READY OR NOT!”

I Peter 3:15-16

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.”       

                                                           

Do you remember playing Hide 'n Seek when you were a kid? The person who was “it” hid his face and counted to a predetermined number, usually 100. When "it" finished counting he would call out, “Ready or not, here I come!” Then he had to find where the other players were hiding and try to tag them before they reached the safety of "base."

We never know when God calls us. Several years ago I was conducting a funeral service in a neighboring town. The church was packed and some people even had to stand in the foyer. Before the service I had asked everyone to silence their cell phones.

All was going as expected during the service. The songs had been sung and the message delivered. I was making a challenge to the congregation to stress the point that we never know when the Lord might call. It was just at that moment that the cell phone of the son-in-law of the deceased rang...full volume. As people tried to control their laughter I commented, "That might be the Lord calling now."

Are you ready for the Lord to call? If the heart in your chest stopped beating in the next few minutes, would you be prepared to meet the Lord Jesus who gave His life that we might have life? We need to live with this idea in our mind: READY OR NOT, GOD IS COMING!

May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions! 

- - - Pastor Cecil