Are You Prepared?

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Last week, Joseph spent a couple of days in the hospital due to complications from diabetes. There was an issue with his insulin pump that caused his sugar to get very high and put him in a dangerous state. Thankfully, it was quickly addressed, and he is much better now. 

I stayed with him the first night in the hospital as I didn't want to leave until I knew he was out of danger.  Kristine spent the second night with him. While she was at work, her husband packed an "overnight bag" for her.  I have to give credit to James; he wanted to make sure she was prepared, so he packed everything she asked for plus several other things. Joseph and I laughed as she came lugging the large suitcase in for what looked like a week's long vacation. She was surprised to find more bottles of medication than she needed and among the wide assortment of clothes was a pair of scrub pants.  We told her that maybe he was afraid the hospital would be short-staffed, and she would have to go to work.  Although she didn't need half of what was in the bag, it's always better to be prepared than not.
While addressing persecution, early Christians in Northern Asia Minor were told of the importance of keeping their faith during difficult times and encouraged to be prepared. But what were they preparing for?

1 Peter 3:15 says... But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

It's important to be able to tell others where our hope comes from and why, but special attention should be paid to the latter part of the verse, "with gentleness and respect".  If we represent Christ, we should be able to give examples of how He has worked in our life and why He deserves to be exalted. How many people are willing to listen, may depend on how we go about telling it. 

My prayer this week is that I will always be ready, willing, and able to tell others of what my Lord has done for me and what He can also do for them, if they will just trust Him with their lives and surrender to Him.

All My Hope - Crowder & Tauren Wells

In honor of Kristine's suitcase...  Enjoy the video clip below. 


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