I would like to share a story with you about September 15, 2001.
As most of you know, I am Christian, and though I screw up frequently, I have a peace that passes all understanding because I know I stand justified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and acknowledge Him as the Son of God. So the story begins.
Scheduled for September 14 and 15, 2001 was a Promise Keepers event in San Jose, CA., but as you may recall, all flights across this nation were grounded, thus stranding the majority of speakers scheduled to appear at the event. Rather than canceling, the organizers were able to secure some brilliant local pastors and speakers, so the event was able to occur with little trouble.
On Saturday the15th, the leadership did something a little unusual, participating in a live broadcast in concert with James Dobson, Bruce Wilkinson, John Maxwell and our P.K. event. It was televised around the nation as a day of prayer for the families and victims of 9/11, but was mostly informative of the current situation in New York.
At one point Bruce Wilkinson interviewed a pastor from the area near ground zero and asked him what were people doing. The pastor responded by saying that a lot of people had lost everything. Not only did they loose family and friends, but they lost all financial support as well. ‘The entire businesses where people were employed were just gone’ he said. ‘All records of pensions and benefits, everything that was associated with their well being had been destroyed’.
Bruce continued to question the Pastor and asked him what he had done specifically. The Pastor answered that he, as well as his entire congregation and most of the local churches had max’d out their credit cards with cash advances. The pastor specifically admitted to taking a cash advance of some $15,000.00 to give to folks.
It was about that time that I noticed something peculiar. A guy in the audience of the P.K. event walked forward to the stage and threw a hand full of cash down. Then a couple of others did the same, and the next thing I new the men were lining up and down both isles waiting to give what they had. Now keep in mind, this was totally spontaneous, nobody said a word, but the guys just kept coming. At one point, either John Maxwell or Jim Dobson interrupted the interview and directed the attention to the Promise Keepers event and all were amazed. A couple of guys got some buckets to put the cash in, but were completely overwhelmed as the pile of cash was now about 8’ in diameter, and about 6’ high. As I recall, there were about 18,000 men who were in attendance, but over $110,000.00 was given at that spontaneous offering.
I wanted to share this story to remind people of the unity this nation felt during those subsequent weeks and months after the attack, and urge us all to return to a spirit of resolve and determination to defeat the enemy that brought this fight to us. No matter what your politics are, unless you are totally insane, you must put the safety of our nation ahead of any selfish thoughts or desires, because there are people who have the resources to kill, and are continually looking for opportunities to spin their webs of destruction as soon as we go to sleep. So let this country stay awake and realize that diligence to this issue is paramount to our survival.
May God bless you, And may He continue to bless the United States of America.
Scheduled for September 14 and 15, 2001 was a Promise Keepers event in San Jose, CA., but as you may recall, all flights across this nation were grounded, thus stranding the majority of speakers scheduled to appear at the event. Rather than canceling, the organizers were able to secure some brilliant local pastors and speakers, so the event was able to occur with little trouble.
On Saturday the15th, the leadership did something a little unusual, participating in a live broadcast in concert with James Dobson, Bruce Wilkinson, John Maxwell and our P.K. event. It was televised around the nation as a day of prayer for the families and victims of 9/11, but was mostly informative of the current situation in New York.
At one point Bruce Wilkinson interviewed a pastor from the area near ground zero and asked him what were people doing. The pastor responded by saying that a lot of people had lost everything. Not only did they loose family and friends, but they lost all financial support as well. ‘The entire businesses where people were employed were just gone’ he said. ‘All records of pensions and benefits, everything that was associated with their well being had been destroyed’.
Bruce continued to question the Pastor and asked him what he had done specifically. The Pastor answered that he, as well as his entire congregation and most of the local churches had max’d out their credit cards with cash advances. The pastor specifically admitted to taking a cash advance of some $15,000.00 to give to folks.
It was about that time that I noticed something peculiar. A guy in the audience of the P.K. event walked forward to the stage and threw a hand full of cash down. Then a couple of others did the same, and the next thing I new the men were lining up and down both isles waiting to give what they had. Now keep in mind, this was totally spontaneous, nobody said a word, but the guys just kept coming. At one point, either John Maxwell or Jim Dobson interrupted the interview and directed the attention to the Promise Keepers event and all were amazed. A couple of guys got some buckets to put the cash in, but were completely overwhelmed as the pile of cash was now about 8’ in diameter, and about 6’ high. As I recall, there were about 18,000 men who were in attendance, but over $110,000.00 was given at that spontaneous offering.
I wanted to share this story to remind people of the unity this nation felt during those subsequent weeks and months after the attack, and urge us all to return to a spirit of resolve and determination to defeat the enemy that brought this fight to us. No matter what your politics are, unless you are totally insane, you must put the safety of our nation ahead of any selfish thoughts or desires, because there are people who have the resources to kill, and are continually looking for opportunities to spin their webs of destruction as soon as we go to sleep. So let this country stay awake and realize that diligence to this issue is paramount to our survival.
May God bless you, And may He continue to bless the United States of America.
posted by Gary | 1:35 PM
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