Are You Ready?
Rick Cadden Associate Pastor of Administration Columbus Ave Baptist
That is a great and profound question that needs to be asked more and
more! You might be asking yourself ready for what? I have been leading
a financial training class for over seven years called Financial Peace
University by Dave Ramsey. Maybe you have heard of him or taken the
class! If you had to sum up all nine sessions of the course you could
with these three words; are you ready?
Here are four stages in life that you should be asking yourself are
you ready or not. It will help you realize what needs to be done and
how to plan to be ready. No one likes to be caught off guard or
surprised with these life issues. All of the four will happen at one
point in our life so why not be prepared, planned out, and ready for
them. Lets take a look!
#1 Are you ready for life? The Bible has over a hundred verses that
deal with money. Jesus talked about money all through his ministry.
Life happens whether you are ready or not. It''s not if the hot water
heater goes out, it is when the hot water heater goes out. What if you
get laid off or fired for whatever reason with no warning? These are
life events that can come at the worst times and usually do. So, do
you have an emergency fund that will cover these events. Dave says to
have 3-6 months worth of expenses in an emergency fund that can
handles most emergencies. Start with a $1000 cash to get you going and
can cover the small emergencies until you can work toward a 3-6 month
fully funded emergency fund.
#2 Are you ready for old age? It''s coming like it or not! Maybe it is
here already for you. Whatever the case may be you can be ready.
Retirement: did you set money aside during all those working years for
you to retire on? The earlier you start saving, the more your fund
will grow until retirement. Don''t depend on your employer to fund
this, take part yourself and take control of your future. Disability:
What happens if along the way you become disabled and can no longer
work? Are you ready for that? Disability insurance is very inexpensive
and can provide you with income the rest of your life if disabled.
#3 Are you ready for death? I am not trying to be morbid but there are
things that need to be done before you pass away. Do you have life
insurance? Do you have enough coverage? Do you have the right type of
life insurance? These are great questions that need to be addressed
before its too late. If you are married and have a family you
certainly don''t want to leave them homeless in the unfortunate event
of your death.
#4 Are you ready for Heaven? The Bible says we all live and we all
die. There is no way around it! The question is are you ready for
Heaven? Romans 10.9-10 says " that if you confess with your mouth
Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved." Keep reading verse 11-13 for more
confirmation of this truth. The decision to trust Christ with your
life has to be made here on earth before you die. That decision is THE
most important life decision you will ever make.
Life, old age, and death are coming no matter what and all we can do
is be ready the best we can be. Heaven, is a choice we have to make
while here on earth. The Bible is plain and clear on how to be ready
for Heaven.
Romans 3.23 " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We are all sinners that need forgiveness and cleansing. Jesus provided
that for us in his death.
Romans 6.23 " for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We don''t deserve grace and
forgiveness but God provides it so that we can be restored to Him.
Romans 5.8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." You don''t have to be perfect
to come to Jesus, he does that for us. Come as you are!
Romans 10.9-10 " that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
That is the Roman road to salvation; an age old path that leads
sinners like you and I to be ready for Heaven. Are you ready? A simple
but sincere prayer following that road will take you to Jesus.
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