Sunday, 11 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

Ten years ago today, 19 radical Muslims killed nearly 3,000 innocent civilians in the worst terrorist attack in American history. As long as you live, you'll never forget where you where on that fateful morning.

This week we've claimed the fact that God redeems all he allows. How would he redeem for greater good the tragedy of that day and the suffering that has followed? More than 6,000 American troops have died in Iraq and Afghanistan; the United States has spent more than $1.283 trillion on the war effort. That is nearly the amount we spent on Vietnam, Korea, and World War I combined. We have been fighting in Afghanistan longer than any war in our nation's history, with no end in sight.

Saturday, 10 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

When Robert Louis Stevenson was a young child, he stood one evening at the window watching a lamplighter at work. One by one, the man lit the streetlamps as he walked down the street. The boy was fascinated and silent. His nurse asked him what he was doing. He answered, "I am watching a man make holes in the darkness."

There is much darkness in our world today. Tomorrow we will remember that day ten years ago when we watched in horror as 19 terrorists killed nearly 3,000 innocent civilians. But the good news is that God redeems all he allows.

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we are focused on this biblical statement:

Friday, 09 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

Philip Yancey tells the story of a most unusual wedding banquet. A woman, accompanied by her fiancé, went to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston to order the wedding meal. They arranged for an expensive party, with a bill of $13,000. After leaving a check for half the amount as a down payment, they went home to look at wedding announcements.

The day the announcements were supposed to be mailed, the groom got cold feet. "I'm just not sure," he said. "It's a big commitment. Let's think about this a little longer. His angry fiancée returned to the Hyatt to cancel the banquet, to discover that she had signed a binding contract and could only receive $1,300 back. She had two options: go ahead with the banquet, or forfeit the rest of her down payment. The jilted bride made a wonderful decision: she turned her banquet into a real party.

Ten years before, this woman had been living in a homeless shelter. Now, after years of hard work and progress, she had a sizeable nest egg. She decided to use her savings to treat those who were where she had been.

Thursday, 08 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

One of the most encouraging readings I have ever found is this adaptation from Henri Nouwein's classic book The Beloved:

I have called you by name from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I have carved you in the palm of my hand and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.

Do these words touch you at a deep place in your soul? Why?

Wednesday, 07 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

When I was pastor of First Baptist Church in Midland, I was asked to serve on the board of trustees for Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas. One trip down to the campus, I decided to use the church's van. One of our activities ministers checked the van out to me, along with the church credit card for gas.

There was barely enough gas to get to Brownwood. I pulled into the first gas station I saw in town, got out, and discovered that the van had a locking gas cap. And they didn't give me the key. I looked all over the van—in the glove box, under the mats, everywhere; no key. Here I was, sitting at a gas station, hose at hand, credit card ready, and no way to fill the van. I tried to pry the cap off, and failed. Finally, driving on fumes, I found a locksmith and paid for a new key to the cap.

Tuesday, 06 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

These are tough days for our nation. In fact, it's been a tough decade since 9/11. The good news is that God redeems all he allows. How could he redeem the challenges we face?

In this week leading to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we are focusing on this statement in God's word: "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

On Sunday we looked at the drought, locusts, and plague of our day, agreeing that we need a mighty movement of God's Spirit on our land. On Monday we learned that humility is the first step to this renewal, as we make God our King and position ourselves to receive all his grace intends to give.

Monday, 05 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

When our boys were growing up, my wife often encouraged them to "live a life God can bless." How do we do this? What is the one indispensable characteristic of a life blessed by God? Let's ask three men, considered by many to be the greatest preachers of the last two centuries.

Charles Spurgeon produced more written literature than any other person in history. His sermons fill 63 volumes, equivalent to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His church in London was the largest independent congregation in the world. He preached to 10 million people in his lifetime. Here is what he said of himself, recorded in the preface to his collected sermons:

Friday, 02 September 2011 05:15 Written by Jim Denison

The year 958 B.C. may be the high water mark of Jewish history. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 4:31), was the king of Israel. His personal net worth would exceed $58 billion today. Israel was the superpower of the day, with secure borders extending from present-day Syria to the Sinai Peninsula and peace with her neighbors. And he had just constructed the most spectacular worship structure the nation had ever seen.

Solomon's Temple was built of bronze, cedar, iron, and precious stones, overlaid with silver and gold. The gold plating of the "most holy place" alone would be worth $896,940,000 today. His throne was made of ivory, overlaid with gold. Some 180,000 laborers worked to complete the temple.

Thursday, 01 September 2011 14:21 Written by Jim Denison

We think of Pearl Harbor, which began at 7:55 on the morning of December 7, 1941. Japanese forces withdrew at 1:30 that afternoon after killing 2,402 Americans. On a positive note, many will remember July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon and told the world, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Others will cite the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, or the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, or the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. But everyone thinks of 9/11.

That Tuesday morning dawned cloudless over the Manhattan skyline. At 8:45 A.M., American Airlines Flight 11 smashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower. American Airlines Flight 77 flew into the Pentagon at 9:37 A.M. United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 A.M. The attacks cost 2,977 civilians from 90 countries their lives—more than died on Pearl Harbor or D-Day.

Why did God allow the worst terrorist attack in American history?

God redeems all he permits. As we near the tenth anniversary of 9/11, how would the King of the universe redeem this tragedy? What is God saying to our people? To our churches? To you?