"We Will Never Forget" by Med and Jeff Skeens

Nine years ago life as we knew it in the US was changed. The radical Muslim attack on US soil against innocent bystanders proved to us that we are vulnerable to attacks in ways that have changed war as we know it. No one can rehash what happened that day without intense emotions that affect you on some deep level. The whole nation gathered together in the restoration of New York City and in the lives of people around the world. The anthem that arose out of this terrible tragedy was “We Will Never Forget”; and we haven’t. 

In light of the anniversary of 9/11 and the mosque being built near ground zero this year, the country has been bombarded with news about a pastor in Florida wanting to burn a Qur’an as a protest against the Muslims building their victory Mosque. This is not how we are going to advance the gospel of Jesus and it is not how we should “never forget” 9/11 or stand against a Mosque being built in an inappropriate spot. (Note: Our intent is not to condemn this pastor, although we believe his actions have been foolish and reckless, and it’s not to say we have no issue with the mosque being built at ground zero, because we do). We want to point Christians back to what we were created for; to display the beauty and worth of Jesus to a lost and dying world. This should be our anthem as Christians. This should be the source of our standing against the status quo. This should be at the root of all of our actions; an insatiable desire to find joy in Christ alone as we display His beauty and His worth to a world that slanders His beauty and mocks His worth. 

Maybe we should adopt the saying that goes like this: “We will never forget what Jesus said to Peter”. Do you remember those words that Jesus spoke with an emphatic tone? “Peter, put away your sword! Put it away! No more of this!” (See Matthew 26:52 & Luke 22:31) Or maybe we should adopt this phrase for what Paul says in Ephesians 6:12: “We will never forget who our enemy is.” “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Now don’t take this the wrong way; we are not advocating complete pacifism. What we are saying is that we should remember who the real enemy is. The radical Muslim terrorists have nothing on “the cosmic powers over this present darkness”. We should be blowing the horn on the great deceiver more than we are on the weak terrorist who can only take a life. 

We are not big fans of the phrase “What Would Jesus Do” (WWJD), but it is important to see how Jesus responded to his present day enemies who sought world domination and despised His people group. The most sacred place for a Jew is the Temple on the Temple Mount; it has been for over 3,000 years. That is where they worship the one true God over all other gods and they have and will give their lives to preserve and protect the Temple.

During Jesus’ time, the Romans were the world power and controlled the entire region of the Jews, even the Temple. The Romans built a structure connected to the north wall of the Temple called the Fortress of Antonia; a super imposing battle station with four towers that was over one hundred feet tall so that Roman guards had a clear view of anything that went on in the sacred Temple area. The Romans also built their fortress there for a reminder that screamed, “WE WON”!

We can use this as a historical parallel to the so called “Victory Mosque” near ground zero that’s flooding the media and causing the world to ask, “Is it right or wrong?” and “What should we do?”. The media has asked almost everyone all over the world what they would do, and yet, it’s not been reported or asked once, “What would Jesus do?” So, let’s leave aside all debates to the media and seek the answer to the crucial question, “What did Jesus do?” (WDJD) and how did He act toward the Romans and their battle station.

We must add that the Jews were looking for a Messiah to overtake the Romans so they could declare “WE WON”! We all remember their disappointment when Jesus had another plan. Jesus never mentions the Fortress of Antonia. But He does say some nice and noble things about Roman soldiers and He healed his servants too. One thing for sure, He never shakes his mighty rhetorical fist at the Romans “VICTORY TOWER”. Instead, he saved His attacks for those who were operating businesses in the Jewish Temple, His Father’s house. He called them robbers and turned over their tables and then said, “this place is on it’s way down and I’m gonna rebuild it in three days.” It’s as if Jesus shrugs his shoulders at the Roman’s fortress and said “let’s be concerned about more important things; such as being about the Father’s business loving people, meeting their needs and loving those who hate you, persecute you, abuse you and want to kill you.” Then, to top it all off and to the surprise of the 12 disciples, He gave away His battle plan. He said, “I’m going to let the enemy kill me, then I will rise again to life, then we can see, GOD WON!”, and when he was dying He said “Father, forgive them because they have no clue to what they are really doing”. So, WDJD?…He showed them love and gave His life for them, that’s WJD.

So for this year’s anniversary of 9/11 and in light of the mosque debate, the anthem that should flood our hearts is this: “We will never forget what we were created for and who our enemy is.” We battle against the evil spiritual forces of the heavenly realms and they love the fact that Christians get more passionate about standing for or against a pastor with bad judgment or terrorists who want to kill Americans more than they do about displaying the beauty and worth of Jesus in word and deed. So, we will never forget what Jesus taught and how He lived among those who were foolish and those who wanted to kill him. May we all never forget. Lastly, if you want to raise hell, then raise it over the fact that “Christian” denominations are abandoning the truth of Scripture to cater their beliefs over what they feel is true, right and just...that’s worth the fight! God bless you and may God continue to bless America!

The Remedy of Prayer

Joseph M. Scriven, in 1855, wrote the old hymn What a Friend We have in Jesus, and in the first stanza of this hymn, he writes:

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear;

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

This has proved true for many followers of Jesus. In the busy, hustle and bustle of the Western world, we often find answers to our pain and burdens before we ever carry anything to Jesus. With an abundance of food for us to run in need of comfort; to prescription drugs that we can get just as easy as over the counter drugs to escape the pain; to being able to buy anything we want to make us feel better for the day; to doctors, shrinks and affairs...we have countless options for us to chose before we even think of running to Jesus. Often times we run to God in prayer after we’ve exhausted all of our resources. How foolish we can be sometimes.

This reminds me of “a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:25-26) Twelve years of pain, suffering, embarrassment, and social rejection she had endured. It says she spent all she had and exhausted all of her resources and is now destitute. Twelve years of any and everything but running to God in prayer. What might her life had been like if she had ran to God in faith, knowing that He alone has the remedy for her, and that if it was His will then she could be well without suffering needless pain, worry and anxiety.

I do have to say before I carry on with the thought that I want to continue in, that God often uses our suffering to produce in us things that we could never have experienced had we not walked through the pain and suffering. This is not the point I am after, just a clarification of the character of God. What I am after is the needless pain and burdens that we carry because of our “practical atheism” as Christians. 

“Practical atheism” is this: You live in recognition that there is a God, yet see no connection between that belief and how you go about your daily affairs. You never consider or factor God into your key decisions, you don’t run to Him in prayer because you have developed a fatalistic mentality in the midst of your suffering, therefore you do not pattern your life after His values. Consequently, you believe in God but you behave as if He doesn’t exist. This is Practical Atheism. It’s a dichotomy, a split between what we say and what we do. Practical Atheism explains the chasm between what many people say they believe and how they live out their lives. Thus, we often bear needless pain and forfeit divine peace.

Yet in all this neglect of God, He is still faithful when we run to Him in prayer. When this woman heard that Jesus was in town, she ran up behind him, still feeling shameful and insecure and thought, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Well she did, and you know the end of this great story. God made her well. To be more exact, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”  Daughter? Faith? Peace? Healed? Wait a minute. This woman neglected to run to God for twelve years and the minute she turned to Him she is made well because of her faith? Yes! And Jesus called her a daughter! If God in the flesh calls you daughter, that means you are radically accepted by the mighty, holy, glorious and beautiful God we read of in the Old Testament, and you share in all that He owns...which is EVERYTHING!

This is a radical new way of living life and approaching Jesus. Maybe you have been running from God and you are a Christian and you are not sure how HE feels about you or how He’ll receive you if you run to Him and grab a hold of His garments in faith. Well, Scriptures are God’s perfect revelation to us to teach us of Him and His goodness. This passage, among many others, shows us the character of God and the radically accepted we are by God, through His son Jesus. Run to Him, you can trust Him and He may heal you by physical or spiritual healing, or He may heal you through walking with you through suffering that He has laid before you. Either way, He is a good God who you can trust with every aspect of life. Stop living as if you are an atheist in practice and run to God in prayer.

On the other hand, maybe you have never trusted in Jesus, ever. Maybe you have a view of Him that is not the way that He actually is. Jesus came to save sinners. He has paid the price that you and I should’ve paid because of our rebellion and sin. Jesus lived the life we couldn’t live and died the death we should’ve died so that we can be radically accepted by God based on His record and because of His sake, not ours. You too can run to Jesus in prayer and trust in Him as the only hope you have to be right with God. You can trust God and be sure that you’ll be accepted by Him because it is not your record that He takes into account when you submit yourself to Him. He accepts you because Jesus is your advocate and has given to you His righteousness. 

Run to God in prayer as your remedy today. Whether you have walked with Jesus for years, or have never known HIm at all, run to Him in faith and touch His garments and know that He alone is the remedy for your life and soul. He alone can satisfy you and He alone should be our comfort. When your satisfaction and comfort are God Himself, then we can be sure we won’t forfeit divine peace and carry needless burdens anymore. 

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear;

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.