What would you do if you found yourself in a frightening free fall while flying on a commercial airliner. In 1979, Roger Peterson did and his life changed.

 

11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

God seems to grab our attention when life events happen that send us cascading toward death. 

In 1979, Roger Peterson, the founder of Stem ministries, a ministry that educates people on the value of short-term mission work, was on an American Airlines flight that suddenly lost altitude. 

What would you do if you found yourself cascading to almost certain death?  As you can imagine, the people flying on this TWA flight forgot their planned agenda for the day and began praying.  They weren't thinking about their bank accounts, their investment portfolios, or even their job interview in the city they were traveling to, but instead, they worried about where they would spend eternity.  For some, they wanted to make amends with God, the one they neglected thinking about because they thought they had more time in this life.

When I first met Roger in the mid-1980s, I sensed that God had touched his life in a very supernatural way.  As, I watched this CBS reports video, I know now that God not touch his life, but everyone else on that fateful flight.

As head of STEM ministries,  Roger Peterson led our group of young adults traveling to Haiti where we did missionary work with the poorest of the poor.  To this day, I will never forget the devotional he gave to us the first morning of our arrival when he challenged us to get rid of our American hearts but to see these Haitian people as people that God loves equally as much as he loves us.

God never promised any of us that we would see a ripe old age. Events happen that take the lives of people every day. Disease, heart attacks, car accidents, and on the rare occasion, airline accidents take the lives of people who were enjoying happily achieving goals. 

What about you. Are you someone who thinks they have another 30 years before you need to take seriously the things of God?  

You might and you might not, but wouldn't you like the assurance that if anything happened to you today that you would go to heaven? Here are some bible verses that teach about the assurance you would have if you accept Jesus as your Savior.  

1 John 5:12-13  "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. "

Then we have this verse, "John 5:24“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." 

Finally, there is this verse from Hebrews 7:25, "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them."

By saying this prayer and truly meaning it, you can have this assurance, "Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for saving me and for answering my prayer.

Remember, Jesus is more than an insurance policy. He wants to have a relationship with you. He wants you to come to him every day with all of your struggles and emotional grief pain. Like me, I know your decision will guide you for the rest of the days of your life.

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35
 

I had this dream where I was alone and shipwrecked on a desert island. I felt a cool breeze over my face. I heard the gentle waves of the ocean hit the shore. I opened my eyes and saw the brightest stars against the black sky. I 

I looked off in the distance to see my damaged boat resting vicariously against the rock. Half of the boat was underneath the surface of the water.  I looked around this place without seeing a single soul. I was alone which is an eerie feeling for someone who thrives on being around people where those conversations stimulate the senses. 

 As I looked around I felt my pocket New Testament when I reached down with my right hand.  I cried that at least my Savior, Jesus, hadn’t abandoned me. The very Savior who entered my soul in that early spring of 1974 continues to be my anchor of my soul. ‘Though the world may slay me, though friends may abandon me, though my earthly wealth may dissipate, Jesus Christ will never abandon me, nor will he ever abandon you if you say, “Jesus, I need you today. I know I haven’t led a perfect life. I know you died for my sins so that I might have life. Come into the open door of my life. Thank you for giving me this salvation in these uncertain times”. Amen

So often we focus on the death of the person and all of the emotions that go along with that and forget that their bodies have been resurrected with our Lord Jesus Christ

 

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:1

I have to admit that these past several years haven't been easy on me, or anyone else I know. It is never easy trying to survive a pandemic of unknown viruses. Yet, I'm reminded as I read God's holy book that what we are seeing occur around us has already occurred in the past. Just as Vladimir Putin is reigning terror on the citizens of Ukraine, there have been other evil kings left in power who did the same thing. 

We often tend to focus on the dark side of life instead of the hope God wants us to see in his word.  When God sent his Son to earth to see what it is like to be a man or woman on this earth, He decided to take matters into his own hands by allowing Jesus to be crucified on the cross for all of our sins. But the story doesn't end there because despite the Romans placing the heaviest stone in front of the cave where his body lay and despite the Romans placing 24-7 guards in front of the stone, the stone was removed on Sunday and his body wasn't there.  Jesus had risen. He had conquered death and given millions hope that heaven is real and one day they will go there to see not only Jesus but their loved ones who are in Christ.

I'm reminded by the words from Hebrews 13:8, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever because these are words of hope, hope we all need to hear in the pandemic world we live in.

If you are filled with the fear of the unknowns you read about in the newspaper or on the daily media newscasts, take a few moments and read about the hope of Christ.  I recommend reading the entire gospel of John as a starting point.  If after reading this gospel you still have questions about whether you know this Jesus, then consider closing your eyes, bowing your head in humility and reciting these words:

Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for saving me and for answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer I encourage you to tell someone. They will encourage you to find a Christian church to plug yourself into so your faith can grow. 

Like you, I am filled with occasional fears of the unknowns of these times we live in, but the faith I have in Christ as a result of this very salvation prayer in 1974 has given me the hope and peace my heart has been yearning for.

An Easter Hallelujah Cassandra Star & her sister Callahan