Anniversaries & 8th Grade Memories

To my readers,

Tomorrow will mark ten years since the world changed forever.

I'll forget when it happened. I was in 8th grade sitting inside our library before school started. On the news I saw the first chaos of the first tower smoking and eventually watched the second plane crash into the second tower. 

America was attacked.  

Violently upsetting the citizens of the United States of America, terrorist sent a message to everyone watching.  Be afraid.

The American people sent a message right back.  We won't be defeated.  We will overcome. 

Here we are ten years later to remember the brave men and women who lost their lives because of this tragedy.  America overcame, we weren't defeated.  We united together as one people.

Around two thousand years ago, the New Testament tells us about Jesus coming to this world in order to free us from sin, to bring us back into a place where we can have a deep and passionate relationship with himself.  Before he is beaten and dies a terrible criminals death in order to pay our debt, he has a conversation with his disciples telling them of these terrible events that were to come.  That he would be die, they would desert him, and people would want to murder them too.  He closes this with saying,

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33, NLT.  

He warns them that the world would try to strike fear in their hearts.  He tells them that they would be fearful and would run away.  Fear would strike deep in their hearts but that they can find peace in him because he has overcome.  

Three days after his death, Jesus overcame death and sin.  Their dominion is over.  Not only has the debt we owed been paid, but the debt system is finished.  His love for us is greater than the debt we owed.

Jesus paid it in full.  

While all the powers of hell send the message of fear and destruction into our lives. They scream that we owe a price for the sin we've committed. We are guilty. Their message is sent while Jesus, my King, also sends a message.  

It says, "I have overcome because I love you. My love is greater than death. My love is greater than destruction. My love is greater than the sin that binds you. It's been paid in full."

As we take a moment to remember the tragedy that happened ten years ago, let us also daily remember what Jesus did for us.  Let us remember that his love overcame death.  There is freedom because of Jesus.

Simply,
Tex G.M. Rule
 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33, NLT.