In my previous article, Tribulation Saints: Unborn-Again Sheep, we allowed our hearts to consider those who would call upon the name of Jesus during the tribulation as our someday family. In doing so, they become real, living, breathing people to us rather than a group we safely call from a distance “the left behind.” Once they do become real to us, only then will their well-being become our concern and priority. For brand new Christians who will live in an unparalleled time in history, our care for them may allow them time to share the Gospel with others. And as I addressed in my previous article, making advanced provisions for these desperate people gives us constructive work for our hands and hearts in a current world where many, if not most, refuse to listen to our warnings.
While there are many facets to caring for God’s sheep, we can narrow most down to two categories: meeting physical needs and meeting spiritual needs. Whether those who enter your home after the rapture are new tribulation saints or the still-skeptical lost, what you provide for them may mean life or death, both physically and spiritually. Even if they arrive lost, they may leave found with the help of what you leave behind. This matters.
Because physical preparations will be a longer-term project, I think it’s best we begin there so that you can get started. I know for me, it’s been an extended labor of love, one that began in the summer of 2021 when I began to see that we were moving toward hyperinflation and potential food shortages. While preparing what I thought would be for my family, somewhere along the way, I realized it would more likely be for those left behind. Things are happening so quickly now that with the tribulation just a mile away, I know that the rapture must be a half a mile. That’s my blessed hope, anyway.
All that to say, if you’ve been stocking up on canned goods and water based on the warnings you’ve been given, then good for you and good for those who will consume them. We can suspect we will see some harder times, especially financially, so you and your family will put your stores to good use. Then once you’re “caught up” and while you attend the wedding of all weddings, what’s left over will be used by those who will need it most, a desperate people left in a world turned upside down by the exodus of the restrainer.
I’m not a prepper, not by a long shot. I don’t have twenty years of rice in five-gallon buckets or even a homestead. If you have those things, no judgment here. I simply don’t believe we, as born-again Christians, will be here that long. I am prepared for the short term, however. The sense the Spirit so heavily laid upon me was to “get my house in order,” so I did. Once I had a well-stocked pantry, I knew I was supposed to stop and only replace what I use. At that point, I was led to prepare for the unprepared, those on this side of the rapture who don’t see an economic downturn coming, and to make sure to have extra to offer them. That’s a subject I hope to write about soon.
This isn’t about hoarding for my family, though we are benefiting from me purchasing items prior to some food prices doubling. It is and always has been about following the leading of the Spirit who provides for His people before the rapture, the same Spirit who will provide for those in need during the tribulation.
Below, I will give you some ideas of what I’m doing. You can implement some or all of them.
The most obvious physical provisions are food and water. I won’t go into detail here in the article since the list of possibilities is extensive, but I do have some helpful information on the Items to Stock page of my Daybreak with Lisa website. The information there is geared toward what we can stock now in case of a storm disaster or general shortages, but the list can be used with tribulation dwellers in mind as well. Get what you can afford. If that means buying a can or two extra per week, then do that, knowing the Lord will use your offering, whether a little or much.
Although the following items have spiritual applications that we will cover in the next article, I am including them here since we must provide them in our homes in a physical sense. Some of the materials that I am using will be available as printable PDFs if you would like to use them.
– Where Do You Find the Missing People? letters posted where food and medical supplies are located
– Printouts with warnings of what the left behind might expect after the rapture (see the resources section below)
– ABC cards for salvation with a brief explanation about the missing people on the flip side (Link to PDF with note below)
– Bibles in gallon zip bags with other helpful items:
Scriptures, Missing letter, ABC cards for salvation, pens/pencils, notepads, paper clips, glasses/readers in some bags
– A Bible pack for my car with the missing letter, ABC cards, and a printout with what they might expect after the rapture
Often, inexpensive Bibles can be purchased at thrift stores. I purchased a case of 40 Bibles from Christianbook.com. The cost was $79.60, $1.99 each, which seems to be a fair price. I found the print in the Bibles to be so tiny that I’m including some glasses/readers of varying strengths with 20 of the Bible packs ($1.25 at Dollar Tree).
I know there’s much more to have on hand than what I’ve suggested, but for now, this is a good starting point. When you consider the scope of all I’ve listed above, including the link to the items to stock, it’s really a lot. That’s why we do what we can as we can. Yes, we should have a sense of urgency, but no, we don’t allow the enemy to condemn us if we’re not able to get it all done immediately or if we can’t afford to do much in the way of physical preparations. Even more important will be the spiritual impact you make, a topic we will cover in the next article. If you have zero extra dollars to spend these days on a physical sanctuary, rest assured that you can spend your time on preparing a spiritual one. “But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!'” (Acts 3:6)
Get Your House in Order
Now that my physical preparations are well underway, the concept of getting my house in order takes on a new dimension. It may be next month or several years from now, but I know I will eventually have guests here. I used to be a freak about cleaning house before company came. The older I get, the less I worry about that. These days, however, the concept of tidying up my house has been on my mind. I don’t mean vacuuming and dusting. Who cares about that? I mean decluttering some of the things I’ve collected over the years that will someday–hopefully someday soon for us cloud watchers–be rummaged through by strangers. I must look at my home differently, as a place I will be vacating and leaving in the hands of others. It may even be a family member who remains. What legacy do I want to leave behind? What do I want them to know of me?
I have stacks of journals recounting my intimate journey with Jesus. Do I want to leave those for strangers or even a family member to view? Some may argue that anything we can leave may be beneficial for the lost. I’m not so sure about that. I’ve had seasons when I’ve lost what felt like everything that mattered. I worked through those losses on paper, me being tossed back and forth by the winds of pain and grief. Seems to me those thoughts may be too personal to be shared with someone who is newly introduced to Jesus, or especially read by the person who caused me the most pain.
Ministry partner Kim recently said something that’s helping me determine what to keep and what to toss. As she looks at any book or item in her home, she’s asking if it will be a help or hindrance to someone left behind. What a good question. I have books that I read early in my stumble with Jesus–I stumbled more than I walked back then. Those books are ones that I would no longer choose or recommend based on what I’ve discovered the authors believe or stand for now. Many Christian pastors and leaders, who ten years ago seemed sound in their doctrine, are now teaching woke agendas. In some cases, I have even older books by authors who probably weren’t so sound back in the day. I just didn’t know it then due to my limited experience with the Bible. I have much to sort through to ensure I don’t provide false teaching. That might be something you consider doing as well.
These next thoughts may be a little more uncomfortable for you to consider, but what’s under your mattress? What’s on your computer history? Are there items in your home that will damage your witness to a new believer or to a lost and skeptical someone you know? I suppose my recommendation is that you take a good look around your home to see if you find any skeletons hanging out in the dusty corners of your closets. This is a great time to sweep away those old rattling bones that have secretly followed you to the end of days. Along the way of getting our houses in order, we would be well advised to get our own hearts right with the Lord. That’s another topic I hope to cover soon if the Lord tarries.
Recap: What will they see of you? What will hinder? What will help? These are just a few questions to ask as you begin your preparations to hand your unneeded home over to those who may someday join the family of God.
Additional resources/quick links:
Where Do You Find the Missing People? PDF version of my “left behind” letter if you would like to print and use what I wrote
Left Behind Letters – RaptureReady.com: Various, heart-felt letters you may choose to use
ABCs of Salvation Cards – PDF version you can print and leave for after the rapture – Includes the ABCs to respond to the Gospel and a condensed version of “Where Do You Find the Missing People?”
**Please note: If the document you print comes out upside down and you don’t know how to change your printer settings for two-sided, short-edge binding, then we may have a simple solution for you. Since all printer dialogue boxes are different, and I can’t give you steps to correct it, I’m including an upside-down version that should print right side up. (Kind of funny that I had to do this.)
ABCs of Salvation Cards: Upside-Down If this version doesn’t work for you or you can’t print two-sided, you can take the single-sided documents you print to a local print center like Staples and have them make copies that are front and back.
The following are resources I’ve found online that you can copy and print to leave in your home, warnings for those who are left behind of what will likely occur during the time after the rapture:
A Guide for Those Left Behind – RaptureReady.com
Rules for the Remnant – Rev310.com, Pete Garcia
Note: Rules for the Remnant, as offered on Pete’s website, didn’t copy over in a printable format for me, so I reformatted it. You’re welcome to use my PDF version if you encounter problems as well.
Rules for the Remnant – Lisa’s formatted PDF version
I hope you find the above information helpful. Remember, we do what we can as we can. Just don’t allow the enemy to convince you this doesn’t matter or that you can’t make a difference. You can. What if even our modest efforts help a lost soul encounter the love of Jesus? To that person, it means the world. Let’s blaze for His glory and cast light into their darkness.
Grace and peace as we wait,
Lisa
If you need to catch up on previous articles in this series, here you go:
Rapture: Before the Final Sunset – An invitation for you to join in preparing a sanctuary for those who will be left behind
Tribulation Saints: Unborn-Again Sheep – A challenge for you to look beyond the title of “the left behind” and to see those who will put their faith in Jesus as future family
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Free Resources:
Daybreak, Last Days of Light – Free ebook download
How Do I Share What I Know? Lisa’s Rapture Ready Series
Prepare Your Heart – Lisa Rapture Ready series
Updates – Sign up here to be notified when new articles are available.
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About Daybreak with Lisa:
Daybreak is a way of life, one of exposing the rising darkness and telling of the soon-coming Light. We only have so many daybreaks remaining before that final sunset when we, as believers, are caught up in the air to meet Jesus.
As an author, Lisa Heaton is a storyteller with a heart for truth. Her greatest desire in her fiction and nonfiction work is to challenge the reader to discover the truth of who Jesus is and who they are to Him. Now, here as we wait for the any-minute arrival of Jesus for His church in the rapture, Lisa’s latest mission is to warn the lost and wake the found and to help others discover their unique voice to share the truth of our times. More at DaybreakWithLisa.com. Contact Lisa at Lisa@LisaHeatonBooks.com.