Be ready for action... What will happen to a student goes to exam without preparation, he will fail. One day a teacher said to John, " you copied from Matthew's exam paper, didn't you?" John became so defensive and said, " How did you know?" The teacher said, " Mathew's paper says, "I don't know". And you have put, " Me, neither". If a military officer who goes on to the field of action without proper preparation, he will easily be defeated. Once a military officer said to his soldier: "Do you have a change for a dollar?". The soldier said, "Sure, buddy". The officer looked at him and said, "That is not the proper way to answer in military, Sure buddy, let us try again, "Soldier, do you have a change for a dollar?" The soldier said, "No, Sir".
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Only because of Him, we live, move and have our being. Even before the very name of Jesus, every knee in heaven, on earth and under the earth bow. The name itself has power to do miracles and wonders.
Once a man had a beautiful vision in which Jesus appeared to him and said, “I will be coming to your place for dinner tomorrow...” “What?’ Jesus comes to my place for dinner.
So, the man spent all day preparing a delicious meal for Jesus and in between people were coming to his door and he told them all that “Jesus is coming for dinner and please come tomorrow and so on” The man waited the whole evening but Jesus never showed up and disappointed he went to bed. That night, Jesus again showed Himself and said, “Behold I came to your door and knocked, you didn’t open it for me...” Oh my Jesus, I waited and waited but you never showed up. Then Christ said, “Oh that beggar who came to your door was me, oh that woman who came to your door was me and that old man who came to your door was me...” A follower of Christ is asked to be ready to welcome the Master who is going to come at any time, may be tonight or million years from now. But we who follow Christ should be ready to welcome him. 1. Be dressed for action: The New Testament says when the parents of Jesus took Him to Jerusalem for purification according to the law of Moses, and there was a man named Simeon; that man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested upon him. That is called being dressed for action. Simeon was waiting eagerly to see the Lord and was well prepared to receive him. They say that the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Once a wise man said, "Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success".
Once president Nixon told that while talking to Winston Churchill's son, how much he admired the prime minister's great ability at giving great and inspiring speeches. Churchill's son replied saying, "Oh, yes, I have watched my father work for hours preparing those great speeches. We are called to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord who is going to come at an unexpected time. There are many ways to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord who is going to come unexpectedly. 1. Let us prepare our mind and keep the lamp lit: "The doing will never be right until the thinking is right". It is time to prepare our mind and keep it alert. St. Paul says today that faith is assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. As we keep our mind alert by practicing our faith, then we can say that we are ready to welcome the Lord. 2. Let us prepare our body and keep the lamp lit: St. Paul says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit whom we received from God. We are not our own and we are brought by a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.
3. Let us also prepare our heart and keep the lamp lit: Jesus says, "For wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be" We are not talking about physical heart but spiritual heart...the longing. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Yes, as Christ comes in an unexpected time, He will honor and glorify us in God. He will look at us and say, "you who have done everything well, enter into my father's house prepared for you". So, let us be ready. Amen.
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