The Lord is protecting those who love Him.
The Rev. Michael Murdoch of Grace Christian Fellowship Church told a small crowd this morning during a 9/11 tribute ceremony in Manning Municipal Park that the Lord protects from all evil.
Psalm 121 is often read during one's homegoing to heaven, he said.
"It speaks of the Lord being our help, and that the Lord upholds the believer; that his foot not slip into deep sin," he said. "Certainly on September 11, 2001, many a dear soul that found themselves on a hijacked and doomed plane; and for those that just went to work innocently at World Trade Center One and Two; and for those who did the same at the Pentagon, they had Satanic evil perpetuated against them on that day."
Many other innocents were unknowingly in harm's way. Even so, a multitude of police officers, firefighters, physicians and nurses entered crisis areas.
"These brave ones chose to enter the war zone of falling debris, almost unbreathable smoke, many floors going uphill with full equipment to strive to rescue the unsuspected in harms way," he said. "Their fear of death was overcome by the depth of their love. For the brethren most of whom, they didn't even know."
Jesus tells us in John 15: 12-13, "to love another just as I have loved you," he said. "Greater love has no one than this: that one lay down his life for his friends."
And on Sept. 11, 2001, that happened "over and over and over again," he said.
The heroic ones who loved the Lord and lost their lives had their souls protected from evil.
"It can never get anywhere near our soul," he said.
A lesson to take away from Sept. 11, 2001 is to love.
"Love and risk," he said, explaining that a dear friend "spells faith r-i-s-k," which is also how love is spelled.
"Risk for the sake of love," he said.
"When our hearts are set upon the will of God, we don't need to fear ... the perfect love casts out fear," he said. "On September 11, 2001, perfect love overruled Satan's evil. On September 11, 2014, in our Lord Jesus Christ's name, perfect love among those who believe will once again overrule any attack that the gates of Hell may bring us."
The Lord will protect us from all evil, he said.
"No matter what may come, he will keep your soul. That is His great promise."
