September 11th, 2001 started as a normal day for most. Getting up, getting ready for work, getting the kids to school, a regular day. Then the news hit. Something was going on in New York City. Many saw the TV 
reports of one of the buildings of the World Trade Center ablaze, and heard different reports of explosions and a plane crash. Then a second plane crashed into the second tower, then the two buildings collapsed killing thousands of people.
On the same day, another plane crashed into the Pentagon, doing much damage and killing all the passengers aboard the plane. These people are our nation’s heroes. Todd Beamer and several other men revolted against the hijackers on another plane possibly headed for Washington D.C. People like these, people who gave their lives, people that were killed saving others in the World Trade Center towers, people who were willing to pay the ultimate price, they, along with their families, are modern day heroes. Thank you for your bravery.
The terrorists behind the attack tried to tear down American life in the name of their religion. Many of the things that Americans held dear they tried to take away, and to some extent they succeeded. Security, families, friends, but through all this, we will not fear, we will remember. The words of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 4 ring back in my head as I think of this: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
On September 11th, after the attacks, George Bush made a powerful speech:
“America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.' This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.” We will not fear, we will remember.
Another speech that comes into my head, although from a different tragedy, are the words of Ronald Reagan after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster:
“Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss….The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'” We will not fear, we will remember.
Today is a day for remembering; for remembering those who gave their lives in bravery on that day of September 11th, 2001, and while we mourn over this terrible tragedy, I want to encourage you to remember that there is a peace available, as George W. Bush said quoting Psalm 23, peace that stands in the valley of the shadow of death, a peace which surpasses all understanding, a peace that we find in the shadow of the cross. When I think of this, the words of the David Crowder* Band come back so well from their song “Shadows”;
“Life is full of light and shadow, O the joy and O the sorrow, O the sorrow/And yet will He bring, Dark to light, And yet will He bring, Day from night/When shadows fall on us, We will not fear, We will remember/When all seems lost, When we're thrown and we're tossed, We remember the cost, We're resting in the shadow of the cross.”
Today is a day for mourning. Today is a day for honoring our heroes. Today, by the grace of God, we will not fear; we will remember.
~E-Sharp
reports of one of the buildings of the World Trade Center ablaze, and heard different reports of explosions and a plane crash. Then a second plane crashed into the second tower, then the two buildings collapsed killing thousands of people. On the same day, another plane crashed into the Pentagon, doing much damage and killing all the passengers aboard the plane. These people are our nation’s heroes. Todd Beamer and several other men revolted against the hijackers on another plane possibly headed for Washington D.C. People like these, people who gave their lives, people that were killed saving others in the World Trade Center towers, people who were willing to pay the ultimate price, they, along with their families, are modern day heroes. Thank you for your bravery.
The terrorists behind the attack tried to tear down American life in the name of their religion. Many of the things that Americans held dear they tried to take away, and to some extent they succeeded. Security, families, friends, but through all this, we will not fear, we will remember. The words of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 4 ring back in my head as I think of this: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
On September 11th, after the attacks, George Bush made a powerful speech:
“America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.' This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.” We will not fear, we will remember.
Another speech that comes into my head, although from a different tragedy, are the words of Ronald Reagan after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster:
“Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss….The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'” We will not fear, we will remember.
Today is a day for remembering; for remembering those who gave their lives in bravery on that day of September 11th, 2001, and while we mourn over this terrible tragedy, I want to encourage you to remember that there is a peace available, as George W. Bush said quoting Psalm 23, peace that stands in the valley of the shadow of death, a peace which surpasses all understanding, a peace that we find in the shadow of the cross. When I think of this, the words of the David Crowder* Band come back so well from their song “Shadows”;
“Life is full of light and shadow, O the joy and O the sorrow, O the sorrow/And yet will He bring, Dark to light, And yet will He bring, Day from night/When shadows fall on us, We will not fear, We will remember/When all seems lost, When we're thrown and we're tossed, We remember the cost, We're resting in the shadow of the cross.”
Today is a day for mourning. Today is a day for honoring our heroes. Today, by the grace of God, we will not fear; we will remember.
~E-Sharp
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