Why have I seen this?  They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are crushed, they flee headlong, they never look back, terror is on every side!  This is the Lord’s declaration.  The swift cannot flee, the warrior cannot escape!   Jeremiah 46:5-6  HCSB

This scripture passage comes from Jeremiah.  Jeremiah was one of the prophets that God sent to warn the Israelites to turn back to Him before it was too late.  In this particular passage, He tells Jeremiah to warn Egypt of their defeat by Babylon. Jeremiah prophecies terrible things ahead for Egypt.

Now one would read this and think, “Wow, if I had that type of warning, I would turn to God.”  But would you really?  Have friends and loved ones tried to warn you about the life you are leading?  Have you shut them down? Perhaps you are a Christian and you have tried to tell people about Jesus only to be shut down.  How many people have you tried to warn about the dangers of hell, only to be told that there is no such place?

I don’t know about you, but I believe every word that is in the Bible.  I believe in God’s word.  And God’s word clearly tells us that we will face the throne of judgment  (Revelation 20:11-15).  We will give an account for every idle word that has come from our mouths (Matthew 12:36).  Now I don’t know about you, but a lot of idle words have passed these lips.  I am trying to be much more careful these days, but years of idle words have slipped by.  I have repented and am trying to do better.  But we are going to face judgment, there is no escaping it.

Are you ready to face judgment?  God had sent these prophets to try to get these nations to turn to Him.  They just didn’t listen.  How many people will go straight to hell because they did not listen to the ones that God sent to them to encourage them to turn to Him?

If you don’t have a personal relationship with him, then know that it is not too late to draw near to Him (James 4:8) and He will draw near to you.  Know that you can turn to Him.  You can let Him know that you believe in Him.  You can confess your sins to Him and ask Him to help you to give up the sin that is in your life. There is no better time than now.

If you are a Christian, then I know that you know people who are lost.  People who are wandering around this world aimlessly, as our pastor would say, “like a baseball in high weeds”.  They need to develop a relationship with their Lord and Savior.  They need to be introduced to God.  So as Christians, we have a choice.  We can sit around on our hands and keep our mouths shut or we can get out there and get to work.  If you have ever wondered why you are here, let me tell you that God did not make you so you can sit around and look pretty.  You were put on this planet because you have a job to do.  Your most important job is to go out and bring others to Christ (Matthew 28:19).

I don’t care how strong you are or how tough you are, someday you are going to leave this planet and you will stand at the throne of judgment.  Do you really want to stand there before God and answer as to why you didn’t do what you could to lead the lost around you to Him?  Do you really want to stand there and be thrown into the lake of fire?  Do you really want to know you are entering heaven while friends and loved ones that you failed to witness to are being thrown into the fire?

Know that Jesus is coming back.  By all accounts it may be soon.  Are you ready?  You can’t escape it.  Are you prepared to answer for the words you have said and typed?  Are you prepared to answer for the souls that you failed to witness to even if it was the silent witness of living your life in a way that pleases God?  There is no escaping it, so you better be ready!

Have a great weekend!