a Kind, Helpful Unbeliever
Joshua 2 The story of Rahab, although she did not know God, she believed in him and wanted to know
Joshua 24:14-15 Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for your selves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Isaiah 41:8-10 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:44-45 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven: for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Luke 6:31 And just as you want men do to you, you also do to them likewise.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 8:28 – 29 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
2 Corinthians 13:4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Hebrews 11:31 By faith Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
About eight years ago, my sister in law retired from her high pressure job. She had been the prime bread winner, and she enabled my brother to work in Alaska in the summers, initially as a fishing guide for one of the many fishing lodges, but he eventually he had enough certifications to become a pilot. And he loved it.
In the meantime, my sister in law managed any issues that arose during the summers when he was gone–from end May to early October–hurricanes, taking care of pets, bringing to vet as needed, having to replace the roof after an “unnamed storm threw two branches through their roof. And continued to work 10-12 hour days, usually 6 days a week. God bless her; she is one of my biggest blessings. Anyway, when she retired, they decided to rent at NTB since they had enjoyed my neighborhood for the many years they had come down–knew many of my neighbors, knew the area, and would explore options from there. I think my brother felt, he would be nearby for some things he could help with for minor repairs.
Anyway, I was in my glory! We have a real neighborhood feel to my block in this beach town,-and certainly not all beach communities do. But neighbors care for one another, get together, spend time with one another, laugh, and we survived COVID by getting together in a neighbor’s driveway, having a bonfire, and chatting for several hours. There was no separation for this community–what a God blessing! We got to be together through highs and lows–neighbors getting critically ill–and we got together and prayed for recovery. It is a true neighborhood.
My brother is a proud agnostic, believes he and his precious wife are responsible for everything they have and all that they are–kind, loving, helpful, and upright people. They love their neighbors, and are open, gracious, generous, and just exude love–all the qualities of Jesus. Yet, state they do not believe Jesus is God.
In 2023, he was in a mid-air collision when a helicopter pilot who did know where he was located, rose up and clipped the tail end of the Beaver plane my brother was piloting. One guest on the flight saw the helicopter but not in enough time to give an early warning. The blades of the top of the helicopter caught the tail end of the plane, the helicopter when into a spin and down. The pilot of the helicopter was thankfully an experienced pilot, and did what they do when they are in a spin with not all of their blades and working equipment. He landed the copter, and the guests and one guide had a rough idea of where. My brother radioed a mayday, told approximate location of helicopter, but was still unaware of how much damage to his aircraft. It was running rough, but he still believed he could land it if he could find enough area, and get fairly close to land to safely get the guides and clients off.
There are a lot of pilots in Alaska–and many fishing lodges getting ready to pick up their guides and customers at that time of today, so hearing the mayday, they all flew to the area Jim had announced. The other plane pilots flew over the location it was reported the helicopter had gone down– all expecting it would be a retrieval. not a rescue. Meanwhile, Jim had to find a place to land his aircraft and get his guests and guides to safety. He had to fly the sputtering aircraft eight miles away, but landed it on the water in a safe and shallow area and all his passengers were safely removed. He stayed on his aircraft, trying to determine the outcome of the helicopter. Mid-air collisions are rarely without a death; but soon pilots were reporting being able to see the pilot waving he was ok outside his burning vehicle. He was transferred to the hospital in Anchorage and later released that day, all ok.
Other pilots flew in and landed and picked up the customers and guides from his plane, while my brother stayed with the plane, which of course, sunk. My sister in law, who worked at the same lodge as Jim for the summers, met the guests who had been on that flight, and they grabbed her, hugged her and said that God had saved them through Jim and his actions, that Jim was a god-send. Most were crying, two brothers in their 60’s could not stop crying and telling her how Jim was an incredible pilot and saved their lives. And still Jim did not get there. She truly needed to see her husband.
And finally, he came up the path and hugged her and said, “No one died today.” I was positive, positive that Jesus was with him as he piloted that plane after the hit. I still believe that, and although he never confided in me about that, I think he knew he was not alone managing that unstable plane to land in a river in a manner that could get all his passengers to safety. I think he had a lot of moments that he wondered. I pray that’s his first encounter that he cannot shake as God comes racing after him. He works and loves and what a soldier he would be in he kingdom. He has never been cocky about his ability to land that severely damaged aircraft–which sunk 47 minutes after he had all guests and guides disembarked. He had no rear propellers, and his left pontoon was totally blown out and sucking water. I think he was vacillating about “another presence with him”, but as time has passed, he feels it was more education, experience, and “luck,” but that is not what I believe. So, I believe God will do his pursuing, and Jim will make his free choice.
I do get so impatient with the free choice option. Hurry up! Choose now! But God reminds me all I can do is continue with prayers. Things happen in God’s timing, and God will do everything He can to ensure these wonderful people make the right choice–but He respects everyone’s free choice. It may grieve Him when someone continues to refuse His offer, but He respects it. And His Word clearly says that one must accept Jesus as Savior and the knowledge that He took on all sins–but one has to believe in Him, has to repent for their wrong-doing each time they find themselves sinning, and He wants the closeness–the friendship, the worship and reading of the Word to become more like the Savior.
Thank God, I can pray to You and believe You will answer. Thank You, God for all my family, friends, and all you have blessed “me and my bellaviews,”
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