Thank you, Mark. And thank you for dropping by to listen.
Our World is a Sinking Ship
As we look at our world today, it’s easy to visualize it as a sinking ship caught in a violent storm.
There are conventional wars going on right now killing thousands of people on a weekly basis.
Nuclear weapons have been developed that are 80 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and can be delivered by hypersonic missiles anywhere in the world.
Biological weapons have been created that could kill millions of people.
We’re also seeing the moral collapse of our society.
We deny people the right to talk about God even while we glorify the silencing and killing of people who disagree with our worldview.
We see children taught in our schools to be racists and bigots and praise them even if they can’t do things like read, or do math, or think.
So far this year in America we have “legally” murdered more than 435,000 babies, sacrificing them to the “gods” of our age.
These are just a few of the signs that we are in a major storm.
The question is not is this storm real, but what we should do about it?
Should we launch the lifeboats?
Over 100 years ago, God called a man by the name of Dwight L. Moody to tell people of his day how they could be rescued from the terrible storms they were facing.
God led Moody to preach to more than one million people around the world, telling them about Jesus.
Moody explained his motivation.
"I look on this world as a wrecked vessel, and I have heard the voice of God saying, 'Moody, take the lifeboat and save as many as you can.'"
D.L. Moody from Moody’s New Sermons, Addresses and Prayers (1877)
Are we willing to get in the lifeboat?
Moody saw the gospel as a lifeboat - a means to rescue people from the spiritual wreckage of a broken world.
His words challenge us to consider: Are we willing to get in the lifeboat today and brave the stormy seas of our culture in order to tell others about Jesus?
The Bible teaches:
"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Romans 10:14 (ESV)
Jesus gave a very specific command to his followers.
"And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’"
Mark 16:15 (ESV)
So what does manning a lifeboat look like in our daily lives?
It might be as simple as starting a conversation with a neighbor about your faith, inviting a struggling friend to church, or sharing a Bible verse on social media to encourage someone in need.
It might be more challenging if you are in a place where an individual or group despises anyone who would share God’s truths. In that type of setting, the waves may feel daunting — rejection, criticism, or cultural pushback — but the stakes are eternal.
We’re called to share God’s message of salvation, even if it requires great risk on our part.
Be willing to step in that lifeboat even in the midst of a storm and tell people about Jesus.
Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today
