Thought for September 11, 2024

• 1297: William Wallace defeats English at Stirling Bridge
• 1503: Michelangelo begins sculpting the "12 Apostles" for the Florence Cathedral--only 1 was partially finished
• 1773: Ben Franklin writes, "There was never a good war or a bad peace."
• 1847: Stephen Foster's "O Susanna" sung for the first time
•  1914: W.C. Handy publishes "St. Louis Blues"
• 1941: Construction of the Pentagon begins
• 1945: First successful kidney dialysis--the Netherlands
• 1951: Florence Chadwick is first woman to swim the English Channel
• 1965: First Calvary arrives in Vietnam
• 1977: Atari 2600 released in the U.S.
• 2001: Attack on the World Trade Center--2606 die
• 2001: Passengers led by Todd Beamer on United 93 say "Let's roll" 
• 2012: US Consulate in Benghazi stormed and 5 die
• Born: O Henry, D.H. Lawrence, Ferdinand Marcos, Harry Connick Jr., Bear Bryant, Tom Landry,  Maria Bartiromo, 
• Died: Nikita Khrushchev, Tommy Armour, Jessica Tandy, Johnny Unitas, Kim Hunter, T Boone Pickens, 

We all recall where we were on September 11, 2001. Do you remember what you saw and felt that clear morning? Fear, anger, doubt, confusion, awe. The verses I am reading today connect me to that time. Was this God's discipline, judgment, warning? And recall how the churches filled over the next days and weeks. We understood that all the military forces, all the intelligence community could not protect and defend us. Only God was our strength and hope. But the return to the Lord was short lived. Churches returned to "normal" and people returned to their "regular" lives. Just like Israel in Hosea's time. Almost 20 years later, Covid--shelves are empty, everything closes, businesses fail. Another warning? 

Thought:

Reading in Hosea 6 today. God has spelled out His case against Israel. Now Israel responds. Verse 1-3 are an amazing foreshadowing of Jesus. Notice what the people say:

• The Lord has torn and wounded us with discipline. [6:1]. The Lord disciplines those that He loves. I am trying to remember the first time it dawned on me that my parents disciplined me because they loved me. I know the joke was it hurts them more than it hurt me when I got a whipping. But when did I grasp that the discipline was for my good and because they loved me and wanted the best for me. Makes me ask the same question about God's discipline. when did I understand that His motive was not punishment but correction in love. 
• The Lord will heal us and bandage us. WOW! While God may discipline and correct, He is ready and able to heal us, restore us, bind our wounds. When we repent and seek forgiveness, He forgives and blesses. Not to say there are not consequences to sin, but He is the God of the second chance, the new start. Amazing that by His stripes we are healed.
• Verse 2 is stunning. Here Hosea, writing before 700 BC, writes that He will raise us on the third day.  He will raise us that we may live before Him. 
• The last thing that I see is in verse 3. Let us press on to know the Lord. I wonder if Paul was thinking about this verse when he wrote Ephesians 3:14--"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Makes me ask if I am pressing on everyday to reach my goal of life eternal with Jesus. This verse likely inspired Johnson Oatman to write that great old hymn, "Higher Ground." I love that second verse: "My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fear dismay; though some may dwell where these abound, my prayer my aim is higher ground. Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven's table land, a higher plain than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground." 

Blessings

Larry