Make Me Ready

Make Me Ready

Listen to this song after you have read my blog 

http://youtu.be/4WcwZO9htds

Easy Sugar Cookies (Allrecipes.com)

Prep 15 min., Cooktime 10 min., Ready in 25 mins.

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

After you have mixed the ingredients, stirred the batter, spooned out each portion onto the cookie sheet it dawns on you that you'd forgotten to add the sugar. In your preparation you didn't take it out when you took out all the other ingredients and didn’t double check to make sure you had everything you needed.

The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of white sugar. Without this ingredient your batter is not properly prepared. Even though the batter can still be baked, it will not turn out the way it was intended. How many times have we attempted to accomplish something without making sure we were properly prepared?

Most recipes give you an estimated time that it should take to prepare your dish. They are able to tell you this because they have prepared the dish before you even thought of making it. However, even though this information is given to us, it is often skimmed over as not so important.

What does the "preparation time" really mean anyway"?

Preparation (The Free Dictionary-by Farlex) 1. The act or process of preparing. 2. The state of having been made ready beforehand; readiness. 3. A preliminary measure that serves to make ready for something.

Preparation is very important because during this time you are being made ready for the task that is before you. Whether you're a single woman about to marry the man of your dreams, a professional boxer conditioning his mind before a fight or a student studying for a final exam, the same can be said for all-preparation is crucial.

Unlike in this recipe we may not always be given the particulars of what it's going to take to process our lives for the assignments ahead of us. Preparation could take a day, a week, months or even years.

Sometimes your preparation is mental. You may have a season in your life where everything and everyone around you has a negative view of the situations in your life, yet you remain positive. And in the midst of this, the Holy Spirit could be teaching you how to think and speak His word (Philippians 4:8) as one who speaks life because He knows His assignment for you. Preparation could be emotional or physical as well. These areas of our lives go through times of preparation because we need to be ready for whatever comes our way as we whole heartedly serve the Lord. We need to be made ready in our body, soul and spirit.

We have many examples in the Bible of men and women who went through times of preparation before they were sent out on assignment: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Paul and yes, Jesus. But for today I want to take a look at Esther (I encourage you to read the entire book).

Vasti, the disobedient queen was demoted. Esther, along with all the virgins of Susa were taken to the king’s palace to go through twelve months of "beautification". (Esther 2:12-14) This was a process that all of the young virgins had to partake in to be considered for the position of queen. For the other women, the process was just so they could marry the king, but in Esther's case she was being processed to know how to walk in and use the favor she possessed. Esther was willing to risk her life by going to see the king, when she was not summoned. But nevertheless she had been divinely prepared for an assignment that would ultimately save her life and the life of her people.

A part of the preparation that precedes your God-given task is learning how to wait in uncertainty, listen to Godly counsel, humble yourself in up times, stay encouraged in downtimes, be courageous in the face of fear and trust God!

Trust God because He is with you and remember that he has predestined us and everything is a part of His will for our lives. He has predestined the preparation, the process and the promise. (Ephesians 1:11)

Preparation is something we all go through. Whether you are entering, exiting or right in the middle of being made ready-the truth is-you will be made ready. Don't fight it; let Him make you.

Daily Declaration I AM - EQUIPPED

2 Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be ADEQUATE, EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK. (NASB)

The Enemy is Attacking the City!

While I was in my bathroom curling my hair I was suddenly alarmed by the tone of
voice my grandson was using to address my grand daughter. So I stepped out of the
bathroom into the bedroom to see why he was speaking with such aggression and
urgency. "Kara, come on...we need to fight!", he said as he hid beside my jewelry dresser, with his little hands formed in the shape of a gun. "We need to fight...because the enemy is attacking the city." "The enemy is attacking the city?",  I asked him. "Yes, the enemy is attacking the city!", he said.

I almost laughed because he was very serious as he looked up at me with those big
brown eyes. I figured he had been watching a superhero movie or something because
his gestures were so animated, he was definitely in character and I decided to play
along. "Well, how are we gonna fight the enemy?", I asked. Throwing up his hands (as to say, duh), He replied, "with our weapons". Wanting to make sure I was hearing him correctly I repeated, "With our weapons?"

"YES GRANDMA WITH OUR WEAPONS."

By this time Kara had left the two of us standing there. She was not amused by this
whole dramatic presentation and even though I knew this was just a 4 year old acting
out his imagination,  I couldn't help but stand there gazing at him while I pondered
what was going on and what he had said. I thought to myself, What a profound yet
simple statement. His intention was not to enlighten me yet through him, Holy
Spirit was speaking.

"The enemy is attacking the city and we need to fight with our weapons."

There were a few things that stood out to me from what he said that we should constantly be reminded of:

1. You have an enemy.
We must realize that we have an enemy who's main objective is to make war with us
everyday. We have to keep our spiritual eyes open and discern when our enemy is
attacking. (Revelation 12:13-17)

2. Get ready to fight.
It's not enough to just reconize your enemy. Any good soldier prepares himself
by putting on the proper war garments. He also postures himself for the fight.
(Ephesians 6:10-18) Remember that prayer is an effective posture in spiritual warfare.

3. Use your weapon and fight!In order to fight the enemy of our souls, it is important to use the spiritual weapons that come from God. (Ephesians 6: 17b) When the enemy starts attacking - start declaring and doing what God's Word says for that situation, and you will defeat him.(Sometimes your weapon will be praise or it may be speaking truth, it could even be standing still and trusting God. No matter what weapon you are given, point it in
the right direction and use it.)

Yes, we are in a war, but it has already been won and we have been crowned the
victors. Stand in the victory Christ has given you.

Have you felt like you've been under attack lately? If so what have you been doing
about it?



Daily Declaration I AM - MORE THAN A CONQUEROR
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (NKJV)