Being Prepared
1/8/16
To be prepared for a certain activity or event is essential for achieving the goal that you are desiring. It does not matter if this goal is for your job, your future or your eternal placement, being prepared is an essential element in order to be successful. It is easy for us to think of ways and ideas to be prepared physically but on the other hand, it is just s easy to forget about our spiritual preparedness which is astronomically more important than our physical. It is evident that many of us in today’s society have not thought about either and soon, reality and the truth shall catch up with us whether we are prepared for it or not.
There are countless examples that I could place in front of you to introduce this article that God has shared with us. Humans have endless opportunities to get things ready once they know when things are going to occur. This type of preparedness is easy because we know what to buy or grow in order to complete this event when it arrives. Things are so easy when all of the details are made known beforehand and it is in these times that preparedness is a breeze; but what about being prepared for the times that are not expected? A sudden death in the family, a fire in your home, someone in the household loses a job, or gets into an accident and is hospitalized for weeks at a time. It is these unscheduled events that place panic and fear into our hearts and make us wonder why we did not have things more in order and stored up. It is bad enough when these horrific incidents occur so it makes more sense to be prepared for these types of situations, but most of us do not and get caught when they occur.
Anyone who is associated with my personal life will know that my family has a garden every year. Our backyard is big enough that we have the opportunity to expand our garden each year; we are so thankful and blessed that God has allowed us to have this home it is perfect for our needs. With each year, we look forward in planting different things that we believe that we will eat and can for the coming winter and beyond and when we expand our garden it is a joy to plant new crops to see what they yield. As the summer drags along we realize that the garden becomes a bit cumbersome and there are days that we do not wish to tend it but we do anyways for we know that when we delay or procrastinate weeds will arrive and choke out what is supposed to be growing.
When late summer arrives we begin to see the benefits and results of our planting and it immediately becomes exciting to us for it is always a wonderful feeling to pull the first carrot, tomato, okra, beans etc. God has blessed us so much over the past 17 years that we have had a garden and both my wife and I have taught our children to observe the 7th year rest period for our garden as well, which is another reason we believe that God has allowed us to have a bountiful harvest each year. When the harvest begins we have no choice but to can and dehydrate some of the veggies that we receive for if we did not they would quickly spoil and we would lose the blessing that God has given us.
Canning and dehydrating these veggies prove to be a great way to keep our harvest intact and good until it is time for its usage. While some of the freshness may be lost, they still have a great flavor that pours from their conditions when they are rehydrated. Yes, these methods take some time to complete but it is well worth it when all we have to do is go out to the garage and grab items that we need, place them in a pot or dish and within a few minutes they are back to normal and ready to use for our desired usage. It is also a wonderful blessing not to have to drive to the grocery store each day and buy one or two small items in order to make dinner that evening, our veggies are guaranteed homegrown and we know exactly how they were planted, watered, grown and harvested. So, keep these types of preparation methods in mind and when the time again for garden baskets to be filled again, it is a great way to be prepared for our physical future.
Not all of us are monetarily secure enough where money can be on hand at all times. While God has blessed us in this category as well we still do not like to spend unwisely for we know that with just a few months with no income our resources would fade quickly. It is this aspect that our garden and all that we put up into storage comes into a reality for it is never guaranteed that the nation’s economy or peaceful standing will remain as such. In fact, there are many prophecies recently that suggest otherwise and it is advisable that all of us find them and read them and take all of their words to heart.
I am not one who gets into prophecies too much nor do I usually take all of them to heart for I look at the sources and I automatically have to wonder just because of how they are presented and also listening to what God speaks to my heart after I have read or heard them. But there are some that have been given recently that have stirred my soul because all of them have been based upon what the Word of God states and when you place them into the attitudes and ways of our societies today, they are dead on correct. When one understands that God is a constant and continuous God and not one that waivers and fancies mindless servitude, it shall become clear that He means business when it comes to keeping His ways and laws and if we choose not to do such things, He has no option but to keep His Word true.
Why are true prophecies important to know and to understand? It is because they project the conditions of the person, people, state or nation are currently inhabiting or accepting as the normal into their lives. It is the condition of the heart, which is the originator of these lifestyles, that God sees and when it becomes the dominate force within the lives of those the prophecy is spoken towards, it means God knows your heart, He sees what is going on and He is giving you fair warning about what is coming if things do not change. Prophecies and warnings usually mean some type of physical or natural state change will occur and when one studies the words of the prophets in the Old Testament, it becomes clear that God was in control all the time even though the people chose not to believe that He was.
When God speaks to His people in such a manner it is for a reason. A good parent will notice the changes in activities of their child and speak towards them when the parent believes things are not right. God does the exact same thing and in both cases all the parent is doing is to warn the child of impending danger that he / she may not be aware of; but as we all know, when the child changes their steps it is for a reason so they know that the things that they are going to do or are already involved in is not right. And if the trend continues long enough they become comfortable in that situation and it becomes second nature to them and it is then that danger strikes. God can only allow so much before He must step in and change the settings and once again, if one studies Scriptures the stories are similar, death and destruction are present. But it is the eternal that grieves God the most, for once a person is gone from this world their eternal setting becomes their placement and there is nothing God can do to warn them any longer if they are not spiritually prepared.
As I was preparing some things to be put into the dehydrator this morning, God gave me the topic and the details of this article. Yes, I still dehydrate things during the winter time. Anyway, He spoke clear and precisely to my heart and it was evident that He wanted me to write this article today as well. God shared with me that it was important that we understand that this nation is about to change and that we need to be prepared to survive as best as we can. But at the same time, He also stated that He wants everyone to understand that their spiritual preparation needs to be ready as well. Yes, being prepared for a disaster is important and He expects us to complete this task but He far more concerned with your eternal readiness than that of your physical readiness.
This is where the passage in the Bible where it states that God will provide for the bird’s needs each day. The birds understand when the weather is about to change or when a storm is about to arrive, they have a duty to finish in order to be prepared for this change in their lives. Each bird may look like they are just sitting on a wire but they understand that they have a job to complete and they do not rest until they are done. Squirrels are the same way when preparing themselves for wintertime, they gather food up and they make ready their homes as best they can for they know that a change is coming. The examples in this paragraph give reference to the every day and total tasks of animals, they know what to do and they do it. We know that our physical lives need to be prepared for the coming storms and “weather” changes but with the help of our eternal enemy, we haplessly forget about our spiritual readiness.
God takes care of His children in the same manner that He takes care of the birds when they wake. I have heard many stories over my life where people from around the world tell that they do not know how God provided for their situation but He did. This is not a happenstance, it is a truth. Humanity has one major problem and it that we love to listen to the physical and to ignore the spiritual, it began in the Garden of Eden and it has flourished ever since. This means that God supplies the needs of both the physical and the spiritual for both are in need of supplying and reinforces the concept that if we do not allow our spiritual lives be adequately prepared what good will it do for us if our physical is ready but we gain nothing when we leave this earth because we failed to provide the necessary readiness for our eternity. The end result will be that we shall lose our eternity with God and face an eternal setting completely away from God and totally at the torturous and unabated methods of our enemy for as long as eternity lasts.
I cannot write these words to you and not feel like I must include myself in the topic of this article. While god has chosen my life as a vessel of restoration to His people I cannot say that I am perfect in every way. In fact, I am not perfect in any way and I too need a savior just as much as anyone else does. I include myself when God says to clean your spirit and get it prepared for the coming future. I must continually choose to allow God to search my heart for the things that I have willingly or unknowingly allowed into my life for that is the only way that I can have my spiritual needs met and nourished so that my life can grow spiritually.
God asks that the Church stop and allow Him back into their hearts so that she may once again begin anew and to witness to a dying world. Repent, Church for the time is near when we shall see a massive change in the world, one in which nothing shall be the same again. Our current course is allowing this change to be brought about and it is strictly our choosing for these prophecies to come to pass or to pass over our lives. God loves you so very much and He desires to see us be prepared for our physical futures, but He is so much more concerned about your spiritual readiness and preparedness for when it comes time for things to change, both the good and the bad, the just and the unjust shall have to be taken into consideration.
So, use the concepts of canning and other methods of storing up supplies when it comes to preparing your spirit now, for if we do this while times are “good” then it shall be so much easier to understand what will be ongoing when things occur and be able to trust God for what follows. None of the prophecies that have been given give a specific time period as to when they shall come, which means there is still time for us to change and to turn our hearts back to God. Use every method necessary to study the Word of God and to squeeze every ounce of goodness and nutrients that you need in order to allow your spirit its eternal survival. The physical shall pass away but the spirit lives on for eternity and there is nothing more important to God than having you next to him in His presence for eternity.
DLB
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