You’ve been told to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure time. I mean, seriously. Why do TSA (Transportation Security Administration) agents have to be breathing down your neck as you hand over your “obviously legit” driver’s license and your passport? Seriously. As a matter of fact, they blacklight your driver’s license and passport and stare at them with their magnifying loupe as if you’ve got something to hide. Like I might be walking around with fake documents. Seriously. Oh wait, that’s only the beginning! You’ve got to take your shoes off, empty your pockets, take out your laptop, throw all of your precious belongings into a gray plastic bin, and roll it down some conveyor belt. Leading to the infamous x-ray machine! I mean, the sole purpose of this $200,000 solid steel box is to allow the TSA agents to invade your privacy. You get to walk through a metal detector that beeps if even if you’ve got a stainless steel joint replacement. TSA agents yells, “Cavity search!” And speaking of privacy violations… of course… the infamous “pat-down”. Maybe they give you "the wand". Like I seriously might have something that I’m trying to hide from the crown of me head to the stripes on my socks. Such a tedious process – awkward, uncomfortable, unnecessary.
But after you’re through ranting, step back and take a look at the big picture. Did you know, according to Fox News, that twenty-one major terrorist plots have been foiled in the US since 9/11 (THAT WE KNOW OF)? So I’ll say this. Airport security checks might be a definite inconvenience to our easy-going American way of life, but they are there for a reason! The safety precautions are in place – DON’T MESS WITH THEM!
So, you ask me, “Joe, how does airport security tie into our discussion about Christian life?” And here’s my answer for you.
God is our airport security check. He is our personal TSA agent, He is our x-ray machine, and He is our blacklight! He pats us down, He tells us to take our shoes off, He tells us to have our licenses out so that they can be examined.
Like TSA security screening, nothing gets past God. We may try to hide our sins from God, but nevertheless, our efforts are futile. When you think you’re all alone, you’re not, because God is watching. If you are His child, He is screening you every moment to foil your daily “terrorist plots”, or your sins and strongholds that you try to “sneak” past airport security. Proverbs 15:11 says, “Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD--how much more the hearts of men!”, and 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." God can see the terrorist plots hidden in our hearts that our friends, family, classmates and coworkers can’t always see. Don’t try to hide from God. He has called us to be transparent before Him!
God’s Word is our guideline for safe air travel; not an inconvenience, but rather a safety precaution. God gives us the Ten Commandments not to hassle us, but rather to say to us, “Make sure you follow these directions to keep yourself from getting hurt!” No, God’s not telling you to not steal or lie because He doesn’t want you to have any fun. Find joy in keeping God’s Laws, knowing that the brilliant policy maker, our Heavenly Father Himself, has developed His laws with the intentions of keeping us safe.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Welcome Aboard Jehovah Airlines Flight 777
ATTN:
Congratulations on choosing to fly with Jehovah Airlines! You’ve just claimed a free gift - a one-way ticket aboard Jehovah Airlines Flight 777 enroute to Heaven, where there’s a dream home waiting for you upon your scheduled arrival. However, to ensure smooth travel and avoid additional expenses and security complications, it would behoove you to travel lightly. No need for hefty and cumbersome suitcases – just avoid the hassle!
You should either choose to leave any heavy baggage behind at the door, or you may choose to take advantage of Jehovah Airlines’ baggage check-in services – just let the experts take the weight of that luggage off your shoulders! Plus, it’s FREE! I mean, on all other airlines, your bags cost more to fly than you do! Just let the dedicated baggage handlers of Jehovah Airlines take care of you!
As Christians, we’ve claimed our free gift – a one-way “trip” to spend all eternity with our Heavenly Father. There’s a beautiful paradise waiting for us, as Revelation 21 describes,
“The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass…
The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.”
Then again, the Christian walk is not, as one of our beloved Catholic brothers at CBU would say, “a bowl of cherries”. It is most certainly not easy! But to move forward along that journey, a Christian must leave behind his or her baggage – sins, guilt, regrets, shortcomings - or rather, leave it in a professional baggage handler’s care. Our professional baggage handler is God, and when we seek His face both through prayer and reading His Word, He relieves us of this cumbersome baggage. As Christians if we choose to hold on to this bulky luggage, we will be burdened along our Christian walks, and our growth becomes stagnated, if not completely halted, like the traveler. There is no way that traveler can board that plane with a 100-lb rolling suitcase. HE or SHE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE. If the airline doesn’t get you, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will!
Take advantage of God’s free service! If we will seek His services, He (Jehovah Jireh) provides all that we need to live in accordance with His ways, as Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Congratulations on choosing to fly with Jehovah Airlines! You’ve just claimed a free gift - a one-way ticket aboard Jehovah Airlines Flight 777 enroute to Heaven, where there’s a dream home waiting for you upon your scheduled arrival. However, to ensure smooth travel and avoid additional expenses and security complications, it would behoove you to travel lightly. No need for hefty and cumbersome suitcases – just avoid the hassle!
You should either choose to leave any heavy baggage behind at the door, or you may choose to take advantage of Jehovah Airlines’ baggage check-in services – just let the experts take the weight of that luggage off your shoulders! Plus, it’s FREE! I mean, on all other airlines, your bags cost more to fly than you do! Just let the dedicated baggage handlers of Jehovah Airlines take care of you!
As Christians, we’ve claimed our free gift – a one-way “trip” to spend all eternity with our Heavenly Father. There’s a beautiful paradise waiting for us, as Revelation 21 describes,
“The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass…
The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.”
Then again, the Christian walk is not, as one of our beloved Catholic brothers at CBU would say, “a bowl of cherries”. It is most certainly not easy! But to move forward along that journey, a Christian must leave behind his or her baggage – sins, guilt, regrets, shortcomings - or rather, leave it in a professional baggage handler’s care. Our professional baggage handler is God, and when we seek His face both through prayer and reading His Word, He relieves us of this cumbersome baggage. As Christians if we choose to hold on to this bulky luggage, we will be burdened along our Christian walks, and our growth becomes stagnated, if not completely halted, like the traveler. There is no way that traveler can board that plane with a 100-lb rolling suitcase. HE or SHE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE. If the airline doesn’t get you, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will!
Take advantage of God’s free service! If we will seek His services, He (Jehovah Jireh) provides all that we need to live in accordance with His ways, as Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
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