Good morning everyone:
If you have ever been on a commercial airline flight you have heard the preflight safety instructions given by the flight attendants before takeoff. But do you remember what those instructions were? Could you carry them out if there ever were an emergency midflight? Perhaps not. If you’re like most passengers you don’t pay much attention to where the exit doors are or whether you have to push or pull to open them. You may recall something about oxygen masks dropping down from somewhere, but you’re likely a little hazy about why or how to use them. And where are the flotation devices in case of a water landing? We don’t concern ourselves a great deal about those details because we don’t really anticipate ever having to need them. Statistically, there is little chance that the flight you’re on is going to have a problem. But what if it did? What if the likelihood of an inflight emergency were 100%? Would you then pay attention to the instructions? Absolutely! Who wouldn’t?
There is such an event on the way. Jesus warns that the Last Day is a sure thing. It is going to happen. “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10). But how many people pay attention? Like passengers with earbuds firmly in place, listening to music or talking to seatmates during the safety briefing, many ignore the Lord’s words. Do we? Yet His instructions are vital to survival. For Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6).
The sermon text for tomorrow (Jer. 26:1-6) is the Lord’s warning to Judah of the impending judgment which would fall upon the nation if they did not listen to His call to repent and turn back to Him. Tragically, they didn’t listen and as a result, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed and the people were taken into captivity. It’s a small preview of the judgment coming on the Last Day. The safety instructions are simple: Trust Jesus. His perfect obedience is our righteousness before God’s court. His payment in blood on the cross has made peace between a guilty world and the holy God. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Let’s put aside everything which would distract us from that message and give the Lord our full attention before the Last Day arrives. Our lives depend on it!
In Jesus’ name,
Pastor
Home with the Lord: Yesterday evening the Lord in His mercy delivered Annette Traub from the trials of this temporary life and received her soul into the joys of heaven. Funeral arrangements are pending. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:14).
