Chopping Wood:
Two men are out chopping wood. One man worked hard all day, took no breaks, and stopped only briefly for lunch. The other chopper took several breaks during the day and a short nap at lunch.
At the end of the day, the woodsman who had taken no breaks was quite disturbed to see that the other chopper had cut more wood than he did. He said, “I don’t understand, every time I looked around, you were sitting down, yet you cut more wood than I did.” His companion asked, “Did you also notice that while I was sitting down, I was sharpening my ax?”

In life we have to prepare (train, study, etc…) for so much.

1. Race ~ ref. Thad training for marathon
2. Career ~ ref. Molly taking years of school to become a doctor
3. Skills ~ ref. Diana practicing and training her voice to sing
4. Sports ~ ask students who plays in sports, then pick one and ask if they just show up for games
   1. You likely have to practice with your team every day to prepare for games
5. Ask ladies what they do to get ready for school (makeup, hair, etc…). Takes time to prepare just to go to class.
6. Events Prep ~ ref. time to prep for upcoming “School’gater” cookout
7. Disaster ~ we see all kinds of ads for being prepared for disasters and emergencies

1. V. 35 – waist girded and lamps burning… in other words BE PREPARED
2. V. 37 – blessed are those who are prepared
3. V. 47 – the servant who knows what to do and does not prepare shall be “beaten”

Noah prepared for the flood, he built the Ark
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus
A farmer prepares to sow seed and reap the harvest
Jesus often went off to prepare himself by praying and spending time with His Father.

We need to constantly prepare to do God’s will
We need to “know Him and make Him known”
1 Peter 3:15 – be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you (NKJ & MSG)

If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, all the preparation in the world won’t amount to anything.
You can know Him tonight

Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.