How Prepared Are You for Life?

I live in a country that has made education a god. And like all false gods, it has let folks down. The lure of the god of education is that it will set you apart from others; give you an elite status and most of all—prepare you to live the good life.  Therefore many have gone after this god, in hopes of securing a great future. But in truth, it has produced a generation of people who are steeped in debt (they may never get out from under), and a job market that doesn’t have jobs for all these highly educated people. So, where they thought they were investing and preparing for their future, they are now working jobs they didn’t need a college degree to do and are not making enough money to live and pay their debts at that same time. And the bottom line is—they are not well prepared for the future at all. In fact to many it looks pretty bleak.

Now I also live in a country that at this time still has great freedoms in being a Christian. Not as much as just 10 years ago, but still something to behold compared to our brothers and sisters in other lands. But how long is that going to last?  And are we spending our time and efforts preparing for what’s to come?

I think too many of us are not!

You might wonder why I feel this way and where I’m getting my information. Well, the Bible tells us, (in fact Jesus himself) that there will be a great falling away, near the end times. And He also tells us that on Judgment Day, many who think they are in—will be out. So, this information alone is enough for me to draw my conclusion, but I also see with my own eyes, many who are not prepared. Because the little things are knocking us down and throwing us for a loop.

Recently I was in the book of Mark and something Jesus said really jumped out! He was explaining the parable of the sower that sowed seed and fell in four different places. But the seed that fell among the thorn and thistles plants struck me the hardest because I see the working of it very clearly today.

Mark 4:18-19 Amp—“¹⁸ And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word; ¹⁹ Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.”

Yup girls, this is what is happening to us!

Too many Christians are anxious. Too many of us are very distracted by foolishness and too many of us are spending way too much time pursuing America’s god of education and pushing God out. We can go an entire week without much sleep or rest to get a 12 page paper done or cram for exams and even work two jobs to get a degree. But we will not spend a good hour in the Word of God.  

I hear women expressing how tired they are all the time, but they still find time to watch television shows that are very questionable. Now, I am not the television police or trying to do the Holy Spirit’s job, but the Bible warns us of certain things—yet we continue to play with fire.

Have you noticed lately how more and more homosexuality, lewd and perverted sexuality is casually being put into TV shows? I have! Just a week or so ago, I was watching a show on the food network around 4:00pm in the afternoon with my grandchildren (ages 10, 7 and 4), when a steamy and vulgar commercial came on for Fifty Shades of Grey. I started shouting, “Close your eyes, CLOSE YOUR EYES!” as I scramble for the remote to change the channel. And yes, I wrote them about it, but they never responded. The program is rated “G” for general audiences, so why are you showing “R” rated commercials?

The past 2 weeks I have seen women kissing women on shows that in the past have had nothing like that, and the sad part was it brought nothing whatsoever to the story line. But some of us are feeding off this type of programming and we see nothing wrong in it. In fact we like to post about it on Facebook, and want to hold conversations concerning the latest episode. And you are the first ones, complaining about life and begging for prayer when something tough comes your way.

And that is because we are not as prepared for life as we should be. We are allowing the things of this world to creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it is becoming fruitless in our lives. You see ladies, the writer Shonda Rhimes, has nothing on Moses, King David, Isaiah, Peter, Paul or any of the other great writers of the Bible.

I have a challenge for you sisters. If you watch any type of TV show that has a story line, of sex, adultery, homosexuality, greed, murder, foolishness and mayhem—I challenge you to fast from it for 2 weeks straight and replace that slot with studying the Bible. That includes too much time on Facebook complaining, or pinterest (lusting) or anything that has you resembling the ones Christ describes in Mark 4:19.

Why?

Because things are getting ready to change in this world as we know it, and too many of us are not going to be able to stand because we are not prepared for what is about to go down.

Even if you find yourself in a season of thorns and thistles, God is more than able to turn that around so your heart is full of good soil, and can give great increase into your life. Read Mark 4:1-20 Amp (click here).

The time is NOW to dig into the Word of God and solidify your relationship with Him. It will be impossible to build an ark once the storms hit. And they are coming.

Until next week...

Blessings and Hugs,

Ponnie