A Blessing or a Curse

My Belief

I gave a fellow pilot a lift to his home town the other day. He is a great guy to have an intellectual debate with but absolutely denies the possibility of God. I flew with him a few years ago and I think we debated and discussed just about every political and religious issue that can be imagined. He is convinced that Jesus Christ and The Bible were just conjured up to be a control mechanism for society. Even after I had given him a compelling argument to disprove evolution, he still rejected any thought of a creator. He even came up with a new theory while we were flying together. He called it the theory of permanence.  He said that just like matter can not be created or destroyed, the same must be true for people and the universe. He says that people and the earth have just ALWAYS been here. This is CRAZY!!! How much faith does it take to think that is true versus a creator designing the amazing complexity of life.

God declares in several places in the Bible that each person will be Judged based on how much information they have. This directly makes you and I a blessing or a curse to everyone we tell about Jesus. The message of the Gospel will either bless their life by showing them they have a need that only the Lord Jesus can fill or it will be used as evidence against them. God says that no one will stand before Him with excuse and I would say that someone who has had a “Healthy dose of Jesus” given to them does not have much of a leg to stand on. This puts you and I in an interesting position. People who hear the message of Christ from us will either Love the day they met us or Hate the day they met us. I can’t really see any other choice. 

Scripture

Matt 11:21-23 ²⁰Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.^[d] If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

Application for Life

Even the Apostle Paul freely admitted that not everyone will be saved. Paul exclaimed that his hands were clean because he had told everyone he ever met about Jesus. We need to follow this same principle. We may be a blessing to someone’s life who accepts Christ or we maybe the instrument of God’s judgment. I could envision a situation where the Lord tells each member who rejected Him that our witness was evidence against them. People have the freewill to choose or to reject the Lord Jesus. Our call from God is to give them the option.

 

Heaven on Earth

My Belief

                              

As a pilot I am required to get a regularly scheduled medical check-up. This certifying that I am physically fit to operate an aircraft. It is routine and for the most part a “non-event”. I have been going to the same doctor to do this for years now. Just as routine as the physicals are, are my heavy political discussions with this doctor. He is Jewish, a democrat, a liberal, and does not believe in God in any format what-so-ever. He is well aware of my conservative political and Christian values. Most of our discussion during my examination are always centered around him trying to convince me of his ideals. He is always touting how big business and high profits are destroying the country. He is adamant about how there needs to be healthcare and equality for all. His belief is that in this country there needs to be a perfect society where everyone is provided for, for their entire lives. Most of the time I do a lot of listening and not much talking. He really doesn’t want to debate much, he simply wants to talk a lot. During this recent visit I stopped him for a moment and told him this, “The difference between you and I is this: you think a utopian “heaven on earth” society it possible and I know for a fact that it will never happen while people are running the show.”

I believe those that choose not to believe in God will do their best to create a perfect society on earth. The problem is that people are sinful and flawed by their very nature. Corruption, greed, and plain old sin will always destroy man’s efforts to create heaven on earth. As a follower of Jesus, I know that this world is evil and broken. I know that there will never be a utopia on this planet until the Lord Jesus himself rules it personally. The more that society pulls away from the truth found in the Bible, the worse our society will become. The story of this planet is already foretold in the pages of the Bible. More and more people will move away from the hope that Jesus offers. They will trade God for their own strength and ability. Christians will continue to be a shrinking minority. Take hope though! While people cannot create heaven on earth, Jesus promises that one day He will do this very thing for us, personally.

Scripture

Isaiah 2:4   He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Application for Life

Satan is currently allowed to control this world. God has granted him the ability to have this time of direct interaction with humanity. The Devil will continue to push this world away from God and toward himself. He is preparing the political landscape to hate anything dealing with God, Jesus, or the Bible. Soon Christians will become even more hated and alienated by society. Stay strong in your relationship with God so that you can weather the coming storm. When the SON breaks through the clouds one day soon, we will finally have Heaven on Earth.

Angry Forgiveness!!!

My Belief

All of my passengers had gotten off of the plane, collected there things and where on there way into the airport. My crew and I were also ready to leave the Jetway and head  into the terminal. As we walked the next crew arrived. We exchanged pleasantry's with the other crew. I asked the other Captain things like, “how long is you day? Where is you next overnight? It’s a good plane. etc…” As I walked by his First Officer I made the passing comment “How is it going man?” He then proceeded to give me an evil look and turn away without saying a thing. I was a little shocked and said, “I guess not very good, huh?” As I walked away I heard him turn to his Captain and say, “I hate that guy”! Now I was mad! I looked back with anger in my eyes and gave him the meanest departing glance that I had given anyone in a very long time.

                  

As we walked through the terminal my First Officer asked me, “what was that all about?” I told him that I did not have any idea, but how dare that insubordinate jerk act like that. I then went on to say things like, “Who does he think he is? And he better hope he never has to fly with me!” I was letting my anger get the better of me over what seemed to be random individual insulting me for no good reason.

When I got to my hotel room I felt bad about the entire situation. I felt bad that someone had so much hatred for me and I felt bad that I had not reacted the way Christ would have reacted. Christ never met anyone with hatred. He always offered love and friendship to all that He encountered. I decided to pray about it. I told God that I did not know who this person was or why he had treated me this way. I asked God to help me in this situation. Humbly I told God that I was angry at this person and did not feel I would react well if I ever saw him again. I asked the Father to help me and to control the situation if I ever encountered this person again.

Wouldn’t you know it. It was only 2 days later on the same trip that I ran into this guy again. The odds of that happening are pretty slim in themselves. There are thousands of pilots at our airline that are scattered all over the world. The chances that I would run into him again in a random city 2 days later are slim. I had just collected my paperwork for the next flight and was walking back toward my departure gate. As I stepped out of a doorway I was face to face with this person again. I felt my face tighten up and my eyes focused directly on him. I was ready for what I thought may be a hostile encounter. As he stepped closer to me I expected some choice words. Instead however, I saw his hand stretch out to me in a gesture of friendship. This really floored me! I was expecting anything but that. We had a good little chat and he apologized and explained that he had been an absolute jerk the other day. He said we had flown together a few years ago and I had done something to upset him. He said that he had been holding it against me all of these years and that he was sorry for the way he had acted. We had a great few minutes of clearing the air and straightening out our misunderstanding. As we parted ways I had to stop for a moment and think to myself WOW! How awesome and powerful is our God!

Scripture

Eph 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Application for Life

I believe in this life as believers there are many things that we can not handle by ourselves. There are situations that get the best of us and sins that we can not seem to overcome. By our own means it is impossible to beat or overcome these things. It is only when we pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to help us that we are able to prevail. I think God has set it up this way so that we will learn to rely on Him and not to lean on our own capability. Trust God, ask in the name of the Son, and rely on the Holy Spirit. Through Him all things are possible!