Always Be Ready to Meet the Lord

A mother was explaining, to her little girl, the death of her father. The mother said:

“God has sent for your father & will send for us, but I do not know just when.”

Finally, the little girl said:

“If we do not know just when God is going to send for us, do you not think we had better pack up & be ready to go? God might send for us when we are not ready.”

- The Expositor and Current Anecdotes, F. M. Barton Publisher (ministry127.com)

Luke 12:40 (GW) “Be ready, because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.”

“The only difference in death between a Christian and one who is not is that the Christian is ready to meet Jesus. A Christian is dead already - dead to the world, but alive to Christ. Death for you as a child of God is to fall asleep in His arms and awake in the other world, alive forever beyond the power of pain, safe forever from all sickness and suffering.” -  Winkie Pratney.

LOST!

A little girl whose baby brother had just died asked her mother where Baby had gone.

“To be with Jesus,” replied the mother.

A few days later, talking to a friend, the mother said, “I am so grieved to have lost my baby.”

The little girl heard her & remembering what her mother had told her, looked up into her face & asked, “Mother, is a thing lost when you know where it is?”

“No, of course not.”

“Well, then how can Baby be lost when he has gone to be with Jesus?”

- A Treasury of Bible Illustrations, Ted Kyle & John Todd (ministry127.com)

“If you receive Him it will be well; if you reject Him and are lost it will be terrible.” -  D.L. Moody.

1 Cor 1:18 (CEV): “The message about the cross doesn’t make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God’s power at work.”

FEAR

An oriental legend tells of the desert traveler, who, one night met Fear & Plague, going to Baghdad where they expected to kill 10,000 people.

The traveler asked Plague if he would do all the killing & Plague answered:

"Oh, no, I shall kill only a few hundred & my friend Fear will kill the others."

- R and R Magazine (moreillustrations.com)

Job 3:25 (AKJV): “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”

“Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.” -  A.B. Simpson.

2 Tim 1:7 (NIRV): “God gave us his Spirit. And the Spirit doesn’t make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love. He helps us control ourselves.”

PROBLEMS

“So you have problems. Are they man-made? Most are - and if men can create problems, surely they can solve them.” – Detroiter.

“Instead of concentrating on your problems and getting discouraged, focus on God and meditate on His promises for you. You may have fallen down, but you don't have to stay down. God is ready, willing and able to pick you up.” -  Joyce Meyer.

“Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems.” -  Rick Warren.

“Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face.” -  Ronald Reagan.

“The important thing about a problem is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution.” - Friendly Chat.

Pro 24:10 (GNT): “If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.”

PRIDE

The life & death of our Lord Jesus Christ are a standing rebuke to every form of pride to which men are liable.

Pride of birth & rank—'Is not this the carpenter's son?' Matt. 13. 55

Pride of wealth—`The Son of man hath not where to lay His head.' Luke 9. 58

Pride of respectability—‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' John 1. 46

Pride of personal appearance—'He hath no form nor comeliness.' Isa. 53. 2

Pride of reputation—`A friend of publicans and sinners.' Luke 7. 34

Pride of learning—'How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?' John 7. 15

Pride of superiority—`I am among you as he that serveth.' Luke 22. 27

Pride of success—'He is despised and rejected of men.' Isa. 53. 3

Pride of ability—`I can of mine own self do nothing.' John 5. 30

Pride of self-will—`I seek not mine own will but the will of Him that sent me.' John 5. 30

Pride of intellect—'As my Father hath taught me, I speak.' John 8. 28.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Pro 16:18 (GNT): “Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.”

TOO IMPORTANT TO HELP

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them.

When the rider asked the corporal why he did not help his men, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!”

The stranger apologized, dismounted & proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. When the job was finished he turned to the corporal & said:

“Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this & not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come & help you again.”

It was none other than George Washington.

- (ministry127.com)

Gal 6:2 (NLV): “Help each other in troubles and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey.”

“It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.” -  Harriet Beecher Stowe.

KINGDOM OF GOD

The kingdoms of the earth go by

In purple and in gold;

They rise, they flourish and they die,

And all their tale is told.

One kingdom only is Divine,

One banner triumphs still:

Its king a servant, and its throne

A Cross upon a hill.

- (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 9-10 (GNT): “Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts 10 or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves—none of these will possess God's Kingdom.”

Ps 128:1 (NIV): “Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him.”

“The difference between God's side and the devil's is the difference between heaven and hell.” -  Billy Sunday.