Persevering Through Fire

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.    

James 1:12

 


A few weeks ago, shortly after we had put Ethan down for the night, I heard someone faintly yelling and banging on a door at a house nearby. I went to check to see what the commotion was. As I approached the front door, I saw what was happening: our neighbour’s house across the street was engulfed in flames. 

Thankfully, everyone was able to get out of the house safely and within a couple of minutes, the fire department was there with about four trucks and a dozen plus firefighters putting out the flames. 

Answered Prayer

 

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

 

Matthew 19:13-15

 

It was lunch time on Monday and the Cadet Center, a large warehouse-like building in Cross Lake, MB, was all ready.  That’s where we would be holding the first LAMP VBS of the year.  The 11 team members had made the long trip, all the way from Indianola, Iowa for the first time and were brimming with excitement in their matching shirts. 

Swords into Plowshares

He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 

Isaiah 2:4

It didn't take long after the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 for airplanes to be used militarily. The first world war began just over ten years later when aircraft started to be used in the war effort. World War 2 drove many of the major advances in aviation technology, helping to usher in the jet age and modern aircraft as we know them today.

Isaiah prophesized in the above verse that in the last days nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. That is, they would take instruments of war and turn them into instruments of peace.

I’ve always somewhat thought of the work that we do in that way. When MAF started shortly after the second world war, aviation had, for the most part of its history, been used for death and destruction. The first MAF pilots took what had been instruments of war and used them to help bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

LAMP’s Cessna 182, GODX, takes off from Cooking Lake Airport in Alberta

Obviously, the planes we use on the mission field today are not the same as the planes that are used in the military.  The plane needs to be suited for the job and it’s critical that the right aircraft is used for the right mission.