The tragic events of Tuesday September 11, 2001 have not only created anger and sadness among the American people but have for many religious people seriously shaken their faith. It is one thing to read of the problem of evil in a theological textbook. It is quite another to personally experience it in such an overwhelming way as many of us did through the media of TV. The initial images of the buildings being hit and collapsing held me captive with sheer shock but it was the close ups that brought home the awful horror and reality of evil. The sight of bodies flying through the air to their death and the subsequent carnage went beyond shock to touch a chord of horrified revulsion. This was evil unveiled, not hidden by softening words or diminished by touched up pictures.

The question religious people ask is "How could you God?" If you are the loving creator whose eye is on the sparrow, if you even care about the birds of the air how could you let thousands of innocent people die in such a terrible way? There are three classic answers to that question.

The first says "God, this reveals your true colors. You are not good. You may be all powerful but you are no better than the evil you allow." The second says, "God I know you are compassionate and merciful, it is clear to me you would have stopped this if you could. I guess there are some things you just cannot do." The third says," How can there be a God in the face of such chaotic, uncontrolled wickedness?"

It is beyond dispute that any answer to the problem of evil is less than satisfying. No argument or words can erase the deep questioning of heart that comes naturally when you are drawn into evil's awful presence. The problem with all three of the above responses is that they are based on a false assumption. The unspoken presupposition underlying each is that God is at one with His creation. There is a conviction that harmony exists between the Creator and His creation. He loves people and everything He has made and is actively working in our world to try to make things better day by day.

The Bible presents a very different picture of the Creator and his relationship to mankind. Romans 1:18 and following says "the wrath of God is being revealed (present tense) from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." In other words God is angry with mankind because we have rejected Him by rejecting the truth about Him. Instead of recognizing His infinite wisdom, power, moral excellence and goodness and responding in thankfulness, awe and yieldedness man has reduced God to a being that is limited, finite, and imperfect. A god that is not much bigger than man is easier to understand, manipulate or even ignore. Man also sits in judgment over such a god, constantly questioning His goodness and motives. By lowering God to this level man is able to free himself from any sense of moral accountability to the Creator. This whole scale rejection rightfully elicits a response of anger.

The wrath of God is often thought of as being expressed in concrete actions like earthquakes, floods, and droughts. Romans 1 describes a quite different way of expressing anger. "Furthermore since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity." (Romans 1:28). God demonstrates his anger by letting people do what they want to do and experience the consequences of their actions. He doesn't create a depraved mind but gives them over to it. The rejection of the truth about God inevitably leads to evil behavior. God has created a moral world where man has the power to make moral choices. Moral choices always bring consequences either good or bad. God does not save us from experiencing the consequences theses actions in this world. Good and bad, innocent and guilty all experience suffering that results from others evil actions. Remember that God did not shield Christ from experiencing undeserved suffering.

The wrath of God does not cancel out the love of God. Rather His love and mercy, undeserved by all are revealed against the backdrop of His righteous and good anger. How many stories from this tragedy show the kindness of God in remarkable deliverances? Can there be any question that many more lives might have been lost? The goodness of God is seen even in a world under His judgment. The question of ultimate justice will not be settled on this earth but waits for the consummation of history when God brings all to a final accounting.

The plotline is straight Tom Clancy. The images might be seen in "Independence Day" or "The Siege," and I think, "Cool special effects for a news program." Normally, I watch less than an hour of tv a week, but even I have become desensitized to the pictures and statistics. I can't believe that this televised attack could touch my life.

I call my mother, and there is sadness and fear in her voice; she can hardly focus on me as I chatter on about classes and lunch. I go to American History, and my sixty-five year old grandmotherly professor, who studied at Harvard and worked extensively abroad, sits mutely as we all listen to her ancient radio broadcasting up to the moment news. She is reminded of Pearl Harbor.

In parts of the country, gas prices skyrocket and I envision my bank account plummetting. Downtowns are evacuated. Our city's nationally recognized firefighters are rushed to New York to help clear debris. I hear that twenty planes with no place to land are emergency landed in my home town of Little Rock, but the hotels are full; where will the people go?

For an instant I begin to understand the magnitude of this situation, but still can't believe that anything in my life will change greatly. Surely we won't go to war. The good old US of A is invincible, indomitable, and will crush the terrorists and return to capitalistic bliss. Life will go back to normal.

Yet - though I can't empathize - life will never go back to "normal" for tens of thousands of my countrypeople. Suddenly, driving to my church's impromptou prayer meeting, I am filled -- no, not just filled, but slammed down and then lifted up -- by joy. I hope - ardently - that my life will never be the same again.

What is "normal"? We, as Christians, are never supposed to be "normal". I pray, at that prayer meeting, that God will glorify himself. That his people will be jolted out of complacency, pettiness, self-satisfaction, and hypocrisy -- myself most of all. I long for this to mark the beginning of the end - for persecution and suffering to refine the body - for the time to come when we can live desperately, forsaking frivilous, temporal things to pursue only those things of eternal value.

To live is Christ, to die is gain. This morning I am ready to drop out of school and do relief work and preach the gospel. I am ready to die for something important instead of living for my own trivial, selfish desires. I am ready to cut off everything extraneous and be wholly committed to God. I have a hard time focusing on my schoolwork, or on anything at all; instead I am repulsed by my own selfish, shallow, compromising, rationalizing life.

Then the still small voice enters in and reminds, "He who is faithful with little will be entrusted with much." Right now I am not called to abandon my life at college, hop on a plane and work in a distant land. No - instead I am called to have that same attitude of reckless abandon to God right here at school, in the mundane details of college life. Perhaps it is the more difficult task.

I have to learn to be faithful in classes (studying for a French quiz), in teaching highschool Bible studies (tonight, on the first two verses of 1 Peter), in loving the people I have been given to love (giving time and energy when I would rather sleep) -- and if I can learn that, maybe I will be counted worthy of more. Counted worthy to suffer. God, teach me to live passionately in a life that is too easy and comfortable. Refine me.

As my French professor pointed out today in class, America is not going anywhere. To really attack us is nearly impossible because of our unique size, our wealth of resources, and our resiliency. Even if we enter into war, it won't look like World Wars 1 and 2, which touched every American life intimately. It is quite possible that our lives will resume and continue in much the same way as they always have.

But as Christians, may this attack shock us out of our complacency and teach us to live with a sense of urgency - preaching the gospel in season and out of season, as Paul would say - because the day is nearer now than when we first believed. Joyous hope. Nationally, let us pick our lives up and continue as best we can, but personally, let's let ourselves be changed. May our lives - even "untouched" in a small college town where the skies are sunny - never be the same again.

Tuesday, September 11th, I was in the computer lab when someone a few chairs away said aloud in this quiet room, "two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center." This was at 9:30am. It is now two days later and I still cannot fathom the ramifications this is having on people across our nation. That this terrorist act was an attack on the United States of America has been incomprehensible to me.

The Gordon-Conwell community prayed corporately that afternoon as many churches and Christians did around the nation. The chapel was overcrowded and we divided into groups of three's and four's to pray. I began to see how much I depended on the government and not the Lord God for protection.

On Wednesday, Dr. Kaiser, the President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spoke in chapel. He preaches every Wednesday and is starting a series in Numbers. He alerted us that God was trying to get our attention. The church in America needs zeal for the Lord God Almighty. At first I knew that this obviously didn't apply to me...I was at seminary, preparing to do His work, and regularly praising and worshipping Him; I had zeal. Then Dr. Kaiser thoughtfully reminded us of the zeal that the terrorists had for their cause. They deliberately sacrificed their lives. It came to me that just a day or two earlier I witnessed another Christian using God's name in vain; I noticed and cringed, but said nothing. What kind of zeal is that? Obviously what Dr. Kaiser said did apply to me.

Dr. Kaiser preached from Numbers 20:1-13. In this passage the Israelites were in the desert complaining about the lack of water. Moses goes to God for instruction, yet when in front of the assembly of the Israelites, hit the rock instead of speaking to it. Because of this, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. A commentary on Moses' sin is given in verse 12, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (NIV). Moses did not publicly honor God as holy; he did not fear God. I recognized that my heart was in the same sinful condition as Moses'. I do not trust God enough to honor Him in every situation the way He should be honored.

Lord, forgive me and help me to trust and honor you in all situations. May Americans humble themselves before you and honor your name in public.

Maybe you've noticed him now and then, sitting in the back of the church, manning the sound system. Or you've seen him helping to fix up the church building on one of our workdays, a hammer in hand.

Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Bob N----'s family moved to the Scotia/Glenville area when he was three years old. He grew up in this area, and graduated from Burnt Hills High School. Bob took a job in New Hampshire after graduating from college. He met his wife, Holly, while attending her church. After they were married they moved to Long Island.

Job changes took Bob and Holly to Cincinnati, Ohio (where daughter Nancy was born); New Hartford, N.Y.; and, finally, back to the Burnt Hills/Glenville area in '86 (where daughter Carolyn was born).

Bob works for an insurance company, and enjoys hobbies of carpentry, hunting and jogging, and most sports.

Bob, Holly and their children began attending Saratoga Chapel in the early '90's, while services were being held at the Schultz Construction Co. Bob is the church Treasurer, and a member of the finance committee.

A brief description of a typical hay field harvest will give you some idea of what I mean. Hay is harvested in this part of the country during June and July. Hopefully the spring rains, and cool May nights have yielded a two or three foot tall crop of timothy and alfalfa. The field was seeded in a previous year, but that’s another story. The trick is to convert the lush green high moisture plant matter into a dry, dark green hay bale.

Two hot, sunny dry days are required for this process, so the first step is to listen to the weather forecast. When good weather is predicted, the field is mowed, and the plant matter laid out in wide rows to dry. This is a relatively simple process; the mower does most of the work. That’s it for the first day. The second day is a bit more complicated. To begin with, the weatherman has a better chance of an erroneous forecast the further out they predict, and we are now in the second day of the forecast. In the morning when the dew is off the field, and the hay starts to feel a bit crinkly, the hay is raked into narrow rows. It is left for a couple hours to finish drying. At this point the baling process is begun. The hay rows (called wind rows) are picked up and made into hay bales by the hay baler, which is pulled behind the tractor. Various systems are in common use here. Some farmers drop the bales in the field, and pick them up later. We use a baler that throws the bales into a wagon pulled behind the baler. Someone in the wagon stacks the bales for efficiency purposes.

What can go wrong? The weather is usually the culprit. If you’ve ever had a rained on cookout, you’ll understand. Rain is the enemy of the haying operation. It changes the beautiful dark green color to a kind of compost brown, which greatly reduces the value of the bale. Humid weather also hinders the process. The hay does not dry as well, and may have to be out three or more days. The more it is exposed to sunlight, the less the original green color is retained. This also lowers the value.

Equipment can break. Armyworms can eat your field. Weeds can take over the field. A dry spring can make plant growth almost none existent. The hired help may decide this is hard work, and go home. Good help is difficult to find.

But I’m still doing hay, so there must be some upside. After working in an accounting office through tax season, being outside during early summer is an absolute pleasure. I feel closer to God while in a field away from the telephone and fax machine. In fact, the above operation parallels the harvest referenced in the Bible. There are many similarities. Luke 10.2 mentions the harvest being great and the laborers few. Very few people will choose hard work in the sun, or witnessing to non-Christians.

Matthew 13.38 says ‘the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one’. This certainly parallels the timothy and alfalfa (good seed), and the weeds (tares). All things are possible for God, so He separates the good seed and burns the tares. Hay farmers live with the weeds in the bales, and plow them under and re-seed periodically.

So the next time you see a farmer mowing a field, you will understand a bit more of the haying process. You will know that the farmer is probably enjoying his work on that beautiful June morning, and you will also know why a certain Saratoga Chapel Christian brother always looks so tired during the summer.

Because of yesterday’s call for help - to God- on 911, I feel the Lord’s leading me to this selection in Psalm 37:42. "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of uniquity." For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." We never should envy the wicked. Not even when we see them be popular, or in any way obtain riches. No matter how much they ill get, it will fade away and vanish like the grass that withers up and dies. Our Godly hearts live differently from the wicked and, in the very end, have far bigger and grander treasures in heaven. The wicked obtain treasure for perhaps a lifetime, but what we get from following God lasts forever. This whole chapter (37) is full of goodness and knowl.edge and I urge each one of you to read it through meditatively and make it your own by copying some key words, underlining these words in your Bible and praying these back to God for Him to give them back to you at just the right time through the Holy Spirit.

v3: Trust in the Lord, and do good;...

v6: An He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgements as the noonday.

v7: Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way

v8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (vengence is mine, says the Lord).

v10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it sall not be.

v11: But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Just a word about anger and worry - two very destructive emotions: They both reveal an absence or lack of faith that God loves us and is in control. Instead we should trust in the Lord, giving ourselves to him for his use and safekeeping. When we dwell on our problems, we will become anxious and angry. Concentrate on God and His goodness and you will gind peace. Where do you focus your attntion? Beliving faith is saving faith - the battle belongs to the Lord. God bless you. In Jesus precious name.

Smush the tomatoes in your hands and put all the above in a big pot. Bring to a boil and cook ½ hour. Meanwhile, in another pot melt 1/4 cup butter and add 2 tbsp. flour. Stir with a wire whip and cook flour 2 min. (don’t burn it) then slowly add 1 c milk (or half and half) whisking and heating until thick. Add 2 tbsp. salt or less, ½ tbsp pepper, dash of thyme, basil, dill and nutmeg. Set aside.

Go back to the boiling tomatoes and blend 3/4 of the mixture in a blender. (leave some chunks in the tomatoes. Then add the chunky tomatoes and blended tomatoes to the milk mixture and stir to blend completely. Do not boil soup. Just before serving, add 1 c parmesan cheese.
Serves about 6

There is a little chorus that says "God is Good, all the time, He put a song of Praise in this heart of mine, God is Good all the time thru the darkest night, His light will shine." This past year we have had many opportunities to attest to the truth of these words. Two times this past year we nearly lost two of our children. The first incident involved the rupture of our youngest child’s appendix. Peritonitis had spread through her abdominal cavity and we came close to losing her. God heard our prayers. After many months, she was able to return to work and is doing very well.

The end of January the second call came, informing us that our foster daughter, Marcia’s car had been hit by a train. She probably was not going to live. Our foster daughter, Julie, and I headed for Louisana. We went to the travel agency to make flight arrangements. The door had just been locked. I went to the door, praying they would let us come in. God answered in a mighty way. The people were kind enough to help us make our reservations. We had no idea how closely God would hold us the next two weeks.

Marcia’s car had gone between the wheels of a train preventing a head-on crash which probably would have iilled her. The ambulance personnel knew their task. The doctor told us that if they hadn’t done exactly what they did do she would have died instantly. There were 6 out of 7 vertebrae broken We were told this is the center of breathing. Her vertebrae were not only broken but some were crushed. One of the ladies from her church was able to get to the scene and pray with Marcia. This woman told us she never takes her phone into her bedroom at night but for some reason she broke that rule that night.

Where Marcia lives, near Lake Charles, there is a rehabilitation hospital. We were told there were no beds available. Since her home was nearby, she wanted to go there so her daughters could visit. She asked me to pray with her. We had just finished praying and the nurse came and told us there was a bed available. The ambulance at the hospital told us we would have to pay $2,400 to transport her to Lake Charles. I continued praying and Marcia called the insurance company. Within minutes the ambulance service called informing us transportation was available.

Jennifer, our oldest granddaughter is a special education child and she is very attached to her Gameboy. Since that and her glasses were in the car, we fully expected to learn they were both destroyed. When we saw what was left of the car we were totally shocked. It was as if it had been through a car crusher. The glasses and Gameboy were not even scratched. It is so great how God took care of even the minute details. We had been planning to stay at a motel. Just before we left for the airport, we had a call from the person from the past who insisted we stay with her. She is a Christian woman, living near the hospital. We had wonderful fellowship with her. God kept us very close to him.

On the way home, Julie, our oldest foster daughter, had an insulin reaction and became unresponsive. My prayer became "Lord, we have seen enough hospitals, please work a miracle." I had juice and two packs of sugar in my hand. Julie opened her eyes and after much coaching she drank the juice with the sugar. God again intervened and another tragedy was avoided.

Marcia has had some setbacks but is back to work only seven months after this all occurred. The use of her left arm returned for awhile. She now has no feeling in it but can use it. Her eyesight is better. Only 1/4 of the sight in her left eye has been lost.

I wanted to share all of these miracles with you and remind you we have a great God. He cares even about the minutest detail in our lives and he never leaves us alone. We thank you all for the prayers and most of all, we praise the Lors for all he does and will continue to do so.

Proudly display the American Flag at your home and your place of business to show support and patriotism. Always follow correct procedures when handling the American Flag.

Pray for God to show us ways to help in the rescue and clean-up, to support the workers in New York City, as well as encourage those close to us who have lost or missing loved ones..

Look for signs of His hand in this tragedy. Just hearing the stories of courage and kindness have cheered my heart. The president is optimistic and encouraging about the spirit of the American People.

Practice leadership in your workplace and neighborhood looking for opportunities. People who don’t know the Lord are seeking ways to comfort themselves by trying to pray. God is providing unbelievable opportunity out of this tragic event.

This newsletter is for all of us at Saratoga Chapel to express what’s on our heart to the congregation. If you have something on your mind, want to share what God has done in your life lately, or if you would like the congregation to be in prayer for a specific thing in your life, please don’t hesitate to submit your articles to the newsletter staff.

We are looking for recipes, stories, cartoons, editorials and poems.

Email is the preferred way to receive your articles. Send them to ludked@union.edu. Articles will be edited for space and content and used at the discretion of the editorial staff. Unless specified, articles will also be placed on the church website at www.saratogachapel.com.