The Secret to Being Prepared for the Crisis

Just got the news today that there was a MAJOR shakeup at my favorite publishing house and all but one of my friends are gone from there, just like that, in an instant. Some had been there over 20 years! Changes....we don't always like them, do we? And this is not exactly the easiest time for even the most talented people to be looking for work. It is, however, the time to put into practice all the stuff we have been writing about in Christian publishing these past few years and stand tall during our hard times. I heard Heather Mercer speak last week (she was the missionary who was held prisoner in Afghanistan during 9-11). One of the profound insights she shared was that ONCE a crisis hits you no longer have preparation time, you are just THERE stuck with whatever you put into your head up to that moment. And it was at that moment when she realized that it was the Scriptures, yes those simple memory verses she learned throughout Vacation Bible School and morning devotions over the years, that she had chosen to memorize throughout her life that came flooding back to carry her through her life threatening crisis.

Don't you get it? It was what she had ALREADY prepared for that came back to save her. What are we doing to be prepared for the unexpected in our own lives? None of us knew 9-11 was coming, but it did. No one REALLY thought our economy would collapse, but it did. My friends didn't think the new president of the publishing house would really let everyone go in less than a month, but he did.

Get ready. Prepare by absorbing the Bible each and every day. It never grows old and you get something new out of it each and every day. Pastor Robert Morris gave the most profound Easter sermon I've every heard in my life thus far (check it out at Gatewaypeople.com). We aren't perfect and we never will be, but we serve a God who was and is and is to come. He is our covering and he is right here to carry us through ANY unexpected moment of life. Are you prepared? Do you have a relationship with him?

We may never find ourself in a foreign prison facing the death penalty for talking about Jesus like Heather Mercer, but we WILL face circumstances that will be tragic and in those moments, will you be prepared by knowing God's word by heart? I challenge you to begin today to memorize Scripture and hide it in your heart. Those words will flood your mind when you need them most!

EarthQuakes, Eli Stone and Jonah

Wow, I turned on my TiVO late last night and watched another episode of ELI STONE, one of my new favorite TV shows. You can still catch this particular episode on your computer, it's the 4/14/08 episode titled Waiting for That Day. In this episode Eli Stone has a vision that a major earthquake with hit in 3 days during rush hour traffic and destroy the golden gate bridge. He feels his only shot to save 100s, maybe 1000s of lives, is to sue the city to close the bridge at the anticipated time of the quake.

You'll have to see the episode for all that transpires, but here's the major take away...Eli does not take the easy road. He is passionate about his mission and that is to save lives, because if he doesn't speak up, who will? He knows the "truth" and does everything in his power--even compares his message to Jonah and the whale--to get people to listen to him. But he is mocked, ridiculed, humiliated, pitied and ignored. Will anyone ultimately listen to him and be saved?

It makes you think, are we doing enough to share the Truth? So many people WE KNOW personally go on living empty, painful lives. Are we sharing the life giving hope of Jesus? Or are we holding back and letting them die to save face and not look like a fool? Ouch...makes you think doesn't it. Watch the episode. And if you are inspired to make a difference pick up my book How to Talk About Jesus without Freaking Out.