No Greater Love | Birth Pangs: Chapter 5 Podcast

This podcast is a companion supplement discussing spiritual lessons from Chapter 5 of my Christian end-times thriller, entitled Birth Pangs of the End Times.To receive the most benefit from this podcast, please read chapter 5 before listening. You can read it free at www.thomasnoss.com, or you can buy Birth Pangs of the End Times on Amazon. I’ll post links to both at the bottom of the transcript.Here’s A Brief Summary of Chapter 5While loading wounded soldiers in an enemy-controlled area, Katie’s Blackhawk medevac helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, instantly killing her pilot (whose nickname was "Tiedown") in the left seat and knocking her unconscious in the right copilot’s seat. She also suffered from shrapnel wounds in her left arm and face.As she regained consciousness, her crewmen were frantically urging her to takeoff, and she was going to. But then she saw another American soldier, about 50 yards away, running toward them carrying another man over his shoulder. So, even though they were exposed to more enemy fire, she waited until they climbed aboard before she tried to takeoff.Despite her injuries, Katie managed to fly the heavily-damaged helicopter back to their base.A few days later, during a memorial service, Tiedown was posthumously honored with Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals. Katie received the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart for her skill and heroism. After the ceremony, she retreated to her private quarters, where she struggled with complex emotions about gaining hero status in the incident that claimed Tiedown's life.Four Spiritual Lessons in Chapter 51. Waiting in the LZ. (LZ stands for landing zone.)2. Will it fly?3. Fate vs Providence4. The Only Real Security1. Waiting in the LZIn chapter 4, while she was unconscious, Katie recalled Uncle Andy’s encouragement to ‘count the cost,’ to be mentally prepared for unexpected threats to her life. He used examples from his experience as a medevac pilot decades ago in Vietnam. Also, from the Bible he used the three times Peter denied that he knew Jesus.In this chapter, after regaining consciousness she was in just such an unexpected situation herself.A 20-year-old newby, she was on her first combat mission. Here she is, waking up next to a dead pilot, in a smoke-filled, battle-damaged aircraft. She’s not fully conscious yet, but her experienced crew-chief is frantically yelling at her to take off and get them out of the LZ. More enemy RPGs could hit them at any moment, killing them all.As she’s preparing to take off and get them all out of danger, she sees Ethan Salvadore struggling to carry another soldier toward her helicopter. He’s about 50 yards away, so it’s going to take a while for him to reach the helicopter. Meanwhile, they’re sitting ducks, an easy target for any enemy with an AK47 or another RPG.She’s immediately confronted with a life and death decision.* Should she sit tight while Ethan struggles to reach them, gambling the lives of the five people still alive on the helicopter?* Or should she abandon the two men, saving herself and four others from the imminent danger they were in?Apparently, she’d listened to Uncle Andy’s words and taken them to heart. Hard as it was, the golden rule said the right thing to do was to wait for the two men…making their helicopter a sitting duck for another 30 seconds--the longest half-minute of her life.She had counted the cost and done the right thing. Ethan Salvadore would be eternally grateful.2. Will It Fly?As she waited for Ethan, Katie realized the lives of everyone on board her helicopter now totally depended on her, and her alone. There was no one else who could fly it.She assessed the situation. Her helicopter was severely damaged, with the dead pilot’s blood and brains splattered around the cockpit. But there was no time to grieve. At any moment they could all share his fate.She realized she had two major problems.* The helicopter was mechanically damaged, but the extent was unknown.* She’d been knocked unconscious, had shrapnel wounds, and her mental state was fuzzy. At this point she didn’t know if she had any other injuries.Was the aircraft safe to fly? What if the flight controls were damaged? What if it started on fire?And, what if she was able to take off but then she lost consciousness? Everyone on board would die, helplessly, in a mass of tangled wreckage.So, no. The aircraft wasn’t safe to fly. And she wasn’t in any condition to fly it. But what was the alternative? The prospect of capture, imprisonment, torture, and rape made Tiedown’s quick death almost preferable.There really wasn’t another viable option. If a damaged aircraft and wounded pilot could get them out of their situation, she’d have to try.As soon as Ethan and his dead friend piled onto the Blackhawk’s cargo floor, Katie ‘pulled pitch’ and got them all out of there and back to their base.How is this a spiritual lesson?Sometimes, due to no fault of your own, you may find yourself in a desperate situation with no good options. In that case, choose to do the right thing and, like Katie, trust that God will make it work. And if he doesn’t, go to lesson #4 below.3. Fate vs ProvidenceAfter having two medals pinned on her uniform, Katie struggled to understand whether God chooses who lives and dies in these situations? And if He does, what’s his criteria? She said questions like this made her brain hurt.The Bible teaches that God puts a hedge of protection around people and nations that he favors. Job and Israel are examples.I recently watched a History Channel documentary about George Washington. The documentary said he wasn’t a Christian, but he did believe in what he called providence. That is, he believed he had divine protection of some kind. This belief was reinforced in 1755, when, as a young British officer in the French and Indian War, he was in a battle where two horses were shot out from under him, and his coat had three bullet holes through it, but he emerged unharmed.I believe God supernaturally protected Washington because he was so instrumental in the rise of America as a fledgling nation. So, yes, I believe God does put a hedge around some people, and not necessarily because they’re believers.In my head I can hear voices from two camps now:* One says, “How do I get God to put a hedge around me?* The other says, “Why does God play favorites? Why has he made my life and my family so miserable?I’m afraid there’s no simple answer from this world’s perspective. Bad things often happen to good people. Jeremiah, Job, and Habakkuk all asked, ‘why do the wicked prosper?’But all such questions are from the perspective of our short lives in this world, which is not the right way to look at it. This brings me to lesson #4.4. The Only Real SecurityThe only real security we have isn’t in this world. We need to raise our eyes higher.Psalm 73 gives us the correct perspective to view our situation. If you’re following the Lord, but wicked people always seem to be more blessed than you, this psalm is for you.I’ll be reading verses from Psalm 73 in the English Standard Version:Psalm 73Verses 3-9 talk about the prosperity of the wicked.The Prosperity of the Wicked (v3-9)I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed.They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues strut across the earth.Verses 12-14 contrast the prosperity of the wicked against the affliction of the righteous.The Wicked’s Prosperity Contrasted with the Affliction of the Righteous (v12-14)Behold, these are the wicked— always carefree as they increase their wealth.Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.For I am afflicted all day long and punished every morning.Then, the psalmist gets a different perspective and he finally understands the truth.The Key to Understanding (v16-22)When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome in my sightuntil I entered God’s sanctuary; then I discerned their end.Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.When my heart was grieved and I was pierced within,I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.In contrast with the future ruin of the wicked, the righteous have hope for their futureEternal Blessing of the Righteous (v23-26)Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand.You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.The last two verses sum up the two fates of all mankind.The Two Fates Contrasted (v27-28)Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.So, just as in Psalm 73, in chapter 5 Katie realized that if she’s living in communion with the Lord, death doesn’t matter. She has nothing to fear from death. In a previous chapter she visited a beautiful meadow in heaven, and she didn’t mind if death took her back to that beautiful place forever.In the meantime, she decided that she doesn’t need to solve the mysteries of God and the universe. She only needed to do two things:* Do everything as unto the Lord, and* Follow the truth in every situation.This concludes the spiritual lessons from chapter 5.Next Week’s PodcastIn next week’s podcast we’ll be taking a trip to heaven, to sit in on the annual heavenly council meeting with Jesus, Satan, the 24 elders, and the Almighty Father, along with myriads of angels.Paperback UpdateBefore concluding this week’s podcast, many have asked me about the paperback version’s status. Here’s what it looks like:* I’ve completed the editing, cover design, and manuscript formatting for the paperback version of Birth Pangs of the End Times.* On Monday, January 13th I’ll receive two paperback proof copies to review and approve. Then, I hope to release the paperback version on Amazon before next Friday’s newsletter/podcast.Until next week, may God’s kingdom come, and his will be done, on earth as in heaven.Links:Read Chapter 5 freeBuy Birth Pangs of the End Times This is a public episode. 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