Live Prepared!
A layman's view of living a Christian life
by
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LIVE THEN!
What does living prepared mean? First of all, it means acknowledging who we are and who God is. Then to understand that man on his own is a creature bound for pain, suffering, and eternal damnation. God as our Creator owns us and everything He has made. In His great love and mercy, He has given the path to His restoration and renewal of life as He planned. If we but choose to receive His wonderful grace, life can become as He intended it to be. We become part of the group who has made the same choice, and we begin to learn and relate to them and God.
After our salvation experience, we progress through the remainder of our lives with consistent growth of knowledge, worship, and obedience. Knowledge is gained through participation in study and prayer. Worship is the continual awareness of who and whose we are by living to bring honor and glory to God. Obedience follows as we apply all we have gained in knowledge, and through worship, to every minute of living. All this is possible through the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
When we practice obedience we begin to take on the very nature of Jesus Christ and reveal Him to everyone in our surroundings. With this the fruit of the Holy Spirit is manifest in us and the gifts of the Spirit are imparted to us to edify and uplift the other members of His body. Through obedience with agape, we become the flesh and bone of God to flavor and light the world. Through the victory of Jesus Christ we become able to fight the fight of good against evil and persevere to the end in faith.
At any stage of our Christian life we should be ready to hear and obey God’s call. Moment to moment we should be alert to any command or inspiration of the Holy Spirit given to further God’s kingdom and bring Him glory through our loving obedience. Whether we simply smile at someone who is down, or call down fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice as Elijah did, obedience should be presented as our living sacrifice. Don’t imagine that everything God asks of us will be monumental, for the work of the Kingdom is found not by what we do or accomplish, but rather in how we respond to His direction. The results of obedience are seldom the way we choose or imagine, and will often occur with out our knowledge.
There is no set point in our lives that we are actually “there”. Life in Christ is an ongoing experience of learning and loving, and it will be until the day that we pass from our mortal bodies, or Christ returns to gather all of us to Himself. We live in joyful expectation of the coming kingdom, serving one another and all creation with love.
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About the Book
Most people spend more time each day preparing to go to bed then they do preparing for the final act of their lives which is death. We spend more time figuring out the answers to questions that will be posed by a teacher or boss than we do to the Supreme Judge who will ask for an account of our lives. We spend more time worrying and planning for the “what ifs” in life than we do over the assured events that will happen upon our departure from this life.
What would happen if we were to spend half the time used preparing for this temporal life to prepare for eternal life? This book invites you to prepare for the greatest adventure of all.
About the Author
Bob was born in January 1955 to a good Christian family. He attended church regularly as a youth, and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as a pre-teen. He married his wife Peggy at the age of 20, and was blessed with four wonderful daughters. He has been in sales for the last 35 years and has come to understand that sales is primarily good communication. He has been blessed with the art of communication and gift of instruction, and recognizes the value of serving others.
Providence has led Bob to be in the body of Christ led by gifted teachers and devout men of God. Through reading and discussions with knowledgeable mentors he has come to a solid understanding of Christian principles and a firm relationship with our Heavenly Father.
In searching for God’s will and mission for his life, Bob was led to use his gifts to present the simple gospel and way of Christian living to those seeking meaning and purpose in life, and to assist those who are striving to grow in their Christian faith. He has written here some of the wisdom and experience he has gained. In addition to sharing these truths with others, he realizes the value of his parents’ Christian legacy to him and prays that legacy will be carried on through his writing to his children and grandchildren.