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September 11, 2001 will always live in our memories. Lena was in another room and called out "I've just seen a plane on TV and it crashed into a skyscraper!" Thus began the nightmare which brought back memories of days that will be forever in our minds. There was the day when President John F. Kennedy was killed. I was crusading in a Canadian church that was half-full the night before, but the night of the assassination it was jammed to overflowing with bewildered people seeking the Lord. There was the day when Princess Diana died and the outpouring of grief that followed. Now we have this fearful disaster which will forever change our world and our personal lives. My own immediate reaction was to recall a radio message that I recorded a few weeks ago on the words of the Lord Jesus. "But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified!" (Luke 21.9) Now I had to preach it to my own heart. Lena and I are old enough to remember the whole of another world war, and actually be on the streets of our city when bombs fell all around us. We knew night by night terror, never sure that we would meet again. But out of it all came the conviction that the only one who could see us through was the Lord himself. God has his own way of bringing good out of evil. Joseph, the Old Testament giant of faith, said of his brothers who plotted against him, "Fear not - You thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." (Genesis 50.19-20) While we all look in agony on the scenes of devastation and heartbreak, we must all ask "Can anything good come out of this chaos and carnage?" Consider this: There is a torrent of prayer encircling the globe. That's good! There is a worldwide sense that we need God's help. That's good! There is a new emphasis on the need to love each other. That's good! There is a new turning to the churches for help and hope. That's good! For those of us in the ministry there is the new challenge to reach out to terrified hearts with the message of Christ. And we will be doing this by every means that we can over the next few months. Now, as Lena often says, "Tell someone that you love them!" And let your life, your gifts and your witness show the world that there is hope in JESUS CHRIST! |
