If you knew there was going to be a test in class on Sunday morning, would you study for it? I've already given one test to the teenage class, and they know another one is coming because I already warned them. What if it wasn't me, but God who was delivering it? We have tests in life, too, like when we perhaps gather for a holiday with family of other beliefs. We might know that every year they are going to contend with us, sometimes friendly and sometimes not, over their mistaken beliefs. If this is your situation, do you prepare for it? Perhaps study certain passages, or even seek counsel from others who have similar situations? Sure we do, people don't like to be caught off guard.

This past Tuesday, I had the sad task of helping Millie and Neil load up a truck with their belongings to move to Colorado. I was sad to see them go, but glad I would get one last opportunity to visit with them, and to give them a hand. There's something I forgot about at their house, however. They have two hairy cats.

Many of you know I own four dogs, so you may not think I would be deathly allergic to cats. If only that were true! I am so allergic to cats that I have serious troble breathing, I wheeze and cough, my eyes and nose runs; it's not a pretty sight. Fortunately, I have a little inhaler that I can puff on to help me out, but I had not thought to bring it! In just a few minutes something was sitting on my chest, because I could not get any air in. After a bit more, I was almost to the point of blacking out and in fact a couple times I "woke up" standing up, as if I was daydreaming. Being the stubborn fool I am, I pushed on until I had helped them move all the really heavy stuff before I admitted defeat. So there I was, a long way from home, and no inhaler. Apparently I made the drive safely, but it was pretty scary for a bit.

What happened? I was unprepared. Sure, it was my own fault for not thinking about it, the worst kind of mistake. What if it had been in a religious way? Case in point:

I once dated a girl who was her father's favorite, of three daughters. He had decided that she was going to grow up and marry a Baptist preacher. But there she was, dating me! So he bought a cat (true!) because he knew how sick I would get. I spent many nights with her on a cold porch outside her house because of that cat, which caused her to sit closer to me to get warm, which made her dad mad, and so on. To top it off, we would talk about things like Christmas, which she thought was taught in the bible. So did her dad,and it didn't endear me any more to him when I challenged him to show me where and he could not. So one day another visitor came to call when I was there, the local Baptist preacher! He spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to attack me (but he never did attempt to prove Christmas was in the bible, how about that!) and his first was Psalms 51:5. This passage, he says, proves David had original sin. Now, I knew that original sin was a farce, after all I did pay attention once in a while to the preacher at church. But when I read that passage, I had no answer. I was unprepared! I sure looked foolish, and it gave my girl's father something to gloat about for a long time to come.

What happened? Well, this time it wasn't my fault, right? After all, I didn't know he was going to bring in a preacher to bash on me! But wait. What if I had paid better attention to the lessons? What if I had studied a bit on my own? In other words, I think it WAS my fault. I had all this time to learn the truth before I even met this girl. Why do we think a test is never coming until we are ready for it? We need to stop thinking that way and start being more prepared ALL the time!

Matthew 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Matthew 25:41-45 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Matthew 26:17-19 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

Luke 12:45-47 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.