I was having a rough night. Mr. Bob my meticulous flight instructor decided to teach me a lesson on night flying. It was a chamber of commerce beautiful night not a cloud in the sky. Perfect VFR conditions. The deal was that Mr. Bob needed to do a few night landings himself, so we would fly to Athens, then over to Gainesville and back to PDK so I could do landings at different airports, and Mr. Bob could get his work in also.
Mr. Bob was to fly the first leg and I the other. We got to Athens and Mr. Bob did 3 perfect crosswind landings, instructing me as we went. We came to a full stop and switched seats and it was my turn. To say I was intimidated is a huge understatement. My instructor had just done 3 perfect landings. I felt like the plate spinner that followed Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show.
I did ok on the first 2 landings but on the third I came in too high off center and too fast. The result being that I had to use twice as much runway as I should have. A huge black eye, a beef steak on it black eye! I was embarrassed but good old forgiving Mr. Bob was nice as he could be.”No big deal he said, all students and all pilots make mistakes,” He had seen me commit about a hundred.
To compound the problem, on the leg from Gainesville to PDK, a moderate cross wind popped up and I was having a hard time maintaining my assigned altitude. Atlanta approach control who had us on radar, noticed and called us up. “32 Papa, Lima, Maintain your assigned altitude!” Yikes! another beef stake moment! I felt like I looked like Rocky Raccoon. Mr. Bob noticed that I didn’t have my trim in and instructed me to correct the situation and maintain altitude, but no condemnation or judgment. He just told me that if I did either of those mistakes on my check ride, The Examiner would immediately cancel the flight and flunk me!!!!!!!
I was bound and determined to be perfect the rest of the way. I was. My radio work with Peachtree tower was perfect, my pattern flying was perfect and I greased the landing. I landed right on the spot. I called the tower to report clearing the runway and they switched me over to ground control. For some reason that till this day I am not sure of, Mr. Bob wanted to take over. It could have been that he didn’t trust me to park in a row of other planes at night.
“32 Pappa lima continue on taxiway golf, cross runway 20 right and hold short of taxiway echo”, instructed the ground controller. So Bob drove us right to the intersection of echo and bravo and stopped. “32 Papa lima hold short and yield to the Cessna coming towards you to your left, on taxiway bravo.” I heard that instruction loud and clear, but I wasn’t driving. I looked out my left window and sure enough a Cessna 172 was barreling down bravo right at us.
Then inexcusably,Bob committed the 2nd worse violation of FAA rules, a taxiway incursion, Yes Sir, he just blasted right across bravo! The only thing he could have done that would have been worse would be to have crossed or driven on an active runway without permission. Believe it or not, that happens even with commercial pilots.
Fortunately, the 172 was still about 20 yards away. Instantly the outraged controller blasted,”PILOT REPORT TO THE TOWER IMMEDIATELY!” I will never really know what happened or why, because I never dared ask. My guess is that Bob’s headset failed and since he was in the right seat,he didn’t see the Cessna. Whatever the reason my meticulous Mr. Bob dove into a bottomless septic tank!
I was afraid they were going to bust Bob hard. I just knew that the exasperated controller was going to write Bob up. Bob was purple. He parked the plane and ran to the tower. I buttoned up old 32 Papa Lima and waited. It seemed like Bob was gone for day’s, in fact it was only about 45 minutes. Sure enough here came Bob and much to my surprise there were no visible physical wounds. In fact Bob had a huge smile on his face. Amazingly, the controller had mercy on Bob and forgave him. He didn’t even write him up!!! He just gave him a nasty tongue lashing. We were both ecstatic. I don’t think that it was a coincidence that because Bob was so forgiving and kind to his students that he received mercy for his transgression.
I can hear you asking, what does this have to do with the Bible and Jesus, allow me to explain.
Many people have been falsely taught that God is a merciless, mean scorekeeper. They believe wrongly that God/Jesus is judging and condemning them for every mistake, so that they must constantly be in confession and repentance. They have been taught that God burns down houses to teach people that they should learn to do without. I have had people tell me that it was in “God’s will” that a child died. I hear constantly that God takes things away from people to punish them. It is a common fallacy that God tests and punishes His people.
So let’s analyze the essence of this stinking thinking. According to those who believe the thoughts stated above, God is a merciless and indiscriminate mass murderer. God kills children on purpose, with horrible diseases. God is a liar and a thief. God puts unbearable burdens on people to teach them. He sent hurricane Katrina to New Orleans to wipe out the prostitutes and gamblers on Bourbon Street. If that is true, He missed. Bourbon Street was comparatively untouched. So, God is a bad aim.
I just read on Facebook where a woman who had been taught this crap burnt her Bible and ran away from God. I would as well. I wouldn’t accept, much less teach about a hateful, merciless, condemning, lying, stealing, murdering God. Let’s look at these scenario’s.
Does God punish His children, it says so in the Bible? Yes it is true God does punish his people. You see, every living human is a child of God. Those who reject Jesus condemn themselves because they place themselves on a works based relationship with Him. Because God can not look on sin, those people will be punished by eternal damnation and life without hope, mercy, grace, love or a way out. Hell is very real,
Does God punish Christians, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!
“For God sent not His Son into the world to judge it or condemn it, but that it would be saved through Him. He who believes on Him is not judged or condemned, but he who does not believe on Him is already condemned because he does not believe in the Son!” ( Words in Red are direct quotations from our King Jesus, John 3:17-18)
“Therefore there is now no judgment for those who are in Jesus” ( From the teacher sent to us from God, Paul, Romans 8:1)
Why does Jesus not judge or condemn us? Because He paid the price and punishment for all of our sins, past, present and future! Check it out!
“For Jesus suffered for our sins ONCE FOR ALL TIME, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but being made alive in the spirit!” (Peter the disciple and servant of Jesus…1Peter3:18)
“The death He died, He died ONCE to sin, ONCE FOR ALL!” (Paul our teacher sent from God, Romans 6:10)
“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, ONCE FOR ALL! (Hebrews 10:10)
Does this mean we can go about sinning on purpose? HELL NO! “Should we use the grace of God as an occasion of sin? God forbid!”
If you have truly accepted Jesus in your heart it is impossible to commit murder of rape etc. No habitual sinner truly has Jesus in their hearts!
Does God/Jesus allow dump trucks to run over 3 year olds? Does God use terror like burning down houses and murdering people with deadly diseases to teach them?Is evil ever in the will of God? Is God in control? Does He allow bad things or do any evil or negative thing? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!
How can you say you love Jesus then accuse Him of murder, theft an destruction!”
The whole “God is in control and is therefore complicit in all the evil in the world” is Barbara Streisand, BS! It is actually, patently stupid! If God were in control, earth would be heaven!!! God has given man free will and hates evil of any kind!
“THE THIEF COMES BUT TO KILL, STEAL AND DESTROY, I HAVE COME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT IN ABUNDANCE!”
(Our King Jesus Himself answers those accusations clearly, John 10:10) Now you know whom to blame for Murder, Theft and mayhem. STOP BLAMING GOD!
Yes but doesn’t the Bible say that God tests His People? NO, NO, NO! in fact the opposite is true!
“Let no man say, when he is tempted or tested, that he is tempted or tested by God; For God is not tempted or tested by evil, neither does He tempt or test any man!” (James the brother of Jesus, James 1:13)
God treats us like that kind controller did Mr. Bob! with grace and mercy and forgiveness!!! So, we must treat others as Jesus has treated us!
I pray that this teaching has blessed you!!! If so, would you please pass it to another who will be blessed? Don’t be embarrassed by the words of Jesus!
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