Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30
Luke 9:51-10:12
Psalm 74:1-23
Proverbs 12:11
"Let's roll." These were Todd Beamer's last words, a statement of resolution, on an in-flight call to Lisa Jefferson to report their plane, UA Flight 93, had been hijacked. Lisa then told him about the other hijacked planes that morning. Todd and others with him decided they weren't going to sit by and do nothing while the armed hijackers crashed the plane, and when they were done talking, Todd left the line open, dropped the phone, and said those fateful words.
We know what happened after that: the plane crashed, killing all passengers onboard, in a field 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, far away from the intended target - the White House. We also know that before he dropped the phone, Todd - a graduate of Wheaton, a Christian college - asked Lisa to pray with him. They prayed Psalm 23. As the time approached when he might well die, Todd turned to God and found the strength he needed to do what he knew he must.
The first line of today's NT reading is "as the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." As we commemorate Good Friday, we realize Jesus knew what He was going to do, and know how terrible the death He faced was. How did He find the strength to continue? We know that He prayed. In fact, we know He prayed all the way till the night before Good Friday.
Do you sometimes find yourself paralyzed, unable to do what you know you must - by fear, or worry, by the prospect of pain, perhaps even death? How wonderful that we can turn to God for the strength we need. It worked for Jesus. It worked for Todd Beamer. It will work for us.
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