BBD 09.15.04 Prepare To Live
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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09.15.04
Prepare to Live
“Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there
to provide for you.’” - I Kings 17:8-9.
“So she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a
handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am
gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and
my son, that we may eat it, and die.’” - I Kings 17:12.
My Dad for the past 10 years or so has been preparing to die. He has been
cleaning up the farm. He had some old junk cars that he has sold. He had
scraps of metal that he had accumulated to use in repairs. Those scraps have
been removed. Things have been torn down and cleaned up. Now he says it will
be up to my sister and I to take care of some things after he dies. He has
prepared to die.
Elijah’s brook had dried up and God told him to go to a widow in Zarephath.
But when Elijah arrived in Zarephath he found a widow who was preparing to
die. She was planning to eat her last meal. What hope did she have? Just
like Elijah’s brook had dried up so had the food supply of the widow. Almost
everything was gone except for a very little amount of flour and oil. What
hope did she have? She had none. But God came to her through the prophet
Elijah and said in effect to prepare to live.
There is a choice that we must make in life each day. That choice is whether
we will prepare to die or will we prepare to live. For some our situations
may be almost as desperate as the widow of Zarephath. But if Jesus is your
Savior I believe He wants you to prepare to live. As long as you have breath
you should prepare to live.
What is true of people is true of churches as well. There are some churches
that appear to be on their deathbed. The community may appear to be drying
up like Elijah’s brook. The situation appears to be hopeless. I believe God
would say to those churches that they should like the widow of Zarephath,
following the prophets instructions, prepare to live.
Let us prepare to live as individuals and as churches. In the process of
doing so we may find as did the widow of Zaraphath that “the bin of flour
shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry....(I Kings 17:14).”
Let us prepare to live!!
Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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