Christ is All!: Remembering God's Grace On September 11, 2001, And Beyond

I was motivated by this piece from Kevin DeYoung to write about my own memories of September 11, 2001. Here are some other reflections on 9/11 I've found helpful: Mack Stiles on 9/11 and missions to Muslims; Denny Burk's reflections on that day and two sermons preached on 9/16 (See: John Piper; Also Mark Dever); David Mathis on the supremacy of Jesus Christ and how 9/11 changed Desiring God ministries. This is a very personal conversion testimony by my friend, Nick Batzig.

As for me, I was serving in the United States Navy at the time, and our ship was scheduled to deploy to the Persian Gulf on September 18th. I was on leave (what they call vacation in the Navy), and I had just come home to North Carolina from a trip to Rhode Island where I went to the funeral of a young, godly mother who died of cancer. She was a member of the same church I joined while doing military training in Newport. I wrote in my journal on September 10th:

I went to Molly Scott's funeral this weekend in Newport. The service was very encouraging. It was encouraging because the focus was on God's sovereign grace and Jesus Christ. His praise goes on! No matter what! In good times or bad . . . His praise goes on - now and forevermore! . . . Thank You LORD for letting me know such wonderful people - it's all because of the cross.

God was sovereign (in total and absolute control over all events) on September 10th, sovereign on September 11th, sovereign on the most evil, most blessed day when Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross, and He is sovereign every second of every day forever. And His praise goes on too, no matter what.

I was home in North Carolina on the morning of September 11th. I was reading through my Bible reading plan that morning. The readings that day were from 2 Samuel 6, 1 Corinthians 16, Ezekiel 14, and Psalm 55. In my journal, I wrote:

2 Sam. 6 - David danced before the LORD almost naked because of his joy in God's election of him as king! Please keep my joy up in You oh LORD because of Your election of me! And please keep me humble in my own sight! For Jesus' sake.
Ezekiel 14 - Oh God, You know I have set up idols in my own heart and have persistently put other things above You. Forgive me please oh God! Have mercy on me! Destroy the idols and cause me to desire You and You alone! For Jesus' sake!
Psalm 55 - Oh LORD, help me cast my burden on You! Sustain me oh God! I am righteous only because of Jesus - His righteousness is mine, it is not my own. Praise God.

Psalm 55 was particularly appropriate for that tragic morning:

Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah. I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest." Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace . . . But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God . . . Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you. Psalm 55:1-11, 16-19, 22-23

I remember being interrupted from my Bible reading, but I don't remember exactly how I was interrupted - maybe someone called me and told me to turn on the news. I did so and watched as the World Trade Center towers both burned after being hit by the airplanes highjacked by terrorists. I couldn't believe it.

Then the phone call came. A person from my navy ship called and told me that everyone on leave was being recalled to the ship immediately, and we were being deployed to protect the United States off the coast of New York. I had to pack and get on the road to drive back to Norfolk as soon as possible.

Then another phone call came - my wonderful Christian neighbor who lived just down the street called, and she was in tears. Just yesterday she had welcomed me home and was lovingly joking with me about being a big, bad navy man who was going out to sea to protect the country. Now there was no joking. She was weeping and crying and telling me how sorry she was that she had joked with me about being in the navy yesterday. I think she may have prayed for me. But I couldn't talk long and had to go.

Then my mom called. I told her I had to leave home as soon as possible. She hurried home from work so she could say goodbye. It was a long, six hour drive from Conover to Norfolk that day. I tried to find out more about the attacks on the country by listening to the radio.

Once in Norfolk I drove straight to the naval base, but it seemed like total chaos. I was told that my ship had already left the naval station and was out at sea. They would not let me on the base. I went home to an empty house in Norfolk. I called the ship from home, and there was talk of somehow transporting people out to meet the ship off the coast of New York. That never happened. After a couple days, my ship was back in port in Norfolk. We continued to prepare for our six month deployment and left for the Persian Gulf one day late, September 19th. It was a very tense time to be heading out for deployment to the Middle East. God is good. He was with me. And He used that deployment and my whole time in the Navy to teach me that I have nothing to boast in except the cross of my LORD Jesus Christ:

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14

I knew basically nothing about Islam on September 11, 2001. But over the years, the LORD has led me to learn more about the religion that motivated those gruesome attacks on September 11th that killed so many. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should pray and long for our Muslim friends and neighbors to know the truth about their false and violent religion. And we should labor and pray for them to turn from it and turn to the LORD Jesus Christ by faith alone. He is the only One Who can save them and all of us from all of our sins. Only the triune God saves!

In light of all that is happening in Afghanistan right now, consider these words spoken by Nabeel Qureshi in 2016:

What we have right now is unprecedented in human history . . . It is the greatest opportunity we have ever had in human history to reach Muslims with the Gospel. 1,400 years have not seen as many converts from Islam to Christianity as the past 14 years. People are encountering the reality of Islam: it started with the Iranians after the clerical revolution in Iran. They said, "Let's give sharia its full chance"; 20 years later they say, "I want no part of this!" and Iranian refugees are leaving Iran in droves. The first thing they do once they get to Australia, once they get to Nauru, once they get to the Philippines, the first thing they often do is find a church and say "Tell me about the Gospel." Right now tons of churches in Australia are being run by Iranian pastors.

May God do in Afghanistan what He has done in Iran - all for the glory of King Jesus!

On this week of the 20th anniversary of what happened on September 11th, I encourage you to consider reading these two books on Islam and the superiority of the God-Man and Prince of Peace - the LORD Jesus Christ:

Get these books, read them, and give them away, especially to your Muslim friends:

1. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity, by Nabeel Qureshi

2. Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward, by Nabeel Qureshi

You can also listen/read these excellent testimonies by Nabeel on the same topics:

1. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus

2. Answering Jihad

3. How Does The Violence In Islam Compare To The Violence God Commanded In The Old Testament? (See also Praying God's Curses On The Wicked: War Psalms Of The Prince Of Peace)

Our only hope is Jesus Christ. He died on that cross for sinners and rose up from the dead so that all who repent and believe in Him might be saved from God's wrath in hell.