September 11, 2001
A Day Remembered Forever
Terrorists strike as never before. The heart of New York City and Washington are successfully targeted by despicable cowards who rapidly jumped into the confines of an eternal hell with Almighty God delivering true justice.
May God comfort the families and injured. May God use this to draw us close to Him. May God show us mercy. Condolences, empathy and love are extended with great sympathy for these families and friends.
Thanks to Him that it wasn't worse than it was and thanks to those workers who continue to risk their lives (the greatest form of love) for rescue of others. Folks, this is horrible, just trying to imagine the pain of the families. Terrible. Awful. Can we stop this from happening again?
Those who were Christians were immediately delivered into God's welcoming hands. The others will forever torment the perpetrators of this evil for eternity in Hell, where there is no restraining love.
Unbelievable? No, predicted and expected. These pages from the start of this web site are full of God's warnings to us. Why? Not that we have any superior intelligence or prophetic capability. Simply that this would happen to us by reading the Bible and seeing the way God has worked before- when people who claim Him stray. What is surprising is that He waited so long before He withdrew His protection, although there were warning signs as well, for anyone caring to look.
President Bush did well in calling for prayer. No more pausing for 'moments of silence' will do. We need to appeal to God's mercy through genuine recognition of our wrongs and repent for our sins. Each prayer needs to be prefaced with 'Oh Lord, we have sinned'. Abraham Lincoln understood this truth.
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Abraham Lincoln wrote (calling for a National Day of Prayer and Fasting in 1863):
Whereas, the Senate of the United States devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation:
And whereas, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history; that those
nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord:
And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisement in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as not other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious Hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Now, therefore, in compliance with the request and fully concurring in the view of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer.
And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on that day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered with blessing no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. By the President:
Abraham Lincoln.
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Excellent words. long overdue in this day. Take comfort that God is in control and He loves us, despite His judgment. Think how we ignore Him until something like this happens. This will work to our good, ultimately, trusting God for this.
Yes, we should pray. We must pray. We must repent first. Not them, us. The Christians must repent! We have much to ask God for His forgiveness. Our rates of divorce are as high as non-Christian's, abortions, etc., etc. If your pastor fails to tell his people that they need to repent, now greater than ever, have nothing to do with him. His message is worthless. It may be soothing but with the comfort comes eternal destruction, if it is not speaking from the Word and calling for repentance.
Then, pray for God to send His Holy Spirit for revival in this country. The longer we wait, the more we will be under painful judgment. We do not deserve His blessings. Victory only will come with His great mercy.
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Psalms 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
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The founders knew what moderns refuse to acknowledge. It is clear that man, without God's redemption within our lives, is inherently evil. Yes, none of us are truly 'innocent' in our fallen state. The founders knew that man must be seen this way by their new government.
Is it really unbelievable? Not to those who rightfully see man as inherently evil. How is this combated? Only with God's help. Our founders knew this.
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George Washington wrote in his 1789 Inaugural address: The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.
John Adams in 1798 wrote: The safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and blessing of Almighty God; and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty, which the people owe to him, but a duty whose natural influence is favorable to the promotion of that morality and piety, without which social happiness cannot exist, nor the blessings of a free government be enjoyed.
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Our President G.W. Bush, said " America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining."
Maybe there is another reason. As difficult as this may be, God said through His prophet Amos-
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Amos 3:6 When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
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If this verse means what it says, the LORD has His hand in this. Hard words. Could this really be? Can we get away from the plain language, or as believers, should we struggle to embrace it? Disaster coming upon our cities, this is extremely sad. Thousands in inexpressible pain and loss. Could our great Lord really take any credit for allowing this evil?
The perpetrators are complete embodiment of evil. They deserve the strongest of reprisals by our government and will pay in eternity. The goal should be complete and total incapacitation of these evildoers, before they get our families. How is it that the scripture above makes sense?
In multiple instances in scripture (see here), our Lord punished the Israelites through the hands of their evil enemies when His people strayed. (See here) He is our father and takes no pleasure in punishing us. He punishes His children out an act of love, as a good father would. This love will draw some to Him who would otherwise ignore Him. This gracious love will save some from eternity in Hell. God knows what is best for us, even if we don't see it that way.
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1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
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In multiple Biblical examples, when His people stray, God punishes His people (Israel) as they became partially destroyed by their enemies and taken as slaves in their enemy's countries. When His people then truly repented because of their oppression, they were then returned to their land and blessed with peace and His protection. Their enemies then will be destroyed at the same time God's people are then saved.
If the above is true, then there must be a reason God would allow disaster to fall on us. Are we really deserving of such punishment? Of course those who perished and lost loved ones in the attacks bear no additional guilt than the rest of our countrymen. May their untimely deaths help save countless others. Their deaths may well be instrumental in our salvation, if we are willing to address our own sin.
How about the following reasons we have become recipients of our Lord's punishment?
· embryonic stem cell research, abortion (Is it an accident that this horrific evil follows a recent flawed, yes-evil, decision made by the president chosen by Christians and supported by Christians? How far have we slid?)
· love of money, a greater god, trade center was hit, not a church
· divorce and sexual immorality, hedonistic lifestyle, exporting it into all the world.
· arrogance and pride without acknowledging God and our dependence on Him
· Sabbath Day replaced by commerce
· because of our embrace of evil in our society, the terrorists can easily, (absolutely wrongly) justify such horrific behavior. Even the 'Christians' who are supposed to be without a hint of wrong (Ephesians 5:3). To strict Islamic fanatics, all of the above are abominations, and unfortunately they are partially right as they see our hypocrisy.
This certainly does not say the terrorists are otherwise right. They are evil! They deserve the worst punishment! They have no right to accuse us. Why aren't we blameless?
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Ephesians 5:5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
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The real question becomes, unfortunately- what took Him so long before He withdrew His protection? We have been spitting in the face of Almighty God who has been our protector!!!
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Deuteronomy 28:45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,
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The good news is that God loves us and cares for us. When we truly repent, He may rescue us, if it is not too late. By all means, pray!
This is not the worst case scenario. This was a warning. This was predictable and was predicted by those who understood the danger and understood the failure of the church and our own embrace of sin.
The world is dangerous and those wealthy individuals who hate us may well have purchased small atomic weapons that are missing from old Soviet Union arsenals. Biologic and chemical warfare could also bring mass destruction. We don't need to fear them though, we need to fear God!
"The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything; save our modes of thinking; thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophes."
- Albert Einstein
Jeremiah 11:14 Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.
Psalms 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear. (NASB)
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Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge , and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
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Let this not be true for us in this day. God, have mercy!
Jeremiah. 10:24 Correct me, Lord, but only with justice--not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.
Unbelievable? Not to some of us. This site has warned us with these difficult scriptures (oops, etc.) and it's importance to us today.
As an aside, Ann Coulter made the point that 'liberals' (who generally discount or erroneously twist God's truth) are always surprised! They are surprised when President Clinton lied to us. They are surprised when a released felon commits another crime, etc. They are always surprised.
In this instance, we hear that this is "unbelievable". On the day of the attack, we hear from liberal 'terrorism experts' that this was the "worst case scenario". This is far from true. We know that weapons of mass destruction such as a small nuclear bomb could magnify the death count to easily an order of 1000x what occurred 09/11/01. Please don't minimize the need for a missile defense system. Just because one form of terrorism was used doesn't mean next time another method won't be used. The defense of the people is one of the truly constitutional duties of the federal government. We don't need any more surprises.
Yes, we should be thankful to God Almighty that such an all-star defense team is in the White House as compared to who we might have had. As much experience as they have and cool thinking as they exhibit, without God's blessing, we will not prevail.
We currently, with arrogance, much like a football game, say that we will defeat our enemy. I certainly hope so, but we must have God as an integral part of our team, not just a button to push when things are going poorly. The only way this will occur is if we repent and change our behavior, seek Him and then nothing can stand in our way. Without Him, we are doomed for now and even eternity.
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Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. (NASB)
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If we know what is good for us, we will repent now, and then punish the perpetrators. Let us get the log out of our own eye then, rid the world of this evil. If we try to get the cart before the horse, we may well fail and our power could be brought to nothing. This likely would translate into further death and pain inflicted on us until our God feels sufficiently acknowledged and we are broken to the point of repentance.
Is this fair? Of course. If God loves us and wants us to be with Him in eternity, His grace would then supply us with whatever is necessary for us to turn to Him. If this requires fear and tribulation, it is worth it if we repent. If we don't, it is merely a taste of the judgment we deserve. We must fear God.
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1Samuel 12:14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God --good! 15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
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We must repent from our many sins to prevail. The sooner the better!
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Luke 12:4 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear : Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him .
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In summary, what occurred on September 11, 2001 was evil personified. Compassion, love and empathy and sincere condolences goes to each of the hurting families, victims and friends. May God Bless each of them. God will not be mocked. He will accomplish justice, already being administered to those terrorists from the planes.
No, Mr. President, we do not need to "preserve our way of life", we need to preserve peace and prosperity only after we repent of our national and personal, immoral ways of life.
If we are to be successful at ridding our world of such evil, we must clean up our own act. If we attempt to stop these despicable acts, we must have God's blessings. At our current state of immorality, many dare to ask God for His blessings when we also offend Him in the horror of abortion, sexual immorality, and choosing other gods (money, etc.) above Him.
Read the Bible! It makes it clear that we must repent. Only then, when we ask with a truly humble and a contrite heart will He possibly heal our land and give us victory. We must have his guidance more against this sort of enemy than with many others or we will be struck even harder. We have hope that He will send His Holy Spirit and use this in our lives to touch our souls. With revival, we will be victorious. If so, GOD WILL BLESS AMERICA. If not, may God have mercy on the remnant of His people!
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Micah 7:15 "As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders." 16 Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. 17 They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you. 18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
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Distillation of God's role in the recent tragedy.
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