All Aboard

Posted by Dion Todd July 30th, 2023 3,136 Views 0 Comments

All Aboard from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

When a passenger train pulls into the station, it gives one long blast from the horn then the bell begins ringing as it slows. The train conductor takes tickets from those waiting and shouts, "All aboard!" Then after a set time, the train pulls away from the station, and those who were ready head to their destination. But what happens to those who were too busy or too far away to hear the bells ringing and the conductor shouting, "All Aboard!"? You don't want to miss this train. 

Jesus Christ is returning for the church, the Bride of Christ. It is imminent, unavoidable, and approaching. Charles Spurgeon said, "Christ's coming will be sudden, startling, universally visible, and terrifying to the ungodly."

(Matthew 24:27 NKJV)  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

(1 Thessalonians 5:2–3 NKJV)  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape."

For though the day of the Lord has been a long time coming, when it begins, things will happen really fast, and many will be caught off guard. One morning, we will awake, ready to do business as usual, as if nothing were going to happen. Only to find that it has started raining and the door of the ark was sealed last night. It's judgment day.

(Matthew 24:36–39 NKJV)  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

We live in strange times. Pandemic illnesses, war, out-of-control wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and record-breaking heatwaves, with even parts of the ocean now reaching over 100 degrees. Yet, while the Earth is melting down around us, countries are busy flexing their muscles and threatening to launch some nukes. Wars rage on, wasting lives and resources. What will be the final straw that breaks the Earth's back? Can you hear the bell ringing?

65.81 million people died in 2022. That is an average of 180,054 a day. Yet, we grow calloused to the news: "Let's go to the movies!" We are detached from reality. If we continue on our current path and the Lord does not return soon, there won't be anyone left here for Him to pick up. 

They say that if you drop a frog into hot water, it will immediately jump out. But if you place it in cool water and then gradually turn up the heat, it will sit there until it boils. If you took someone from even a hundred years ago and dropped them into our time, they would think the world is ending and want to jump out. But we can sit here until it reaches the boiling point without noticing the heat is on. 

The Apostle Peter described the Day of the Lord this way: 

(2 Peter 3:10–13 ESV)  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Wake up and call on God for mercy. Live a pure and holy life now, looking forward to the day of His return. For even if the Lord delays, we are each one heartbeat away from meeting the Lord right now as 180,000 people did yesterday. Jesus said it this way:

(Mark 13:35–37 NKJV)  Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

(Luke 21:34–36 NKJV)  "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace and mercy, and for giving us another day. Please let me be ready for Your arrival. Make what is important to You important to me! Help me see the big picture, the world, through Your eyes. Increase Your Presence on the Earth. Lord, save us. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!