I just learned something fascinating about the history of the famous B-17 WW2 bomber.  It almost didn’t make it as a production aircraft.

On an early test flight, the pilot and co-pilot were so busy checking all the new-fangled functions that they neglected some important ones and died in a fiery crash during takeoff.  The conclusion was that the plane was just too complicated to fly safely.

But the manufacturer came up with a solution that salvaged the plane’s reputation and allowed it to fly into aviation history.  The solution was…a checklist.  That’s right, a checklist.  A checklist (or actually series of checklists) that would ensure the pilots checked all the various systems ahead of time, and thus were able to focus on flying when it came time to do just that.

Why does this matter?  At our weekend services this year we’ve been discovering the benefits of putting our lives “under new management.”  We’ve come to realize that Jesus is a much better “manager” of our lives.  But like a brand new airplane, our lives can often get complicated.  And we can become distracted by all the voices and demands competing for our attention.  And we can forget to “fly our plane” as it were.  With all the distractions we face, we often end up putting areas of our lives back under OUR management.  We end up leaning on our OWN understanding (see Proverbs 3:5-6).  This can lead to some fiery crashes.

So how do we ensure that we consistently live under Jesus’ management?  What can we do so we don’t end up next January thinking, “Oh, yeah…I used live under new management…I should try that again!”  The solution is…a checklist.

Last Sunday we reviewed the seven areas of life that we’ve explored during this series.

• Our bodies,
• our money,
• our decision-making,
• our minds,
• our tongue,
• our sexuality, and
• our emotions.

(If you missed last weekend because of the weather, be sure to check out the podcast here.)  Why not make that a checklist.  Once a week or once a month, just take ten minutes and review these areas. Ask yourself,

Am I managing this area, or is Jesus?

Am I leaning on my own understanding, or on God’s?

Do I need to put this area back under “new management” again?

Am I giving God full access to this part of my life?

Make this checklist a regular part of your life, and you’ll be able to experience life as God designed it.

-Pastor Mark