Near Death Experience – The Dangers of Being on
Autopilot - Purity 578
Purity 578 11/17/2021 Purity 578 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of one whopper of a seashell underneath the blazing sun on
the shores a Florida beach, presumably near Jacksonville, comes to us from a friend from the U.K. who was
visiting their transplanted and recently married offspring and enjoyed a week filled
with coffee shops, early morning beach walks, and family time. As life has seen their children grow, marry,
and move to another country, our friend expressed how blessed they felt to have
this special time away from “not so sunny Portsmouth”.
I believe it was the American philosopher, Ferris Bueller, who said “Life
moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could
miss it.” My British friend knows the
truth of that, and his report encourages us all to stop and look around and
appreciate the life that God has given us.
Last night, I had a moment to appreciate the life that God has given me
in a sudden and startling way.
I have been frequenting Star Point Church in Clifton Park NY for various
purposes over the last several months and have gotten in the habit of speedily
leaving their grounds to get on to State Route 146 on my way home, which is 45
minutes away. Because of the frequency of
my visits, the length of my drive home, and the traffic on 146, I have learned
that it is best to not hesitate too long at the stop sign at the edge of their
property because the traffic on 146 can be substantial and if you wait too long
you could find yourself waiting what seems to be an eternity to start that near
hour long drive home.
So last night, as I left a session of pre-marriage counseling there, I was
almost victim to the perfect storm of circumstances that could have ended in
tragedy. I was tired and in a hurry
which is never a good mix. Because I was
tired and feared the fatigue of the drive ahead I decided to grab an energy drink
as I was driving out of the parking lot.
As I approached Route 146, I did what I always did: I looked both ways
and gauged whether it was safe to do a “rolling stop” before hitting the gas
and zooming into the flow of traffic safely, preparing to do just that as I had
on a dozen occasions in the past.
But unlike my previous exits from that property, last night it wasn’t
safe to do a rolling stop and as I was fumbling with the just opened energy
drink, I panicked and went to step on the brake but last night my foot slipped
off the brake and got momentarily stuck between the gas pedal and the brake pedal!
As I tried to correct my action and reapply my foot to the brake, I
started to careen directly into the path of an oncoming SUV. From their perspective the other drive would
have seen me pull up to the stop sign, pause, and then do a herky, jerky entrance
right into their way!
The Lord protected me last evening with an alert driver in that vehicle
because as I fought to slow down and correct my progress, the other driver adjusted
their direction and was able to avoid broad siding me as I sat helplessly bathed
in their headlights as they went speeding past me.
I immediately thanked God for His protection because I know that His
will is sovereign and the things that happen or don’t happen are all under His
control. Thankfully, MT getting smashed, injured, and possibly killed on the 16th
day of November in 2021 was not in the Lord’s plans.
As I cautiously drove the rest of the way home, I repeatedly thanked and
praised God for His protection and mercy as I recalled a similar situation in
my past where a woman I didn’t know made a similar mistake while driving and
paid the ultimate cost.
A few years ago I was working as part of the line crew doing some pole
work on Route 20 near Duanesburg when a woman who couldn’t see the oncoming traffic
because of an obscured view decided to take a chance by blindly easing out of a
parking lot of a Mobil gas station onto the State Highway. At the precise moment that she decided to
trust that it was safe, a pickup truck was coming the other way at 55 miles an
hour. The crash was loud and immediately
one of my colleagues yelled for someone to call 911. As a flagger on an adjacent road, with my
work area safe, I ran down to route 20 and started flagging traffic away from
the accident site. After 45 minutes or
so I was relieved from my post by local police who closed the road with their
squad car.
As I walked back to the site, I learned that one of our line crew had
performed CPR on the woman at the site but to no avail. From what I understand
she was killed almost instantly from the impact trauma.
So after my near miss last night, I realized that I didn’t just avoid a
fender bender. Because of the alertness of the other driver, and because of God’s
protection, I avoided a crash that could
have taken my life.
Stuff like this happens all the time.
Because of our repeated actions and familiarity of settings we all have
places where we have come accustomed to acting in a certain way. I have friends who have joked about stop signs
that are “really a yield sign” or “only
a suggestion”. I and my friends have
also admitted that the details of an entire commute were a blur because of the over
activity of a busy brain or the laxity of inactive mind. So I know that I am not alone with being
guilty of the sin of being on autopilot.
Thankfully, we don’t hear of the fatal accidents among our friends too often,
but they do happen. Our near misses are so commonplace that we often are jolted
to attention by them but quickly take them for granted and fail to mention them
to anyone.
A lot of people just think they were “lucky” but if we properly
understand how God has created and shaped the universe according to His will,
we understand that there are “no accidents”.
So if you “get lucky” today because of a near miss, because something
really good happens, or because you just lived to make it home to experience
the “same old same old” with your loved ones, remember to stop and look around
at your life and thank the Lord who gave it to you and all blessings you
enjoy.
God’s common grace falls out upon all mankind as the potential disasters
that could come from us being on autopilot “somehow” don’t come to pass.
For every tragedy that does come , there are tales of how it could have
been worse and even in those moments we are given an opportunity to see the big
picture of the brevity and precious value of our lives.
He saves us for our mistakes even when we don’t deserve it and He sent Jesus
Christ to save us for all eternity.
So keep walking and talking with God. Pray everyday for His protection
and presence in your life. When you do that, you will recognize that He never
leaves us or forsakes us and that His comfort and love is available to
experience every day of our lives.
Today’s Bible verse
is drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is :
1 Kings 8:56 (NLT2)
56 “Praise the LORD who has given rest to his people
Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful
promises he gave through his servant Moses.
Today’s verse reminds us that God is faithful to His
promises and delivers us from calamity and gives us rest.
The appropriate response to our “good fortune” of near
misses is to praise the Lord.
Today’s verse tells us to do just that. As adopted sons and daughters of God through
our faith in Jesus Christ we become grafted into God’s spiritual nation of
Israel. Now while Gentiles like me can’t
claim a direct natural heritage with the people of Zion, because of Jesus
Christ, I can claim a spiritual heritage with “God’s chosen people.”
New Testament scripture points out that just because you
have a natural connection to the Sons of Abraham does not mean that you are a
part God’s chosen people. The Old Testament documents that all but two of the
original nation of Israel, that experienced the supernatural deliverance from bondage
to Egypt, were allowed to go into the promised land.
So even though some experienced the faithfulness of God as
physical members of the nation of Israel when He parted the Red Sea and Moses
led the tribes to safety, scripture indicates that you still have to have a
personal relationship with God to be delivered into God’s kingdom.
The promises of God are for the people of God. So make sure
you and your loved ones have made Christ the Lord and Savior of your lives to
have assurance of your salvation and membership into God’s spiritual “Israel”.
When you make peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ,
you become one of His chosen people and you can finally know what it feels like
to find rest.
The fear of death and the power of sin over you are put to
rest through Christ. In Him you become
heirs of the promises of God and as you agree with and live according to God’s
will and ways for our lives as described in the Bible you will experience just
how faithful God is in fulfilling His promises.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work.
B. How Did Job Respond to His Horrendous Ordeal?
Job's perspective of life had become thoroughly saturated with physical,
mental, and emotional pain. He could not peer "behind the scenes."
Feeling robbed of joy, he saw death as the better option. Did Job see God as
good? Read the points that follow and draw your own conclusion.
- Job, who
does not deny or cover up his pain, acknowledges that the Lord has the
right to decide what is given to him and what is taken away.
"'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:21-22) - Job, after
confronting his overly critical wife, lives with obvious integrity and
focuses on trusting God with their lives—with their present circumstances
and with their future.
"His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." (Job 2:9-10) - Job
suffers such severe pain that he wishes he could die. He honestly laments
before his 3 friends.
"Why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?" (Job 3:16) - Job
repeats his desire to be released from his earthly life in order to stop
the pain, yet he focuses on being a man of integrity. If he were dead, he
says,
"Then I would still have this consolation—my joy in unrelenting pain—that I had not denied the words of the Holy One." (Job 6:10) - Job,
though dismayed over his misery, admits that his God is the Maker of the
universe and has performed innumerable miracles.
"He [God] is the maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." (Job 9:9-10) - Job
doesn't stuff his feelings—even admitting to self-loathing, complaining,
and bitterness—but then pleads with God to reveal what he has done wrong.
"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me." (Job 10:1-2) - Job
doesn't understand why he has become a laughingstock to his friends;
however, he continues to focus on the many attributes of God.
"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.... To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.... To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his.... He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light." (Job 12:10, 13, 16, 22) - Job states
that even if God were to kill him for attempting to defend himself or to
argue his case, still—and he makes this clear—he will continue to trust in
the Lord.
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." (Job 13:15) - Job
answers that God has established the precise length of our lives—even has
set limits we cannot exceed.
"Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed." (Job 14:5) - Job,
though distraught over his human accusers, realizes he has a heavenly
advocate—an intercessor who is also his friend.
"Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend." (Job 16:19-21) - Job, who
knows he is surrounded by mockers, restates that he will hold to righteous
ways.
"The righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger." (Job 17:9) - Job, in
spite of feeling torn down by his friends and even by God Himself, focuses
on seeing his Redeemer in the future.
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" (Job 19:25-27) - Job has no
comprehension of why calamity has continued to afflict him, yet he still
states that God is the highest judge.
"Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?" (Job 21:22) - Job, though
he can't find the Lord, realizes that he is not lost to the Lord—the
Refiner who is testing him so that he will come forth as gold.
"He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." (Job 23:10-12) - Job, who
genuinely believes he is undeserving of such calamities, remains
determined to defend his integrity.
"As long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit. I will never admit you [my friends] are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live." (Job 27:3-6) - Job, after
experiencing a deep encounter with God, realizes that it is only because
of the extremity of his severe suffering that now he is able to
"see" God.
"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:5-6)
Conclusion:
Although Job suffers severely in the furnace of affliction, he indeed comes out
like gold—pure gold refined by the fire.
Question: "Why do Christians sometimes suffer for
doing good?"
Answer: Evil
is always in opposition to good. By its very nature, evil will seek to harm and
destroy those who do good. The only real peace to be found in the midst of
suffering is in the One who has made us to be at peace with God. In His time,
this Prince of Peace will do away with evil and thereby secure total peace for
all eternity for His followers. He Himself suffered for doing good. As His
followers, we at times will also experience suffering for doing good. Jesus
said ...
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.... If
they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching,
they will obey yours also." (John 15:18, 20)
Biblical Counseling Keys: Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.
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