Runner's Cause Of Death: Struck By An Airplane
Running certainly has its hazards, but never has aircraft been one of them. But, that is exactly what caused the death of Robert Gary Jones who was running on the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The 38-year-old husband who was the father of two apparently never heard the single-engine plane, which had lost its propeller, as it made an emergency landing on the beach. The pilot had engine troubles and was trying to get to the Hilton Head airport. The coroner’s office said that this type of plane, an Experimental Lancair IV-P, is so quiet that Jones might not have heard it even without his earphones on (news information via WTOC.com).
Whenever such a random, tragic act occurs, we are baffled. It certainly points out that life could not be more uncertain and we cannot possibly anticipate the future (cf. Jas. 4:13). We might be tempted to wonder what this man did wrong to die such an unlikely death. Jones may have been an evil man, but he could just as easily have been an upstanding citizen and model husband and father.
Jesus warns against such thinking that would see this as an act of divine judgment or punishment. Luke 13:1-5 says, “Now on the same occasion, there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them,’ Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.’”
His message is universal in scope. Everybody has the same individual responsibility. We must live holy lives, repenting of the sin in our lives. We may suffer some terrible earthly tragedy that is in no way brought on by our own sinfulness. In a fallen world, these kinds of things occasionally happen. Our task is to live ready for eternity in every moment!
A Day Without Grace
Devotional Thought:
Every moment of the day, God's grace awaits us behind the door of repentance. Without repentance, it is impossible to access grace. To be saved by grace, we must repent (or turn) from faith in our own ability to be good enough to earn Heaven and receive God's gracious offer, instead. To receive the grace to forgive, we must repent of our bitterness and legalisms. To receive grace to love unconditionally, we must repent of our habit of treating others the way they treat us.
Every turn to grace begins with a turn away from the way we would normally do something. This means that to go through a day without repentance is to go through a day without grace. That’s why the word “repent,” and the various calls to turn from our former life, appears so often in the pages of Scripture.
What we have to ask is how have we come to think that we can live a grace-filled-life without repentance?
"Repent and believe in the Gospel!" (Mark 1:15).
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22).
Give The Customer What They Want
Terry Shea, writing for AOL Autos, attempts to explain the mystery of the inaccurate gas guage:
Have you ever noticed that your gas gauge stays on full for quite a while before the needle even moves and then it moves faster and faster as it approaches empty? And then when it gets to “E” it sort of stays there for a while until the low warning light comes on …?
It turns out it’s partially your fault that gas gauges work that way.
The engineers calibrate them to do that. Why? Because you, the customer, have told them that’s the way you like it. We spoke with Phil Pierron, an engineer at Ford (his title is actually “Technical Expert for Systems Engineering in Core Fuel Systems), who told us, “Our customers really didn’t want to run out of fuel when they hit ‘E.’ Customers do want some amount of fuel when they get to ‘E.’”
Apparently, consumer surveys indicate that people don’t like seeing the needle depart from “F” right away either ... . According to Pierron, “Customers want it to say on full for an amount of time.” This gives them the illusion that they are getting better fuel mileage or at least not immediately burning through that expensive tank of petrol they just bought, even if they quite literally are. …
And while customers want there to be a “reserve” of gasoline available when they reach the empty mark … they don’t want too much of a reserve. Otherwise, they will complain that their 20-gallon tank only takes 15 gallons when filling up from empty. Apparently, there is a sweet spot where customers are happy to be fooled by their gas gauges, but not too much. We customers sure are a fickle bunch.
The engineer’s job should be to make things more accurate and efficient, but in this case he has to play psychologist to keep customers happy.
Most people have a complicated relationship with the truth. They think they want the truth but bulk when it gets too uncomfortable. The problem is God's promised blessings are all predicated on our willingness to heed the truth.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9).