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Artemis 2 pilot: There are no atheists “on top of rockets” · The Daily Article

• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good day, we're glad you joined us for the Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 edition of Denison forums, daily article podcast.
• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today's daily article is written by co-founder Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: More astronauts aboard Artemis II are on their way home this morning.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: They broke the record for human travel Monday afternoon, flying more than 248,655 miles from Earth and surpassing NASA's Apollo 13 mission in 1970.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Orion flew behind the Moon last night, losing communications with our planet for 40 minutes, while reaching its maximum distance from our planet, 252,756 miles away.
• 0:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Commander Reed Weisman told President Trump, we saw sites that no human has ever seen.
• 0:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: The crew members are sharing a cabin roughly the size of too many vans.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: They sleep in bags attached to the wall of the craft, exercise on a flywheel machine, and share a toilet with private doors.
• 1:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Their flight is historic not only for its distance into space, but for the composition of the crew, which includes the first woman, the first Canadian, and the first Black astronaut to travel to the moon.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Speaking of the latter, Victor Glover Jr. is the pilot of the mission and was the first Black astronaut to complete a long-term stay aboard the International Space Station.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is hard to imagine a more accomplished individual.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has a bachelor of science and three master's degrees.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was a test pilot with the Navy and accumulated more than 3,500 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft landed on aircraft carriers over 400 times and flew 24 combat missions.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was selected as an astronaut while serving as a legislator fellow in the US Senate.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: In addition, lover and his wife, Deanna have four children.
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: The part of Victor Glover's story I want to highlight today, however, is it's faith?
• 2:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: When he was on the International Space Station, he took communion each week, noting that NASA quote, supported me and my family's desire to continue to worship and to continue our faith walk even while I was off the planet.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: That was really important to me.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Glover told a Texas Church audience, we have a sin nature and we need Jesus.
• 2:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is that bridge that spans sin.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: In a podcast interview, Glover stated, I career is fed by my faith and you know anytime I do something that's pretty risky, I pray for I fly every time I fly.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: I fly airplanes eight few times a week.
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Definitely when you go sit on the top of a rocket ship.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Then Glover added, in the military, there's a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: There aren't any on the top of rockets either, I would think, in quote, on this Tuesday after Easter Sunday, what was Jesus doing?
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we noted yesterday, after our Lord's Resurrection, he presented himself to his apostles after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God, from Acts 1 verse 3.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Sunday, we focused on the first part of the verse.
• 3:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today, let's focus on the second, speaking about the kingdom of God.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: In this way, Jesus ended his earthly ministry the way he started it.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: In Matthew's gospel, Jesus begins his public ministry with the proclamation from Matthew 4 verse 17, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven refer to the same reality.
• 3:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: His announcement points to the fact stated across Scripture that God is the king of the universe.
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: For example, he saw Mr. Clair, the Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty, in Psalm 93 verse 1.
• 3:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Note the present tense.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Charles III is king of the United Kingdom no matter what happens there.
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: His subjects can obey the law of his realm or reject them, the nation can prosper or struggle, but circumstances cannot change his status.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine if he were omnipotent, I'm Nishit, I'm Nepressant, and I'm Nebenevolent.
• 4:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: How much more would this be true?
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, our God is King of Kings as stated in Revelation 19 verse 16, ruling over all earthly rulers.
• 4:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: As King Solomon noted in Proverbs 21 verse 1, the King is a stream of water in the land of the Lord.
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: He turns it wherever he will.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, unlike those living in the United Kingdom, you and I have a choice.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: We can acknowledge and serve
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: or we can try to be King of our own quote unquote realm.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is why Jesus taught us in Matthew 6 verse 10 to pray daily, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: God's kingdom comes wherever and whenever his will is done.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: For example, when a wedding feast in Cana ran out of wine and Mary asked Jesus for help, she said to the servants from John 2 verse 5, do whatever he tells you.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: They obeyed him, building six stone jars with water at his command as non-sensical as this seemed at the time.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you know the rest of the story.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because God honors the free will with which we are made in his image, he will not impose
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yet, he gives us the opportunity every day to choose him as our king and Lord, but one day, the time for choosing will be over.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: One day, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, are claimed in Philippians 2 verses 10 and 11.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's make that day this day for two reasons.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: One, you and I need what only our King can do in our lives.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: To employ Victor Glovers' analogy, we are all on the top of rockets, heading into a dangerous future we cannot survive on our own.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is why it is imperative that we make Christ our King each day, and thus become kingdom Christians.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: God always gives His best to those who live the choice with Him, to our culture needs, but kingdom Christians can do in our world.
• 6:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: saying Augustine advised us, love God and do what you will.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: His logic is that when we love God, we do what He wants us to do and His will becomes our will.
• 6:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Success is therefore accomplishing what we want to do in serving Him as our king.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And we become changed people who change the world.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: CS Lewis is another example.
• 6:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: CS Lewis is an example.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: His books have meant more to me than any except the Bible.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Billions have been drawn to Christ through him.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: In the last week of his earthly life, the great apologists told his brother one evening, I have done all I wanted to do, and I'm ready to go.
• 7:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to Jonathan Edwards, the greatest theologian America has ever produced, quote,
• 7:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: the seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life."
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: In quote, what is your chief business today?