A REMINDER ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

Editor’s Note: While I have shared this quote in the past, it bears repeating as each new generation needs to be reminded of the truths that Billy Graham shared right after the horrific events of 9/11. -- DW

A REMINDER ON THE 25^TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 

No matter how hard we try, words simply cannot express the horror, the shock and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday morning [September 11, 2001]… Today, we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot, and to those who carried it out, that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated… The Bible's words are our hope: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea" (Psalm 46:1,2)…

The lesson of this event is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil, but secondly, it is a lesson about our need for each other… A tragedy like this could have torn this country apart, but instead it has united us and we have become a family…

Yes, there is hope.  There is hope for the present because I believe the stage has already been set for a new spirit in our nation.

One of the things we desperately need is a spiritual renewal in this country.   We need a spiritual revival in America.  And God has told us in His Word, time after time, that we are to repent of our sins and we're to turn to Him and He will bless us in a new way… And from the Cross, God declares, "I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pains that you feel.  But I love you."…

But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation -- or, whether to choose to become stronger through all of this struggle -- to rebuild on a solid foundation.  And I believe we're in the process of starting to rebuild on that foundation.  That foundation is our trust in God…

My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us, and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him. 

-- Reverend Billy Graham (1918-2018)

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FAITH BELIEVES, TRUST RESTS – Part 2 of 2

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1) “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”  (Psalm 56:3)

Faith and trust are like two sides of the same coin, yet they move differently in the life of a believer.

Faith is what we believe about God -- His character, His promises, His power. Faith says, “God can.” It is the conviction that He is who He says He is, even when our eyes may see nothing but uncertainty.

Trust, however, is what we do with that belief. Trust says, “Because God can, I will rest in Him.” Trust is faith lived out -- faith applied to real fears, real delays, real disappointments, real unknowns.

Faith is the foundation. Trust is the follow-through. Faith is the seed. Trust is the fruit. Faith says, “I believe God will lead me.”  Trust says, “So I will take the next step, even if I can’t see the path.”

Jesus invites us into both. He calls us to believe in Him and then to place the full weight of our lives into His hands.

Where is God inviting you not just to believe in Him, but to trust Him -- practically, personally, completely -- today?

Lord, deepen my faith so that my trust becomes steady and strong. Teach me not only to believe Your promises but to fully rest in them. Help me place every fear, every plan, and every step into Your faithful hands. Amen.

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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OUR SOLID ROCK FOUNDATION

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  (Psalm 18:2)

          On Christ, the solid Rock I stand,
          All other ground is sinking sand.  – William Bradbury

If you have ever stood on a sandy beach as the waves lapped at your feet, you know that the longer you remain, the further your feet sink into the shifting sands. Eventually, you’ll be up to your ankles! On a rocky coastline, however, you can stand on the shore with wave after wave rushing over your feet and you won’t sink at all. You stand firm on the strength of the boulders beneath you.

Shifting sands don’t make a very good foundation – for our feet or for our faith. We need solid rock – strong and unchanging. Like the wise man who built his house upon a rock (Luke 6:48), we can rest secure in building our faith upon the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. When the winds of change blow and the waves of uncertainty rush over us, we can cling to the immovable, unchanging love of Jesus.

For this we have reason to praise. Christ is the solid rock on which we stand. We can depend upon HIs words, trust in His tender mercies, and praise Him day after day for the grace that has saved us. In Christ our foundation is firm; our salvation is sure. Praise His name! 

-- Adapted from “Change My Heart, Oh God: Daily Devotions from the Greatest Praise and Worship Songs of All Time”

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BUILDING ON A FIRM FOUNDATION

“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are… God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 3:9-11 NIV)

When a building is designed, a foundation to match the structure is also designed. A grass hut needs no foundation, a modest house a basic foundation, and a large complex a deep and wide foundation.

In the case of our lives, God has already prepared the foundation that we are to build on. Our foundation in Jesus Christ is deep and wide. We must build our lives accordingly. No grass huts on this massive foundation. Our lives must be vast complexes that both reach up to God and out to our neighbors. 

We are co-workers in God's grand design, His hands and heart on earth. Just as an architect plans a building, our actions and decisions shape the spiritual structures within us and around us. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ is the only true foundation upon which we should build our lives. Each moment, each decision is a brick in the edifice of our faith. Let us build with care, ensuring our efforts are anchored in Christ's teachings and love.

May God guide our hands and hearts as we contribute to building His kingdom. May we build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, striving to reflect His grace and His wisdom in all we do and say.

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry 

#6152

TWELVE ORDINARY MEN – Part 3 of 4

Christ’s choice of the apostles testifies to the fact that God can use the unworthy and the unqualified. He can use nobodies. They turned the world upside down, these twelve (Acts 17:6).  It was not because they had extraordinary talents, unusual intellectual abilities, powerful political influence, or some special social status. They turned the world upside down because God worked in them to do it.

God chooses the humble, the lowly, the meek, and the weak so that there’s never any question about the source of power when their lives change the world. It’s not the person; it’s the truth of God and the power of God in the person. (We preachers need to remind ourselves of this. It’s not our cleverness or our personality. The power is in the Word -- the truth that we preach -- not in us.) And apart from one Person -- one extraordinary human being who was God incarnate, the Lord Jesus Christ -- the history of God’s work on earth is the story of His using the unworthy and molding them for His use the same careful way a potter fashions clay. The Twelve were no exception to that…

Let’s not, however, underestimate the importance of their office. Upon their selection, the twelve apostles in effect became the true spiritual leaders of Israel… The apostles became the preachers of the new covenant. They were the ones to whom the Christian gospel was first entrusted… They became the foundation stones of the church, with Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Those truths are heightened, not diminished, by the fact that these men were so ordinary. 

-- Excerpts from “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You” by John MacArthur

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A BIBLICAL FOUNDATION

“The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.”  (Psalm 119:160)

William Henry Seward was born in 1801.  Secretary of State under Lincoln during the Civil War, he would arrange the purchase of Alaska in 1867.  As vice-president of the American Bible Society, he declared in 1836:

"I know not how long a republican government can flourish among a great people who have not the Bible… But this I do know: that the existing government of this country never could have had existence but for the Bible.  And, further, I do in my conscience believe that if at every decade of years a copy of the Bible could be found in every family in the land, its republican institutions would be perpetuated." 

-- Stephen Abbot Northrop in “A Cloud of Witnesses”

#5666

BUILDING ON THE ROCK

“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  (Matthew 27:24 ESV)

There are lots of competing ideas about what the good life entails. It might involve wealth, power, and sex, or, on the other hand, simplicity, family, and fidelity. The good life, from a Christian perspective, is one lived in harmony with God’s will. Jesus shows us which values lead us into keeping with God’s will, and which do not. If we trust in His teachings to guide our lives, we will learn that a life lived in keeping with God’s will is truly good. Jesus teaches this point using a parable about building a house on a rock or on sand (see Matthew 7:24-27).

Entrusting our lives to Jesus is like building upon a rock. Jesus’ teachings provide a sure foundation for our lives. He teaches us to deal compassionately with both friends and enemies. He teaches us to give of ourselves. He teaches us to be humble and, above all, to seek God in every aspect of our lives. Imagine a life well lived in this way. What a life of peace it would be! Imagine a world living in keeping with these teachings. What a different and wonderful world it would be! 

-- David Watson, in an article entitled “When Jesus Is Lord” from the book “A Firm Foundation” 

#5639

THE PLACE GOD LIVES

“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”  (Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV)

If you are in Christ, then you are a part of that building. You have been fitted together with me and with the rest of the church. We are a building, and not just a building, but a temple.

You know what a temple is? It is a place where you go to meet God. It is a place where God abides.

We are the place God lives and moves in the world. He doesn’t want us to confine Him to one place like this church building and just worship and serve Him here. He wants us to keep Him on the move in the community, serving and meeting needs.

The gospel breaks down walls, unites people, and builds up a house where God dwells. 

-- Judith Hand in a sermon entitled “You Are God's House, God's Building”

#4884

GOD CARES FOR YOU

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

That's not only a fragment of Scripture, it's a foundation of Scripture. God's acts of compassion and mercy never go unnoticed by the authors of the Bible.  Time and again, God demonstrates His love through this intimate, very personal care of His children…

He cares for you. It's a beautiful promise that reminds you of God's intimate concern whether you're ill for weeks, [in quarantine] for months, or struggling within your marriage for years. Grab hold of that truth and hang on.  No matter what.

-- Joni Eareckson Tada in “Glorious Intruder” 

#4851

CHRIST ALONE, OUR CORNERSTONE

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.'"  (Isaiah 28:16)

Wikipedia defines CORNERSTONE as: The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

Christ should forever be our CORNERSTONE...Everything else in our lives should be set in reference to Him, thus determining our every move, decision, and focus in life.

Christ alone, our Cornerstone!

-- Source unknown

#3863

BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION

"According to God's grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."  (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)

I believe that a carpenter, the Nazarene carpenter with the Galilean accent and calloused hands, was not merely a man, but He was God.  That's the foundation upon which You must build.  It's the foundation that says my sins have been taken care of, my life has a purpose, and death holds no power over me because I believe in the death conqueror.

-- Max Lucado

#3701

OUR TRUE IDENTITY

Do you find your identity in who you are or whose you are?

That subtle nuance makes all the difference in the world, both this one and the next.

You can base your identity on a thousand things -- the degrees you've earned, the positions you hold, the salary you make, the trophies you've won, the hobbies you have, the way you look, the way you dress, or even the car you drive. But if you base your identity on any of those temporal things, your identity is a house of cards. There is only one solid foundation: Jesus Christ. If you find security in what you have done, you will always fall short of the righteous standard set by the sinless Son of God. The solution? The gospel. There is only one place in which to find your true identity and eternal security: what Christ has done for you.


-- Mark Batterson in All In




#3634

MAKE GOD YOUR REFUGE

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge." (Psalm 57:1)

Make God your refuge.  Not your job, your spouse, your reputation, or your retirement account.  Make God your refuge.  Let Him… encircle you.  Let Him be the ceiling that breaks the sunshine, the walls that stop the wind, the foundation on which you stand.

-- Max Lucado in Facing Your Giants


#3286

BREAKING NEW GROUND

Back in 1957 the First Brethren Church of Sarasota, Florida had a groundbreaking ceremony. Instead of using a silver shovel for VIPs to dig up the first clump of dirt, they brought a one-horse plow [without the horse]. Two strong ushers were harnessed to the yoke to break up the fallow ground. But the plow didn't budge an inch. Next, Sunday School officers and teachers were strapped in, but still the plow was immovable. Finally, all the church members present took hold of the rope, tugging with all their might. With every member pulling together, the plow moved forward, the ground was broken, and the church was built.

Our Savior was born in a barn, not Buckingham Palace. He was a blue-collar carpenter, not a blue-blooded aristocrat. His friends were commoners: fishermen, farmers, and homemakers. Jesus broke new ground in ancient Israel by using common people to build an uncommon community, His church. He is our firm foundation. We are all on common ground as members of His church.

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians


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