and a faith to believe in what we cannot see
are essential to getting past those kinds of questions. We all
ask those kinds of questions. Perhaps some of us are asking them
right now.

Larry Davies continues in a discussion of these things. The
answers are not laid out today, but the framework is there.
Though the answers are not contained in this note, be assured
that there is a God. He cares. He knows what's going on. He is
also completely in control, though we may not visibly see it at
the moment.

Do any of you know the song by Mark Schultz called "He's My Son?"
The song has broken onto the popular music scene, though it was
originally written as a song in memory of a family whose son
suffered from Leukemia. The words are powerful. Here's just a
snip of words from the song:

"God, who he needs right now is You..."
"Can You hear me? Can I take his place somehow? He is not just
anyone. He's my son!"

My wife and I now have a copy of the CD with that song on it. My
wife's brother, Tom, is suffering with Leukemia. We realize that
what we all need right now is God. But as we listened carefully
to the words, we realized that God has ALREADY given His Son for
us! What a great gift of love! Do you think that God could
possibly understand the pain of loss? I think so... no, much
more than that. I KNOW SO!

Let's read what Larry's comments are, and await the ongoing
discussion of this tragedy. As we think about it, think about
the love of God. If He loved us enough to give us the life of
His OWN Son, don't you think He also loves us enough to help us
cope with all tragedies, even the recent ones?

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: "Sowing Seeds of Faith..." <sowseeds@nesbeonline.com>
Subject: September 11, 2001: A Response

** Important Note: Please accept my apologies if you are
receiving this twice. There are some glitches in the program and
I'm still trying to find them.

A special thanks to Kirsten Porter and excerpts from her moving
lament, "One Nation Under God." The conclusion to the lament and
the column will come next week.

Sowing Seeds of Faith:

September 11, 2001: A Response, by Larry Davies

God, where were you yesterday? I looked for you everywhere! You
were so hard to find! My father came home from Bible study,
dropped his car keys, a bag of groceries, his Bible to the
counter and looked at me: "This is a crazy world," he said in a
voice pained and flat. I did not understand until he turned on
the T.V. God did you see?

The television flashed black and white footage of two hijacked
planes flying into New York crashing into the World Trade twin
towers God where were you? New Yorkers ran through the streets
tucking their faces in their shirts. The ash and smoke, death
and dying were all around in my America?

There were men and women: did you see them, God? Jumping from
the buildings like birds with clipped wings. Did you hold their
hands when they made the leap into your world? The Trade
buildings came tumbling down like a child's wooden block tower.
God did you see?
-- From "One Nation Under God" by Kirsten Porter

There are days recorded in history, so crucial, so memorable that
we even remember the details of where we were when the event
occurred: Stock Market Crash, Pearl Harbor, The President Kennedy
Assassination, The Challenger Explosion, The Oklahoma City
Bombing. Now we add, September 11, 2001 as a day, which will
forever be seared in our brain as a day of unspeakable horror.

There was the corporate president who was delayed taking his son
to school. Upon hearing the news, he rushed to his world trade
center office and even went partly up the stairs before being
forced back. All seven hundred employees are missing. He cried
and cried before national TV cameras and vowed to keep the
corporation running in order to support those seven hundred
families.

There are the firemen and rescue workers working tirelessly night
and day, digging through tons of wreckage hoping to find any sign
of life. Through cell phone calls, we learned of several
passengers who assaulted the hijackers in the fourth plane and
averted another possible attack aimed at the Capital or the
White House. But what a price they paid for their
bravery. Kirsten continues her poem:

God, I tried to eat yesterday but my cereal tasted like ash and
death. God, I tried to sleep yesterday but my heart hurt and I
kept waking to the memories of police officers pulling people
from the wreckage like treasures from a buried chest. Brave
firefighters choking on smoke and tears fighting the fires, the
death. Americans saving themselves, each other and then I found
you, God.

An email from a church member: "Here is a question that I have
pondered since the bombing. In the Old Testament there are
numerous accounts of battles, many of which involved tremendous
loss of life. These were warranted and often (but not always)
threaded with statements that God was on the side of the victors.
In the New Testament Jesus tells us we should turn the other
cheek: Pretty blunt."

"To me this presents a real paradox. My initial feelings were
shock, followed by anger, followed by a desire for
retaliation. Part of me wants to say we follow the words of
Jesus and turn the other cheek, but honestly my strongest
feelings are toward solving the problem, which would result in a
massive loss of life. I have heard comments that God can
forgive; His forgiveness does not remove the consequences of
your actions. If the U.S. doesn't take care of our enemies, they
will continue to escalate attacks against the free world. If we
do take care of them, a lot of innocent people will suffer. My
gut feeling is these concerns are chewing away in our minds."
Thanks. Ray

Next Week : Answers: Now what? How should we respond as
Christians: As Americans?

Katy, one of our subscribers sent this very interesting site of
reactions around the world:
people.delphi.com/andybeals/thankyou.htm

Sowing Seeds of Faith... Weekly devotions with ATTITUDE, humor,
great stories and a down-to-earth Bible study.

Would you like to receive twice weekly prayer needs from around
the world? Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
Donate cash, emergency relief information
dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/