In their book, The Sacred Romance, Curtis & Eldredge write, “The life of the heart is a place of great mystery. Yet we have many expressions to help us express this flame of the human soul. We describe a person without compassion as “heartless,” and we urge him or her to “have a heart.” Our deepest hurts we call “heartaches.” Jilted lovers are “brokenhearted.” Courageous soldiers are “brave hearted.” The truly evil are “black-hearted” and saints have “hearts of gold.” If we need to speak at the most intimate level, we ask for a “heart-to-heart” talk. “Lighthearted” is how we feel on vacation. And when we love someone as truly as we may, we love “with all our heart.” But when we lose our passion for life, when a deadness sets in which we cannot seem to shake, we confess, “My heart’s just not in it.”

In the end, it doesn’t matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished-a life without heart is not worth living.”

That last sentence is a haunting one. “A life without heart is not worth living.” Remember that God doesn’t just expect us to love Him with our spirituality and our lifestyle, He also wants us to love Him with all our heart.

Deut. 6:5 KJV “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

For more information on The Sacred Romance, go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785273425/fm082-20

Hurricane Katrina, a category 4 Hurricane, has wrecked havoc on the Gulf Coast and brought unprecedented catastrophe upon New Orleans, partly because the levy system was designed to only handle a category 3 Hurricane. Some lawmakers are upset that greater preparation wasn't made.

Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee said, "What that, in essence, says is that you're not going to worry about the biggest disasters that could occur, you're only going to worry about the smaller ones." He continued "How many times do we have to see disaster overwhelm our preparedness before we recognize that we are playing Russian roulette with people's lives, with their livelihoods and with the life of whole communities?"

—http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168501,00.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

If we talk about preparation before a crisis, we don't have to talk about it afterward.

Matthew 25:13 (NLT) "So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of my return."

According to newsoftheweird.com, William Slagle has served just over ten years of his life sentence for stabbing one of his students at Samford University to death. Why would a professor at a Christian University want to kill one of his students? Apparently the 20-year-old member of the debate team that Slagle coached wasn’t prepared for a match.

Certainly, death is too harsh a punishment for something as common as being unprepared for a test or a debate—a failing grade would have sufficed. But the truth is that some things require advanced preparation or they could result in death. A parachuter needs to prepare for a jump, an army needs to prepare for battle and everyone must prepare to meet their maker.

Matthew 25:1-13 NASB "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. [2] And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, [4] but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. [5] Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. [6] But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' [7] Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' [9] But the prudent answered, saying, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' [10] And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. [11] And later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' [12] But he answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' [13] Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”

In July 1999, Kevin Stephan was a batboy for his brother, Rob's baseball team. Between innings Kevin walked into a practice cage near the dugout to get some bats and was hit in the chest by a batter whose back was turned to him. The impact stopped his heart. Penny Brown, a registered nurse witnessed the accident and administered CPR to save Kevin's life. Though Kevin wanted to find the right way to thank the woman, he did have the chance until recently.

Kevin and his mother were eating lunch were in a local restaurant when they saw a woman choking on her lunch. Kevin, a high school senior and volunteer firefighter, administered the Heimlich maneuver, saving the woman's life. Though Kevin did not realize it at the time, the woman in the restaurant was the same woman who helped him on the baseball diamond six and a half years earlier. In a sense, Penny Brown saved Kevin Stephan's life, so he could save hers years later.

When he learned the truth Kevin said, "Wow, I couldn't believe it. Everyone I have told is like, 'No way'. They're total disbelief." Kevin says he think the occurrences are more than coincidence. He added, ' It's one of those things you can't explain. It was meant to happen. They say things happen for a reason, and nothing is a coincidence."

—http://buffalonews.com, Youth saves life of woman who saved him years earlier, February 5, 2006. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Ephesians 2:10 (GW) "God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do."

While most people would admit they would not be ready for a large scale emergency, a growing number of people are concerned about potential disasters and are making preparations. This new group of self-sufficient people call themselves “preppers.”

“Preppers” want to be prepared for any possibility, including natural disasters, terrorism, economic meltdowns, or nuclear strikes. They have developed websites, blogs and other resources to help people learn survival skills such as food storage, water filtration, and gardening. Stephen Bedford, whose wife runs the website, Survival Moms, believes preparation is essential. Bedford says, “No one can predict the future, but our economy sure isn’t what it used to be. We can’t afford to live like it’s still 2005.” Gary Hartley, who operates the United States Prepper Networks, says he would be happy if his preparations never had to be used. He added, “Remember this. It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Not prepping is an unwise decision.”

--The Prepper Movement – A Growing Network Preparing for the World’s End, http://www.asylum.com/2010/05/19/preppers-a-growing-network-preparing-for-world-destruction/, May 19 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Being prepared for what might be is a good idea, but it’s even better to make sure we are prepared for eternal life we know lies ahead.

John 6:27 (CEV) Don't work for food that spoils. Work for food that gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give you this food, because God the Father has given him the right to do so."

“Spanish architects building a 700-foot skyscraper on Spain’s Mediterranean coast discovered a bit of a design flaw: The 47-floor building’s elevator only goes to the 20th floor. What’s more, architects for the InTempo building didn’t realize their mistake until it was only two months away from completion. According to Spain’s El Pais newspaper, the Benidorm structure—once planned to be Europe’s tallest residential building—now does not have room for an elevator to service floors 20 through 47. The architects have resigned and project leaders are scrambling for an elevator fix.” —Jim L. Wilson and Randy Langham

Luke 14:28-30 (CEV) Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won't you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? (29) Otherwise, you will start building the tower, but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you. (30) They will say, "You started building, but could not finish the job."

In an article entitled, “What I would have done differently: Billy Graham’s regrets, in his own words,” Collin Hansen reports that Graham said, “One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough. I wish I had studied more and preached less.” —Jim L. Wilson

Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.