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Key Bible Verse: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Bonus Reading: Colossians 1:15-22

I was thrilled that our President called the nation to prayer on the Friday after the terrorist attack. The previously cynical press embraced the event like eager altar boys. Dignitaries and beltway politicians lined the front rows like approving deacons and elders.

"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" was sung with power. President Bush delivered a reverent yet moving message peppered with biblical references. Billy Graham spoke of his faith in Jesus and pointed to the cross on the wall.

But afterward, as I basked in the glow of the momentous cathedral service, a friend said to me, "Did you notice that when 'A Mighty Fortress' was sung they omitted the second stanza?" I hadn't, and quickly recalled the words:

"Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing.
Were not the right Man
on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
and He must win the battle.

In post-9/11 America, God was back but Jesus was not. The thought of Jesus as the supreme and exclusive victor over evil, was too disruptive. Too divisive.

—Joseph Stowell in The Trouble with Jesus

My Response: How prepared am I to stick up for Jesus as the world's "only way" Savior?

Adapted from The Trouble with Jesus (Moody, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Please show me, Lord, how the reality of Easter should impact my day-to-day life.

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