Good evening brethren and happy Sabbath!

Preparing for the big day!

Today I found myself getting my chili ready for this Sabbath's Men's Chili Cook-off.  I had gathered all my ingredients (secret and otherwise) and was ready to get down to business!  Of course, like any good cook, it's never exactly the same twice.  I view recipes more like guidelines than hard and fast rules.  But in any case, my chili is fully prepared for competition!

What else are you preparing for?

As I was cooking the chili, I couldn't help but think about the topic of preparation.  I immediately thought of Christ's words in John 14:1-2 (NKJV), "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."  

Wow! How awesome is that!  Our Lord and Savior is preparing a place for us in His Father's mansion!  Just think of that for a moment.  We gathered ingredients this week to make chili.  Perhaps you've had houseguests recently that we made up a room for.  In either case, it takes a bit of work.  It takes time and energy to move things around, gather things together, etc.  But more than that, it takes thought. Jesus Christ is thinking about you, and getting ready for you to come and be with Him.  How humbling and inspiring!

Getting yourself ready

If He is preparing for us, shouldn't we be preparing to meet Him?  This of course is will be no ordinary meeting!  Revelation 19:7-9 describes it, "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." "

The last few words of that scripture remind us that this is an important truth.  As we live our lives, let's never forget that Jesus Christ is preparing a place for each of us individually.  Let's make sure we are living in such a way that we are prepared to meet Him!