Tag: urgency

Can We Simply Let 9/11 Pass By?

As on 9/11—We are in a war. Can we not see the urgency?

Can we simply let 9/11 pass by? And live life back to normal?

We are not “back to normal” today. We must open our eyes and acknowledge, we are in a war. Do we need more evidence of heat, flame, and fires in families, public schools, city streets, and lands?

I share my 9/11 hero story.

Alfred J. Braca went to work on September 11, 2001, in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, on the 100th floor, as any other workday.

I knew Al Braca, from our church in New Jersey. Our sons enjoyed Boy Scouts together back then.

His life stirs in me the courage to make a difference this day. With all the confusion about what love is, Al Braca exemplified true love on the dreadful day of 9/11.

Do I, you, have the courage to love as he did?

A dedicated dad, husband, granddaddy, and loyal bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, Al set out to live a “Godly lifestyle” as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. He turned down invites to go out for drinks and carousing and often shared how Jesus changed his life. Consistently, a target of jeers by his colleagues, they referred to him as the “Rev.”

Aware of the marriage troubles, affairs, addictions, brokenness, and pain in his colleagues’ lives, Al often prayed with his wife, Jeanie, that they would come to faith in Jesus.

This day, in a moment, at 8:46 a.m., great confusion exploded all around them as a Boeing 767 flew into the building between floors 93-99.

No warning. Just bang!

Everyone ran to the windows to see what happened. Fire, smoke, chaos, confusion.

Heat rose from below them.

No information. No exit. Then, another explosion. The second tower was hit and caught fire. No one understood what happened.

Men and women on those upper floors discovered there was no way down. Desperation. Fear. Panic ensued.

The story is told, Al went up to one of the big conference rooms on the 104th top floor and told everyone to come to the room.

“I’m going to heaven. Who’s going with me?”

Approximately fifty of his co-workers came into the conference room.

Al wasn’t worried about offending anyone. He had hope.

Al stood up on a conference table and gave them the invitation for life—eternal life.

He was going to heaven. Al shared the Way with those who knew no way.

Al laid it all out as he stood on the table. They had to know. Without receiving Jesus in their lives, there was no hope for heaven. Only death and an eternity separated from God.

 Perhaps he shared,

 For God so loves you, He gave His Son Jesus to die that you might live.

He suffered and bled on the cross to cleanse all your sins.

Believe in Him right now. Accept Jesus in your life and you will be saved.” (John 3:16, John 6:35.)

Al was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He knew it was the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Acts 16:31).

There wasn’t time to trust in bank accounts, jobs—nothing.

Al shared Jesus. He knew He was their only hope.

He loved them enough to give them the truth.

“Who wants to receive Jesus and live?” he probably asked. We don’t know his exact words, but we know he prayed for them, right then.

How do we know?

Many of the men and women that met in that conference room that morning, made phone calls to their families.

They said, “Goodbye, I love you,” but they also said, “I will see you again. I just received Jesus. The “Rev” prayed with me to receive Jesus in my life.”

Others said, “Al stood on the conference table and told us how to be saved. I’m going to heaven. I have Jesus now. I’ll be waiting for you there. I love you. ”

These were Al’s comrades. They made fun of him in the past, but no one was jeering now.  He gave them an invitation to receive the Lord and He had prayed for them.

Al laid out the truth. The only way to heaven. Jesus. They received the invitation and were saved from death. They had eternal life.

Maybe Al comforted himself and the others in those desperate moments with scriptures he had hidden in his heart:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:1,2). Fear not; for I am with you, (Isaiah 41:10).

 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

Al Braca lives today in my life. I hope in yours as well. He didn’t want his colleagues to be separated from God for all eternity.

He had faith and courage to witness to them. The Holy Spirit moved him to tell the people the truth about Jesus, so they might receive His amazing grace, forgiveness, love, and eternal life.

Thank you Alfred J. Braca.

At the World Trade Center Memorial, look for this name: Alfred J. Braca.

Take notice of the names surrounding his name. These were his colleagues. Many joined him on that day to go to heaven.

Tragedy came unexpected: “I’m Going to Heaven. Who’s Going with Me?”

 Will we live our day, ready to love others into the kingdom of heaven?

People in this day need hope. They need truth. They need to know the way.

There is no time for debate. Time is short. Will we tell others what Jesus said:

 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) —before it’s too late?

-tonirypkema.com

(To read Jean Braca’s story, look for Christmas Beeler’s book, Beauty from Ashes. Walking in New Life with God After Loss. The Journey of 9/11 Widow Jean Braca.)

Picture: Courtesy of Calvary Chapel Magazine. (Leading Souls to Christ as the Towers Burned.)

A time to increase awareness: Warning, "Mayday!" "Mayday!"

Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham has a sense of urgency, (as so many of us do!) “Mayday! “Mayday!” is a call for distress – and the call is being made, right now, at this time. For 9 days, Anne is calling Christians to take time and pray! “Mayday! Mayday!” is the call. It is time to seek the Savior.  Do you have that same sense of urgency? We must have that urgency, and I will write why. (The prayer that Anne Graham Lotz would have us to pray is included at the bottom of my post today).
Just as in the days of Noah, he was given a warning from God. God sees it all, [past tense, present, and future as well(!)]. Way back when, in Noah’s day God reminded Noah that “the earth was corrupt before Him, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen. 6:11). God sees. “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
This is only the 11th page in the whole of the Bible, Genesis 6:12! But this is today as well, just as the Bible said it would be: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. “For as the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, “and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:37,38,39).
Violence, corruption… “They’ve been around since the fall,” you might say.
But today, ‘today’ is as the days of Noah! It is time to turn our heads to heed the warning signs, “Knowing this…,that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the  fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3).
We cannot forget, God’s word is true. Jesus spoke sitting on a hill, speaking to multitudes of people the ‘attitudes to be’, and He also said,” For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”
Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus rose from the dead – but this is not the end…Jesus is coming again! Yes, in the Revelation of Jesus Christ chapter 22, He Himself says, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7). And not only once, but twice, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Rev. 22:12).
The word ‘Behold’  according to Webster’s is: to hold in view; look at; see; regard.
The time is soon. Noah had the warning to all that the flood was coming! One hundred and twenty years of warning as he faithfully obeyed God and built the ark according to God’s instructions with his wife, boys and their wives. How could it be that NO ONE ELSE listened! How could it be that after ONE HUNDRED TWENTY YEARS, Noah was… only laughed at? We know now, that their laughter was turned to eternal death.  “Knowing this…, that scoffers will come in the last days…”, ‘So, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” 
These words are written to increase awareness! Wake up! that ‘day’ is soon!
Just as the days of Noah, do we recognize what’s going on today: “men leaving their natural use of the woman, burned with lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with…” (Romans 1:27,28).
“It’s never fun to be around people like you, always filled with doomsday thoughts. We really don’t have time for this now,” these might be your thoughts. Jeremiah the prophet knew all about this. He was given the word of the Lord, and the earthly powers threw him in a pit to die! (But God protected him, saved him, and delivered him). There is a time to heed the warnings!
OK, this is hard, but God’s word is written for our instruction and we must not run every time things get uncomfortable! The Bible is called the Good News! It’s the message that will clean up the mess! Before the rainbow, we have to endure the storm…
So, ‘as the days of Noah’, let us finish the hard stuff, (in the International Children’s version, being a bit gentler), “They traded the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served things that were made by man. But they did not worship and serve the God who made those things…Because people did those things, God left them and let them do the shameful things they wanted to do…(Romans 1:25,26).
Does this look like our present day? This is not pretty or fun, but it’s important medicine to help remedy our dark hearts.
“People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so those people do the things that they should not do. They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, selfishness and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst about each other. they gossip and say evil things about each other. They hate God.” (Romans 1:28-30). 
“Why heed the warnings now? What’s the urgent rush today?”
People, can’t you see the signs? Each and every day, ‘as the days of Noah’! “(People) They are rude and conceited and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They do not obey their parents. They are foolish, they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to other people. They know God’s law says that those who live like this should die. But they continue to do these evil things. And they also feel that those who do these things are doing right.”(Romans 1:30-32, International Children’s Version, written for young children!) Little children, (young and old), who are we kidding? This is today.
“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” (Is. 55:6).Remember, the capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, is the YHWH, the Yawhey, the unpronounceable One, the One who is your ‘all sufficiency’! That’s the all- caps LORD!
Are you thirsty? That is good! Are you hungry? That is good! On that mountain that Jesus sat and taught, He said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”(Matthew 5:6).
That is the truth about God! Hear the Messiah’s invitation to you and to me: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. 
“Incline your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your should shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you – “Is. 55:1-3).
“Why must this go on and on?!” you might be asking?
Because, ‘as the days of Noah, so  also shall  be the coming of the Son of Man be.’
If your heart is anxious and stirred up, ‘fret not’, simply turn to the One who calms the waters. He is God, He is able, He is alive, and that cross that He so horribly died on, He took on His flesh, the sins of the world. Your sins and mine, all of them. So, as easy as a child’s alphabet, if we ‘A’, Admit we are sinners and ‘B’ Believe in the provision of forgiveness given on the cross by the shed blood of Jesus, and ‘C’, call out to Him, He grants forgiveness and new life, once and for all. And for each day after that? “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 peter 3:18). And pray!
We are called to pray. If you don’t have the words, or this is all too foreign and new, here are wonderful words to pray, especially for TODAY:
Anne Graham Lotz has given us  urgent words to  pray” “1 ELOHIM: THE STRONG ONE In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…2 We worship You, great God of Creation, as Elohim, the Strong One. You were in the beginning. You will be at The End. You always have been and You always will be. You are the Creator who brings forth something out of nothing, who formed man from dust, who turns darkness into light, who makes the world turn, who sustains all things by Your powerful word.”
“3 When the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing… When the rulers take a stand and gather together against the Lord…4 When the earth gives way… When the mountains fall into the midst of the sea… When the waters roar and foam… When nations are in uproar and kingdoms fall…5 When everything that is familiar unravels, You are the Rock on which we stand! You are our Stronghold. We take refuge in You.6 We worship You alone.”
“As we plunge into spiritual and moral darkness, You are our Light. As political, social, racial, financial, and environmental storms break out all around us, You are our Anchor. 1 John 17:11 2 Genesis 1:1 3 Hebrews 1:1-3 4 Psalm 2 5 Psalm 46 6 Psalm 18:1-3 2 As we face terrorism’s threat and vows of annihilation from our enemies, You are our Shield. When there are wars and rumors of wars—when nations rise against nations and there is rioting in our streets, You are our Peace. In our weakness, You are our Strength. As we grieve over lost freedoms and lost futures and lost values and lost loved ones, You are our Comfort.”
“In our despair over our lack of moral leadership, You are our Hope. In our confusion when truth is spun and exchanged for a lie, You are our Wisdom. In these days of desperation and confusion, we look to You, and You alone. I look to You as _________________ O God our Help in ages past, This is not just a distress call for prayer. This is a distress call to You! For one hour each day for nine days we choose to turn away from everything else and seek Your face. We turn to You—run to You—cling to You—hide in You. We believe You will hear and answer our distress call because… …We come to You in the name of the One by whom “all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
“7 …We come to You in the name of the Creator who became our Savior and who has ascended into Heaven to sit at Your right hand, with all authority placed under His feet.8 …We come to You humbly, yet boldly, because we have been invited to come.9 …We come to You with confidence because the way has been opened for us by the blood of Your Son who sits at Your right hand, who is in authority over all.10 …We come to You with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith that You will receive us, You will listen to us, and You will answer us.11 I come to You_________ Hear our prayers as we come to You in the name of Jesus. For the glory of Your name. Amen. 7 Colossians 1:16-17 8 Ephesians 1:20-23 9 Matthew 11:28-29; John 14:13-15).
If there is any reader that was urged by the Spirit of God to ‘admit and believe and call’  out to Jesus, the Lord and Savior of the world,  please let someone know,(today!) and begin to enjoy the hunger and the thirst that you feel in each new day for God. He is the living bread, and you will taste and see that the Lord is good as you ‘eat’ of his word daily! No longer a scoffer, but now a ‘delighter’ in God’s word. The promise or the ‘rainbow’ that you are given is: “…He (you) shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Ps. 1:3).
Hey, and the best news of all, is unlike Noah, where there were NO other believers saved except his family, we will see that we ARE the FAMILY walking through the Door! Safe and sound. (Well, perhaps a little smelly, difficult, and uncomfortable at times, but safe and protected and covered in HIs gracious love!