Vol. 15 No. 6
Dear Friend,
Preparation is basic for most of the events of life. Before the baseball game, the players
prepare. Before the farmer sows seed,
the ground is prepared. Before a dramatic
performance, the actors prepare.
Preparation is basic to our spiritual lives as well.
Bobby Knight, the basketball coach at Indiana University, once
said, "It is not the will to win that counts but the will to prepare
to win that counts.
The will to be prepared as followers of Jesus Christ is basic to
our spiritual lives because God wants to prepare and equip the person who is
willing to be taught.
"Prepare the way for the Lord", said the prophet Isaiah.
God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus Christ.
In a similar way, God sends messengers into our lives to prepare
us, to ready us to meet Jesus Christ and grow in our relationship with
Him.
Those messengers include parents, friends, sermons, small group
Bible Studies, personal times of Bible Study and prayer as well as other people
and events in life.
The motto of the Boy Scouting movement is "Be Prepared".
Be prepared as a follower of Jesus Christ. Cultivate the will to
be prepared. Be alert to the messengers
he sends into your life as means of preparing you to trust and serve him. Be
diligent in your practice of the spiritual disciplines that draw you closer to
Christ.
E. Stanley Ott
