1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,520
Day 204, or July 23. Are you prepared for today?

2
00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:12,420
Our thoughts today are from Isaiah chapter 38 verse 1.

3
00:00:12,420 --> 00:00:18,460
In those days Hezekiah became ill, and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah,

4
00:00:18,460 --> 00:00:25,540
son of Amoz, went to him and said, This is what the Lord says. Put your house in order,

5
00:00:25,540 --> 00:00:30,880
because you are going to die. You will not recover.

6
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:37,200
First the big picture surrounding this verse. After 35 chapters Isaiah stops his prophetic

7
00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:43,040
theme and recounts some of the main issues that King Hezekiah had to deal with when the

8
00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:49,840
Assyrians were threatening to overrun Judah. As Hezekiah's prophet, Isaiah has a central

9
00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:56,600
role in what happens. In human terms, there was no way that Judah could withstand an Assyrian

10
00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:03,240
attack, but miraculously they did. It proved to be the beginning of the end for Assyria,

11
00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:09,360
as they were later replaced by Babylonia, another pagan nation that God used to judge

12
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,060
His people.

13
00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:18,480
And now today's action step. Whenever you buy anything these days, or so it seems, the

14
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:24,800
question of safeguarding your product for the next few years is inevitably raised. Extended

15
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:30,400
warranties and longer guarantees are the order of the day. We seem besotted with making the

16
00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:36,680
future as certain and secure and as long as possible. That's how Hezekiah reacts when

17
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:44,000
Isaiah tells him he is going to die. Hezekiah's reaction could be summed up with these words.

18
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,720
It isn't fair. I need longer. It has been said that even those of us who want to go

19
00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:57,320
to heaven don't want to die to get there. It really is a case of not today, maybe tomorrow.

20
00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:03,000
So what about you? There are thousands of people alive today who will not be alive when

21
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:10,720
these recordings are completed. I could be one of them. Regularly I have to ask myself

22
00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:16,160
if I'm putting off until tomorrow what should be done today. Don't delay and miss out on

23
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,040
something God has for you today. Some people make lists of things they want to do before

24
00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:42,120
they die. Be sure your list and God's list are in sync.