The Best Prayer

My Belief

I felt tired starting a recent 4 day trip. It’s been a hard working summer for me. I feel like I have done about 4 Billion laps across the USA. Even so, I still wanted to be used by God. I wanted to share Jesus with whoever I may fly with, but I really didn’t feel like I had it in me that week. I didn’t feel energized, upbeat or like I was going to be able to start very good conversations. I was sort of in that mode where the best I could do was to simply get the job done. Well, in this situation I prayed my favorite thing to pray. It is just simply to tell God, “Please use me Lord. Please give me opportunity to do your work, whatever it may be.” Let me tell you what, God answers prayer and God takes whatever little bit we have and uses it to His Glory. 

My First Officer was a nice enough guy. In fact, he seamed really nice. He was polite and respectful and not bitter about the current economic situation. We started chatting a little and one thing led to another and he told me that he was a Christian. This was a shock to me. I never have anyone try to tell me about Jesus! Well, all my fatigue faded away and my curiosity was in overdrive. I had not told him that I was a Christian yet so I saw this as a golden opportunity to see what he really believed. I prodded him with all the common questions that I get like “What does Christian even mean? Who is Jesus? Do you really believe all that crazy stuff in the Bible? Well Jews and Muslims believe in God, are they going to Heaven too? Let me tell you what, he had trouble answering my questions. His HEART was absolutely in the right place but his knowledge of the Bible and of his faith was lacking. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I stopped him and told him that I am also a follower of Jesus and that I could help him clean up all these rough spots in his answers. Throughout the course of the 4 day trip we had great conversations about eternal security, creation vs. evolution, the accuracy of the Bible, and God’s plan for the nation of Israel. It was exactly what I needed. God not only let me do a job for Him, but He gave me one that would refresh my own spirit.  My First Officer was encouraged and fired up to share his knowledge of the Bible, and I had a new partner to help share the Love of Jesus with who ever will listen.

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

Application for Life

The very best prayer we can pray is one that brings Glory to God. When we pray with a sincere heart to be used by God, He answers that prayer. If we offer up whatever we have left to God, He will take it and do amazing and wondrous things with it.

Performance Driven!?!?

My Belief                                       

As I so often am, I was knee deep in a conversation about Jesus Christ and Salvation with a First Officer of mine. We had gotten all the way down to the deep nuts and bolts of it. I was telling him that it was all about Grace and not about anything you could do on your own. He was in disbelief and exclaimed to me this, “You mean to tell me that if a baby raping murderer confesses Jesus as Lord and asks for forgiveness he will be saved, but if a Buddhist monk spends his entire life in faithful service to his community but never finds Christ he will burn in HELL?!?!” My response was, “100%, ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!!”

This is so important to understand in our Christian lives. We are on a GRACE system not a human performance system. We DID NOT get salvation because of our good performance and WE WILL NOT lose it because of our bad performance. God has given a FREE gift to each of us that will believe and call Jesus Lord. It is not of ourselves and not of our works so that NO ONE can boast before God. As I have said before if you stand before God and say it was 99% Jesus and even 1% you, then that is an absolute STRIKE OUT!. If you can say it is 1% or more your own effort than you can boast before God that you helped, did it, or at least gave it the “old college try”. God says that will never happen. Nobody will boast before almighty God. No one will take away from the FINISHED work of Jesus on the cross. We are undeserving and only God’s amazing LOVE has given us the GRACE to have relationship with him and hope for the future.

Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:11-15

¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Application for Life

If you sin then you need to ask for forgiveness so you can be back in relation with God. YOU DID NOT LOSE YOUR SALVATION. All of us fall short and on our best day we don’t even come close to the perfection of Christ. Nothing measures up to the standard of Jesus. That is why the Law/Word was give…to show us how far away from the mark we are! Grace means that it is all Jesus and none you. Embrace Jesus' free gift of life and forget about yourself.

Crazy Love

My Belief

A member of my crew recently asked me an interesting question. He knows that I am a follower of Jesus and he likes to try to “hit me” with question that I may not be able to answer. I must admit the question he asked this time caused me to pause and think hard for a moment. I had never tried to answer a question like this to a non believer before, and it took a moment to relate it in a way that would not sound like “hocus-pocus” religious rhetoric. His question was this: “How do you love Jesus? In an intimate way? Like a father? Like a brother? or What? I had flown with this member of my crew many times and we spoken often about his fondness for history. I used his appreciation for history to try and answer his question. My answer proceeded something like this:

Suppose that back in the 1940’s America had been invaded by Nazi’s. I then told him also imagine that the Nazi’s had indoctrinated you amongst there ranks as they had done with so many young minds. Pretend they had given you authority and power to arrest, invade, and assert that authority on the people of America. Now pretend that you used this power against me. You and some of your military buddies, just for sport, trapped my entire family and dogs inside my house and then proceeded to light in on fire. This killed everyone inside and you made me watch in horror. After the tragic event was over, you then realized what a terrible thing this was and you turned to look me in the eye. Instead of rage, my eyes met you with compassion, grace, and FORGIVENESS. As your Nazi buddies witnessed this exchange they turned to lay hands on you for what they presumed to be a moment of weakness. As they approached, I not only forgave you, but I jumped in front of them. I exclaiming to them that I was at fault and to let me take your place as the icon of their hatred.

I then proceeded to ask my fellow crew member how he would feel toward me in this situation? You grossly wronged me, yet I forgave you. Then when you realized you were in danger, I took your place. This would describe the love I have for Jesus. Back to reality, I realize that I am the offender here. I have wronged Jesus and I deserve a horrible punishment. In spite of this Jesus still forgives me and protects me. Words can not really describe the love that I have for my Savior, but this sort of paints the picture.

Scripture

Luke 10:27

²⁷He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'^[a]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^[b]"

Application for Life

Since there is NO reason for The Lord Jesus to Love us the way He does, what does this mean for our life? It means we should give our all to Christ! It means there is no wrong that can be done to us that we can not forgive. It means that this is not our home and our future has been given new meaning. LIVE HARD for Jesus! After what He did for us, is there really any other way…

What’s in a Name…

My Belief                                              

Have you noticed how common profane language using the name of Allah is? Think about how often you hear things like “Muhammad dam it”, or “Sweet Buddha”. No, I’m not crazy. I am simply trying to illustrate the point that you never hear any name of any other religion ever taken in vain. Our culture has take the name of God, Jesus Christ, and countless variants thrown around like they are going out of style. Most people don’t even notice all the times that the name of God is casually used in everyday life. Why is it that Allah, Buddha, Sheeva, Muhammad, or Joseph Smith are never used in swearing, cursing, or just casual gestures? Why are the names of God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit the only ones trampled on?

I will tell you why this is! Satan is in control of this world! He does not hate Buddha, Allah or Muhammad. He knows they ARE NOT REAL. They are fake! Satan created them to keep as many people as possible away from the one true God. Satan hates God, Satan hate Jesus, and Satan hates YOU! Satan will do all he can to trample on the name of God and to curse the name of Jesus. In fact, the end of the Bible tells us this is exactly how Satan “kicks off” the tribulation at the end of the age. He plans to set himself up as God and blaspheme God loudly from the temple in Jerusalem. Satan will never be as powerful as God. He will never get the exalted thrown of God no matter how much he wishes, schemes, or tries for it. In essence the only thing Satan can really do is make fun of God, trash His name, and try to get you to do the same.

Scripture

Rev 13:5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.

Exodus 20:7  "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Application for Life

Take one week and see if you can count how many times you hear the name of God or Jesus just thrown around like it was the word “is”. If you are guilty of misusing the name God, then ask for for forgiveness and research why the name of God is so Holy. Also count how many times you hear any other religious names kicked around. Jesus is the most beautiful name we have. We should hold it in the highest possible regard. When we use the name of God or Jesus it should ONLY be to bring Glory and Honor to Him.

Christianity is a Crutch

My Belief

I recently went to a church in Time Square, NY. The guest speaker told a great story of an encounter he had with a non believing individual. The person approached this guest speaker and explained that he thought all of this “Bible” stuff is a fraud and Christianity itself is a “Crutch” for weak people. The speaker responded to this individual by squaring up and looking the person directly in the eye. He then exclaimed, “Jesus absolutely is a crutch and I am a weak broken person that needs that crutch”.

 

This is a perfect description of what Jesus is for us. The problem is that we have no idea what Jesus is offering us until we realize that we are completely broken people. Once we realize that we have a need that this world can not fix, then we can understand that Jesus is offering us the help that allows us to stand in front of a Holy God. We have evil as part of our very nature. We are born in a state of need just like a person born without the ability to walk. Someone without the ability to physically walk would be ecstatic to have the use of a crutch or a wheelchair in order to become mobile. In the same way if we can stop being concerned with our own self interest for a minute, then we can realize that we are paralyzed by our own nature. Our relationships fail, our thoughts wonder to evil, and our societies crumble due to our own corruption. This has happened all throughout history because people always have been broken and in need of help. Jesus is that help, Jesus fills that need, and Jesus is the crutch for us to lean on in our brokenness.

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Application for life

In this life we never stop being broken. We must recognize that we are always sinners. God’s judgment will only pass over us if we are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. This is the ONLY hope that we have in life. I reflect upon this everyday. I see myself sin EVERYDAY. I say things, I do things, and I think things that separate me from God. My only hope and my only strength is when I realize that Jesus is the “Crutch” that catches me every time I fall.

Faith Like an Atheist

My Belief  

I came to a recent discovery while flying with an atheist First Officer. He has way more BLIND FAITH than myself or any Christian I know. Pilots usually get to know a fair amount about one another while flying together for several days. The first few conversations are always the same. Are you married, girlfriend, kids, where do you live, hobbies etc etc blah blah blah… Then by day 2 or 3 we get to the more interesting conversations. Politics, Religion, or views on current events. When he began talking about why he believes in NO possibility of God what-so-ever this peeked my curiosity. Most people will admit a possibility, but he was convinced that no such chance could ever exist.

This type of strong opinion always begs for supporting evidence. I have to know what has led someone to this solid a conclusion. So I asked him repeatedly and listened very intently for his evidence. His answer was always the same. “Just because”. He believes in the possibility of UFO’s, government cover ups, and evolution but he has no idea why. He could not give me one piece of evidence to support his ideas. His answer was always, “It is just my belief”. I even asked him for a percentage of his assurance. He said he was a good 40% sure that technology will prove aliens and evolution in the near future. This was astonishing to me. Someone that does not even understand the argument of evolution is so convinced in ANYTHING but God.

I provided him with credible evidence for why evolution is not an “iron clad” theory. Also, I provided him with archeology that supports the history of the Bible and fulfilled prophesy that supports the Bibles claims to be a book of supernatural character. While all of this does NOT prove God it is at least a credible argument. Any logical individual would give it a possibility of being correct even be it ever so miniscule. My First Officer would not even give it a 1% percent possibility of being correct. While he has NO evidence to support his own ideas, he is unwilling to accept anything corroborating the existence of God. This is a blind faith beyond any I have ever seen.

Scripture

Matt 17:20  He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Application For Life

So many people have closed their minds to even a possibility of God. This is not logical and we as followers of Christ must redouble our efforts to be bold both in our passion to share with them and pray for them. We must do everything we can to break through this worlds firm grip on their lives so that they realize their need for salvation. We would also do well to educate ourselves on the evidence so that we may have complete faith in our Salvation. 

Memory Items and Limitations

My Belief                   

When you fly a jet aircraft there are countless things that can go wrong. There are dozens of systems on board that control pressurization, temperature, hydraulics, flight controls, engine sequencing, navigation, and on and on and on… Any one of these things could malfunction causing a problem large enough to stop the flight from continuing. Obviously, some are more serious issues than others and that becomes the pilots job to determine the correct course of action. Some of these situations allow time to follow flow charts to isolate and/or correct the problem. Some however, such as an engine fire do not. In these extreme situations the pilots have been trained to accomplish “Memory Items/Limitation” procedures. These are specific actions that must be performed with out hesitation and without the ability to “Look up” the necessary actions. Without this recognition of a serious emergency and the ability to promptly respond, disaster would certainly ensue.

God’s word is much the same way. There are plenty of things that warrant time for careful research and discussion, yet there are other things that would best serve us to have on the front of our minds. This way we can recall quickly when a situation dictates the need. I think most of these topics pertain directly to the process of salvation and repentance dealing with our Lord Jesus Christ. King David specifically said in Psalms, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, so that I may not sin against You”. There are trials that are presented before us each day in our lives that would cause us to sin or misrepresent the truth of the Bible. These may be critical times where there was a clear opportunity to fill a need in someone's life or to bring glory to God by not choosing poorly in our decisions. There are times where careful research is required, and then there are times when without God’s word on the front of our minds certainly spiritual disaster will ensue.

Scripture

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Application for Life

I myself am recommitting to memorizing God’s Word. I encourage everyone to start putting a few meaningful versus in the front of your mind so that it is ready to be used in a moments notice. When that person at work questions your faith, when you let your eyes wonder to places they shouldn’t, and when someone confronts you with the wisdom of this world; we will be ready to recall that needed scripture. Commit to learning God’s “Memory items and Limitations” so you know exactly what to do when the Emergencies of Life happen.