Last night I was thinking about Noah and the Ark. (Genesis 6-9). I started wondering how many people laughed at him and just flat out did not believe in God anymore. They had lost their faith, they had lost their way, they had lost their hope and in the process they lost their belief in God. They were living life on their own terms and doing their own thing and never gave a second thought to the possible consequences of their actions. They were doing what felt right to them and what made them happy.

When the rain started and the door of the Ark was closed I wonder how many of the people’s hearts just dropped because immediately they realized they had missed the mark and they realized that God was real. They realized it was to late for them and there was no going back. I can just imagine what it was like as the water began to raise higher and higher. At first it probably was not that big of a deal to some, but at some point they all had to realize there was no hope for them and that their lives were over.

The story suddenly started to sound very familiar as I began thinking about how that can apply to today’s time. How many people don’t believe in God, how many people don’t believe in heaven and hell, and how many people don’t believe Jesus Christ is coming back for His people. How many have twisted the message of the gospel so much it is not even recognizable. It is so twisted and manipulated that sin is not even confronted anymore. We live in an age of acceptance and tolerance where the grace of God is taken for granted and used as a license to do whatever we want to do, whatever feels right at the moment. (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). The result leads to being lukewarm and self centered, only thinking of self. It also leads to deceptive teaching that is leading many straight to hell. Holiness and surrender are no longer the focus. I am not taking about outward appearance or man made rules. I am speaking about heart issues. The messages of laying our lives fully down for Him are few and far between. (Luke 9:23). It is easy to find messages that teach us how to be a better version of ourselves, but where are the messages that teach us to walk in humility (James 4:6), to lay our lives at His feet as a living sacrifice no matter the cost (Romans 12:1), to serve others in the same way Jesus came as a servant (John 13:1-7), that we were bought with a price and our lives are no longer ours (1 Corinthians 6:20), that God says to live a holy life? (1 Peter 1:16), that says to love others as much as we love ourselves (John 13:34), that the way to heaven is narrow and not all who think they are going will make it (Matthew 7: 13-14; 21), and that we are called to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1-2)?

How many people will realize, when they take their last breath, how wrong they were and how they had believed something false. And in that moment, just like with Noah, when the door shuts it will be final and there will be no second guessing, no repenting, no changing our mind. When the door was shuts it is shut. And just like back in Noah’s time when we take our final breath and step into eternity it will not be the time to decide if we believe in God or not. It will be to late. Today is the day of salvation, today is the day to seek Him, today is the day to settle in your heart to serve God fully, surrender to Him, and walk with Him because there will be a moment in time when it is too late and we won’t have a second chance. The doors will be closed and we won’t have time to change our mind and that is why it can’t be put off. We must settle in our hearts today who God is and who we are in Him.

Now is also the time for us to share the gospel like never before! We have to be bold for the Lord and not let the enemy, life, fear, or our situations sideline us. There is a lost and dying world that needs to hear about our Savior and if we do not tell them who will? They need to hear the full truth of the gospel and not a watered down weakened version. They need to know about God’s love, but they also need to know that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ and a surrendered life to Him.

Blessings!

Nichole Henson, Fullness of Joy Ministry