{"id":8276,"date":"2018-09-17T13:40:49","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T17:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/?p=8276"},"modified":"2018-09-17T15:12:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T19:12:05","slug":"hurricane-florence-thoughts-storm-preparations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/2018\/09\/17\/hurricane-florence-thoughts-storm-preparations\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Florence Thoughts – Storm Preparations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Monday, while up in town for a car inspection, the girls and I went on to Walmart afterward. Hurricane Florence was on her way and we probably needed to pick up a few of the necessities\u2026just in case. I must admit, I was pretty surprised to see this\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

and this\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Apparently, many other people had the same idea \u2013 only sooner. Several stores later, we did manage to find bottled water at our local Dollar General…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Can I share a few thoughts that have\u00a0been going through my mind since Monday afternoon? What if we responded to the storms of life just as people had with this hurricane threat\u2026or any forecast of inclement weather?<\/p>\n

Now, with life\u2019s storms, we usually don\u2019t have advanced notice. We normally don’t receive “weather alerts” of a tsunami-type trial that is approaching our family. No, most of the time, life\u2019s storms just hit unexpectedly. But, although we don\u2019t know WHEN they are going to come, we can be assured that they ARE coming. Job 14:1 reminds us:<\/p>\n

\u201cMan that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing this, the only wise<\/strong> choice we have would be to stay prepared – wouldn\u2019t you agree?<\/p>\n

Today, are we \u201cstocked up\u201d on bread and water? Is there a specific time in our lives that we drank of the living water?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.\u201d John 4:14<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Is there a specific time that we did indeed come to the Bread of Life?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.\u201d John 6:35<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

My friend, have you ever realized that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour? Have you, in humble repentance, trusted in Christ alone to save you? Without a personal relationship with the Lord, one cannot truly be prepared for the storms of life.<\/p>\n

And then, as Christians, are we maintaining close fellowship with the Lord by daily allowing the water of God\u2019s Word to cleanse us through reading, obeying\u00a0and meditating on Scripture?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word\u201d Ephesians 5:26<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear reader, if you should be hit with one of life\u2019s storms today, would you know that the Lord is right there with you? Would you feel His comfort? Would you sense His presence? Would you experience His peace? Do you have a personal relationship with the God of all comfort and, if so, are you maintaining daily sweet communion with Him?<\/p>\n

Please don’t misunderstand this post. In the event of an emergency, we should take necessary precautions which would include caring for our family’s physical needs.\u00a0But, how very sad and foolish to spend much time stocking up\u00a0for our physical\u00a0needs while neglecting our spiritual and, yes, eternal welfare. Whether the storm clouds are approaching or the sun is shining bright, may I implore you to take inventory of your spiritual state – today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.\u201d Luke 12:16-21<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Monday, while up in town for a car inspection, the girls and I went on to Walmart afterward. Hurricane Florence was on her way and we probably needed to pick up a few of the necessities\u2026just in case. I must admit, I was pretty surprised to see this\u2026 and this\u2026 Apparently, many other people had the same idea \u2013 only sooner. Several stores later, we did manage to find bottled water at our local Dollar General… Can I share a few thoughts that have\u00a0been going through my mind since Monday afternoon? What if we responded to the storms of life just as people had with this hurricane threat\u2026or any forecast of inclement weather? Now, with life\u2019s storms, we usually don\u2019t have advanced notice. We normally don’t receive “weather alerts” of a tsunami-type trial that is approaching our family. No, most of the time, life\u2019s storms just hit unexpectedly. But, although we don\u2019t know WHEN they are going to come, we can be assured that they ARE coming. Job 14:1 reminds us: \u201cMan that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.\u201d Knowing this, the only wise choice we have would be to stay prepared – wouldn\u2019t you agree? Today, are we \u201cstocked up\u201d on bread and water? Is there a specific time in our lives that we drank of the living water? \u201cBut whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.\u201d John 4:14 Is there a specific time that we did indeed come to the Bread of Life? \u201cAnd Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.\u201d John 6:35 My friend, have you ever realized that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour? Have you, in humble repentance, trusted in Christ alone to save you? Without a personal relationship with the Lord, one cannot truly be prepared for the storms of life. And then, as Christians, are we maintaining close fellowship with the Lord by daily allowing the water of God\u2019s Word to cleanse us through reading, obeying\u00a0and meditating on Scripture? \u201cThat he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word\u201d Ephesians 5:26 Dear reader, if you should be hit with one of life\u2019s storms today, would you know that the Lord is right there with you? Would you feel His comfort? Would you sense His presence? Would you experience His peace? Do you have a personal relationship with the God of all comfort and, if so, are you maintaining daily sweet communion with Him? Please don’t misunderstand this post. In the event of an emergency, we should take necessary precautions which would include caring for our family’s physical needs.\u00a0But, how very sad and foolish to spend much time stocking up\u00a0for our physical\u00a0needs while neglecting our spiritual and, yes, eternal welfare. Whether the storm clouds are approaching or the sun is shining bright, may I implore you to take inventory of your spiritual state – today. \u201cAnd he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.\u201d Luke 12:16-21<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,29,7,48,15,72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-happenings","category-gods-word","category-growing","category-peace","category-salvation","category-strength"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4o6C2-29u","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8276"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8281,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8276\/revisions\/8281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}