A short crisis can easily last 3 days 2 SEP 2013

A short crisis can easily last 3 days–enough time to die for lack of water. This post is to stimulate us to quit taking clean water for granted, so that we take some precautions, often quite easy, to have living water available for a few days of emergency. In Katrina, people died in from thirst. Plus one’s body & mind are impaired simply by dehydration before the risk of dying comes into play.
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One end time prophecy in the Bible has people dying from drinking contaminated water. REV 8:11. So I will address the issue of purifying water to obtain living water. Water can give life or death; “living water” gives life…the science term is “potable water”. The Word mentions “living water” 4 times, “water of life” 3 times, “fountains of living waters” twice, and “living fountains of water” once. Much of our water today is dangerous, even streams in the wilderness. It is a safe assumption that in an emergency, with the power out, our clean sources of water will dry up. We will have to find some way to filter what water we can locate. Missionaries like the British Berkefeld filter. There are also Pitcher-type filters made by companies like BRITA and PUR, and there are ceramic filters. If nothing else, find the cleanest water you can, and filter it with whatever you have (clean clothes, paper towels, coffee filters), and then boil it for at least 10 min. (30 minutes in fine). Higher altitudes need longer boiling times. For a short term emergency one can add a little bleach (sodium hypoclorite or chlorine dioxide)…perhaps 8 drops of bleach per gallon to sterilize the water. (Not healthy on a long term basis.) When I grew up in Nepal, we boiled all our water 30 min. & then added iodine to sterilize it. RV water filters, available at RV stores, are cheap & are good filters. They hook to garden hoses, some garden hoses contain lead, so if you want to really be drinking good water, get a good RV hose also. Filters also mean you don’t have to haul around containers of potable water.
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Storing living water is not difficult. A simple way is just buy water from the store and keep it in a dark cool storage place & it should be good for 2-3 years. Or come up with your own containers. Just fill the containers full so there is less chance of algae growing. And of course don’t use any containers that previously contained funky stuff. During a move while incarcerated, I remember one time I wanted to take olive oil w/ my property; I washed out a shampoo bottle for several days, at least 100 rinsings, yet the olive oil still tasted like shampoo when it got to my new destination. In a difficult situation, one could drink the water drained from the hot water heater. Plastic bottles will crack in the sun, so don’t try storing water that way.
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In the past, those who failed to prepare & thought the govt. would take care of them, have found that the govt. can be a lousy mother. I won’t share horror stories, just the suggestion that we be responsible for ourselves.
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Well, my friend, if you can’t filter or store living water, don’t forget to pray to our Creator for it. “When the poor & needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them.” ISA 41:17. And you my friend, if you do some simple preparations, can minister to those who have not prepared….you can be a blessing, & perhaps even save some lives.