Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster.
I just realized that there are many myths about that tragic day. The Space Shuttle didn't explode, and the crew didn't die instantly. That got me thinking about all sorts of things.
For starters, death is a certainty. There's no getting around that reality in this life.
This is a general rule for all mankind.
Unless you're a Christian "saved by grace through faith" (Ephesians 2:8-9), you have no chance of experiencing a life after death in this world. None. This is also a general rule for all of mankind.
It's also a challenge though. What I mean is that I think back to when I was a non-believer and recall how 'challenging' the concept of God, the idea of salvation, seemed to me at the time. It was as if I was a foreigner in a foreign land whenever I would try 'explore' the Christian faith intellectually.
What I didn't realize at the time was that there was a Biblical explanation for that. Simply put, it wasn't up to me to somehow figure out how to 'solve' that challenge because it wasn't something that could be solved by me.
The sovereign God of the universe, the Creator of all things, wasn't sitting in Heaven on His throne as if His fingers were crossed, just hoping that I'd 'make the right decision' and choose Him instead of Satan. It doesn't work that way, my friends. That's not Biblical.
No, the Biblical reality of becoming a Christian, of becoming "Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20), is far more profound than the way we've been told that it works.
Back to the 'challenge' that the Challenger disaster made me think of this morning.
Even though there's still some dispute over whether or not this is 'official', I came across this supposed transcript of the final moments of those Astronauts on board the Space Shuttle that day.
Let's assume that's real.
How sobering is it that there's fierce resistance to God at the beginning of the ordeal, but then it's quickly followed by utter helplessness and pleas for deliverance, mercy, and protection from Him?
I imagine that's what the prospect of imminent death is like for a majority of people. That's why I'm comforted by the hope given to me by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who chose me to be one of His own.
We can never know the heart of each person on the Challenger that day, or whether or not each one was committed to Christ. Yet, isn't it eerily appropriate that those final words spoken actually communicated both a desire to be saved and an awareness of the only One who could save us? Isn't it eerily appropriate the the only person alive to stare death in the face out of the entire crew was the one person who spoke the words of truth?
I thought of something else too. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 tells us quite plainly that there is a time for...everything. Yes, even tragedies like the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster 26 years ago.
On one hand, this can bring worry, but on the other hand, it should bring you hope because we know that God is in complete and total control.
In our Pop Culture influenced world, you'll probably remember the classic song "Turn, Turn, Turn", which was not only a song about this passage of Scripture, but it was also by a group from the 1960s called The Byrds.
That's ironic because we're talking about a tragedy made possible by the fact that man wanted to be like a bird (and God?) by being able to fly to the heavens via a Space Shuttle.
Coming full circle, we know that there is no genuine salvation apart from genuine repentance for your sins. In other words, you can't merely say a 30-second prayer, claim you're "born again" and saved, and then go on living as though you were not transformed into a new creation like the Bible says we will be at the moment of salvation.
I doubt the members of The Byrds had this in mind when they were singing and putting Ecclesiastes 3 into song, but their lyric, "to everything turn, turn, turn..." should be viewed by us as an exhortation; a repeating of a clear Biblical command necessary for salvation.
To paraphrase, and as it relates to the content of this piece, we might think of it in this way...
Repent! Place your faith in Jesus Christ at this very moment.
My friend, you could die today from circumstances unrelated to the fulfillment of end times prophecy. Do you know where you would spend eternity if that were to happen? I pray you do.
Yes, it's a challenge, but one that can be overcome not by your power but by His. If you sense the Holy Spirit drawing you to Him, encouraging you to finally repent of your sins, place your faith in Jesus Christ, and commit your entire life to Him from this moment on, then do it! Do it now!
Grace and peace to you and yours. Keep looking up!
Share|
I just realized that there are many myths about that tragic day. The Space Shuttle didn't explode, and the crew didn't die instantly. That got me thinking about all sorts of things.
For starters, death is a certainty. There's no getting around that reality in this life.
Hebrews 9:27 (ESV) And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
This is a general rule for all mankind.
Unless you're a Christian "saved by grace through faith" (Ephesians 2:8-9), you have no chance of experiencing a life after death in this world. None. This is also a general rule for all of mankind.
It's also a challenge though. What I mean is that I think back to when I was a non-believer and recall how 'challenging' the concept of God, the idea of salvation, seemed to me at the time. It was as if I was a foreigner in a foreign land whenever I would try 'explore' the Christian faith intellectually.
What I didn't realize at the time was that there was a Biblical explanation for that. Simply put, it wasn't up to me to somehow figure out how to 'solve' that challenge because it wasn't something that could be solved by me.
The sovereign God of the universe, the Creator of all things, wasn't sitting in Heaven on His throne as if His fingers were crossed, just hoping that I'd 'make the right decision' and choose Him instead of Satan. It doesn't work that way, my friends. That's not Biblical.
No, the Biblical reality of becoming a Christian, of becoming "Christ's ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20), is far more profound than the way we've been told that it works.
In a nutshell...
-- Psalm 51:5
-- Isaiah 64:6
-- Romans 3:10-12
-- Romans 6:14-20
-- 1 Corinthians 2:14
-- Philippians 1:29
-- Acts 11:18
-- 2 Timothy 2:25
-- Ezekiel 36:26-27
-- John 6:44
-- John 3:16
-- Romans 5:8
-- 1 Peter 2:24
-- John 1:12-13
-- John 3:8
-- James 1:17-18
-- Romans 3:28
-- Romans 4:5
-- Romans 5:1
-- Luke 13:3
-- Acts 2:38
-- Acts 17:30
-- Ephesians 2:8-9
-- 1 Peter 1:16
Back to the 'challenge' that the Challenger disaster made me think of this morning.
Even though there's still some dispute over whether or not this is 'official', I came across this supposed transcript of the final moments of those Astronauts on board the Space Shuttle that day.
Space Shuttle Challenger Final Transcript
"The following transcript begins two seconds after NASA's official version ends, with pilot Michael Smith saying, "Uh-oh!" Times from the moment of takeoff are shown in minutes and seconds and are approximate. The sex of the speaker is indicated by M or F.
T+1:15 (M) What happened? What happened? Oh God, no - no!
T+1:17 (F) Oh dear God.
T+1:18 (M) Turn on your air pack! Turn on your air...
T+1:20 (M) Can't breathe... choking...
T+1:21 (M) Lift up your visor!
T+1:22 (M/F) (Screams.) It's hot. (Sobs.) I can't. Don't tell me...God! Do it...now...
T+1:24 (M) I told them... I told them... Dammit! Resnik don't...
T+1:27 (M) Take it easy! Move (unintelligible)...
T+1:28 (F) Don't let me die like this. Not now. Not here...
T+1:31 (M) Your arm... no... I (extended garble, static)
T+1:36 (F) I'm... passing... out...
T+1:37 (M) We're not dead yet.
T+1:40 (M) If you ever wanted (unintelligible) me a miracle... (unintelligible)... (screams)
T+1:41 (M) She's... she's... (garble) ... damn!
T+1:50 (M) Can't breathe...
T+1:51 (M/F) (screams) Jesus Christ! No!
T+1:54 (M) She's out.
T+1:55 (M) Lucky... (unintelligible).
T+1:56 (M) God. The water... we're dead! (screams)
T+2:00 (F) Goodbye (sobs)... I love you, I love you...
T+2:03 (M) Loosen up... loosen up...
T+2:07 (M) It'll just be like a ditch landing...
T+2:09 (M) That's right, think positive.
T+2:11 (M) Ditch procedure...
T+2:14 (M) No way!
T+2:17 (M) Give me your hand...
T+2:19 (M) You awake in there? I... I...
T+2:29 (M) Our Father... (unintelligible)...
T+2:42 (M) hallowed be Thy name... (unintelligible).
T+2:58 (M) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall...not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures... though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil... I will dwell in the house...
T+3:15 to end None. Static, silence.
[NOTE: To date there is no official confirmation as to the accuracy of this transcript]
Let's assume that's real.
How sobering is it that there's fierce resistance to God at the beginning of the ordeal, but then it's quickly followed by utter helplessness and pleas for deliverance, mercy, and protection from Him?
I imagine that's what the prospect of imminent death is like for a majority of people. That's why I'm comforted by the hope given to me by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who chose me to be one of His own.
We can never know the heart of each person on the Challenger that day, or whether or not each one was committed to Christ. Yet, isn't it eerily appropriate that those final words spoken actually communicated both a desire to be saved and an awareness of the only One who could save us? Isn't it eerily appropriate the the only person alive to stare death in the face out of the entire crew was the one person who spoke the words of truth?
I thought of something else too. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 tells us quite plainly that there is a time for...everything. Yes, even tragedies like the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster 26 years ago.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
On one hand, this can bring worry, but on the other hand, it should bring you hope because we know that God is in complete and total control.
In our Pop Culture influenced world, you'll probably remember the classic song "Turn, Turn, Turn", which was not only a song about this passage of Scripture, but it was also by a group from the 1960s called The Byrds.
That's ironic because we're talking about a tragedy made possible by the fact that man wanted to be like a bird (and God?) by being able to fly to the heavens via a Space Shuttle.
Coming full circle, we know that there is no genuine salvation apart from genuine repentance for your sins. In other words, you can't merely say a 30-second prayer, claim you're "born again" and saved, and then go on living as though you were not transformed into a new creation like the Bible says we will be at the moment of salvation.
I doubt the members of The Byrds had this in mind when they were singing and putting Ecclesiastes 3 into song, but their lyric, "to everything turn, turn, turn..." should be viewed by us as an exhortation; a repeating of a clear Biblical command necessary for salvation.
To paraphrase, and as it relates to the content of this piece, we might think of it in this way...
"To everything (everyone)...TURN! TURN! TURN! Repent and turn from your sins at this very moment because you don't know when God has appointed your time to die!"
Repent! Place your faith in Jesus Christ at this very moment.
My friend, you could die today from circumstances unrelated to the fulfillment of end times prophecy. Do you know where you would spend eternity if that were to happen? I pray you do.
Yes, it's a challenge, but one that can be overcome not by your power but by His. If you sense the Holy Spirit drawing you to Him, encouraging you to finally repent of your sins, place your faith in Jesus Christ, and commit your entire life to Him from this moment on, then do it! Do it now!
Grace and peace to you and yours. Keep looking up!
Share|
2 Comments:
Hey Jeff, this is Marshall. It is interesting that your post is called Turn, Turn, Turn!. God is about to transfer the kingdom of the house of Israel from the royals to someone else. Ezekiel 21:27. The third turning is about to take place. Israel is ready to be made a kingdom again.
It is no accident that the last of the FOUR part movie series, 'Twilight,' is titled 'Breaking Dawn." Judah's twin sons Pharez and Zarah, their names mean, respectively, Breach (like breaking forth), and Dawn (as in the first of the day).
Also, I think the Iceni are somehow tied in with the giants thing from the last post.
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