Thursday, April 7, 2011

In Days of Preparation

An explanation perhaps of why I have chosen this name.

I have taken this from a hymn by Ernest Shurtleff who wrote it for his graduating class.  The text is as follows:

Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.

Preparation has been on my mind for a while.  Our journey on this earth is but a step in preparation for eternity.  What we do here now either draws us closer to God or farther from Him, there is no middle ground, no compromising.  We must be prepared, so let me ask, are you prepared?

Preparation involves action, we will not be prepared unless we involve ourselves in studying His word and obeying His commands.  This blog was not only named after the above hymn, but also out of a chapter in Amos.  In Amos 4:4-5 it says,  "'Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!' declares the Lord GOD."  And again in 1 Samuel 15:22, "And Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.'"  That is, do we keep on sinning and enjoying it and then claiming the precious blood of Christ?  Rather we should turn and live (Ezekiel 18).  So let me ask, are you prepared?

Preparation involves desire, we know something is happening and we want to be ready.  Same with God, we know that He is coming and we want and earnestly desire Him (Romans 8:14-23).  There is a story of a young couple engaged to be married, the first few weeks they would rarely be caught without each other.  But as time progressed she was less and less frequently seen with him, though not by anything lacking on his part.  He roamed their old walkways and haunts calling her name.  Sometimes she would come, mostly not.  They rarely did anything together anymore.  When she did come, it was more her asking him for gifts and presents or because she had to spend time with him, though her love was gone (she would not admit that though, rather she made claims to the contrary).  Yes, I did just make up that story, though at the same time I feel it does adequately describe the state of many.  So let me ask: Do you love God? If so, what proof have you, what fruit?  So let me ask again, are you prepared to meet your God?

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