9/11: A Wake-Up Call for God's People
Part I: One More Chance for a Revival in the Hearts of God's People
Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of American Christian evangelist Dr. Billy Graham, passionately believes that the tragic events of September 11, 2001, were a wake-up call for all Christians. The Christian clock is still ticking toward another watershed moment.
In her new book, Expecting to See Jesus: A Wake-Up Call for God’s People, Lotz outlines the signs of Jesus’ return step by step and explains that he could return at any moment.
"The nation is taking steps to stay prepared for another terrorist attack but God's people still have hearts that are stale and time is running out," Lotz said.
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Lotz told The Christian Post in an interview this week that she wants Americans to realize how far we have pushed Jesus out of our government, schools, and personal lives.
“It is time to repent and invite God back into our lives,” Lotz said.
“The signs that Jesus gave us in the Bible and the headlines in the news are coming together in a dramatically sobering way.”
Lotz, now 63, says she profoundly believes that if she lives out her natural life, she will live to see the physical return of Jesus to earth.
Since the events that transpired on 9/11, terrorism preparedness has become a top priority. Whether it is training, equipment or communications, "more" and "better" are the buzzwords for cities. Federal officials say they have conducted a thorough review of the emergency management procedures in cities across the U.S. and reorganized some major operations to focus on terrorist preparedness.
Potential targets across the nation are numerous and most operation systems have been enhanced and "dedicated solely to emergency management," said Paul Christian, Boston's fire commissioner.
“We certainly see the need for sharing intelligence, sharing communication, but we want to control communications. ... We don't want people going to information overload," Christian said.
Lotz, the president and CEO of AnGel Ministries, a nonprofit organization that undergirds her efforts to draw people into a life-changing relationship with God through His word, says the nation is physically preparing for another terrorist attack through Homeland Security and multiple government agencies.
“But God’s people are not preparing themselves personally for Christ. They are missing the message and not assessing their relationship with Jesus with enough zeal,” she said.
Lotz believes that the attack on Sept. 11 was meant to be a wake-up call to all Christians.
"But we missed the message," she said.
She says God’s people should start a revival within the church that will shake believers into changing their lives.
“Our nation is seeing wars, unprecedented weather events, starvation, and other signs that depict the end of the world as we know it,” Lotz said.
“Most Christians are not preparing themselves spiritually for the coming of Jesus Christ and they need to wake up. I believe we have one more chance to make things right with our Lord.”
She remembers how Sept. 11 personally transformed her own faith and instilled in her a passion to share her convictions with others.
“On that day, God woke me up and set my heart on fire to tell other people the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
In her new book, Expecting to See Jesus, Lotz breaks up the message so readers can understand what is going on in the world around us. She divides the signs Jesus gave his disciples into five categories and shows how they are being fulfilled right now.
Lotz details how the signs Jesus described as “birth pains” are here and happening all around us. By referencing Matthew 24:8 and the Book of Revelation, she says there have always been wars, famines, earthquakes and the persecution of His people, but just as birth pains, they are happening more frequently and more intensely than ever before.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaida on the United States. On that morning, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and thousands of those working in the buildings.
Both towers collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. Hijackers had redirected the fourth plane toward Washington, D.C., targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House, but crashed it in a field near Shanksville, Pa., after passengers tried to take control of the plane.
There were no survivors from any of the flights and the overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries.
“God meant for all of these tragic events to change us," Lotz said.
Lotz says that it’s possible to do everything right – go to church, pray, read your Bible, be involved in ministry – and still lack a "fire of personal revival" in your relationship with God.
"I believe the answer is that there is more to knowing God than just head knowledge alone," Lotz said.
Lotz believes the kingdom of God is desperate for churches that are filled, not with good Christians, but filled with great ones that are ready to be revived.
In conjunction with the book’s release, Lotz is hosting an unprecedented national webcast on Sept. 11, 2011, with Joel Rosenberg, the New York Times bestselling author of The Twelfth Imam.
The event is designed to function as a final wake-up call to the nation.
Lotz will remember the victims of 9/11 while calling for a spiritual revival ten years after the terrorist attacks that changed our nation.
"We want all Christians to join us that night as we consider the times in which we live, refocus on Jesus as our hope for the future, and ask God to re-ignite such an intense longing for His return that we live the rest of our lives with no regrets,” Lotz said.
“Millions will join us on this night from Jerusalem to California. Anyone can listen and watch and it is free for everyone.”
Expecting to See Jesus: A Wake-Up Call for God’s People is available at most major bookstores and online at http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/.
The Wake-Up Call for God’s People Simulcast begins at 7 p.m. (EST): Visit this site right away for information: http://www.annegrahamlotz.com/events/wake-call-church-simulcast/wake-call-church-simulcast/
