The tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on America is only four days away. It's hard to believe it's now been a decade since we were horrified by the live TV images of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City collapse right before our eyes. It has rightfully been called the Pearl Harbor of our generation.
Today I read a thoughtful commentary by Jack Hayford, former senior pastor of Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California and past president of the Foursquare church denomination. Although he is a charismatic Christian and as such believes in "the gifts of the Holy Spirit" such as speaking in tongues and words of knowledge, he is also very rational, gracious and thoughtful in his theology and writings.
On September 11, 2001 Hayford was teaching at a pastors' conference in Williamsburg, VA, about 125 miles south of the Pentagon, when he was told what was happening in Washington and New York. His reaction to the day's horrific events and reflections afterward are posted in an article on his website titled "To Halt a Holocaust and Ignite a Holy Firestorm". Don't let that Pentecostal-sounding title scare you off. In his article, Hayford stresses that 9/11 was not God's judgment on America, nor was He judging the Christians in America. Instead, he calls on the church to pray and live God-pleasing lives so that a "holy firestorm" can be ignited through the testimony of our lips and our lives and the "holocaust" of evil around us can be fought down as the hearts of unbelievers--our future brothers and sisters in Christ, as Pastor Okubo likes to say--are softened and turned to faith in Christ.
Hayford's article is a good and timely read as we approach the 9/11 anniversary this Sunday. Read it by clicking here.
No comments:
Post a Comment