Echoes Into Eternity - The Flight

Since the dawn of time, mankind has often looked up in the air and watched birds fly and wonder how.

How do they get into the air? How do the move across the skies. How do they soar to great heights?

Hot air ballons provided a lift off the ground in the 18th century. Gliders allowed short flights downhill. It wasn’t until December 17, 1903 that Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Dayton Ohio, were able to launch a powered aircraft and fly 120 feet. Suddenly we broke the gravity barrier, and aviation advanced at great strides in the next 66 years. Colonel Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on Oct 14, 1947 in the Bell X-1 (approx. 760 mph) and on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon.

Powered flight allowed mankind to overcome the force of gravity, leave the Earth and soar into the heavens.

When we become member of the Kingdom of God and are empowered by The Holy Spirit, we too can escape the hold that the world has on us and soar with our Heavenly Father.

 How does that happen? What are the steps required to successfully fly the aircraft we have been assigned to.

Flying is more that just sitting in the pilot’s seat with our hands on the controls.

 

I began Primary Flight training in Pensacola Florida in September of 1973. Our first course was in the classroom, learning the dynamics of aeronautics- how things fly.  Aircraft have four forces that are active at all times, (lift, weight, drag, and thrust) that need to be kept in balance for sustained flight.

Then we studied aircraft design, flight controls, power plants, and electrical and hydraulic systems. Next was meteorology- weather, and how to understand the wind currents and weather patterns. Finaly we were ready to get in the T-34 trainer and learn how to safely takeoff, do the basic flight maneuvers (turns, climbs, descents) and what happens when you run out of speed (stall) or depart the aircraft from normal flight (spin).

The procedures for takeoff, navigation and landing, had to be memorized, along with how to make an emergency landing when things stopped working.

 My next phase was jet training, where we learned how to flight in foul weather, navigating by instruments only, and navigating by ground reference over hundreds of miles. Then we learned acrobatic maneuvers – loops, rolls, inverted flight, high g turns. This was followed by formation flight, were we had to become comfortable fly five feet away from another airplane, doing turns, rolls, and even loops.

 

 

All of this training prepared us for the mission of Naval Aviation – power projection from a mobile airport (aircraft carrier) that could travel to anywhere on this planet and defending our country from foreign enemies through weapon delivery on targets. 

 Likewise, we have to become proficient in the dynamics of the Kingdom and learn how to fly safely and effectively accomplish our mission.

This process is focused on one word- Change.

As new members of God’s Family, we are excited about this new experience.

Life takes on a more dramatic exciting edge, and we are moving forward in His plan for us.

 But we have habitual behavior that must be overcome to facilitate the mission and relationship that God has planned for us.

 Our life experience has taught us to think about things in certain, often self-centered manner. We have patterns that take us to areas of comfort and satisfaction that have been developed over many years. We have reactions to situations and challenges that have become ‘us’- it’s the way we are. But something happens when the Spirit of God gets implanted inside us.

We notice that the people around us are sometimes adversely affected by our behavior. Our own well establish choices seem to become less desirable for our own good, as well as the community we are a part of. Its then that we become aware that God has an agenda with us, just as the Navy had an agenda with me when I reported to Flight Training at Pensacola.

He wants to make us excellent pilots, navigating the issues of life and accomplishing the mission He has for us according to His ways, and not or own.

 Ensign G.M Bagby, April 17. 1975

 

When men and women are “born from above” and get launched into the life of the Kingdom and enter into a love relationship with Christ, change begins. We cannot remain static if indeed we have an encounter with the Living God.

 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! 2 Cor 5:17 NLT

 The Greek phrase for “new persons” is “kainos ktisis”.

This literally means “a new previously unseen biological creation that is exclusively God’s work”.

The result of this process of change is that we will be more and more like God Himself, sharing His values and character. This may sound strange, even blasphemous to say such a thing!  But the reality is God is changing us into mirror reflections of Himself.

Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.       1 John 3:2 NLT

 The day we make a decision to receive Christ as our Lord and Savior and are “born from above”, this process of change begins. Salvation is just the first step in a divine progression! We are instructed to participate with this process- to lean into it, go with it, make it part of our everyday experience.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13

The first thing to note is the phrase ‘work out’ is not ‘work for.’

 Work out: katergázomai; to work. To work out; to bring about, accomplish, to carry out a task until it is finished.

 Kenneth Weiss, in his three volume set ‘Word Studies in the Greek New Testament,’ offers us a more-to-the-point translation of this significant passage.

“Carry to its perfect conclusion your salvation for it is God who, that He may carry out his own good pleasure, brings to effect in you both the initial willing, and the effective action”

God says that through His Holy Spirit, He will give us the desire to make changes in our thinking as well as our actions.

He will focus our attention on specific personal issues, help us understand His point of view on that issue, show us His way to think about and handle that situation, and then He will give us the power to make basic changes to our character so that it reflects His character, resulting in attitudinal and behavioral changes!

This is the difference between Christianity and all world religions which focus on our own actions to make us worthy of God’s favor. The Bible tells us that it will be God who is the initiator of a desire to change and will provide us with the supernatural ability to be changed.

 Understanding this dynamic is a key to accomplishing this change. Trying to change, to be obedient to God’s commandments without the love relationship with God takes us into the deserts of religious behavior.

It’s that love between us that is the huge motivator of this process.

A few years ago we were in the ancient city of Corinth. Still standing are some of the columns of the Temple of Apollo, behind Laura in the photo.

 

 

Close by this temple are the site of the ancient butcher shops where animals sacrificed at the temple were cut up and sold, usually to the restaurants which were conveniently located in the neighborhood. In this photo Laura and I are standing in one of the ancient meat markets.

 

 

In Paul’s day, the freshest steak in town was in one of these downtown restaurants close to the butcher shops. To some of the new believers of the church in Corinth, this presented a moral dilemma: Can we eat meat that has been sacrificed to Apollo or one of the other Greco-Roman deities, or shall we abstain?

Paul has an interesting discussion with his friends in Corinth regarding meat offered to idols that provides a a key to this process of change.

Now let’s talk about food that has been sacrificed to idols. You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. ² Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. ³ But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.

⁴ So now, what about it? Should we eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God and no other. ⁵ According to some people, there are many so-called gods and many lords, both in heaven and on earth. ⁶ But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.

 

 

⁷ However, not all Christians realize this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.

 ⁸ It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t miss out on anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. ⁹ But you must be careful with this freedom of yours. Do not cause a brother or sister with a weaker conscience to stumble.

¹⁰ You see, this is what can happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating in the temple of an idol. You know there’s nothing wrong with it, but they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been dedicated to the idol. ¹¹ So because of your superior knowledge, a weak Christian, for whom Christ died, will be destroyed. ¹² And you are sinning against Christ when you sin against other Christians by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong. ¹³ If what I eat is going to make another Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to make another Christian stumble.        1 Corinthians 8:1-13

 

In this passage, Paul uses the word “conscience” three times in an effort to communicate a spiritual principle.

 Conscience: suneídēsis; to be conscious of; to be one's own witness, one's own conscience coming forward as witness. It denotes an abiding consciousness whose nature it is to bear inner witness to one's own conduct in a moral sense. It is self-awareness. Particularly, a knowing of oneself, consciousness; and hence conscience, that faculty of the soul which distinguishes between right and wrong and prompts one to choose the former and avoid the latter.

 

Let’s follow a logical progression of thought.

 

·         Your Conscience is the meeting place of your body, soul & spirit. When we become spiritually connected to God through the Holy Spirit, we suddenly have a divine input into our conscience. Now we have another voice there beside our own.

·         Your divinely connected conscience is the breeding ground for your divine moral character;

·         Your character is the source of your gody convictions;

·         Your convictions are the basis for your righteous decisions;

·         Your decisions lead to your honorable actions;

·         Your habitual actions form your godlike behavior.

 How do we change behavior?  Work on changing character.

This concept was stated many years ago by the prophet Ezekiel:

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Ezekiel’s Heart is the same place as Paul’s Conscience. It’s where our spirit intersects with The Holy Spirit.

Paul told his friends in Ephesus that we come into relationship with God, we must undergo this spiritual renewal.

  Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.             Eph 4:22-23

 

 

The Theater in Ephesus

 

What parts of your “former way of life” do you see the need to throw off?

Which are some aspects of your relationships that need to be discarded? 

Are there issues of unforgiveness that need to be left behind? 

What parts of your personal belief system are the result of your experiences and intellect rather than your understanding of the Word of God?

Are there any “generational issues” that God is dealing with?

Since this is an ongoing process for member of the Kingdom, what is the current focus of this spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes?

 

It is often helpful in this process of change to have some guides in our walk with our Lord. Knowing where our path will take us helps us prepare ourselves for the changes that are coming.

 

¹⁷  So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ being darkened in their understanding,  excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; ¹⁹ and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

 

 ²⁰ But you did not learn Christ in this way, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ²² that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, ²³ and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and put on the new self, which  in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

The Ephesian Cardo

Paul gives us a sketch of Godliness in our personal attitudes and behavior, with 12 examples of transformed thinking and behavior. 

²⁵ Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.

²⁶  BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not give the devil an opportunity.

²⁸ He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

²⁹ Let no  unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

³⁰  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

³¹  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

³²  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
¹  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ² and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
³ But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

⁴ and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

⁵ For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.   Ephesians 4:17 - 5:5

 

These are directional signs on our walk. It’s where we are headed as the Holy Spirit initiates and provides the transformation. Real Change of heart is produced only by God’s Spirit.

  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

 

 

It is a work of God’s grace in our lives that results in tangible changes in our personalities and behavior. I’ve discovered that it is a partnership between God and me that results in more “Christlikeness” and less “Mikelikeness” in my life.

However, in this process I often encounter a question. Faced with the realities of our own condition, our own habits, and our own issues as we interact with the Holy Spirit, we come to the obvious question:  “Do we really want to change?”

 Do we have the desire to leave behind those selfish attitudes, and self-centered lifestyle?  Are we willing to face the issues in our lives and work them out according to God’s ways?

Yes we are! Generally… But sometimes the answer is “Not Now”.

We have chosen to follow Jesus, and place ourselves under his authority, but have you noticed that often there is something that rises up in us that prevents us from whole-heartedly running after Him?

 It is obvious that we all struggle with this to some extent. 

A few years ago I began cleaning out my closet.  There are a few pairs of pants and shorts that I was not wearing because they are a bit tight and uncomfortable.  They are all size 34, but somehow they have shrunk a bit.  Have you had that experience? I had them in a pile on a shelf and they were mentally labeled “Not Now”.

 I knew that I could diet and fit into them comfortably, but I was not ready to do that yet.  

When I was stuck for five months on Maui during the 2020 Plandemic, I had some stomach issues and altered my diet, and begam intermittent fasting. Guess what? When I got back to Florida, my ‘Not Now’ stack of shorts and pants were comfortable again. The need to address health issues led me to physical changes.

 

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked his disciples to remain awake and pray with him, yet he found them sleeping.

“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:41

                         

The Garden of Gethsemene

 

Yes, there is a struggle between our new spirit, and our old sinful nature.  The great missionary Paul experienced this himself, and it caused him great despair.

  I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.

¹⁸ I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. ¹⁹ When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.

²¹ It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.                                  Romans 7:15-22 NLT

 

It gives me comfort that one of my spiritual heroes experienced this same struggle.  This is the reality of the Christian life!  We are engaged in a constant battle of spirit verses flesh, and often it seems like I’m taking two steps forward, and three backwards. I get to point where I know God is asking me to “Follow Him” on a particular issue, but I just don’t want to.  I have often asked myself what it is that in a sense “pulls the trigger” to cause me to want to change, and actually follow through with it.

For many years, I suffered from a yeast imbalance in my body that caused many strange symptoms.  I went to many specialists in tropical medicine in Honduras, and some of the best doctors in the U.S.  Nobody could determine what was afflicting me. One day, I was in a health food store in North Carolina, and my eyes fell on a book about Candida yeast problems.  I read the list of symptoms, and they matched mine exactly.  As I eagerly read on, I discovered the “cure” was to deprive this yeast of all sugar and glutens (wheat products). Standing there in that store, something clicked inside me.  My trigger had been pulled, and I determined that I would not eat another piece of candy or chocolate, eat another mango, or eat any breads and pasta containing wheat.  I walked out a changed man in a sense, and for the next 8 months, I ate nothing with sugar or wheat. I lost about 25 lbs, and all my symptoms disappeared. It was another example of health issues moving me to a place where I was willing to change.

 

What is it that makes us “click” when we deal with this spirit-flesh struggle?

Paul finishes his discussion in Romans 7 with the exclamation,

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!                Romans 7:24-25 NLT                                                                                                                                                      

 There was a horrible punishment for murder under the Roman legal system.  The killer would have the body of the victim strapped to his body, and he would be placed in a cage for public viewing.  In the course of the next few weeks, the decomposing body would spread gangrene into the murderer’s body, finally killing with it with a massive infection. 

This is what Paul is referring to. “I have this body of sin strapped to my body and it is killing me!  Who will save me?  It will only be Jesus my Lord!”

 There is a story of a missionary to an Alaskan Indian tribe.  One of his recent converts was an old Eskimo man who one day came to him and said,

 “Pastor, ever since that day I invited Jesus into my heart, I have felt like there is a war going on inside me.”

“What do you mean?” asked the missionary.

“Well it’s like there is this white dog and this black dog, and they are fighting inside,” replied the old man.

The pastor asked, “Which one is winning?”

The old Eskimo thought for a moment and then said something very profound: “The one that I feed the most.”

Which dog are we feeding in our spiritual battles to walk the Christian Walk?

 

What is the fundamental activity that fosters this process of transformation? 

Peter writes:

As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! ⁴And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.   2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

        

Growing in our intimacy with Christ, or “knowing Jesus better” is the key to spiritual growth and change.

Over the years, men and women involved in this divine process of change have referred to it as “Sanctification”. It’s often a misunderstood word for this simple process: God and us working together to see His Divine Nature come alive in us.

 

Sanctification: The Process of acquiring and displaying Godly attributes and characteristics in your personal life that comes as a result of a personal intimate relationship with Him, a desire and effort on your part, and a work of the Holy Spirit that results in change.

 Peter says that ‘as we know Jesus better’, we will be transformed. It is all centered on entering into God’s Presence on a regular basis.

 How then do we enter into God’s presence?

 We do that through heart-felt worship and acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done for us. Worship opens a door for deep spiritual communication with God, and can be done almost anywhere in private or even public moments.

 Another “entry” is through His Word, the Bible, and regular times of reading and meditating. We will discuss how to most effectively read the Bible later in this study.

 Service is another way to step into God’s presence.  When we set our own agenda’s aside, and look to the needs of others, there is a spiritual dynamic that kicks in, and God’s presence is felt.  Mother Teresa, a famous saint who worked many years in the slums of Calcutta, believed that as she was attending to the sick and abandoned, she literally was ministering to Jesus Himself. (Matthew 25)

⁴⁰“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’     Matthew 25:40

 Trials are a time when we sense an urgent need for the presence of God in our lives. James says to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).  When trials come, take the opportunity to pitch your tent in the presence of God.

 Fellowship with your Christian brothers and sisters is another entryway into the presence of God.  The Body of Christ is literally where the Spirit of God dwells, and many times the manifestations of Spiritual Gifts within your brothers and sisters provide a very real touch from God Himself.  No wonder the Bible says. . .

. . . and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.         Hebrews 10:24-25

 

Thankfulness is an “attitude changer” that suddenly directs our thoughts to God rather than dwelling on ourselves. Giving thanks to God reminds us of the realities of our relationship with Him.  Appreciation for Him floods the atmosphere, and His Presence comes alive!

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 NLT                                                                                                                                                                  

Perhaps the most opportune “doorway” into the presence of God is prayer- simple communication with God any moment of the day on any subject.  God is always there listening, awaiting a call on the “celestial telephone” from his beloved children.  Prayer is more than giving God a list of our needs.  Prayer is listening to that “still, thin, voice that Elijah heard in the desert of Horeb” (1 Kings 19:12).  You can hear that voice anywhere you are, if you take the time to listen.  Prayer is a time to express yourself fully to God, but more of a time to align yourself to God’s thinking.

The life of a disciple should be filled with moments each day of entering into God’s presence.  This is the source of life itself.  We constantly need refreshment, strength, guidance, healing, forgiveness, encouragement, and divine perspective.  Yet how often do we get caught up in the events of the day, our own agendas?

 Our personal growth is decided on how much time we spend with our Lord.  Our view of ourselves, and our view of God is established as we spend time with Him, especially through His Word, and prayer.  We receive guidance for the ministry that God has planned for us when we are in His presence.  The Fruits of the Spirit are all cultivated through times in God’s Presence.

Spending time with Jesus is the most important thing a disciple can do!

Let's learn to fly in close formation with Him!

 

 

 

Close Formation With Him!