In the summer of 1990 I was in Manila, Philippines. The plan was to be in Manila for five weeks as part of a campaign with Campus Crusade for Christ to saturate the city with the Gospel of Jesus. Many of the different ministries of CCC, including ours, the high school ministry, had planned various outreaches throughout the city. The high school ministry was to speak in every public high school in Manila. Everything was pre-arranged. Scout teams had spent months preparing. Money had been raised. Extensive evangelism training had taken place. I arrived in Manila early, while most were still in the U.S. or en route. Then, the unexpected happened: the CCC leadership received an anonymous death threat. (I can’t recall if the group claimed to be Marxist or Muslim. Both are possible in the Philippines.) So, quickly our plans changed. About a third of our group stayed in Manila, while the rest were diverted to Hong Kong, Macau, Hawaii (ya, bummer right?) and Singapore. My group went to Singapore. The summer of 1990 ended up being very different than planned. Yet, at the end of the summer, as we reflected upon the work that had been accomplished, we realized that all the goals had still been reached. In addition, unexpected evangelism and discipleship had occurred in the other locations. How did that happen? Our convictions were set before the crisis hit. We trusted in the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, the power of His Word, and our staff and students were trained and equipped for ministry. So, when the crisis hit, we just moved locations, and the ministry continued. Crises rarely come when we expect them. We cannot put them on our calendar. Thus, we need to be prepared. Growing up in southern California in the seventies, I remember practicing “duck and cover” drills in school. When the bell rang, we would all duck under our desks and cover our heads, rehearsing what we would do if “the big one” hit or the Soviets bombed us. All of us will go through times of crisis: death, cancer, job loss, prodigal children, marital strife, etc. God is the only one strong enough, wise enough, faithful enough to bring us through the storms of life. The better we know him, his attributes, his promises, his absolute sovereignty over every detail of life and his intimate care for his children, the better prepared we are for the days of darkness that may lie ahead. We come to know God in his holy, inspired word, the Bible, and as we obey him. So, when is the best time to prepare: before the crisis, or after it hits? Clearly, the best time to prepare is before the crisis. This past weekend, about fifty or so of us from the church and school attended Impact, a conference put on by the ministry Children Desiring God. Our children’s ministry and school chapel program have been using CDG’s curriculum for several years now. During one of the main sessions, the speaker, David Michael, was talking about the importance of being Bible-saturated people. As he spoke, next to him on the stage was a bucket of water in the shape of a large black Bible. At one point, he reached into the bucket and pulled out a sponge, the big yellow kind you see used for washing cars. The sponge was filled with water. As he lifted the heavy sponge, water poured out from the bottom. He squeezed the sponge and more water oozed out. He dipped the sponge back in the water, then, drawing it out, poked at it with a long stick. Again water ran out. As he repeatedly drew the sponge in and out of the water he said, “Bible-saturated people drip Bible. Everything we observe, are taught, consider, decide, and conclude is shaped and influenced by the Word of God. If we are saturated by the Word, we have an ever-present and infinitely wise Counselor, Comforter, and Interpreter to guide us and others through us.” So, how are you doing at becoming a Bible-saturated person? Jesus at the close of his Sermon on the Mount said this: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”(Matthew 7:24-27) –Pastor Dave