And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
—Luke 21:34
4750 Preparing For Heaven, Anyone?
“Mamma,” said a little child, “my Sunday-school teacher tells me that this world is only a place in which God lets us live a while, that we may prepare for a better world. But, Mother, I do not see anybody preparing. I see you preparing to go into the country, and Aunt Eliza is preparing to come here; but I do not see anyone preparing to go there. Why don’t they try to get ready?”
—Prairie Overcomer
4751 If Jesus Came Home
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two.
If He came unexpectedly, I wonder what you’d do.
Oh, I know you’d give your nicest room to such an honored guest
And all the food you’d serve to Him would be the very best,
And you would keep assuring Him you’re glad to have him there …
But … when you saw Him coming, would you meet Him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome to our heav’nly visitor?
Or would you maybe change your clothes before you let Him in,
Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they’d been?
Would you turn off the radio and hope He hadn’t heard,
And wish you hadn’t uttered that last, loud and hasty word?
Would you hide your worldly music and put some hymnbooks out?
Could you let Jesus walk right in, or would you rush about?
And I wonder. … If the Savior spent a day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing the things you always do?
Would you go right on saying the things you always say?
Would life for you continue as it does from day to day?
Would your family conversation keep up its usual pace?
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace?
Would you sing the songs you always sing and read the book you read?
And let Him know the things on which your mind and spirit feed?
Would you take Jesus with you everywhere you’d planned to go,
Or would you, maybe, change your plans for just a day or so?
Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends,
Or would you hope they’d stay away until His visit ends?
Would you be glad to have Him stay for-ever on and on,
Or would you sigh with great relief when He at last was gone?
It might be interesting to know the things that you would do,
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you.
—Author Unknown
4752 Ike Said “I’m Ready”
Just before General Eisenhower died, Billy Graham was invited to visit him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was told he could stay thirty minutes. When he went in, the general was wearing his usual big smile, even though he knew he didn’t have long to live.
Later Billy Graham told what happened:
“When the thirty minutes were up, he asked me to stay longer and said to me, “Billy, I want you to tell me again how can I be sure my sins were forgiven and that I am going to heaven, because nothing else matters now.”
“I took my New Testament and read him Scriptures. I pointed out that we are not going to heaven because of our good works, or because of money we’ve given to the church. We are going to heaven totally and completely on the basis of the merits of what Christ did on the cross. Therefore he could rest in the comfort that Jesus paid it all!
“After prayer, Ike said, “Thank you I’m ready!””
4753 Casket On His Porch
In the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the front porch of a home in a thickly-populated residential section is a neatly-wrapped, full-sized casket. It has been there for years. It has become an object of sight-seeing. It is of such macabre interest, and of such an unbelievable nature, that Ripley included a reference to it in his “Believe It or Not” column.
An aged cabinetmaker, who lives alone, made the casket and placed it on the front porch of his home. There it awaits the time of the oldster’s demise.
—Walter B. Knight
4754 Enacting Death Becomes Reality
Two years before his death, Mike Hanzas, who lived alone, began to make preparation for his demise. He bought a lot in the cemetery. Weekly, he visited the site where his mortal remains would be interred. He planted grass there and mowed it regularly. On Memorial Day, he placed flowers on the grave site, for he said, “I want to see flowers there now. I won’t be able to see them when I’m gone!”
A while later Mike went into a funeral home. “I want to buy the casket which will be my new home,” he said. Whenever he passed the funeral home he would go in. Standing beside the casket he would say, “That’s where I’m going to live someday!”
One day Mike invited a nephew and the rest of his family to come to see him. After a hearty meal, Mike began to dispense some canned goods and personal effects among his visitors. Then he handed his nephew his will. As he did this, he dropped dead of heart failure!
So far as we know, Mike Hanzas had made every provision for his body but none for his soul.
4755 King Insures Own Throne
The only King to insure himself against the loss of his throne was Prajadhipok, King of Siam from 1925 until he was forced to abdicate in 1935. Having taken out unemployment insurance policies with French and British underwriters early in his reign, Prajadhipok was able to live comfortably on the income from them until his death in 1941.
—Selected
4756 Shackleton Found Them Ready
While on one of his expeditions to the Antarctic, Sir Ernest Shackleton was once compelled to leave some of his men on Elephant Island, with the intention of returning for them and carrying them back to England. But he was unavoidably delayed, and by the time he could go for them he found to his dismay that the sea had frozen over and his men were cut off. Three times he tried to reach them, but his efforts ended in failure. Finally, in his last effort, he found a narrow channel through the ice.
Guiding his small ship back to the island, he was delighted to find his men not only alive and well, but all prepared to get aboard. They were soon on their way to safety and home. After the excitement ended, Sir Ernest inquired how it was that they were ready to get aboard so promptly. They told him that every morning their leader rolled up his sleeping bag, saying, “Get your things ready, boys, the boss may come today.”
The return of the Lord Jesus to this earth is much more certain than Sir Shackleton’s return to Elephant Island. Christ’s promise to return to claim His redeemed is established upon His Word and His character. It is still “the blessed hope” of all who love Him—a hope that will not fail.
—Al Bryant
4757 Packing A Lifetime In 15 Minutes
Mrs. Helen Van Dyke, an 82-year-old American woman, was routed from her home in Cairo at the height of Nasser’s charge that the U.S. was winning Israel’s war for it. She was told to pack her things and report to the Nile Hotel in 15 minutes. She begged her captors: “I have lived all my life in Cairo. How can I pack up a lifetime in 15 minutes?” She was soon led forth hobbling with her cane into the hotel.
“How can I pack up a lifetime in 15 minutes?” What a question! Someday, any day, maybe this night, will come the command, “Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.” How sudden may sound the summons?
Then I may be given, not 15 minutes, possibly but a few moments, to “pack up a lifetime.” Can I check-through to the Eternal City? My little “Cairo” has never been my continuing city. This is not my homeland.
How long would it take the reader to “pack up?”
—Prairie Overcomer
4758 The Fool Gave Him Back Staff
There was a certain nobleman who kept a fool, to whom he one day gave a staff, with a charge to keep it till he should meet with one who was a greater fool than himself. Not many years after, the nobleman was sick, unto death. The fool came to see him.
His sick lord said to him. “I must shortly leave you.”—”And whither are you going,” said the fool.—”Into another world,” replied his lordship. “And when will you return? Within a month?”—“No”—”Within a year?”—“No.”—”When, then?”—“Never!”—”Never?” said the fool.
“And what provision hast thou made for thy entertainment there, whither thou goest?”—“None at all.”—”No?” said the fool. “None at all? Here, then take my staff; for, with all my folly, I am not guilty of any folly such as this.”
—Bishop Hall
4759 Epigram On Preparedness
• Chance favors only the mind which is prepared.
—Louis Pasteur
See also: Faithfulness . Watchfulness .