Get Ready!

So confession time… I do not like the feeling of being unprepared. Have you ever had a dream of taking a test you haven’t prepared for? That is my nightmare!

I have colleagues who write their sermons on Saturday night. That works for them, but I would be sick to my stomach if I were writing hours before preaching.  And for me it’s not just about being prepared with preaching, it is about all aspects of my life. If I am throwing a dinner party, packing for a trip, having guests to the cottage, or whatever it is, I want to be prepared.  I want to think ahead and anticipate my needs and the needs of others. Sure I can go to the grocery store without my list and “wing it”, but chances are I will have to go back because I will have inevitably forgotten something.

Preparation gives me a sense of security and makes me feel like there is a greater chance of success. Being ready also gives me a sense of comfort so that when the uncertain, unpredictable things in life happen, I am ready (as best I can be ;). But being prepared also allows me to make the most of every opportunity.

I saw a quote that said:  “When opportunity knocks, it’s too late to prepare.” [J. Wooden, UCLA basketball coach]

Isn’t that the truth??  God gives us opportunities to be prepared for, so that in the right time God can work through us.  For instance, how can I be present with a friend if I am always scrabbling to get my work done?  Or, how can I be generous with my money, if I haven’t saved a little first? God can use us in mighty ways if only we would spend some time laying the groundwork of preparation.

Proverbs 24:27 says, “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” (NIV)

We need to make sure we are doing things in the proper order in our life. Too many times we want the house without taking time to til the soil and plant. That’s not how things work. If you want God to use you in a certain way, there are things you need to be doing today to prepare for it.

So friends, get ready. Be faithful in the preparation and see how God will entrust you with the opportunities that God has planned for you.

Monsoon season

Have you heard the saying “when it rains it pours”?

Certainly that’s the way it felt over the past two years, didn’t it?  We not only just went through (and continue to be in) a global pandemic, but some of us went through other crises as well. The loss of loved ones, serious health concerns, caring for aging parents, caring for young children, becoming a home school teacher, loss of job/income, not to mention trying to find toilet paper (remember that?).

Sometimes when it rains, it pours.

I read somewhere that astronauts do not prepare for disaster they prepare for multiple disasters all happening at the same time.

So how do we prepare life’s occasional monsoon season?

Is there a way to prepare when you don’t know what crises are coming?

We are beginning a sermon series entitled The Power of Pre-Deciding?  Pre-deciding is the act of thinking through how we will respond in a crisis. So, instead of being ruled by my emotions, we can decide in advance how I will react. It’s the idea of planning, not panicking. And the beauty of this is that we are not doing this alone.

Jesus said:  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27, NIV).

Join us as we together discover the power of pre-deciding!

What have you decided?

15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:15

There is a plaque hanging on my wall that says:  “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”  I love it and it is a great and constant reminder of my decision to put God first. But, if I am completely honest, try as I might — even though the sign is hung in a prominent location — it does not mean I always get it right.

Today, we are bombarded, with so many voices on the Internet and elsewhere eager to give advice on every little topic. It’s easy to see God as only one of the experts available to us. We’re tempted to ask for God’s blessing on choices we have already made, rather than asking for God’s guidance in our decision-making in the first place.

When the Israelites came to the prophet Jeremiah to ask for the Lord’s guidance, they promised that “whether it is favourable or unfavourable, we will obey the Lord our God.” But when Jeremiah told them what the Lord wanted them to do, they refused. They decided to put their trust in Egypt for protection rather than the power of Almighty God.

What a contrast from Joshua. Joshua made up his mind to serve only God!

Whom will you choose to serve at every turn?

Lord Jesus, help us to trust in you so that we can “test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). Amen.