READY

Thief! I couldn’t believe it happened to me. Here I was, enjoying a summer vacation with my family in Florida. We had just walked through a crowd on the way to purchase groceries. At the check-out I reached for my wallet and it was gone. My wallet was always in my back pocket. That was its place since I first owned a wallet. I hadn’t forgotten it. It was gone. Someone had stolen it.
My first reaction was to be angry at the thief. It wasn’t just the money that had been stolen, but my driver’s license and other important documents that would have to be replaced. Holiday inconvenience at its worst. The next reaction was to be mad at myself. How could I have been so careless to not protect my wallet! From that day on I made a change. I always carried my wallet in my front pocket, where my hand could touch it and no one else could take it.

Of all the lessons Jesus taught his disciples, being ready for the future is one of the most valuable. It may sound ominous, but Jesus is coming again to earth. The 2nd last verse of the Bible’s last book is one of many verses that record Jesus’ promise, “I am coming soon (or suddenly).” When his disciples asked him about the “sign of his coming and the end of the age” he gave no dates. He taught them, “…be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.” (Matthew 24:42,43)

How can you live ready to meet Jesus?
1. Act today. “Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Believe that Jesus created you, that He loves you, that he died for you and was raised from the dead for you. Ask Jesus into your life as your personal Saviour, today.

2. Hand over the controls. Give control of your life to Jesus. Decide to trust and obey Him…every day. Your greatest freedom is to choose. Choice a gift from God. Your gift to God is to choose to believe and obey Him. At the beginning of each day, hand over the controls of your life to Jesus. If you mess up, get up and ask God’s forgiveness and keep going.

3. Make pleasing God your first priority. Your first words of the day can be a prayer, “Thank God its morning.” The first place in your heart is for God. The first day of the week is Sunday…start your week with other believers at a church you can call “home.” We would love to have you as part of the North Pointe “family.”

4. Live intentionally. The two greatest days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born. God made you for a purpose. You have strengths, abilities, gifts, personality and life experiences that combined together make for a life of purpose. To live intentionally is to live on purpose, and that’s powerful.

5. Tell someone else of your decision to believe on Jesus. Telling others helps secure your choice and firm up your resolve. Tell a friend. You have friends at North Pointe. Let us know of your choice at bjones@northpointechurch.ca  We would be glad to celebrate with you and support you in your faith journey.

Follow the directions above consistently and you will live ready today and everyday of your life for Jesus.