When Faith Takes Flight Lessons from 30,000 feet JIM WALTERS God Is Real and Can Be Trusted What Others Are Saying About When Faith Takes Flight “I first met Jim Walters in 1992. It was obvious that God’s Word placed in an Air Force chapel in Thailand had a dramatic effect on his life. Jim has God’s call in his life to proclaim God’s love and His goodness through his preaching and his writings. When Faith Takes Flight contains the everyday, common principles that any believer can clearly understand and easily apply in our oftentimes tumultuous world. It is a most practical guide.” —Jerry Burden, Executive Director, The Gideons International “You don’t have to be a pilot to soar with this book. Jim Walters’ vast flying experience has given him wonderful insight that will help you navigate through the clouds of life. When Faith Takes Flight will guide you to a gentle and safe landing in your spiritual journey. This book contains life-saving instructions for your personal safety!” —Jack Pelon, General Manager, KPOF Radio, Denver, Colorado “For over 30 years I have thought Jim Walters was one of the best preachers I know. After reading this book, I can now say he is one of the best writers I know. This book is brilliant! It is comprehensive yet simple. It takes the metaphor of an airplane and uses it to help us understand our relationship with Christ. As a believer, you will enjoy reading this and then find ways to share it with nonbelievers.” —Chris Liebrum, Baptist General Convention of Texas, Dallas, Texas 1 When Faith Takes Flight “Jim Walters stands in the pulpit of Bear Valley Church, takes the “spiritual stick” of people’s lives and guides them through God’s Word with as much reverence for Truth as for the laws of gravity. I commend this book to your pursuit of spiritual flight. This gifted pastor will instruct you to fly!” —Dr. Bob Ryan, Mile High Baptist Association, Denver, Colorado “Jim Walters attacks his faith and his mission to reveal God’s truths to all who will listen and in particular his aviation colleagues and stick-buddies. His zest for life and flying has carried over from his fighter-pilot days in Southeast Asia to mentoring the young new aviators in training with the On Wings of Eagles Foundation, a faith-based nonprofit that provides aviation scholarships to at-risk and underprivileged youth.” —Bruce D. Oaster, Chairman and CEO, On Wings of Eagles Foundation, Inc., Lakewood, Colorado “If you spend any time with Jim Walters, you will discover he has a passion for flying! While serving in the US Air Force in Thailand, Jim came to faith in Jesus Christ, and today the Lord is his greatest passion! Jim could explain the mysteries of flight in such simple and practical ways. Now he is using that same talent to share with you in a simple and practical way the mysteries of faith which will change your life for good—a change greater than the airplane made upon the world.” —Rodney Cavett, President, International Commission, Lewisville, Texas 2 God Is Real and Can Be Trusted “Whatever your stage in life, whether you are now searching for the Truth, or you are already a committed follower of Jesus Christ, you owe it to yourself to read this book. You will be glad you did! I know the author well. He is a man of integrity who can be trusted.” —Bill Tisdale, former missionary to the Philippines, Pastor and Evangelist 3 God Is Real and Can Be Trusted When Faith Takes Flight Jim Walters 3 When Faith Takes Flight When Faith Takes Flight Published by: Jim Walters Littleton, Colorado www.whenfaithtakesflight.com [email protected] ISBN 978-1-935529-16-3 Copyright © 2009 by Jim Walters All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken .®VIN ,®noisreV lanoitanretnI weN ,elbiB yloH eht morf eht yloH ,elbiB weN lanoitanretnI ,®noisreV .®VIN Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. This eBook is not to be sold. Permission is hereby given to anyone to freely distribute, copy, promote, post, and/or pass on this eBook to others provided (1) no fee or sales price is collected; and (2) the work remains unchanged and unedited. Let us give this book away to the world. Photo of Author courtesy of Randall Olsson Photography, Golden, CO 2 God Is Real and Can Be Trusted Contents Acknowledgments i Introduction iii Chapter 1 - God Is Real and Can Be Trusted: 1 Up Here, the View Is Great Chapter 2 - Welcome to Earth: 19 Grounded on a Broken, Fallen Planet Chapter 3 - Amazing Grace: 31 The Cross Gives Us Power to Soar Chapter 4 - Saved by Faith: 57 Wheels Up and on the Way Chapter 5 - A Love Letter, Not a User’s Manual: 79 Hear the Song of the Sky Chapter 6 - Prayer Is Your Lifeline: 103 Like Radio Contact with God Chapter 7 - Make Church Work for You: 127 Flying in Formation Is Fun 5 When Faith Takes Flight Chapter 8 - Is Money Your Servant or Your Master? 147 Know Who’s in Command Chapter 9 - Disciples Are Lifelong Learners: 163 Always Gaining Altitude Chapter 10 - All of His Commandments 179 Boiled Down to One: How High Will You Fly? Recommended Reading 197 About the Author 201 6 God Is Real and Can Be Trusted Acknowledgments This work is dedicated to my wife, Connie, without whom I would be of little use to anyone, and to my daughters, Wendy and Bethie, who are a total delight to their father and mother. Several men of God have had enormous impact on my life. These include (but are not limited to) Dale Cain, Jack Brown, Ben W. Mieth, Calvin Beach, Carlos Gruber, Rodney Cavett, Francisco Nuñez, Bill Tisdale, Tom Harris, Bill Grisham, JV Thomas, and Jimmy Smith. Thanks also to the people of Bear Valley Church, for their constant encouragement to me in all of the Kingdom endeavors that we undertake. Special thanks also to Co Baskin, Carol Vischer, and the 2009 Israel group, for their test-reading and feedback, as well as to LuAnn Turner, David Rupert, and Mary Ann Jeffreys for their excellent editing. A special tribute is offered to the memory of Robert “Bob” Chamberlain. A pilot extraordinaire and a Christian gentleman, Bob mastered both manned flight and spiritual flight. His long and adventurous life was proof positive of the teachings presented in this book. i Introduction Introduction When Faith Takes Flight The big airliner took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York and climbed westward over the Bronx. The weather was sunny, and passengers were enjoying the view of Manhattan. Suddenly the plane flew right through a flock of migrating geese. Normally, this would not be a tragedy, except for the geese, but in this rare case, each of the two engines on the big jet ingested birds. Both engines were ruined and incapable of being restarted. Without any thrust from those engines, the plane began to sink. The pilot, Captain Chesley Sullenberger, could still control the plane, but he did not have enough altitude to glide back to LaGuardia or to any other airport for that matter. Captain “Sully” would become a household name that day as he successfully ditched his plane into the Hudson River and all 155 people on board walked away (well, some swam away, but you get the idea). What would you have done had you been on board Captain Sully’s plane that fateful day over New York City? Do you understand enough about your own faith that you can call upon it on a moment’s notice to strengthen and sustain you? As the plane glided toward the Hudson, some people of faith might have offered a word of comfort to the other passengers or at least provided them with a picture of hope. iii When Faith Takes Flight Other people may have been wishing they knew more about their own faith. At that moment, no one was thinking about politics or sports or how the market was doing. In those few moments, they were trying to sort out eternity and their potential place in it. Waiting until an emergency like that is not a good plan for developing one’s spiritual understanding. Today might be a better time to study and learn and gain confidence in your relationship with God, before a goose hits your engines. Ever since the Wright brothers captured our attention, flying has become an integral part of our culture. We all enjoy flying stories, and we all have a flying story or two of our own to tell. Here is the gospel according to a flight instructor. I have taken many new student pilots up in a plane for a flying lesson. Usually, once they get a taste, they are hooked. Going up in an airplane and taking the controls is exhilarating. You can steer the plane anywhere you like, turning, swooping, soaring—the whole sky is yours. You feel totally alive and completely free of earthly constraints. To have your faith in God grow and “take flight” is even better. Once you figure out how to trust God for all the things you don’t understand and you begin to cooperate with His grace working in your heart, your whole existence seems to swoop and soar into the wild blue yonder of God.