The Way, Issue 8 (Spiritual Preparedness for Believers)

By Tim Gamble

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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -- John 14:6

Precepts of Biblical Survivalism

6- Preparedness and Self-Reliance are Biblical concepts. Not only is physical preparedness allowed, it is in fact commanded by God. In Proverbs 6: 6-8 God points us to the industrious ant's example, who constantly prepares for the future. In Galatians 6:1-5, Paul teaches that we are to both help one another AND to not be a burden to others (meaning we should be self-reliant).

A host of other verses could be quoted also, including Proverbs 27:12 (its prudent to prepare), Genesis 6:21 (food storage), Genesis 41:47-57 (food storage), Exodus 22:2 (self-defense), Psalm 144:1 (self-defense training!), Proverbs 21:20 (store food & oil), Proverbs 22:7 (avoid debt), 1 Corinthians 16:13 (stay alert, be brave, be strong), Luke 22:36 (self-defense), 1 Timothy 5:8 (provide for yourself and your family), 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (stay alert, situational awareness), Hebrews 11:7 (points to Noah's example of preparedness to save his family), and Matthew 25:1-13 (the wisdom of the five prepared virgins compared to the foolishness of the five ill-prepared virgins).

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." -- Proverbs 22:3 (TLB)

 (From the article: Precepts of Biblical Survivalism.)

Scripture Readings For This Week

Exodus 1:1 - 6:1

Isaiah 27:6 - 28:13, 29:22-23

Matthew 2:1-12

Proverbs and Psalms

Try to read one chapter a day from both Proverbs and Psalms. 

Scripture Memorization For This Week*

This week starts a new memorization series on the Ten Commandments, from Exodus chapter 20.

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

* The above is from the NKJV, but feel free to memorize using whatever version you are comfortable with. 

Remember: You Only Fail When You Give Up

Missed a day (or several) reading your Bible? Got busy with life and forgot to pray yesterday? Having a hard time with the memorization? Don't sweat it! Just keep trying. Remember, you only fail when you give up. 

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Two of my favorite and most often used Bibles: 

The NKJV, American Patriot's Bible, The Word of God and the Shaping of America - One of my favorites, the New King James Version is literal, accurate, and easy-to-read for most modern folks. The American Patriot's Bible "shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world. The story of the United States is wonderfully woven into the teachings of the Bible." Lot's of articles and study notes showing the importance of God and the Bible to our nation's founding and subsequent history. Available on Amazon. 

The Scriptures - This new English translation includes Genesis through Revelation, and restores the Name of our Creator to the text in each place it occurs. This new version in English is a literal translation by Institute for Scripture Research, overseen by Dr. Chris Koster. New in this 2009 edition: Improvements to the text - seeking a yet closer equivalent to the literal meaning of the original language. Quotations / Allusions from the Old Testament are in bold type in the New Testament, and are accompanied by the text references - aiding your understanding of the original contexts, and how they influence the writers drawing upon them.  Available on Amazon.