According to the second law of thermodynamics, in any isolated system, the degree of disorder tends to increase with the passage of time. In our world, everything has a natural tendency to move from a higher state of order to a lower state of order. Energy – in the form of some effort or action – is required to prevent this process from taking place.

Entropy is used to measure the degree of disorder in a system. It causes our automobiles to break down and erodes the supports of bridges, leading to their eventual collapse. Entropy is the reason most electric gadgets last only a few years. Human mortality is related to the amount of entropy in our bodies.

The second law of thermodynamics is frequently cited by Christians as a manifestation of the sin nature. God originally created everything in a perfect state; when Adam and Eve disobeyed and fell from grace, the structure of all things was transformed to a flawed state.

We are all born captives of a disintegration process. Since the fall, everything has been affixed with an expiration date. Some material items may have a longer shelf-life than others, but in the end they all fall victim to decay. The next time your water heater goes on the fritz, you can blame Adam for your aggravation.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men”(Rom. 5:12).

Help, I’m Falling Apart

In my early days of youth, I viewed “aging” as something to look forward to. As I grew older, I could accomplish new, exciting feats. Aging allowed me to graduate from school, get a job, drive a car, and have my own living space. Once I hit my 20s, the benefits of aging quickly dissipated.

Now that I’m in my late 30s, I’ve noticed that age has gradually begun to take on a negative connotation. The most noticeable changes have been in the area of my health. During a 12-month period, I’ve observed several subtle signs that entropy is at work in my physical body. Here is a list of some of these minor problems:

 My eyes have developed a slight near-sighted condition.
I have a few more lines in my face.
My weight has increased.
The hair on my head is thinning a bit.
In certain situations, I have trouble swallowing food.
My feet swell up more easily.
I get twitches in my right leg.
It seems to take me a little bit longer to remember facts and figures.
Eating starchy foods occasionally leaves me with an upset stomach.

I haven’t turned into a hypochondriac, nor am I suffering from some type of grave illness. All these ailments are part of the natural result of the disintegration process. I could exercise more, stock up on health remedies, or try plastic surgery, but eventually the negative effects of aging will catch up with me. I am like the flower that grows, blooms, then fades.

I consider myself to be quite fit for my age. I’m sure some of you folks might be able to think of a longer list of conditions you are suffering. Many of my friends have developed health problems that have had a more profound impact on their quality of life. Because there is little we can do about the aging process, we generally resign ourselves to accept these aches and pains as a natural occurrence.

We tend to rely on the experience of others as our guide, and most folks are very satisfied with their general state of health. Even up to the very end, a positive attitude tends to reign.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

“Count it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3).

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Lying To Ourselves

It is a wonderment why the average person is not more mindful of temporal nature of life. The deterioration of our physical condition is a slow process, but one would think it would eventually cause people to reflect on the meaning of their existence.

It is a blessing that God has instilled in us the gift of optimism. Without it we would probably reach a point at which we would decide to put a gun to our head once our health diminished to a certain level. The downside of having a hopeful outlook, however, isusing it as a shield that hides us from the reality of our mortality.

The failure to factor in the chances of one’s own demise is the reason some people make choices that have deadly results. I read a report about a skier who climbed a mountain that was redundantly marked as a danger zone for avalanches. He walked passed four warning signs, one of which depicteda skull and crossbones beside a message stating, “You can die if you go beyond this point.”

Did the skier go on to have a great time on fresh virgin snow? No, I obviously chose this story to make a point. It should be no big surprise that the man was swept away by the very disaster he was clearly warned could befall him. The man died becausehe liedto himself about the severity of the snow hazard.

We don’t need to put ourselves into an avalanche danger zone to be at risk. The disintegration process puts us in constant peril. We may board an airplane with engine trouble or drive in a car that suddenly blows a tire. Our bodies can suffer similar types of failure. The heart can at any moment develop complications that lead to cardiac arrest.

When it comes to dealing with the subject of death, people who are still in their prime oflife are normally the ones who have to confront the issue. The person actually going through the process is often the one least concerned about it. The lack of focus is largely the result of four factors:

Avoidance/denial – Many people avoid dealing with what will likely be their fate. They talk about anything but the subject of death. They may even refuse to believe they are ill and deny any indication otherwise.

Focus on Recovery – Some folks spend much of their final days focusing on the hope of their eventual recovery. They may talk about what they plan to do when they get out of the hospital. Hope for recovery can be found in the most dismal of situations. Someone who may have a cancer regarded as100 percent fatal will stillplace a tremendous amount of hopein some new wonder drug.

Reminiscing – People who are in the twilight hours of their lives often spend their remaining moments sharing happy thoughts and reflecting on what they have accomplished in life. They use the time they spendreminiscing about the past tocounterbalance their negativeexperiences in the present.

Being Distracted – Some people become so busy making minor plans that they fail to see the big picture. They could be actively involved in making arrangements for their own funerals and not consider that they will be the ones in the coffins. The ones doing the distracting are often friends and family. Because of the unpleasantness of dealing with mortality, they tend to divert their loved ones’ attention to secondary issues.

Time Is Running Out

Because many tasks in life take long periods of time to accomplish, time management is an important consideration. It can take someone well over a decade to become a fully licensed doctor. Some folks spend their whole lives trying to achieve a goal. Rapture Ready might be one such project. For me it has been a work in progress for 17 years now.

Many people dont realize time is running out until it is almost completely gone. In 1983, my father discovered this truth right before he died of emphysema. He gave up cigarettes immediately after he learnedhe had the disease, but it was too late.

One day while downtown on business I encountered an elderly man in a walker who was slowly crossing the street. I was struck by how the passage of time had reduced him to moving at a snail’s pace. I have reflected on how ironic it was that, at a point when time was the most precious, this gentleman was restricted to moving through life at a reduced speed.

Because the disintegration process erodes our ability to act and think, we need to make important decisions while we have the opportunity to make them. People who are active in church will eventually have to give up their duties because of age. The person who thinks he can serve the Lord in his retirement years doesn’t understand how the aging process works.

The Bible is full of examples of people who failed to make wise use of their time. The worse misuse of time is made by people who put off trusting Christ as their Savior.

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

Christians Have No Excuse

When I joined the military in 1987, I purchased a one-year-old Pontiac Sunbird, and drove it for 14 years. I would have happily driven the car forever, but unfortunately, the old sedan finally became unreliable. Because it needed repairs that would cost more than a newer car, I had to send the Sunbird to the junkyard.

The Bible tells us this world will someday be sent to the recycling center for renewal. Once the tribulation and 1,000-year millennium have run their course, God will incinerate all traces of human civilization. He will then establish a new, perfect world free from the stain of sin.

The disintegration process may have been a judgment on mankind, but I think God designed it to be reminder of the brief nature of our earthly existence. With everything in this world doomed for destruction, it is foolhardy for Christians to solely focus on our earthly existence.

We are the ones who should know this world is of fleeting importance. Unfortunately, believers do not view their mortal lives as having a secondary importance. In about every facet of human activity, the material realm is given priority over nearly all spiritual matters. The Bible strongly advises that we remain heavenly focused, but many of us havea hard timetranslating that into action.

The best decisions are made when we consider things that have lasting value. Of all our accomplishments in life, the only deeds that matter to the Kingdom of God are the ones that pertain to evangelism, righteous living, and all works deserving of eternal rewards. All other pursuits are, as the Bible says, wood, hay, and stubble.

“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1).

“For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).

Temporary Lodging
One of the most obvious realities of our earthly existence is the fact that we will all someday depart this world. I know this is about as revealing as saying the sky is blue, but few people are mindful of the unavoidable appointment we have with death or the rapture.

The good Lord was even nice enough to put in place a biological clock to remind us of our temporal status, and people still ignore the warning signs. These wake-up calls haven’t escaped my attention. At age 37, I’ve noticed changes in my body fat, eyesight, mental capacity, and joints. They all express one common message: “Todd, this is your half-time warning.”

With our departure a certainty, you would think everyone would have an eternal retirement plan in the works. The most common reason the vast majority of the population remains spiritually lost is that most of us live solely for the here and now. It mystifies me when I have friends who reject the Gospel, preferring to cling to lives that are in a rapid state of decline.

Bible-believing Christians are not far behind the unsaved. They believe in a Heaven, but they tend to think of it as being more of a state of mind than a future destination. Heaven is an actual city with most of the same features you would find in any earthly city. Jesus said His followers would be rewarded with their own mansions, but few Christians seem to grasp the significance of this eternal blessing. For you folks who don’t rent, ask yourself, when is the last time you thought of yourself as a dual property owner?

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also” (John 14:3-4).

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Misplaced Priorities
What really causes me to conclude that most people have failed to grasp the importance of being ready for the world to come is the type of absurd questions I find in my inbox. I’ve had people ask me if Heaven has odd things like booze, sports, or sex.

I’m surprised that someone hasn’t asked if there are donuts in Heaven. Certainly someone out there must be dying to know if there is a Krispy Kreme on the corner of Hallelujah Street and Redeemer Boulevard. How can you have paradise without a chocolate-glazed donut with sprinkles?

The granddaddy of Heaven-related questions has to be: “Will my pet go with me in the rapture?” Usually, I tell people not to worry about their furry friends. Even if all pets are left behind and they suffer the worse fate of starving to death, I believe the owners eventually will have the option of reclaiming them. Some Christians would rather stay behind and go through the tribulation than have Fluffy or Fido get lonesome. If a person wants to ensure the continued existence of his pet, he needs to first ensure the safety of his own eternal soul.

Back in my elementary school days, I remember witnessing to my friend Scott. We were standing outside his house, and I was telling him about his need to get saved. Scott told me he didn’t want to go to Heaven because he preferred to stay here and play basketball. His profound lack of common sense left me stunned.

Perilous situations have an amazing way of getting people to prioritize their lives. When a family wakes up to find their house on fire, escape is instantly their number-one objective. Even though they may have a house full of valuables, flame and choking smoke instantly cause people to realize that saving their own hides is of supreme importance. This is why you occasionally see news footage of people standing outside their burning homes in bedclothes or wrapped in blankets.

Are there donuts in Heaven? The Bible is silent regarding this question. Neither does the Good Book tell us whether pets will join us there. I seriously doubt that God has any restrictions about playing basketball in the portals of glory. The question people need to be asking themselves is: “Will I be in Heaven someday?” If you should die lost, none of these trivial issues will matter.

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

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Knowing the Date Won’t Help
I was looking through several message boards one day, and I conducted a detailed study of the boards with categories related to end-time discussion. I found that nearly all the messages posted in these types of forums were almost exclusively focused on speculation about the timing of prophetic events.

I can understand people’s interest in knowing when the end times are going to begin. If the tribulation was going to kick off in July, a family might want to delay a vacation trip to Florida they had planned for that same month. The funny thing is I rarely find indications of people taking steps to get ready for the end times.

On the “End Time Ailments and Conditions” page of Rapture Ready, the first category is “newsaholic.” Many individuals are compulsive consumers of prophecy-related news. What makes this condition a disease is the lack of fruits evident in people’s lives. Alcoholism robs people of their health and eternal soul. “Newsaholism” robs Christians of their time and eternal rewards. When the 911 terrorists attacked America, many prophecy buffs were very excited about the incident. The loss of life was great and the motivation was pure evil, but this day of carnage will likely only end up being a precursor of worse things to come. Because we lack the ability to see into the future, we are unable to judge the importance of events as they take place. The prophetic birth pangs that we witness should only be viewed as warning signs for us to continue getting ready.

I have an uncle who lives, breathes, eats, and dreams prophecy, but he never uses the knowledge he’s gained. For a long time, I wondered why he was interested in prophecy. I finally figured out that for him, it has become an opportunity for him to escape the trials of this earthly existence. The rapture will someday indeed be a way for believers to escape from this world, but we should not neglect our current responsibilities.

If the date for the rapture were made known, it would likely have a destructive effect on the body of Christ. The announcement would work wonders for a short time, but knowing of any long-term date would probably be harmful. If it was reported in 1900 that Jesus would not return until after the second millennium, I seriously doubt the world have seen the same level of global evangelization.

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Turning Around A Battleship
The knowledge and blessings of the eternal Kingdom can’t be gain over night. It has taken me 20 years of study to develop my understanding of Bible prophecy. There is no way anyone could possibly slap this site together in a few days. The process of bringing a loved one to Christ can’t be a very lengthy process. You can’t strong-arm people into joining the faith. Most people will rebel against an urgent appeal for them to get saved.

Most Christians seem to think that everyone in Heaven will receive the same amount of rewards. The Bible indicates that rewards are accumulated over a lifetime. A missionary who labored in the mission fields of Africa for 40 years will certainly receive a greater reward than someone who can only point to a perfect Sunday school attendance as his most noteworthy accomplishment.

For the average believer, the most common plan of action for end-time events is, “wake me when something happens.” When the world stage is active, people become interested in prophecy. When nothing new transpires, their interest drifts away. 

I can understand people’s eagerness to witness the occurrence of key prophetic events, but there is a great danger in getting what you wish for. If it were boldly announced that the rapture was going to take place a week from now, there would be little time to get ready. Once the rapture takes place, we become locked into our eternal status.

I’ve never met anyone who, after neglecting healthcare all of his life, was satisfied with some chronic ailment. What I normally find is the greater the affliction, the greater the level of regret. My grandfather smoked all his adult life, and he developed emphysema, which eventually killed him. I remember him being very remorseful about his poor state of health.

It is never too late to become actively involved in works that are pleasing to God. Even if you’re 90 years old, you still have time to make up for lost time. The pitiful lack of productivity in the life of the average Christian makes it very easy for a saint to distinguish them self.

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Do They Actually Believe This Stuff?
Sometimes I wonder if the people who are in the business of teaching about the Christian way of life actually believe their own words. I didn’t find any shortage of enthusiasm for Christianity as a whole. I did find that there was major problem when it comes to putting words into action.

One day I was doing a survey of major Christian ministry websites, and I discovered that 85 percent of them lacked a single page with any type of salvation message. I find plenty of web pages that offered books and tapes for sale. There was also no lack of material that sang praises to the sites’ owners.

There’s no excuse for a Christian ministry to not have a page that urges people to make a decision for Christ. The act of spreading the Gospel is what defines someone as a preacher. If someone didn’t know how to operate an automobile, there’s no way he could claim to be a race car driver. If another person has never been to medical school, it’s impossible for him to say he’s a heart surgeon. 

I noticed some evangelists don’t even have a gospel link on their websites. These people obviously must not understand the meaning of the word “evangelize.” How in the world can someone call himself an evangelist if he doesn’t evangelize the lost and dying world?

Christian websites are mostly a wasteland of self-centeredness. If you want instruction on Biblical truth, in most cases, you will need to first cough up $19.95 plus $4 for shipping and handling. Most sites have precious little about the Savior himself, but you will find plenty of information on His anointed servants.

You can get an excellent measure of a ministry’s dedication to the Great Commission by reading their Frequently Asked Questions section. Most preachers make a mockery of the concept of a FAQ section by only listing questions that serve their own personal interests.

Pastor Creflo Dollar has all of the important topics covered on his FAQ page. This gentleman is free to post what he wants, but I don’t see how he can claim to be a minister if he’s totally focused on himself. Listed below are the only eight questions found on Dollar’s official site:

Who is Dr. Creflo A. Dollar?
Does Dr. Creflo A. Dollar pastor any other churches?
Are you on television in my area?
Is there going to be a convention in my area?
How can I purchase your products?
How can I obtain a product catalog?
How can I join your E-mail listing?
What are your service times?

I’m surprised Dr. Dollar didn’t address other important questions that his adoring fans are dying to have him answer:

What is Dr. Creflo A. Dollar’s favorite color?
How did Dr. Creflo A. Dollar get to be so smart?
Is there a limit to the size of a donation made to your ministry?
Do you take credit cards?
How can I get an autographed photo of Dr. Creflo A. Dollar?
Is there a way to get all your tapes on an installment plan?

The behavior that causes me to have the most doubts about a Christian organization’s level of commitment is the practice of removing free material from websites. The desire for financial gain is apparently so strong, it motivates the average Christian writer to highly limit the information he offers to the public.

The only time I delete articles from this web site is when they become outdated. Our goal is to continue to expand the site until Jesus calls us home. Because we believe in the importance of getting ready for the world to come, we keep pressing ahead.

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Conclusion
In life, you can do a lot of things to get ready. You can get the furnace ready for winter, you can work to have your savings ready for retirement, or you can educate yourself to be able to perform the tasks required in a career field. The most important thing to get ready for is the Kingdom of God. If you’re not ready for the rapture, you need to reconsider your priorities.

I can guarantee that nothing is more important than knowing your sins have been washed in the blood of Christ. Eternal redemption is very easy to accomplish. It’s fully automated, with no paperwork. Unfortunately, most people neglect to take advantage of the Lord’s limited offer.

You can call it salvation, deliverance, or just plain getting saved, but action is the only way to win the right to be called a child of God. Lip service and procrastination only lead to failure. No matter how well someone writes a testimony, or how skillfully a book gives an example of how to become a Christian, if people are not willing to make the commitment, the guidance is useless.

“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).