August 10,2025
Pastor Brandon Harris
BE READY!
Lind Waltersdorf Cobourn
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
My father grew up during World War II, certain the Allies would win. He collected postcards stamped with “V for Victory” and launched model airplanes from his attic window. Too young to fight, he joined paper drives, grew a Victory Garden, and watched the newsreels every Saturday. He never doubted that right would triumph.
We all start with that kind of confidence, but on the road to adulthood we lose pieces of it to worries about finances, jobs, health, politics, and relationships. While God wants to give us His Kingdom, we still face setbacks. Like Dad’s airplanes, we will sometimes crash to the ground and splinter into bits of balsa wood.
Unless we learn to look up.
In Luke 12:32-40, Jesus tells His disciples they need not fear because treasures stored in Heaven will never splinter, crash, or fade. When we are beaten down, we are in the perfect position to look up.
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.
Luke 12:35
Jesus says, “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes” (Luke 12:37). But what if we are distracted, letting the cares of this world overwhelm us? What if we depend on God only part of the time, when we should rely on Him completely?
On Sunday, Pastor Brandon gave us three ways God should find us:
- Completing the work He has given us.
- Living at peace with one another.
- Living at peace with Him.
My recent retirement from teaching has given me more time to work on what I feel God calling me to do. I have waited years to expand my writing for Him, confident He began a good work in me when I picked up a pencil at nine and scribbled stories into one of Dad’s old notebooks.
I am not always sure I have the talent to complete the task. I sometimes fear criticism, failure, and leaving my work incomplete.
Yet Philippians 1:6 comforts me: God will carry His work in me to completion.
Be confident, my friend, that God will equip you for the task. Like my father launching his airplanes and collecting his “V for Victory” postcards, we can move forward without fear, certain that victory is already won in Christ. And when we crash, as we sometimes will, we can still look up, knowing He will lift us and set us flying again.
đź“Ś Call to Action
This week, prayerfully consider the work God has entrusted to you. Ask Him where He is calling you to serve, create, or encourage others, and take one small, intentional step toward completing that work.
đź•Š Closing Prayer
Lord, thank You for the Kingdom You have promised to Your children. Help me to lay down fear and walk in the confidence that You will complete the good work You have begun in me. Keep my heart watchful, my hands ready, and my spirit at peace with You and others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
