Today's Scripture Reading (November 29, 2025): 1 Kings 6
September 11. It is just a date, yet one that holds
significant meaning. Almost twenty-five years have passed since the planes
crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Nearly twenty-five years
have passed since the passengers on United Flight 93 revolted against the
hijackers on that plane and spoiled the intentions of the authors of the event
to destroy a third target, likely the White House. Reading the story that we
have reconstructed from the voice recorders and cell phone calls made from the
plane can still bring tears to our eyes. One can almost hear the voice of Todd
Beamer as he recited the Lord's Prayer and the Twenty-third Psalm before the
revolt began. Beamer's last words to GTE Airphone Supervisor Lisa Jefferson, "Let's
Roll," have become a catchphrase for getting a job done.
In Canada, I remember it as the day that the planes
disappeared from the sky. It was an eerie feeling, and probably the first time
in my life when I could look up and see no planes flying overhead. On September
11, 2001, life changed. On that day, we were reminded of all the hate that
exists on this planet that we share.
Solomon wanted the Temple to be a different place on
the earth. And so, Solomon had his workers carve cherubim or angels on the
inside walls. The idea was that hate might exist outside the Temple walls, but
inside, it was heaven on earth, just as the angels surrounded God in heaven;
so, the angels surrounded the priests in the Temple. For a moment, the stress
and anger of the outside world could be left behind, replaced by a peace that
existed within the Temple, alongside God and His angels.
But the angels themselves were not objects of worship.
We don't worship angels or any other kind of heavenly being. Our worship is
dedicated only to the God who created the earth and still walks upon the face
of the planet with us. We don't worship angels, but there is no question that
we worship with the angels. Both humans and angelic beings give our allegiance
to the God of the earth, the one who sacrificed so much to bring humans back to
him. He is a God who still cries with us at the result of our hatred and our
unwillingness to create peace on earth
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
1 Kings 7
See also 2 Chronicles 3:7
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