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Are
You Ready?
In
Medieval times, a king would often have a jester to
entertain him and to cheer him up when he was sad or
troubled. The
jester would tell funny stories, perform
tricks, and do most
anything to amuse and distract the king in his
difficult moments.
The jester was called the king’s “fool.”
A
certain king enjoyed his jester’s performances very
much; the jester could make him laugh so easily.
One day, the king handed the royal scepter to
the jester and said,
“If you ever find a fool greater than yourself,
give this scepter to him.”
After
a while, the king grew deathly ill...........
Feeling
very melancholy, the king called for the jester,
hoping that he could make him feel better.
When the jester arrived the king said, “Ah,
jester, I fear that I am about to depart upon a long
journey.” “Have
you known about this journey for long?”
the jester inquired.
“Well, yes I have” the king replied.
The jester then asked,
“Have you prepared for this journey?” “No,” the king replied, “I’m afraid I have not.”
Then, handing the royal scepter to the king,
the jester said:
“Then
this belongs to YOU
- for you are a
greater fool than I.”
Wise
are those who prepare for appointments that they know
they must keep. Two
such appointments that each and every one of us must
keep are:
death
(unless the Lord comes first) and the judgment
to come. “It
is appointed for men to die once, but after this the
judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Have YOU prepared yourself for these appointments?
Because
of His great love, God sent His Son Jesus into the
world that through Him we might be prepared for these
unavoidable appointments. ‘So Christ was offered
once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:28).
On the cross, Jesus bore the sins of the world
upon Himself; He paid the price for sin.
One may receive the benefits of His sacrificial
death by faith (Acts 16:30), repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confession (Romans 10:9-10), baptism for
the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and then “walking
in the light as He is in the light” through a life
of obedience to God’s will (1 John 1:7).
To
those who have obeyed the Gospel and “eagerly wait
for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin,
for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).
No
remedy remains, however, if we die in our sins and
enter eternity without God. If Christ is not our sin-bearer, we will bear our own sins in
judgment.
Are
you ready?
God
bless you!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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