Be Prepared
SUNDAY
How To Be Prepared For The Unexpected
I have been thinking of this title for two weeks, since we began our “Be Prepared” series, “How To Be Prepared For The Unexpected.” When I was in school I studied and tried to prepare for tests, but sometimes the teacher would give a pop quiz, that was unexpected. It is harder to be prepared for the unexpected. We can prepare for vacation, and for Christmas, and even doctor appointments, but many times situations arise and we may say, “I never dreamed that would happen.” Sudden crisis situations can knock us off our feet, literally. I could not think of the best Bible verse to use and finally I prayed and asked the Lord to show me a verse. He immediately answered my prayer and brought this thought to my mind, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…” (James 4:8) When we are close to the Lord, He gives us strength in our weakness, and joy in our times of sorrow. When we feel His presence He gives us peace in our times of fear. Several times in my life I almost died. These were unexpected events and there was no way that I could have prepared for them, but having my Lord close to me made all the difference in the world. Elsa was always really close to me. One day I was carrying her and I asked her, “You are a big girl. Why am I carrying you?” She answered, “Because I love you!” and she grinned her biggest grin. She was right. She didn’t say, “Because you love me”, which is true. I love all my grandchildren, but some of them didn’t want me to carry them. Elsa loved me and wanted to be close to me, and I kept her close. Jesus died to save us and He loves us all. But, I believe that He draws nigh, and is closer to the ones who love Him, and who draw closer to Him. Mark 4:36-37 tells us, “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” The other little ships also experienced the calm after the storm. But, only the ones in the ship with Jesus heard Him say, “Peace, be still.” I want to be so close to the Lord that I can hear Him when He speaks to me. “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” (Psalm 46:10-11)
MONDAY
Preparing A Place For Us
If our family is coming to visit, we try to prepare for them. If the grandchildren are coming, especially to stay all night, we go to the store beforehand and get what we need. It usually includes ingredients to make cookies, and other special treats. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God didn’t make man until He had everything prepared for him and his wife. Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven.
“1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)
God is also preparing a city. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2) “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:16) It will be glorious. We read in Isaiah 64:4, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
TUESDAY
The Lord Hath Prepared His Throne
Jesus first came as a Baby in a manger. When He comes again He will come as Lord of lords and King of kings. “The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” (Psalm 103:19) In the end of time there will be a great war and our Lord and Savior will be King “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14) We will all stand before God in judgment, and there is a place prepared for those who believe and trust in Jesus, and there is a place prepared for those who never called on the Lord to save them.
“31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Verses from Matthew 25)
WEDNESDAY
Jesus Came, Prepared To Die
Yesterday we saw the stories of three men in the Bible who knew they were about to die, Moses, Hezekiah, and Elijah. All of these are amazing accounts, but the most amazing of all is the death of Jesus Christ. He left heaven to become a man and die to take the punishment for our sin, so that we could have everlasting life. Jesus knew the cruel death He was facing and yet He laid down His life for you and me. Jesus loved us unto the end. And He prayed for me. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” (John 17:20) If you want to be prepared to die, you must put your trust in Jesus while you live. When we carry Jesus with us while we live, He will carry us into everlasting life. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
“1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” (John 13:1-5)
Jesus took time before He was to die to teach His followers to serve others. The best way we can prepare to die is to live for God. One way we can serve the Lord is to serve others.
THURSDAY
John Prepared The Way For Jesus
Before Jesus came, God sent a messenger to prepare the way. We read in Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” We also read in Isaiah’s prophecy…
“3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy. “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-3) Mark and Luke also tell us that John the Baptist prepared the way for the coming of the Lord. The Lord is coming back! We can be a voice for the Lord and tell others that Jesus is coming again. We can live a life so that they can see Jesus in us. We can be faithful and have compassion for others. And we can take a stand for what is good and righteous.
FRIDAY
More Ways To Prepare
I was reading in the book of Matthew and I came to another way we are to prepare by laying up treasure in heaven. I also thought of a few more verses that help us prepare.
“19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
We can prepare our ground for planting seed, and our hearts for God’s Word and His Work in our lives. “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3) “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12)
We can prepare our fresh garden harvest for winter. “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;” (Proverbs 30:25)
We can prepare our hearts to seek the Lord, and to teach others. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ezra 7:10)
SATURDAY
What God Prepared In The Book Of Jonah
I believe the Bible. Not just part of it, but all of it. I believe that God created the heaven and earth in seven days, as it says in the beginning of the Bible. I believe that Jesus came and died to save me from my sin. I believe that Jonah was swallowed by a whale and lived to tell it. We have the account in the Old Testament and affirmation from Jesus. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40) As we continue with our devotions on, “Be Prepared”, I want to look at some things that God prepared. There are four things prepared by the Lord in the book of Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and when Jonah went in the opposite direction, God prepared a way to get Jonah turned around. The people of Nineveh believed God and repented. God can prepare things in our lives to lead us in the right direction. Jonah was angry that God saved his enemies. So God prepared a gourd, a worm, and a hot wind to show Jonah His great mercy.
“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)
“5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:5-11)
