“They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly.” Psalm 64:4 (NLT)
Everyone seems to knows where they were on the morning of Tuesday, 9/11/01.
Charles James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025)
And now, we will likely remember yesterday— where we were on Wednesday, 9/10/25, when Charlie Kirk was murdered. That date will, in my mind, no longer be Arnold Palmer’s birthday, which I used to celebrate as a fan of the “King”. Instead, it will be the day Charlie died.
Looking back on September 11, 2001, I was on a golf course in Arizona. I wrote about this experience two years ago on this website in more detail. Twelve men from Northern Ireland had joined twelve Americans for our Demoss Cup golf retreat. We were ready to tee off at 7am when we were summoned to a TV screen inside. The Twin Towers were on fire.
Not knowing what else to do, we played golf while the towers were burning. In hindsight, it seems ridiculous, but this was a golf trip, so we played golf.
The jokes and laughter with our Irish friends on Monday was replaced by somber conversations and tears on Tuesday and beyond. Click here to read my recount of that day.
Ten days later, I wrote “Monday is Gone, Tuesday is Forever”. It was a cry of hope that the world would be a better place after September 11, 2001. Twenty-four years later, I am not sure. Perhaps it is just the ebbs and flows of life- good days and bad. Evil wins somedays and goodness triumphs on others. We laugh and we cry. Ecclesiastes says it well. So here is my “Tuesday” poem from 2001, which now has turned to a Wednesday to Weep.
“Monday is gone. Tuesday is forever.”
· On Monday, we complained that church was too hot yesterday. On Tuesday, church was just fine.
· On Monday, we were experts on everything. On Tuesday, we knew nothing.
· On Monday, we had answers. On Tuesday, we had questions.
· On Monday, we talked about heroes in the NFL. On Tuesday, we talked about real heroes called firemen.
· On Monday, we discussed the return of Michael Jordan. On Tuesday, we discussed the return of Jesus.
· On Monday, we heard about Michael Jackson’s tribute to himself. On Tuesday, we heard about America’s tribute to cops.
· On Monday, Barry Bonds and a baseball were a big deal. On Tuesday, a fire chaplain and his courage were a big deal.
· On Monday, strangers in New York never spoke. On Tuesday, strangers in New York saved each other.
· On Monday, the flag was forgotten. On Tuesday, the flag was forever.
· On Monday, Wall Street mattered. On Tuesday, the people on Wall Street mattered.
· On Monday, Letterman joked. On Tuesday, Letterman choked.
· On Monday, the President was a question mark. On Tuesday, the President was an exclamation point.
· On Monday, we were asleep. On Tuesday, we were awake.
· On Monday, there was no prayer in American schools. On Tuesday, there was prayer in every American school.
· On Monday, the ACLU was in court. On Tuesday, the ACLU was on their knees, like everyone else.
· On Monday, we were Democrats and Republicans. On Tuesday, we were Americans.
· On Monday, Americans were black and white and Hispanic and Asian. On Tuesday, Americans were brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers.
· On Monday, we were Dutch, or South African, or Japanese, or Mexican, or Ethiopian, or American, or Lebanese, or Afghan. On Tuesday, we were children of God.
· On Monday, we asked God to bless us. On Tuesday, we asked God to have mercy on our souls.
· On Monday, we turned our eyes to the stock market. On Tuesday, we turned our eyes to Heaven.
· On Monday, there was never enough time. On Tuesday, time stood still.
· On Monday, this world was all we had. On Tuesday, eternity was all that mattered.
· On Monday, Jesus was just a man. On Tuesday, Jesus was The Man of sorrows, one of us.
· On Monday, Jesus wept alone. On Tuesday, we all wept, for our friends, for our nation, for our world, for our own souls that are so lost without God.
We pray that from this day on, Monday is gone… Monday is Never. From this day on, it’s Tuesday Forever.
9/11 New York terrorist attacks
Now, I sit here on this September 11, 2025, contemplating that it feels like division is worse than ever. This attack did not come from a foreign hater of America. It happened in Utah of all places. Apparently a young American pulled the trigger. In some ways, this feels worse than a foreign attack.
And yet, I am overwhelmed as well with my own mortality. When the Twin Towers fell in 2001, I was fifty (50) years old. It was my Prime-time. I was CBMC International President, in full-time ministry with a wonderful organization whose purpose was telling the Gospel of Jesus to business and professional people around the world. I had been a trial lawyer and Senator. My professional life had been left behind to pursue a special calling into a ministry that I loved.
But even then, I knew it would end sometime soon (which it did in 2003), and there would be another phase of life. It happened when I ended up in Family Court as a judge in 2004. All good. But that came to an end as well at age 66 with ‘retirement’.
But this now seems different. There is no ‘next step’, except Eternity itself. Just as Charlie Kirk met Jesus on September 10, so will I, and it will be someday soon.
The last chapters are being written. The final doors are being opened. The party is almost over.
But there is Good News in the mess.
I sent a WhatsApp message today to Luke, an eighteen year old kid in Scotland who is just starting college this month. He is a golfer and a caddie at Royal Dornoch. He is a rare Christian in Scotland, doing his best to follow in the footsteps of Godly parents and grandparents. He is trying to find a new way for this faith in Jesus- knowing that my generation seems to have failed to preserve the true gospel of Christ, leaving Scotland as a virtually pagan nation.
I wrote to Luke something like this- “You probably never heard of Charlie Kirk, but he was murdered yesterday and it is the only thing on our news. I told him ‘America Mourns. Charlie was a role model for your generation’, hoping he would go inline and pay attention.
His response stunned me. “Charlie Kirk was an absolute hero of mine, Tim. I am absolutely devastated about it. I watched his stuff every single night. He was a fantastic Christian rold model and his politics were bang on. I’m just hoping it will light a spark amongst the rest of my generation to follow in his footsteps. Charlie and his family are inspiring to me and my generation and I hope his legacy stands strong. God Bless.”
I wrote back and just said “WOW”.
So, at age 74, it feels like my time is short. It is time to ‘finish well’. But Charlie’s death may have inspired a generation of true Jesus people, and so I hope that my 2001 poem becomes prophetically true, that Monday is gone and Tuesday is forever. But for now, it is Wednesday, a time to Weep.