This past weekend I attended a lectureship at the Blue Point Bible church with Michael Miano. I delivered two lessons, and you can access the essay for those at the bottom of the page.
On my way back on the plane from Philadelphia to Birmingham, the employee at the gate asked if I would be willing to sit in an exit row seat and assist in case of an emergency. Having watched Lost and Airplane! several times, I knew I was perfect for the job.
After sitting down for a few minutes, my partner in crime joined me. We exchanged the necessary pleasantries and the required jokes one tells when facing the reality that the safety of the passengers in the immediate vicinity is up to them, and then we began talking about our lives.
Eventually, he asked me if I was spiritual or religious and, if so, to what religion did I belong. I explained how I am a non-denominational Christian and asked what tradition he claimed. He turned out to have a Catholic background, but he has moved away from Catholicism in many ways because of doctrines like Original sin.
Since then, he's embarked on a spiritual pilgrimage of his own and has read many of the same authors I have in recent years. We spent a half hour or so geeking out over our favorite authors, books, and what we're reading now. It turns our that he is a writer like myself and that he is working on his own book currently.
As we looked out the window trying to guess where we where and what towns and cities we could see thousands of feet below, our conversation shifted to the nature of the kingdom of God. I shared with him some thoughts from Luke 17 and how I believe that Jesus flipped the world on its head by introducing a kingdom which is not of this world.
Needless to say, we were clicking throughout the whole conversation, so now I have a good friend in Birmingham who occasionally runs a book club, flies hot air balloons, and is an avid reader. Call it coincidence, providence, or fate, but it is amazing how God brings those who are searching for Truth together! God speed, Bill, and good luck on your journey!
To download a mobile copy of this document, go to https://labornotinvain.com/bluepoint
Awesome story!
I agree, we should preach the gospel first and leave small divisions behind! As Paul said, “Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
On the nations….they are the inheritance of Jesus! Psalm 2 says as much!
“Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance,
the ends of the earth Your possession.” Psalm 2:8