August 5th, 2012 
Up4Dsn 
Are You Prepared?
“And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” 1 John 2:28 (ESV)
As we bring to a close the topic of ‘Are You Prepared?’, lets first reiterate what this means. Prepared means to make ready beforehand for a specific purpose, as for an event or occasion. Many times we find ourselves preparing for things too prematurely. Also, we prepare for things too late. How do we prepare for something right on time? Habakkuk 2:2-3 (ESV) tells us, ”And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. As God instructs us to write down our goals and plans, we are also obligated to pray over them and wait until God tell us to move. We all get excited about great things happening in our lives but too often do we move according to the moment and not the outcome. God is a planner, He plans for the future, nothing that God has ever done was for a moment only.
Far too often we run into people who use the statements, “I will do it when that time comes” or “right now we don’t have to worry about that, when that time comes we will handle it then.” This way of thinking has been the continual reasoning behind someone planning too late. There was a young man who didn’t know much about the Lord and wanted to build a relationship with Him but some said that he was moving too fast. He had friends that knew God for years and they lived what some would call the “normal Christian life”. They would go to church 2 or 3 times a week, pray, read their bibles, but weren’t active in going out to witness or help change others lives. It was as if the knowledge that God had given them hit a wall that it couldn’t climb. The young man noticed this from afar and counted it as a blessing that he was able to see this from his point of view. When he came to Christ, he not only received the INFORMATION of the word but also the APPLICATION of it as well. The young man understood that knowledge is fine but applying it is what pleases the Lord as it says in James 1:22-24 (ESV), “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”
The young man’s goal was to please God and in order to please God he knew it not only required faith but also works. Although blessings come, you still have to build a structure in your life that can sustain what God has given to you. That structure consists of recognizing the voice of the Lord, understanding your role in the kingdom, being patient and not moving too prematurely but most importantly allowing your application to be equally as much as your information.
We all face those times where we question ourselves. Understand that questioning yourselves can’t come unless you weren’t sure of something. God provides the answer but also comfort in the answer that He gives you. Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So even in our times of confusion, God provides the answer but also peace that comes along with it. There is no greater love than the love that Christ provides for His people. I challenge you today, to ask God to reveal to you “areas” where you need to change and improve but allow Him the lead in the restoring process. For our help is in the Lord!
Be Blessed!
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Christian Rapper and Founder of Words of Encouragement and I’m Doin’ Jesus Records
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That word of encouragement was very, very timely and true. I just experienced a situation where I was so excited about a vision and direction GOD wants to take me, but I had to slow down until HE completed the vision in me before running ahead of HIS plan. When I tried sharing and explaining the plan, I realized that I needed to wait for more instructions. I will study, research and prepare myself so when GOD says, " go forward now", I can with confidence. God bless you and continue to share these inspiring words of Truth with the family of Up4Discussion. Keep striving for truth, because it never changes.
It's a blessing that you were able to take something positive and powerful aware from this message. Stay Blessed!