BY: Denny

We live one block away from one of the many tornado warning sirens in our city. On the first Tuesday of every month, they will test them for a few minutes. Even with all the windows in the house closed, the noise is very loud. We have two eight-year-old dogs; Sophie is a Yorkipoo and Scotty is also a Yorkipoo with a good bit of Scottish Terrier mixed in. Scotty has exceptional hearing and hears things outside that amazes us. I’ve jokingly said he can hear a fly burping. Anyway, when the siren goes off, he howls the whole time. I used to believe he was trying to imitate it, but I also think it hurts his ears. It doesn’t seem to even bother Sophie, except that she comes running to Scotty to see what’s the matter.

In school we had regular fire drills. We were always instructed what to do beforehand and which exit door to use depending on where you were at. The drills were announced in the morning, so you are prepared and not caught off guard by surprise or think it was the real thing happening. The same was true for tornado drills, except you were supposed to go into an interior hallway, crouch down, and cover your head between your knees. Lucy works as a paraprofessional at the high school. She says they are required to have two fire and tornado drills a year. However, the fire alarm goes off more frequently because some prankster pulls it, or kids are smoking in the bathrooms and set it off. It’s not funny when everyone must evacuate the building in the winter in below zero temps. They can’t grab a coat and must stay outside until the fire department comes and gives the all-clear to go back inside. The room she works in is always a little chilly, so she has learned to dress warmly, but it’s unbelievable how many kids come to school scantily dressed in shorts and T-shirts without a coat in the winter. I guess wearing a coat isn’t the “in” thing to do, but revealing as much skin as they can get by with these days is. They have given no forethought and aren’t prepared to endure the bitter cold of a false alarm, let alone the real thing, and twenty minutes or more standing outside. Academics are taught in school, but common sense should be taught and implemented at home. So many parents are profoundly absent from teaching it these days. I guess it’s true that you can’t give what you don’t have.

So here you are, listening to the radio or watching TV and suddenly everything is interrupted by that aggravating alarm we’ve all heard. Then comes the familiar announcement, “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. Had this been an actual emergency you would have been instructed where to tune in to your area for further instructions. I repeat, this is only a test.” In all the years I’ve heard that, not once have they given any specific instructions or hint as to what constitutes an actual national emergency or how to prepare for it beforehand. You’re just supposed to do what you are told in that moment. Maybe I’m a skeptic, but it seems like the government is conditioning people to just do what they are told. So much of what they told us about COVID and all the mandates, shots, masks, shelter in place, the closing of businesses, and shutting down churches were not based on facts and in many cases were outright lies. I wonder if they were testing the “compliance waters” of the general population and I also suspect they were implemented to create fear-based hysteria and obedience, either voluntary or forced. What will be the next big thing on the horizon we are being conditioned and prepped to fall in line with. Wait for it, it’s coming. “We now resume and return you to the regularly scheduled program already in progress.” In other words, go back to your busy life, don’t ask questions, or worry about it, just trust us because we’re the experts. Robotic people do exactly what the government tells them to do, but my Bible tells me to test all things. (1 Thess. 5:21 & 1 John 4:1) In other words, don’t except everything at face value, pray for wisdom based on truth, and be guided by the Holy Spirit and not by fear.

There is an approaching worldwide event that many are ignorant of, laugh off, or refuse to believe in. The event will be the Second Coming and return of Jesus Christ to this earth, which will catch multitudes by surprise and unprepared. There won’t be any announced drills, government alerts or warnings, because as stated by Jesus in Matthew 24: 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” He goes on to compare it to the days of Noah. Noah had been told by God to build an ark, because he was going to destroy all living things through a worldwide flood. (Genesis 6) Mankind had become so wicked and evil that God was sorry that he made man, and he was grieved in his heart. (Genesis 6: 5-6) He gave them time to repent, but they didn’t. It’s estimated that it took Noah somewhere between 50 to 70 years to build the ark, but the Bible doesn’t say specifically. Imagine the ridicule, jesting, and unbelief that he endured from others while building it on dry ground. It was a test of his faith, but the flood was coming, and he would be ready for it. Jesus said that when He returns the exact same conditions would be prevalent in the world. It will be business as usual as people go about their daily lives unaware of his coming. Matthew 24: 44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.” The warnings are there and plain for everyone to see, hear, and read, so that no one will be able to say, “I didn’t know.” The Bible throughout is a book of God’s redemption and grace, however, it is also a book of preparation and instruction for all who believe in Jesus Christ, and God’s wrath and judgement on those who reject Him.  In essence, everything this side of death or His return is a drill or test. Prepare yourself now and don’t be like the five foolish virgins as found in Matthew 25 who weren’t, and the door of opportunity was shut for them. Jesus commands us not only to be ready but also to watch for His return with expectancy. Matthew 25: 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” John 14: 25-29 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard me say to you, I am going away and coming back to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said I am going to the Father, for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”

Being ready means that you have confessed that you are sinful by nature and in need of a savior. You have repented and have asked Jesus Christ to forgive you, recognizing that he alone died for your sins and paid the price God demanded. You have invited Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, are redeemed by his blood, clothed in his righteousness, and have been born-again. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you strive to live a godly life by obeying God’s holy word, the Bible. As the title says, This is only a Test, but your eternal destiny depends on whether you pass or fail it.