How prepared should we be?

[DiamondLady]

As I have been studying lately the Lord has been impressing upon me the need to be prepared. The wise virgins were prepared, the foolish ones suffered because they were not. Matthew, Mark and Luke all give the signs of the times and the Lord says these are the birth pangs and that things will get much worse. I believe we're living those birth pangs now. I've watched the recent events in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti and watched the weather even here this past winter and as the Spring has begun. Just yesterday we were hit by, what the Weather Channel called a storm of "epic proportions." (I disagree with that, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne were far worse), but nonetheless we were without power for the majority of the day. It brought home to me that a major disaster here would mean no water, no electricity, no ability to cook, ....so how prepared should Christians be?

I've heard it argued that God will care for his children, citing the lillies of the field verse. On the other hand my mother always taught me that God helps those who help themselves.

I believe in the Rapture of the church, I'm not here to argue pre/post/au etc., but to ask if you believe Christians should prepare for the days God says is coming and how much should we do? Do we stockpile food and water? Do you think we need guns and ammunition for protection? How far do we go?

 

[HAMel]

A few years ago and by Executive Order, it was mandated that should America experience a catastrophic calamity, the government would have the authority to confiscate any and all stock piled food supplies, generators, gasoline, guns and ammo held along with any other items they might see and feel the need to take.

The purpose of this move was designed so as to feed and protect the hungry what show up at government run shelters. It was all part of the Liberal Agenda that government is the only entity to look after the masses.

Well, my wife and I home can every food item we can get our hands on. We have even canned 3/4 of a cup of rice filling the jar up with Chicken Broth. ...boy is that good.

Anyway, I am of the opinion that yes, we should be prepared for any and all calamities. As it is the motto of the Boy Scouts to "Be Prepared", that's sound advise for all of us.

Our Lord is providing for us now. Why wait for something to happen? Remember the story of the grasshopper (I think it was) that slept all summer? Come winter he went hungry.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Living in Florida, also, we try to stay prepared for hurricanes and restock food stuffs every year for the 'just in case..."

But, although I believe in the rapture, I am going to spend my time being prepared for whatever eventuality, but telling people about Jesus and helping believers serve Jesus.

I'm nopt going to stockpile food or guns, just going to keep serving jesus. That's something that whatever of view of future events can do.

 

[HAMel]

Hey Tom. There's a difference between "stock piling food" and putting up food. All of my relatives used to sow, reap, and put up food stuffs for the winter months. Your extended family probably did the same thing. Nothing wrong with this at all. Should the power go out for just three days everything you have in the refrigerator and/or freezer will spoil. Still, I understand what you're saying and have no problem with it.

 

[abcgrad94]

I've survived both a hurricane and a tornado, so yes, I believe in emergency preparedness for natural disasters.

On the other hand, there is WAY too much hype out there about stocking up for the end of the world--hoarding food for your family and hoarding guns to shoot people who come for your food, etc.

Christ said, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him," not shoot him so you can live a few days longer. Being prudent is one thing. Letting ourselves get distracted from the Great Commission is quite another, and unfortunately that's what I see coming from a lot of the "survivalists."

If the world gets THAT bad, I don't WANT to "survive." I want to go home to heaven where there is no more pain! With this last tsunami disaster in Japan, all the beans and rice and batteries wouldn't have mattered. Some things you really can't "prep" for, except spiritually.

 

[webdog]

I honestly think we are witnessing the birth pangs, and things will become more frequent and more severe.

Who would have thought even a year ago the things that are going on in the middle east (wars and rumors of wars?). We have no idea who these "rebels" are. We do know they are muslim, so there will not be a true democracy, but sharia law eventually. I'd rather have the lunatic dictators

The catastrophic storms these past 7 years and the damage caused.

The radiation contamination that is affecting food and water. Who knows, maybe something worse with the exposure coming.

The fact Iran and Islam view eschatology similar to ours, but they believe it is their role to kill and destroy Israel and christianity to bring about the "messiah".

Interesting times to say the least.

 

[Old Union Brother]

I think that this is beinging prepared:
1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

 

[DiamondLady]

I think that this is beinging prepared:
1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

I agree our soul must be prepared, but I think it important to prepare in other ways as well. I live in Florida where we prepare each year for hurricane season by making sure we have extra batteries, bottled water, and other things. We also make sure all our documents are together where we can grab and go if it becomes necessary. I think though that scripture teaches us that we need to be better prepared for what is coming ahead. I'm not suggesting becoming a survivalist but that perhaps we have all become too dependent upon our creature comforts in life. How many of us can grow a garden? Build a fire and cook on it? Kill a chicken for food? (or even raise chickens for that matter) My mother canned food all her life, but I never paid any attention and wouldn't know how to make the first jar of jelly, picklelilli or anything else. My grandmother could wring the neck of a chicken with one hand, I can't imagine trying to kill one of ours ....they have names! My great-grandmother made lye soap, I can't imagine using anything but Dial. I guess that's what I mean by being prepared, that perhaps we all need to figure out what we need to do to live through times without all our creature comforts. I honestly believe that day is coming.

 

[revmwc]

If you are a Pre-tribulationalist you would know that we won't go through the Tribulation as seen in revelation 4 and followings.
But one verse I always hang my hat on one promise is this.
Phillipians 4:19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Should we prepare in was for our future yes is God supplies the bounty.
Couple that with Luke 12:20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

22And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

23The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

24Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

25And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?

26If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

27Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

28If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

29And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

30For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

31But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

It appears that if we keep doing god's work He will supply our needs. Too many people want to rush and store this or that. I remember a time in the 80's when there was a teaching going around that marshal law was coming and people began to but flour and beans and find places in the country. Know what it didn't happen and guess what else the flour developed weevils and the beans spoiled. I was asked what I would do and I quoted the verse in Phillipians and was ridiculed for it.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

As I have been studying lately the Lord has been impressing upon me the need to be prepared. The wise virgins were prepared, the foolish ones suffered because they were not. Matthew, Mark and Luke all give the signs of the times and the Lord says these are the birth pangs and that things will get much worse. I believe we're living those birth pangs now. I've watched the recent events in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti and watched the weather even here this past winter and as the Spring has begun. Just yesterday we were hit by, what the Weather Channel called a storm of "epic proportions." (I disagree with that, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne were far worse), but nonetheless we were without power for the majority of the day. It brought home to me that a major disaster here would mean no water, no electricity, no ability to cook, ....so how prepared should Christians be?

I've heard it argued that God will care for his children, citing the lillies of the field verse. On the other hand my mother always taught me that God helps those who help themselves.

I believe in the Rapture of the church, I'm not here to argue pre/post/au etc., but to ask if you believe Christians should prepare for the days God says is coming and how much should we do? Do we stockpile food and water? Do you think we need guns and ammunition for protection? How far do we go?

We've been "preppers" for about thirteen years now. We live so far out in the sticks that it came naturally to us. When you're so far out that the electric company won't run lines out to where you are, you improvise. As a result, all of the homes, barns, and buildings on our farm are solar and wind powered.

Likewise, when it's an hour and a half trip to the store, you'd better make sure you have what you need on hand.

We have about eighteen months worth of food put up, but because we grow/raise/catch/kill about 80% of our food, we can stretch that out a lot longer. We usually barter for the rest.

I listen to the Survival Podcast and participate on their message board. I really like their motto, "to live a better life if times get tough...and even if they don't". Other than the people who say our children aren't well "socialized" because they're homeschooled, I don't think anything annoys me more than the perception of preppers as gloom and doom, end of the world, conspiracy theorists.

Growing up in a place where hurricanes, tornados, and floods were common, it was considered foolish to not be prepared. The way I see it, that's all we're doing now, just on a bigger scale and for a wider variety of disasters.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

It appears that if we keep doing god's work He will supply our needs. Too many people want to rush and store this or that. I remember a time in the 80's when there was a teaching going around that marshal law was coming and people began to but flour and beans and find places in the country. Know what it didn't happen and guess what else the flour developed weevils and the beans spoiled. I was asked what I would do and I quoted the verse in Phillipians and was ridiculed for it.

They say that the average household only has about two weeks of food.

Last winter, we were hit with two major blizzards back to back. As a result, we were snowed in for three weeks. They don't plow the roads where we live, as it's so far out in the country that it's just not practical.

For three weeks, we were literall unable to leave our farm at all. If we were one of those average families that only have two weeks worth of food, what should we have done?

You can say what you want, but planning ahead came in very handy.

In addition, many people in our area lost their power. Unfortunately, my mother, who has a home on our farm, needs electricity to run a medical device she needs.

What should we have done?

You're making it sound like those of us who plan prudently don't trust the Lord and that's not fair. We do trust the Lord. The difference is that we believe that the Lord provides for our needs in good times, too, and that it is prudent on our part to save those provisions.

I reject the notion that we should all be wandering ascetics just waiting for God to drop manna on us out of the sky. God has commanded us to work and has instructed us that the wise man plans ahead.

 

[glfredrick]

My wife and I have had to live on our own subsistence several times in our life -- no utilities for periods as long as 6 months during winter, no money to purchase goods apart from the most core products needed to sustain life (especially our new baby).

We did fine... Hunting, gathering, growing, scavenging, heating with wood, lighting with candles or oil lamps, working odd jobs to provide milk money, etc. Proved we could do it. We lived on less than $5000 yearly income for several years. We could do it on far less than that, but at $5000 you get luxuries like gasoline for the truck.

After we regained a normal income and even bought property and built a new house, we still persisted in self-sustained living. We shopped about once per month for bulk items, grew over 80% of our own vegetables, harvested fruit from ignored local trees, canned or froze almost everything, and raised our own beef and chickens. I miss those days every time I enter a Kroger and come out $150 poorer with so little to show for that money!

We don't stockpile or even advocate stockpiling as do some, but we are "prepared" for major catastrophes where the entire grid might be turned off.

Greatest fear if that happens? "Zombies" (Current survivalist lingo for the people who think being prepared is calling out for Pizza on the nights they don't have time to shop at Wal Mart.) If something would disrupt the power source, fuel industry, or financial industry, it would take less than one week for everything that the vast majority of people come do depend on to cease to exist. What comes next would not be pretty...

We can get some lessons for how that sort of scenario would play out by observing countries like Argentina, who is just starting to pull out of a major hyper-inflation cycle. Life went on -- sort of -- but not in any way recognizable to most of the citizens, and that was just a financial melt down!

 

[Praying]

I see nothing wrong with stocking for hard times. As long as you are praying about it and putting your trust in God first. We stock food for hurricanes as well as my children and one grandchild has had to use our stockpiles to help get them through some rough patches. So I stock to help them as well as for hurricanes and bad winter snow storms. I have also given food to people in need from my own stockpiles of food. So I think no matter what happens or why you are prepping or stocking, as long as you are helping others in the process it should be ok to do so. We don't know what is going to happen prior to the rapture but I do know it is getting very close now. I do believe we are in the end times and I also have seen signs of the falling away of the church. We are at the end of the church age now. But to stockpile years, and years of food, I don't think that would be wise unless we are going to go through a World war which is looking like it might happen at some point. And we can't be sure we will go through that as it will more than likely be neuclair. I hope and pray the rapture will happen before it gets to that point. Just praying for others to be saved before it is to late. We can tell people about Jesus and what he has done for us. But to get them to come to Jesus and get saved in this day and age is a hard thing to do as a lot of people (liberals) don't want to hear it. Sad.

 

[agedman]

A friend of the family, Evangelist Jim Lyons (now long retired), had a favorite sermon titled, "What to do if you miss the rapture."

His answer for such need of preparation.

Buy up as much liquid intoxicants as you can. They don't go bad, will numb the sorrows, when the water is gone it will still hydrate the body, and it fulfills the Scriptures which state give strong drink to those with no hope. It is too late.

 

[TCassidy]

7 year old zombie thread closed.