Storm Warning!–Color Tract

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One evening, many years ago, before the days of radio, Captain Oldrey and the crew of his ship, the Hyacinth, were sailing toward Barbados, a tropical island on the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea. Before retiring for the evening, he spent a little time on deck simply admiring the beauty of the evening. He remarked to one of his crew that it was the finest weather he had seen in that climate.
The horizon was perfectly clear — not a cloud in the sky. There was nothing visible above deck to suggest that the weather might soon change.

The Warning
Going below to his cabin, the captain relaxed on his couch. A minute or two later, glancing at a barometer hanging nearby, he noticed that the mercury appeared to be falling.
Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have thought of looking at the barometer while resting. He rubbed his eyes, imagining he was deceived. Still the mercury appeared to fall. He got up and walked over to the instrument and discovered that the mercury was indeed visibly falling.
He went back on deck, but the weather was as lovely as before. Returning to his cabin, he shook the barometer, but the descent still continued. Such a rapid and unusual fall convinced him that something serious was about to happen.
Going back on deck, he told his crew of his discovery. They protested that with a sea and a sky so clear and so beautiful no storm was coming.

The Response
But Captain Oldrey firmly disagreed. The falling barometer indicated a storm, and it was his urgent duty to prepare for one. He ordered everything to be made secure, the topsails to be struck, and the deck to be cleared.
Night fell with the crew still working to make the ship gale-ready. Captain Oldrey didn’t relax until all preparation for the worst was done to his satisfaction. An hour or two elapsed, and his mind was at rest knowing that his ship was as ready as possible for whatever might come.

The Storm
Suddenly the storm struck and reached its peak almost at once. The wind blew so furiously that the sea could not rise into waves but became one vast plain of foam, on which the ship was rapidly driven before the wind. By God’s mercy, the ship and all on board survived the storm.

The Ultimate Storm
God’s Word, the Bible, is like a barometer which warns of a coming storm. That storm of God’s wrath and judgment is soon going to fall on this world.
Scoffers scoff and mockers mock! They say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Peter 3:4). To them the sky is clear — there see no storm coming. They think that all will go on as it has gone on. They have no fear. They close their eyes to the knowledge of the many upheavals which this earth has already experienced. They do not recognize the witness of the flood which once overwhelmed this world. They harden their hearts, and, in their folly, they go on — deceiving others and being deceived.
But God’s barometer gives us a plain warning. Hear its solemn declaration: “Because there is wrath, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke” (Job 36:18).
Now is your time to escape. Now is your only time to prepare. Tomorrow may be too late.
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“Whoso putteth His trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

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