From time to time I hear words like, “Isn’t CEN just waiting for a disaster? Why don’t you just have faith that the Lord will take care of everything?”

Yes, the CEN team has faith, faith in the Lord. However, disasters, large and small will happen. A firefighting crew is trained, and ready to fight fires.  They wait, the loner they wait the better before the next call. Then the alarm bell goes off, the crew jumps into fire trucks and responds. A fire crew could say, why respond; why not just trust the Lord? Why train and be ready? Why have a firehouse anyway?

Peter wrote, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 peter 1:13 NIV) We are given a model, be ready for action, while instructed to place our hope on Christ.

Most of us don’t like to wait. We like action. We like to respond to what we see, rather then think about possible future problems. Spending time and money to prepare requires an investment, an investment most won’t make.

The Salvation Army responds to disasters. They have mobile kitchens, shower units, a supply distribution network and trained volunteers. Most days, they wait. Then, a tornado rips through a town, an earthquake strikes or even a home burners down the street they respond. They only respond because they were ready.

Victim Relief trains chaplains to help people through traumatic experiences and to share the hope of Christ. Chaplains are trained, then they wait. Often, they don’t wait long.

In our home we have emergency supplies, enough for our family and neighbors should a disaster hit. Fortunately, we have never needed these. Do we lack faith? No. We have been prompted to put items aside to prepare, we wait. We petition the Lord to protect us, to keep us from relaying on our emergency stockpile. At the same time, we understand the Lord may want to minister in and through us in an emergency.

Personal preparation goes far beyond disasters. If we desire to share Christ, we must prepare, learn Scripture and how to share Christ with others. We relay on the Holy Sprit to guide and assist, but if we do not take the time to prepare, the results will be meager.

Each of us will make a choice. Will we decide to become Ready Christian, and then take steps to be ready? Will we decide to become a Ready Church, and then prepare that church? Will we take steps to become a Ready City and then organize that city?

When preparing for a possible future disaster, better to be five years early then five minuets late.

Application:


1.     What steps have we taken personally to be a Ready Christian? What additional steps do we need to take? Start here: http://bit.ly/GVpW91

2.     What steps does the Lord want us to take to help prepare our church? Start here: http://bit.ly/GTXIvN

3.     What steps does the Lord want us to take to help create a Ready City? Start here: http://bit.ly/u72qYM