Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

In this crazy world, where wrong often seems right and what we see as good is often "spoken of as evil," it's easy to be confused. Many saints have followed popular thinking to their own destruction. How can we be in the world without allowing the world to distract us from the mission God has given us?

What is our mission anyway?

• Generally speaking, Jesus' disciples are to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Wherever we live, we are to represent Him--talk as Jesus talked, walk as Jesus walked. In doing so, His joy will remain in us (John 16:24) and we will shine as those who have hope (I Thessalonians 4:13).

• We are to give others a reason for the hope that we have (I Peter 3:15). And that reason is, of course, Jesus who is coming again to receive us unto Himself (John 14:1-3).

•  We are to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). In an age of injustice, cruelty, and pride, we are to act counter-culturally evidencing that God's ways are not man's ways (Isaiah 55:8).

Will we stick out? 

Will we become objects of ridicule? 

Possibly. 

What do we do then?

Sing.

Like Paul and Silas in Acts 16--imprisoned for following Christ--they sang to God through the night and He shook the ground for their sakes, releasing them from prison that they might continue to serve Him.  Sing!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

The Mystery of the WWII Navy Plane

When did the plane crash--during WWII or after it was decommissioned? Where is the pilot? Are there living relatives who have mourned his loss all these years? Many questions surround this recent discovery of the CurtissSB2C Helldiver that was found near Rockaway Beach, Oregon. We may never know the answers to all of them.

But God does.

God knows the plane, the pilot, and the mission. He witnessed the crash, the pain, and the confusion surrounding the man who never returned.

Why didn't He share this knowledge years ago? I can't answer that. But I have walked with God long enough to know that His ways are not our ways: they are infinitely better. And when I can't figure them out, I do well to simply trust Him.

What about the pilot? We can hope that, if he wasn't already a believer, he had time (even a moment) to make his peace with God who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

What about the family? God is compassionate and gracious. One can only hope that the loss of their loved one caused them to draw closer to God and that they are even now reunited with their loved one and enjoying the pleasures of heaven.

A team of Navy investigators is on the scene and will make their findings known in time.

For each of us, the lingering question should be: When my life comes to a screeching halt, where will I spend eternity?