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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



As I concluded in part one, at this point, some of you are
probably really wondering what my reaction would be if some
needy soul were to come to my door begging for food at the
height of the Y2K crisis. As I explain in other articles,
such as in the series 'The Born-Again Experience: Now Or
Later?', it is my personal belief that at this current time,
the Lord is primarily concerned with the Salvation of our
souls, and not with the Redemption of our physical bodies;
although healing is indeed one of the benefits which we have
gained through the Lord's sufferings, provided that we have
the faith for it. As the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised
for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5, KJV

But in the overall scheme of God's Salvation Plan, the weak
state of our current bodies of flesh will be fully resolved
at the Lord's Second Coming, and the Resurrection of the
Dead, when we will in fact be given new supernatural bodies.
For more information on this topic, allow me to refer you to
such articles as the three-part series 'Death: Final Battle,
Final Victory!'. The point is, our spiritual needs must take
priority over our physical needs; for as both Jesus and Job
said:

"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my
necessary food." Job 23:12, KJV

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God." Matthew 4:4, KJV

Of course, at the same time, I am wise enough to know that
the way to a person's heart, is often through their stomach.
In other words, if we demonstrate unselfish Christian love
by meeting a person's physical needs first, then there is a
better chance that they will be more receptive to hearing
the Gospel Message; however, this is not always the case.
Some street people are very savvy when it comes to getting
free meals from street missions, while feigning an interest
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They can quote the Word as
good as any southern preacher, but they don't believe a word
of it. The Lord will deal with such deceivers in His own
time. While they may get a free meal ticket now through
kind-hearted Christians, unless they accept the Real Ticket,
that is, Jesus Christ, they will not have a place at the
greatest feast of all; that is, the Marriage Supper of the
Lamb.

Having said that, if such a needy person were to come to my
door requesting food in a humble manner, I can't see myself
refusing to feed them. I just don't think that I have it in
me to be so cruel. Of course, my primary interest wouldn't
be in the welfare of their body, but rather in the Salvation
of their soul. Even if I feed their body, if they have no
interest in hearing about or accepting Jesus Christ, then
the truth of the matter is that they may walk away feeling
satisfied with a full stomach, but they will still be empty
and lost spiritually. As Jesus Himself said:

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36, KJV

The best we could probably hope for in such a case, is that
with time, our demonstration of unselfish Christian love,
along with the seed of the Word which we planted in their
heart, might convict them to such a degree, that they will
eventually repent and accept Jesus Christ. As the Prophet
Isaiah was also inspired to write:

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and
bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11, KJV

If the time truly comes when some of us will be tested with
situations such as these, I believe that we will simply have
to ask the Lord for a lot of Spiritual Discernment. While we
should all desire to be a witness of God's love in whatever
way we can, according to our personal abilities, we should
also strive to avoid placing ourselves and our families in
danger un necessarily, by inviting someone into our home who
may in reality only mean to harm us. Thus, as Jesus said, we
must be as wise as serpents, yet as harmless as doves. In
other words, He was telling His followers to witness with
wisdom as they travelled the dusty roads of Israel.

With the Y2K crisis only two and a half months away, we may
be headed for very uncertain times; and it is possible that
there are going to be a lot of dangerous, street-smart, and
hungry people out there who will be looking for those people
whom they can easily deceive and abuse. For people such as
these, Christians are a likely target; particularly those of
you, like myself, who practice non-violence.

As some of my readers already know from reading some of my
politically-oriented articles, I have never owned a gun of
any kind. Neither have I fought in any of my country's wars.
I absolutely detest violence. If someone were to force their
way into our home, and demand part, or all, of our food at
the threat of violence or death, obviously, I would have to
follow the Lord's advice, be harmless as a dove, and give
them our survival provisions. Remember; the Lord said, 'him
that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat
also'. As I conclude in the companion article, 'Y2K: How Bad
Will It Get?', we are more valuable to the Lord by wisely
keeping ourselves alive, than by foolishly getting ourselves
killed. The Lord wants all of us to survive for as long as
possible, so that we can continue to be a witness of His
Love and Salvation to the lost. If the time does come when
we are committed into the enemy's hands, let us all hope
that we will be martyred in a manner which will glorify the
Lord. As God's Word also tells us:

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12, KJV

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his
saints." Psalm 116:15, KJV

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do
all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV

While Jesus does tell us to forgive those people who wrong
us in any way, I am not so certain that He will be so quick
to forgive them; particularly if their violence against us
results in our premature death before He is finished using
us. Eventually, He will judge them for committing such a
violent, selfish act. As we are told in the Scriptures:

"...Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."
Psalm 105:15, KJV

"...for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."
Zechariah 2:8b, KJV

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God...For our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 10:31, 12:29, KJV

Now, if we do find ourselves in a situation where all of our
survival provisions have been violently stolen from us by
ungodly people of the world, then there really isn't much
that we can do about it except get very desperate with the
Lord. If He multiplied the oil and the meal for the widow of
Zarephath because she hosted the Prophet Elijah during those
three and a half years of famine and drought, then we will
just have to trust that if He really wants to keep us alive
in order that we might continue to be a witness to others,
He will also provide a way for us to do so. If not, then as
the Apostle Paul wrote:

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Philippians 1:21, KJV

Before moving on to our next section, allow me to make a few
additional comments. First of all, if you carefully re-read
the paragraph in which I suggest using a certain degree of
secrecy while stocking up on survival provisions, you will
notice that I was offering this recommendation primarily to
those people who live in large urban centers, as these
places will undoubtedly be the most dangerous if and when
the trouble starts. Even if you are of a noble heart, and
want to manifest your Christian love to others by sharing
your provisions with them, the only way that you are going
to be able to do this, is by first safely transporting your
provisions to your home. If you live in a dangerous city
environment, broadcasting your activities, by performing
them in broad daylight, or by transporting large quantities
of goods at one time, is certainly not going to help your
cause. You may be defeating yourself, even before you get
started. Not only will you have nothing for yourself, but
you won't have anything to share with others either.

As an example, over sixteen years ago, I passed through Los
Angeles, California on my way to another destination. I must
tell you that the spiritual darkness, and the spirit of fear
and mistrust that I felt in that city as I walked through a
supermarket was absolutely amazing. I would never live
there; and if I had to stock up on survival supplies there,
I would most certainly use a lot of wisdom and caution in
how I chose to do it. I would be wise as a serpent, and
harmless as a dove.

While I have made this recommendation of secrecy to you city
dwellers, as you will discover when you read the companion
article, 'Y2K: How Bad Will It Get?', our situation here is
a little different. While I at first attempted to stock up a
little at a time, the truth of the matter is that even that
was too much of a physical burden for me, as I am not very
strong in the flesh. In fact, I am rather weak and fragile,
as some of you already know, even though you have never met
me. To my great relief, I just discovered that the warehouse
personnel at the supermarket where I have been shopping for
the past ten years, are more than willing to transport our
supplies to our home for us. In fact, just yesterday they
brought over a van full of cases of water and assorted cans
goods; and they will be delivering more as soon as I go over
and place my order.

Not only that, but our endeavors to prepare for Y2K are now
well known to many of the store's employees, beginning with
the general manager, to the stockboys and cashiers as well.
Quite a few of them have also received our witness and our
tracts, so the Lord's Name is truly being glorified in all
of this. If that weren't enough, they are all receiving not
just a warning to prepare for Y2K, but also a clear example
from us of exactly how to go about doing it. Before the two
warehouse personnel left our home yesterday, i was able to
spend a few moments explaining the Y2K threat to them, and
ended by telling them that all preparation is to no avail if
they are not trusting in Jesus.

As a final point, let me clarify that the purpose of this
article is not to tell you what to do with your survival
supplies once you have obtained them, but rather it is to
motivate you to start getting them if you haven't already
begun to do so. What you do with your provisions if and when
the trouble hits is entirely up to you. If you wish to share
them with your apartment building, or with your neighborhood
block, or with hungry strangers who come knocking at your
door, that is entirely up to you. You must operate according
to your faith, and do what you personally believe that the
Lord wants you to do with it. As the Apostle Paul wrote:

"...Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."
Romans 14:5b, KJV

Communication Preparation :

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the Y2K glitch, I
honestly do not know to what degree it will affect our
online communications with you. There exists the strong
possibility that we may be temporarily out of touch with our
readers, or possibly even permanently. In other words, not
only is it possible that you may no longer be able to access
our website, but our mailing list could also be brought to
a sudden and complete halt. While I am hoping that our web
site will still be operational, at least locally, this will
be of no help to most of you; because you don't live in our
locale. Not only that, but in the event of a national, or an
international emergency due to widespread Y2K failures, the
Internet may be completely taken over by different agencies
of the world's governments, and the military, for their
private communications; that is, if the Internet is still
even in operation.

Because of this possibility, you may wish to consider
emailing us a valid street address, or post office box, in
case we have to resort to regular snail mail communication;
that is, assuming that this kind of service will still be
available after January 1, 2000. We shall see. If we are
reduced to snail mail communication, and it is still in
operation after the first day of the double zeroes, it may
be very slow and irregular. This will be compounded by the
fact that, even now, we only check our post office box once,
or at the most, twice a month; and that is while there is
still motorized transportation available.

As I briefly mentioned before, modern transportation is
highly dependent upon electronic components; including some
computer chips which contain the Y2K glitch. It is possible
that our planet may become an overnight junkyard after the
Y2K rollover. The highways and cities of the world may be
filled with stalled vehicles; and many people may be forced
to resort to walking, or perhaps to riding a bicycle, in
order to get to a certain destination. Perhaps many people
will finally get the exercise they need, and thus shed off
those pounds that affluent living has placed upon their
frames.

If motorized transporation is diminished, or even totally
eliminated, perhaps some of us will once again hit the road
on foot like the Disciples of old; preaching the Gospel to
those we meet along the way. It is quite possible that some
people will become more receptive to the Gospel after the
Lord has had time to break their pride and hard spirits a
bit through the suffering and discomfort they may be forced
to endure as a result of Y2K. So, even though you may be
experiencing your own share of physical discomfort for a
while, please keep your eyes open for those who may be ripe
for Salvation because of their suffering. As the Apostle
Paul wrote:

"Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be
able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the
comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."
2 Corinthians 1:4, KJV

On the positive side, perhaps the absence of electricity in
our homes for a while, and thus the silence of that black
idiot box, that is, the television set, which many Americans
have in at least one or more rooms of their house, will also
result in some families improving communication with their
various members. I thank the Lord that in our home, we did
away with the 'boob tube' some time ago, and it has been a
tremendous blessing in our lives. We now spend our time much
more wisely studying and teaching the Word of the Lord to
others. We find watching the television set much more boring
that spending time with the Master and His wonderful Word!
If we do want to relax and have a little entertainment, we
simply watch a Bible video through our computer system; and
it is totally commercial and propaganda free! It is a clean,
controlled environment, unlike regular television viewing.

Spiritual Preparation :

While in the previous paragraphs I have painted a very dark
and dismal picture of what may possibly lie ahead in the
near future, please understand that it is not my intention
to scare anyone, or to cause anyone to worry about the
future. Consider the following verses of Scripture:

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34, KJV

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed
on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

However, at the same time, we simply need to follow Jesus'
advice and be as wise as serpents, and as harmless as doves.
God loves us; and He will indeed take care of us; if we are
pleasing Him by obeying Him, and being faithful to His Word.
Just as the children of Israel were required to obey the
Lord by preparing themselves in Egypt, and just as Joshua
and his companions had to obey the Lord by faith and go in
and literally conquer the Promised Land, so too, as wise
servants of the Lord, we must also obey by being properly
prepared for this possible international calamity. While we
are not to worry about the future, this does not mean that
we are not to prepare for it. To hold to this erroneous
mentality is to be in total contradiction to the verse I
shared earlier from the Book of Proverbs.

To reiterate the main point I am trying to get across to you
here, unless you are absolutely certain that you have the
faith for God to do for you, as He did for the children of
Israel when He brought forth water from a rock, and manna
and quail from the sky, then this attitude of 'I'll just
trust God to provide my needs' is extremely dangerous, and
you may live to regret it. You need to make sure that you
are not guilty of the sin of false spiritual pride, which
has deceived you into thinking that you have faith for
something for which you really don't. Personally, I prefer
to be humble about it, admit that my faith isn't quite that
strong, and follow the advice of the Scriptures and prepare
as I know I should. What about you?

Allow me to share some additional Precious Promises with you
which speak of God's care, protection and provision for His
children:

"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear
him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7, KJV

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
(Psalms 55:22)

"A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy
right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."
(Psalms 91:7)

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one
of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of
more value than many sparrows." (Luke 12:6-7)

"And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose." Romans 8:28, KJV

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
(1 Peter 5:7)

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19, KJV

Spiritual Food Preparation :

While I have spoken of the need to prepare physical food and
other items for your survival in the coming days of possible
chaos, we must also speak of your spiritual diet as well.
While each of you have your Bibles, if you haven't already
done so, you may also want to consider printing out all of
the articles and verse groups from our website, for future
reference when you may no longer have access to it. Not only
that, but the power may fail in your local area so that you
won't even be able to access the articles which you have
stored on your hard drive. Who knows; sometime in the near
future, you may suddenly find yourself in a situation where
you have a lot of time on your hands to study the Bible and
my writings; because you may be out of a job for a while;
maybe for a very long while.

Between now and the end of the year, I will continue to
update and/or expand as many articles as I can. It is a very
big job which reqires a lot of time and energy; so please
pray that the Lord helps me to accomplish this task, as my
health is rather fragile, and I often push too hard and end
up getting a little sick for a while. I do not seem to have
quite as much energy as I did last year when you saw a flood
of new articles; but I have written a fair number of new
ones this year as well, besides older ones which have been
updated.

If you do plan to print everything currently available at
our website, allow me to advise you that you will need at
least several toner cartridges, or whatever kind of ink
cartridges you use with your particular printer, and a lot
of paper as well. Don't ask me how much, because I really
don't know. I would venture to say that a few thousand
sheets will be necessary; and it will probably take you at
least a few days to print out all of the articles so that
you don't burn out your printer!

Concluding Remarks :

In conclusion, let us all hope for the best concerning Y2K,
but let us also be prepared for the worst; trusting the Lord
every step of the way. He will not fail us if we are totally
dependent upon the leading of His Spirit and obedient to His
Will. As the Lord said to Zerubbabel before he began
building the Second Temple:

"...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the
LORD of hosts." Zechariah 4:6b, KJV

It is my hope that I have stirred up those of you who are
still dragging your feet in regard to preparing for the
possible effects of the Y2K glitch. Allow me to share this
final verse with you before closing this article:

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as
yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his
house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir
of the righteousness which is by faith." Hebrews 11:7, KJV

So please; be wise; and prepare your ark for the saving of
your house as well. For my latest views on the Y2K glitch,
please refer to 'Y2K: How Bad Will It Get?'.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

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