Echoes of 9/11 Reverberate to This Day

It’s hard to believe a quarter of a century has passed since many of us witnessed one of the most horrific news events of all time. On Sept. 11, 2001 – today known simply as “9/11” – terrorists commandeered four commercial jetliners. One flew directly into one of New York City’s “Twin Towers”; minutes later a second was flown into the second tower.

Not long afterward, a third jet was aimed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., while a fourth – because of the heroic efforts of passengers who had learned about the other planes – was prevented from reaching its intended target. Instead, it crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.

 

Nearly 3,000 people died as victims of the terrorist attacks, not including the 19 hijackers. That included 2,753 in the World Trade Center buildings, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 passengers and crew in the airliner that crashed in Shanksville, Pa.

 

In the days following, people across the United States experienced unity in a way many had never known. Our nation had come under attack, and its people became unified by mutual grief, fear and uncertainty. Countless thousands assembled together at churches for prayer, entreating God’s guidance, wisdom and comfort. Political and philosophical differences were cast aside.

 

Although that spirit of camaraderie was short-lived, ramifications of the unimaginable terrorist attack continued, many to this day. More than 360 first responders had died after rushing to the crash site in New York; many others died in the years following due to illnesses traced to intense exposure to ash, debris and toxic gases. 

 

Before 9/11, security measures at airports and on airplanes had been relatively minimal. There was no Transportation Security Administration (TSA) prior to that day; there had been no bothersome lines prior to boarding planes to check for possible bombs and weapons. The same was true for major sporting events, concerts and other large public gatherings.

 

Unfortunately, despite the devastation and horrifying images of that day, collectively we seem to have a short memory. A whole generation of young people has been born in the past 25 years, so they have no personal memory of what transpired on 9/11. For some of them, it’s only something from a history book, akin to the sinking of the Titanic or the explosion of the German airship Hindenburg. And some prominent individuals, including elective office holders, in recent years have downplayed the evil acts of that day. 

 

Nevertheless, those of us who observed what unfolded that day, whether via the broadcast media or in person, will never forget it. I’ve a friend who still vividly recalls that morning, knowing that if he had not overslept after watching a late-night pro football game on TV, he might have been among the casualties in one of the towers. He lost many friends that day. What kind of hatred could have motivated such a sinister, unfathomable terrorist scheme?

 

Tragically, this wasn’t an isolated episode of terrorism. Many other malevolent acts have been perpetrated in the two-and-a-half decades since, although not to the scale of 9/11. Prior to that day, America seemed to have existed in a state of innocence – or perhaps, naivete. We couldn’t have imagined such an evil scheme even being conceived. But it was. And today we remember the lives lost, the vile ideology that spawned the acts, and understand the depths to which human behavior can descend.

 

To date there are no remedies, no simple solutions. We can be thankful for intelligence agencies that strive to abort terrorism in its many forms, but we’ve learned that another can occur at a time and place one might least expect. How then are we to respond?

 

For those of us who trust in God’s sovereignty and His mighty power, we can find consolation and hope. As we’re told in Psalm 5:4-6,11, “You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with You the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all who do wrong. You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors…. But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.”

 

The problem of evil remains, along with debates surrounding why a good, loving God can allow such heinous acts. But our confidence is that ultimately not only His love but also His perfect justice will prevail. Writing to Christ followers in ancient Thessalonica who were enduring severe oppression, the apostle Paul stated: 

“…among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecution and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and will give relief to you who are troubled…. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-7).

 

As we hear about and observe the chaos, hatred and malice being manifested all around our world, it would be easy to lose heart. However, we can cling to the assurance of Hebrews 12:28, which declares, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”

 

May we never forget 9/11, the people who perished, the brave souls who prevented mayhem on an even greater scale, and that ultimately what we’re seeing is evidence of a great spiritual war we cannot see: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

How Can We Rejoice and Be Glad in 'This Day'?

A popular child’s song from years past told us, “This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It is based directly on Psalm 118:24. I don’t know if it’s still used much in Christian settings, but I always loved the happy, lilting tune.

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I like to recite this verse silently when I awaken each morning: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” But let’s be honest: Aren’t there days when we wonder, ‘How can I rejoice and be glad in this day’?

 

Sept. 11, 2001 was one of those days, when four commercial airliners were hijacked by terrorists. Two were flown into New York City’s World Trade Center towers, a third one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the fourth into a rural field in Pennsylvania, redirected by courageous passengers before it reached its intended target. 

Charlie Kirk, Wikipedia photo

Wednesday was another of those days, when Charlie Kirk, a popular Conservative activist and unapologetic follower and witness for Jesus Christ, was assassinated, apparently by a trained marksman or sniper.

I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Kirk (everyone knew him as Charlie) but had viewed many of his videos on social media. I have no way of knowing whether his public persona aligned with his life off the stage, but people interviewed who were close to him confirmed he was the real deal, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person.

 

He spoke about crucial topics of today, including marriage and family, politics, sexual lifestyles, gender ideology, abortion, the poor, and most important of all, the life-changing, transforming power of Jesus Christ. I admired his intellect and rhetorical skills. He had a keen mind in being able to debate and disarm opposing arguments with logic rather than emotion, and usually with a smile, grace and compassion.

 

At only 31 years old, a husband and father of two young children, Charlie seemed to have a bright future and potential to become an even more powerful changemaker in society than he already was. So, how can we ‘rejoice and be glad’ in a day when he became the victim of such a heinous act?

 

While we mourn Charlie’s all-too-soon passing and grieve for his family, I believe there are many reasons we can indeed ‘rejoice and be glad’ despite such tragedy. Let me cite some of them:

 

He is now with the Lord. Every time he spoke, Charlie was intentional in communicating his faith in Jesus Christ and why he believed, as well as the importance for everyone to seriously consider the Gospel message. In 1 John 5:11-13 we read, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” This passage says that if we have trusted in Christ, we can know for certain that we have eternal life. Charlie knew this.

 

His message will continue. When Charlie spoke about his faith, as well as issues being discussed, he often referred to the Scriptures as his ultimate source of Truth. Over the years he addressed countless thousands of people, many of them college-aged and young adults. In addition, his videos were viewed – and will continue being viewed – by millions, thanks to the Internet and social media. Whether Charlie thought of it this way or not, he was planting seeds that will bear fruit for eternity. As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). And Hebrews 4:12 declares, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

 

God will raise up others in his place. Charlie wasn’t a lone ranger. His organization, Turning Point USA, has more than 850 campus chapters, and surely God will raise up others to fill the void he left behind. In 2 Kings 2:9 we read the account of the prophet Elijah ‘passing his mantle’ to his protégé, Elisha. Before being taken up to heaven by God, Elijah asked, “‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied.” Perhaps even now someone is praying, asking the Lord for a “double portion” of what God had given Charlie.

 

The Lord will carry his family through this difficult time. It is reported that ahead of Charlie’s passing, his wife, Erika, shared a favorite Bible verse on social media: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The coming days will be unimaginably hard for the Kirk family, but they will find refuge and strength in the Lord to sustain them. This is an assurance we all have if we have entrusted our lives to Christ, being reborn as children of God.

 

God will turn this tragedy into His good. A verse we commonly turn to in times of adversity is Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” There’s danger of overusing it, turning it into a platitude, but it’s true, nonetheless. I’ve experienced it many times myself, and hopefully you have as well.

 

The Bible gives many examples of how the Lord fulfilled this promise, including the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, then falsely accused and imprisoned in Egypt. Yet God sovereignly enabled Joseph to rise to second in power only to Pharaoh and used by the Lord to save the people of Israel in the midst of a great famine. After encountering his betraying brothers, Joseph stated, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this…” (Genesis 50:20).

What good God intends to accomplish through this evil, murderous act against Charlie Kirk we can’t know right now. But we can firmly believe He will use it in His time. And knowing that even Sept. 10, 2025 – as well as Sept. 11, 2001 – were days the Lord made, we can rejoice in them.

Remembering 9/11: A Day of Horror and Tragedy

Sept. 11, 2001 will always be one of those, “Where were you when…?” days, similar to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the space shuttle Challenger exploding and killing seven crew members, and other tragic events of like magnitude.

 

What were you doing on this day 22 years ago? Do you remember? For most of us, what we now refer to as “9/11” started off just like any other day. We were working, leaving for work, going to school, finishing breakfast, or engaged in any number of everyday life activities. Who knew that before 10 that morning, the world as we knew it would be turned upside-down?

No one could have imagined the horrific scenario: Commercial jets being hijacked and slamming directly into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth diverted from its intended target by courageous passengers, crashing instead in rural Pennsylvania. 

This memorial fountain at the World Trade
Center includes names of people whose
lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost that day, including more than 2,000 in the iconic towers that incredibly were reduced to rubble, as well as hundreds of first responders, and the 19 terrorists coordinating the attacks. 

We now have a whole generation of young people who basically know nothing about that evil day because they were too young or not born yet. But for those of us who helplessly watched live news reports as the tragic events unfolded, that day will remain etched in our memories forever. 

 

I think of my friend Jerry, an entrepreneur who had worked in the North Tower for years. He would have been on one of the building’s top floors that morning if he had not overslept. Instead, he was sitting in his kitchen reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee when one of his daughters frantically called to see where he was and if he was safe. Even to this day, the memory of friends he lost that day saddens him.

 

For a brief time following the attacks, our nation seemed to experience a spiritual revival of sorts. Many thousands thronged to churches, some of whom rarely if ever had attended before. Countless prayers were offered as realities of the heinous acts raised questions that seemed unanswerable. At moments like that – faced with life’s fragility and the heightened sense of evil’s presence – it’s common to become desperate for hope.

 

As often happens, however, within weeks our lives had returned to “business as usual,” despite newly enforced security checks that would dramatically alter travel experiences and other measures enacted to prevent future acts of terrorism. 

 

Without becoming morbid, we should use this day to pause, remember, and reflect on things that matter most. Not the football games played last weekend, the weather, what’s on our calendars, or even the perpetual political wrangling that seems beyond resolution. 

 

Things that seem so important today will one day cease to be. We’re assured of this in James 4:13-15, which says, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

 

It’s good to recognize how fleeting earthly life is – and how uncertain. We’d also be wise if we took to heart Jesus’ challenge from His sermon on the mount: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

 

As the old saying reminds us, “You can’t take it with you.” But we can send it ahead – things that will endure for eternity – as Jesus’ admonition suggests. 

 

On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of men, women and children had plans for later in the day, the next week or the next month. In a flash, their plans were changed for eternity. This sounds hauntingly like 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says, “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye…the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 

No one knows exactly when that will be. But that day will come, as certainly as the sun rising in the east and the sky being blue. Will we be ready?

Do We Dare Release the Fading Memory of 9/11?

A new tower stands at the World Trade Center, along with
historic Trinity Church that was spared of destruction on 9/11.

Sept. 11, 2001 started off as what seemed to be just an ordinary day. Millions of people going to work, to school, the grocery store, the gym, the doctor, the auto repair shop. By midmorning, however, it seemed as if the world had been turned upside-down – at least in the United States.

Four commercial airline jets had been hijacked and commandeered, three crashing into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the west side of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and because of heroic efforts of passengers, a fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pa. before it could reach another destination for destruction and mayhem.

 

In all, 2,996 people died as a direct result of the hijacked plane crashes, not only passengers and occupants of the buildings but also firefighters, paramedics and police officers.

 

Sadly, in the more than two decades since, the sense of horror and disbelief has become a fading memory for many people. There are memorials at the site of what’s become known as “Ground Zero,” but aside from the unending annoyance of passenger screening at airports that didn’t exist prior to ”9/11,” there’s little to remind us of what transpired that day.

 

An entire generation of young people who weren’t even born at the time know little or nothing about the terrorist acts. In fact, a U.S. congresswoman once referenced the Sept. 11, 2001 events as “somebody did something.”

 

The evening of 9/11, and for days and weeks afterward, churches across America were jammed with mourners, frightened Americans and persons seeking answers for the orchestrated acts of hatred. However, within a month or two, the temporary spiritual fervor had waned as people calmed down and returned to “life as usual.” Today, instead of flocking to the nation’s churches, it seems throngs of people are leaving them, apparently convinced they don’t need God.

 

Should we release the diminishing remembrances of 9/11, dismissing them as “that was then, this is now”? Simply as “somebody did something” and leave it at that?

 

The answer should be a decided and unequivocal “No!” Just as we dare not abandon the painful yet important histories of slavery, the Holocaust, and other terrible times in the annals of humankind. Not to stir up renewed anger and festering bitterness, but to remember the individuals who died, the families devastated that day – and the terrifying example of the evil possible when God is removed from the equation.

 

As we read the Bible, especially the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament, we learn the consequences of short memories. The Israelites saw God perform great miracles in freeing them from four centuries of bondage in Egypt – creating plagues that eventually convinced Pharaoh to let them go; parting the Red Sea as Egyptian chariots and horses pursued them; providing water, manna and quail to sustain countless thousands of men, women and children. Yet, during times of prosperity, they quickly forgot what He had done.

 

We see the Israelites faithfully serving and worshiping God when led by humble prophets and godly kings, but once those leaders died, the people quickly turned to idolatry and pagan practices. Memories were extremely short, especially during good times when they forgot they needed God. As the book of Judges concludes, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25).

 

Things haven’t changed much in the many centuries since. In the days after 9/11, some expressed the opinion that one reason the Lord allowed such unbelievable acts of evil was to get our attention, to remind us of our need for Him. Perhaps for a moment or two He did have our attention, but it appears we have turned our focus to other things. For many people, God is a mere afterthought, if that.

 

Not long ago I read a compelling quote from the late Aleksandr Solshenitsyn, a famous Soviet author and outspoken critic of communism until his death in 2008. He was arrested for his dissent and suffered for eight years in the notorious Russian gulag system. He wrote novels about Soviet oppression – one, The Gulag Archipelago, won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. Here’s what he said:

 

“Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: 'Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.' Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: 'Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.'”

 

We live in perilous times today. As dark memories of 9/11 fade, as more and more people live ignorant of such acts motivated by fathomless evil, we’re also losing the conviction of our individual and collective need for God. All around us, we are reaping what we’ve sown.

 

Proverbs 29:18 carries a cautionary message: “When there is no vision, the people perish….” Another translation states it this way: “Where there is no [prophetic] revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”

Did the Lord allow the tragic events of 9/11 to serve as a wakeup call to a nation – and a world – turning their back on Him? That’s up for debate. But we can’t ignore the reality that absent of an understanding of God’s design for us and standards for living, people indeed are casting off restraint and ultimately perishing, empty and hopeless. That’s what happens when, as Solzhenitsyn wrote, “Men have forgotten God.” 

Another Day That Continues to Live in Infamy

Sept. 11, 2001 – a day that all of us who are old enough to remember will never forget. It’s one of those “where were you when?…” events that mark and mar human and social history.

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost. More than 6,000 others were injured that day, and over the years since, many other lives have been lost, mostly first responders who courageously rushed into the devastation despite great danger.

 

Four jet airliners commandeered that morning by terrorists, two of them flown into the iconic Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, New York, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth forced into the ground in rural Pennsylvania before it could reach another terror target.

 

Not long ago, a congresswoman described the murderous acts of 9/11 as “somebody did something.” But for many of us, that “something” was akin to the Dec. 7, 1971 attack by Japanese naval and air forces on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 military and civilian personnel and injuring more than 1,000. The following day President Franklin D. Roosevelt labeled it, “a date which will live in infamy.”

 

As the mournful anniversary of what is commonly known as “9/11” reaches its 20^th year, it’s a time for reflection. Like many people, I was at work. One of our staff came to tell me one of the towers had been struck. Several of us gathered in front of a conference room TV to watch the news coverage. 

 

Some felt led to pray for the victims; while we were praying, we heard the report that the second tower had been hit by another airliner. This confirmed to all that this was an intentional, planned event. Our eyes remained riveted on the TV screen as first one smoke-spewing tower, then the other, collapsed in an enormous heap.

 

After the reality of what has just happened started to settle in, I thought of my friend Jerry, who lived in Bayonne, N.J., across the river from Manhattan, and worked in the North Tower. A few years earlier, I had enjoyed lunch with him and another friend in the famed Windows of the World restaurant, located on the tower’s 107^th floor. Could he have been in the tower?

 

Providentially, Jerry was not. After staying up to watch a Monday Night Football game, he had failed to properly set the high-tech clock radio he had received the previous Christmas, and the alarm never went off. Being sole proprietor of his Manhattan business, Jerry had decided not to make his usual commute into the city. Instead, he was sitting at his kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the morning newspaper when one of his daughters called, frantically hoping he was safe.

 

Jerry immediately turned on his TV and saw the destruction of the iconic towers unfold. Unlike most viewers, he personally knew dozens of people trapped in the North Tower, the final minutes of their lives caught up in the chaos. Had he awakened on time and ridden the subway to the station under 1 World Trade Center, Jerry likely would have been on the 77^th floor visiting with friends when the building was rammed. To this day, my friend grieves their loss – and still marvels at how God spared his own life because an alarm clock didn’t wake him up.

 

Twenty years later, grim memories remain. From a spiritual perspective, what can we glean from this heinous terrorist plot? Of many possible lessons we could draw from, I’ll suggest only a few:

 

First, the senseless acts of 9/11 gave us indelible evidence of the prevalence of evil in our world. In one of the Bible’s most powerful prophetic books we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Many years later Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35). If there was any doubt about this, watching commercial passenger jets crash into the glistening towers dispelled it.

 

Second, virtually all of us go through life planning for tomorrow, next week, next year. The tragedies of 9/11 were a grim reminder that we’re not guaranteed five minutes from now, let alone tomorrow or some later time. Using a parable about a rich fool, Jesus taught about life’s brevity and the importance of establishing and keeping proper priorities. In the story, a rich man had accumulated so many goods and such an abundant crop that he resolved to tear down his existing barns and build larger ones. “…But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:13-21).

 

Sadly, the past year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic also has pressed this point home, with people we know falling victim to the virus. Young or old, we need to be prepared for the day we will stand before the Lord. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). While this refers specifically to what is commonly known as “the end times,” it can also apply to our final moments on earth.

 

One last point: During His earthly ministry, Jesus made a habit of presenting unconventional teachings. One was His response to the commonly accepted view of retribution, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” During Jesus’ “sermon on the mount,” He gave an opposing perspective: 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:43-47).

 

This is one of the most difficult of Jesus’ messages to grasp and apply. We don’t want to love our enemies. We want vengeance, to make those who hurt us pay a severe price. We certainly don’t want to forgive. This, however, is one of the precepts that separates the teaching of Jesus Christ and Christianity from any other religion or belief system. How can we love our enemies, those who persecute and seek to harm us, even kill us? This is only possible through the presence and power of God’s Spirit living in us.

 

Let’s hope and pray we don’t need another 9/11-type of calamity to remind us of these truths. 

‘Where Was God?’

On April 15, the Federal income tax filing deadline, the adage, “The only certainties in life are death and taxes,” took on terrifying new meaning. The bombings near the finish line of the revered Boston Marathon took several lives and maimed many others, shattering a popular – and traditionally joyous – community and regional celebration.

The fact one of the victims was Martin Richard, a bright, engaging, eight-year-old boy, barely on the cusp of a promising life, made the sinister plot to cause pain, mayhem and devastation even more horrific and incomprehensible.

Initially, thoughts centered around who had perpetrated such a criminal act – and why. But inevitably the question arises: “Where was God?” Or as others might phrase it, “If God is so good and loving, how could He allow such a terrible thing to happen?”

Similar questions arose in the aftermath of the Dec. 14, 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which 20 children and six adults were killed; after terrorists commandeered the jets on Sept. 11, 2001, taking more than 3,000 lives; following the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, when 168 people died, including 19 children under the age of six. And sadly, after too many other senseless acts.

So, where was God when these events took place?

There are many possible answers to this question, but I don’t believe we can assert He was uncaring, indifferent, distant, or even non-existent. In each case, He was there in the hands, arms and legs of the first responders who ran to assist the injured. He was there making certain the number of casualties was not greater. He was there in the eyes, ears, lips and embraces of people that offered listening ears, caring touches and compassionate words to all affected. And I believe He was there in ways we can’t conceive.

But there’s one aspect of the question, “Where was God?” that concerns me.

Let me offer an analogy: Picture a neighbor who makes every effort to reach out to you, offering friendship. He or she – or they – Invite you to their home for dinner or a casual visit. They extend kindnesses, like a freshly baked pie or cake, or volunteering their help. They happily greet you whenever they see you, but you consistently ignore them or look the other way.

You rebuff their every attempt to enter into your life.

Then comes a day when you desperately need their help. Perhaps your car has broken down and you need to get somewhere quickly. Or you have some kind of domestic crisis. Then – and only then – do you acknowledge their existence. You go to them, soliciting their help. How would you reasonably expect them to respond?

Now imagine God being that neighbor. For decades we have systematically schemed to exclude Him from every aspect of our daily lives – schools and institutions of higher learning; public facilities; sporting arenas; hospitals; governmental and civic events; the media; retail stores, insisting on “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” In some communities, freedom to conduct Bible studies in private homes has even been challenged.

The omnipresent God cannot be evicted by legislation or mandate, but He’s graciously withdrawn His restraining presence. Perhaps He’s said, “OK, if you don’t want me around, I’ll stay out of your way. See how that works for you.”

When things are going well, no problem. We don’t even sense God’s absence, His lack of involvement. We don’t need Him. But when calamity strikes, we suddenly wonder, “Where was God?”

I’m not suggesting in any sense that God orchestrates such heinous events. Or that His faithful followers are somehow immune from life’s calamities. But we shouldn’t be surprised when, after deliberately seeking to eliminate Him from our everyday lives, He doesn’t instantly intervene when evil intentions become evil actions, resulting in intense pain and suffering.

The Bible describes God as “my hiding place and my shield” (Psalm 119:114). Another passage views Him as “my fortress and my deliverer…my rock, in whom I take refuge…my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2).

Our nation was founded with reverence for God – and awareness of His protective powers, as described above. But in today’s “enlightened, progressive” thinking and philosophies, our society has chosen to dispense with that. Proverbs 29:18 states, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.”

If that’s true, should the chaos surrounding us be such a great surprise?

A Convergence of ‘Coincidence’

Tomorrow marks the 11^th anniversary of “9/11,” one of the most horrific single events in American history. Many of us can readily answer, “Where were you?” when we learned that terrorists commandeered three jets filled with passengers and slammed them into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Repercussions continue to reverberate in many ways today, ranging from tight security at airports and public venues to prolonged U.S. involvement in Middle East conflict. Across the nation, our sense of safety and security remains severely wounded, perhaps never to heal. Any new threats of terrorism spikes our collective anxiety level.

But whenever I think of 9/11, I’m reminded of my good friend, Jerry, whose question about that day is, “Where weren’t you?”

Because Jerry should have been in the North Tower, perhaps on the 74th floor where he used to work. A headhunter in the investment industry, he had moved his office to Wall Street weeks before. But his routine was to commute from his home in Bayonne, N.J., ride a subway to the bowels of the World Trade Center, and then take an elevator up to 74. There he would check for mail that might have been left for him, as well as visit with friends, before descending and walking to work on Wall Street.

That morning, however, Jerry was nowhere near the World Trade Center due to a convergence of events some people would consider “coincidence” or luck.

About two months earlier, his wife, Camy, had died unexpectedly of an abdominal aneurysm. She had been Jerry’s “right hand,” on whom he relied for many things – including the high-tech clock radio she’d given him the previous Christmas.

The night of Sept. 10, Jerry had stayed up to watch his beloved New York Giants play in the “Monday Night Football” game. The contest ended late, so Jerry set the clock radio’s alarm to awaken him the next morning. As it turned out, he failed to set it correctly. “I never knew how to work that thing,” he said. “Camy always did it for me.”

As a result, the alarm did not sound as planned and Jerry overslept. Having no pressing appointments that morning, he decided to spend a leisurely hour drinking coffee and reading the morning paper in his kitchen before making a later commute.

So when United Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, and less than 15 minutes later United Airlines flight 175 speared the South Tower, Jerry was miles away in his home, by that time watching with stunned disbelief as the unthinkable events unfolded.

Coincidence? Luck? Jerry thinks not. Years before, a garage near the World Trade Center was bombed on the floor where he and Camy usually parked their car when both went to work in Manhattan. That day, however, Camy was ill, and Jerry had decided to remain home to care for her. So 9/11 was not the first time his life had been spared.

A devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Jerry believes God chose to protect him. While understanding he is not better or more worthy than thousands that lost their lives that day, including some of his friends, he trusts in the God who declares, “I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Ironically, Psalm 61:3 says of God, “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.” That was certainly true for Jerry 11 years ago. He knows that's not a guarantee of immunity from hardship. Camy’s passing, while a factor in Jerry’s being spared on Sept. 11, 2001, demonstrates that.

But it does offer followers of Christ assurance that God is with us every moment of every day, unfolding His sovereign plan for our lives.

Today, Jerry has remarried. He and his wife, Gracie, know without question he’s still here not because of coincidence or luck. It’s only because of God’s grace.

Most Powerful TV Events?

Yesterday Sony Electronics and Nielsen released a study drawn from more than 1,000 Americans on what they considered the most “universally impactful” televised moment of the last 50 years. As such surveys tend to be, its findings were interesting – and revealing.

Before I heard the results, I had expected to hear people cite the first appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show (I guess Elvis Presley debuted prior to the “last 50 years” criteria), a particularly memorable sports moment, or maybe something like the final episode of “M*A*S*H.”

But the events deemed most “impactful” largely concerned events related to death, destruction and tragedy. The horrors of Sept. 11, 2001 ranked at the top – understandably so. Next was 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, followed by the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict in 1995, the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1988, and the death of Osama bin Ladin last year.

Other top TV moments included the 2011 earthquake in Japan, 1999’s shootings at Columbine High School, the 2010 BP oil spill, Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, the recent death of Whitney Houston, and the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006.

The first “happy” televised event came in at No. 13, Barack Obama’s Presidential acceptance speech, followed by the 2011 royal wedding.

Of the top 20 most powerful TV moments, only three did not relate to death or violence, but even the other one involved gore (in a sense) – the Bush-Gore Presidential election results.

If this survey is accurate of Americans overall, what does this say about us? Cynics might say we delight in taking a voyeuristic approach to death, mayhem and calamity, that there’s something therapeutic in vicariously experiencing someone else’s misfortune.

There might be something to that, but I suspect there’s a greater, more universal factor: It’s been said the only certainties in life are death and taxes. But according to a recent report, only 51% of Americans pay Federal income tax, so that leaves just one certainty.

Old or young, rich or poor, regardless of race, gender or beliefs, death is the one equalizer. Not to sound morbid, but death is an integral part of life – whether it pertains to a plant, a puppy, or a person. So with major events in which lives are lost, whether in traffic and boating accidents, natural disasters or violent acts, we tend to pay attention. Why do you think nightly TV news broadcasts often start with such reports?

God understands this all too well. And that’s why the central verse in all of the Bible is so well-known in one translation or another, even by those who refuse to believe: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

With death all around us, it’s good news to know that life – eternal life – is available to us, if only we’re humble enough to receive it.