September 11, 2021
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Romans 1:16
Those of us who lived through the Attack on America, September 11, 2001, will never forget where we were at the time. I was at home when my daughter called me and told me to turn on the TV. When I did, I was stunned to see smoke billowing out of the first trade tower and heard the announcer saying a plane had flown into it! As I watched, I saw a second plane fly into the second tower…then to my horror the first tower imploded in a mushroom cloud of dust and ashes…then the second tower followed. I cried out, “No! No!” I knew that right on my TV screen I was watching people step into eternity. And I was struck with the conviction: “How many of them were not ready to meet God face to face because people like me had never shared the Gospel with them?” As a result, I recommitted my life to sharing the Gospel with whoever, whenever, however I could.
Fast forward twenty years. I had that same overwhelming horror when I saw hundreds of people running across the airport tarmac in Kabul, Afghanistan, clinging to the evacuation plane, climbing into the wheel wells, only to drop to their death when the plane took off! It was a graphic picture of people who were terrified and desperate to be saved. And the Spirit seemed to whisper to me that there were people all over the world who are desperately afraid and who need to be saved…spiritually. And so I have recommitted my recommitment to share the Gospel with whoever, whenever, however I can.
Please join me in this recommitment. Why? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17
Praise God! There is a Savior, The First Responder, who is available to “evacuate” us from sin, judgment, hopelessness, hate, fear, despair, emptiness, futility, loneliness…and the list goes on. He lifts us up, giving us forgiveness, peace, hope, love, purpose…and His presence. He offers us eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus. Yeshua. The Messiah.
One year before 9/11, my husband and I visited the Bowery Mission in Lower Manhattan where his father had preached the Gospel, and where Danny also shared the Hope we have in Jesus. Not knowing what would happen one year later, I am so grateful that we took that opportunity. Because people have asked me, “Where was God on 9/11?” The answer: He was right there.
The following video reflects on just one evidence of His presence during that terrible time.
