Corona Devo 3191
We were blessed to have the unique opportunity to see Big Boy the other day.
Not Big Boy, the cheeseburger.
Not big boy, as in a 10-pound baby boy.
We witnessed Big Boy No. 4014 in locomotive action! Have you heard of Big Boy No. 4014?
The truth is, I had not heard of Big Boy No. 4014. However, I've spoken with many others who were well aware that he was coming through town. His anticipated arrival was broadcast on the news via TV, newspaper, online, radio, and (thankfully for us!), by people too!
Twenty-five Big Boys were commissioned exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. These massive locomotives were built to haul heavy equipment in support of the war effort, normally operating between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds. (Union Pacific website: https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/big-boy-4014).
Big Boy was passing through our city, on train tracks of course: on a certain day, and at a certain time, and I would not have known about it if it had not been for my brother, who told our family.
My brother would not have known about Big Boy No. 4014 if a high school buddy of his from thirty-some years ago had not reached out and told him that Big Boy would be running right through the train tracks that were located on my brother's work property.
And so, thanks to an old friend...at least twenty of our friends and family went to watch Big Boy No. 4014 roll through town.
And it was awesome!
What a huge train...running on steam. The sound of that train toot was just like you would imagine, and we even got sprinkled as the steam-water rained down over us from the train trestle above.
It was a special experience to see Big Boy No. 4014, and I very easily could have missed it if someone had not shared the news.
~~~
Friends, we may or may not have known about Big Boy No. 4014, but I do not want us to be uninformed about something...SomeONE that is so much more important than a famed steam engine rolling through town.
Our God is the real deal. He is the One and the Only, and if no one has ever introduced us to Him, allow Him to do so today:
- And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ~Exodus 3:14
- “Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. ~Isaiah 48:12
Our Lord and our God is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and He is the Creator of us. He made everything and He desires for us to know Him and to be in union and communion with Him.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ~John 15:4-5
This is our opportunity to know Him--today. Today is the day for us to ready our hearts and live our lives...for Him, and in response to Him.
It is not enough to simply (limply) acknowledge God and His Son. The Bible tells us that even the demons do that.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ~James 2:19
No (Way!): we must go much further than acknowledgement of our faith in God. We must be active in our faith in God, and ready for when Jesus Christ comes back to gather His faithful ones.
We want to be the faithful ones. Are we...the faithful and ready ones?
God's Word says that we had better be ready.
Someone told us about the Big Boy No. 4014 train, and thus we were able to position and ready ourselves to see it.
Indeed, Someone has told us about Jesus Christ coming back for His faithful ones, and Jesus Christ is the One who has told us! Read the Bible and hear His Words ring out, like a steam locomotive barrelling down a track.
And Friends...we have been told, and we had better be ready for Him when He comes.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (2) Five of them were foolish and five were wise. (3) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. (4) The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. (5) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
(6) “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
(7) “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. (8) The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
(9) “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
(10) “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
(11) “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
(12) “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
(13) “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. ~Matthew 25:1-13
The good (and amazing) news is that Jesus Chrsit is not a passing train that we have just-one-chance to "hop on" to. No--His door is always open, and He has been knocking on our door since the day we were born.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ~Revelation 3:20
The day that Christ comes back?
Well--only He knows that. But today's the day that we can be sure that we won't miss that Train. Not Big Boy No. 4014...but the Christ-Train. The Salvation-Train. The One-Way-Train to Heaven.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. ~Psalm 103:12
But it is up to us to be ready.
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ~Ephesians 5:15-16
We have been informed now, and the next step is giving and living our lives for Him everyday until we meet Him. We do not want to run out of oil for our lamps. We do not want to be ill-prepared for the moment of our returning Bridegroom.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (37) As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (38) For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (39) and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (40) Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. (41) Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. ~Matthew 24:36
We want to be ready, and by simply believing and living for Him: we can be.
- “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ~Acts 16:31
- “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ~Matthew 24:36-42
Blessings,
sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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