Verse and Message – February 1, 2014 – Be Prepared

(AP PHOTO/Hal Yeager) – Interstate 459 at US highway 280 – Birmingham, AL

1 Thessalonians 5 1-8 (The Message)

I don’t think, friends, that I need to deal with the question of when all this is going to happen. You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody’s walking around complacently, congratulating each other—“We’ve sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!”—suddenly everything will fall apart. It’s going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.

But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

Tuesday, the southeast experienced a “surprise snow storm.”  Only a handful of the counties in the state had prepared for a mild case of inclement weather.  However, what started as the predicted “light dusting” soon became a serious issue for all residents in central Alabama, in addition to many other areas of the southeast. 

We are not used to snow in these parts.  When snow or ice is in the forecast, we typically have time to get ready. In fact, I can’t tell you how many times schools have closed, and nothing out of the ordinary took place.  Usually, at the first forecast of snow flurries, the grocery stores are cleared out of milk and bread.  Not sure why just milk and bread.

Piggly Wiggly River Run Bread Shelf Aftermath

The images posted on television, Facebook, twitter, and Instagram merely scratch the surface of the many stories that will come from “Winter Storm 2014.”  Thankfully, to my knowledge, few lost power, which is a huge blessing!

Tuesday, everyone went about their normal routines and suddenly, within minutes, this city was paralyzed.  The floodgates of snow and ice opened out of the sky – the floodgates of students opened out of the schools and the floodgates of men and women everywhere opened out of places of business.  Everyone was released at the same time. The simultaneous panic increased the seriousness at hand.

I am convinced that a divine blanket covered me as it only took two hours for me to make it from my office near the Birmingham Race Course to my home in Liberty Park.  I was one of the few who made it home, as students, children at daycare, and families were displaced throughout the area and the state.  The last time I recall a similar occurrence took place in 1982 when I was an 8^th grade student at Hewitt Junior High School and the forecast was a little late. Of course the Blizzard of 1993 was a bizarre experience, but we anticipated the enormity of what was to come for more than a week, although still not fully prepared.

My point in this post is that we must recognize that WE NEED TO BE PREPARED.  I was grateful to have a four-wheel drive vehicle, although I had never used this function until Tuesday.  Knowing what could have happened, I will now have a coat and a blanket and a couple of bottles of water and a safety kit in my vehicle. We do not need to dismiss that things like this won’t happen again. 

We must also know that we have been warned in The Word about the signs of the return of Jesus Christ.  My pastor shared recently that all of the prophecies written in The Bible have now been fulfilled.  We don’t have the excuse of ignorance.  When Jesus returns, abandoned vehicles and families displaced will be the least of the worries in this world.

WE KNOW WHAT IS TO COME, FRIENDS.  Please share Jesus with those you know do not know Him.  There will be many left behind.  The only difference, we won’t be here to help them at that time.  Therefore, we must help them now.  It is a life or death situation. It is serious.  Let this week’s experience in the southeast be a wake-up call for what is to come – what we may possibly face in our lifetime, the return of Christ.

Father God,

Thank you for your blanket of protection during this winter storm.  Please be with those who are still dealing with the aftermath of this snow and ice predicament.  Please give us the courage to share what is and WHO IS to come.  We have been warned, and we understand the grave consequences of those who do not know YOU.  Help us to take action and share YOU with others so that your coming will not be a surprise.  Help everyone prepare for your return.

In Jesus Name

AMEN