I was shocked by this bit of aviation history I read the other day. On August 19, 1980 Saudia Flight 163 took off from Riyadh bound for Jeddah. Just minutes into the flight, smoke alarms triggered. A fire had started in the cargo hold of the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. The crew turned back, declared an emergency, and landed. They did everything right. The jet rolled to a stop on the runway. But no evacuation order came. Instead, the engines were shut down. Ground crews waited. And inside the sealed cabin, deadly smoke spread fast. All 301 people onboard passengers and crew died of toxic fumes before rescue teams even opened the doors. They were so close to safety. And yet, too late. Flight 163 remains one of the most haunting failures in aviation history not because the plane crashed, but because no one got out. The aviation officials changed everything: faster evacuation protocols, mandatory fire suppression improvements, and stricter crew training. Surviving the landing isn’t enough. You have to get out. I thought about all those people just sitting there in danger and no one moved to get out. If you are a follower of Jesus you know that there are things that God doesn’t want us to do…they are sin. And we know that there are situations that come up that we need to avoid because they can trap us into sin. If you choose to hang around sin…you won’t be able to control it. You have to get out of there. Just like those people who survived the landing of the burning plane…and they didn’t leave the danger. They all died. When sinful stuff is close at hand, remember that it is time to get off the plane so to speak. The Apostle Paul wrote his buddy Timothy and just flat out said “When you find yourself confronted with sinful things and situations…run!” No matter how confident you think you are about handling sin or even toying with sin…you’ll eventually get burned. They could have saved all 301 of those people by just telling them to get off and get away. So, in a spiritually practical way…Get off the burning aircraft! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
1Timothy 6:11-12 NLT But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (12) Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ
1Timothy 6:11-12 NLT But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (12) Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.
Remember I’m praying for you!
With love, PJ