“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” – 1 Peter 3:15.
By Peter Kennedy
In 1907, Robert Baden-Powell, an English soldier who would later found the Boy Scouts, first coined the Scout motto: “Be Prepared”. He published it in “Scouting for Boys” in 1908.
In Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell wrote that to Be Prepared means “you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.”
He wanted young people equipped to react quickly to an emergency. World War I loomed, and soon the Boy Scouts — not a military organization but a service-minded one — would be called upon to play their part.
Scouts also played a key part in World War II. “Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts,” Winston Churchill wrote in an article published in Scouting magazine in 1955. “In the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of 12 and 14 performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful function assigned to them in the streets and public offices.”
We need to do our part in the kingdom of God and be prepared to share our hope and faith in Jesus Christ with others. Today in prayer, praise the Lord for the opportunities to share your faith. Ask Him how you can be prepared to share the Gospel with others.
“Jesus Christ didn’t commit the gospel to an advertising agency; He commissioned disciples. And He didn’t command them to put up signs and pass out tracts; He said that they would be his witnesses.” – Joseph Bayly
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:6.
Read another devotional: Bless others
