Karen Zerby
Maria #334 DO 3053 5/96
—By Maria
Mama's News and Views!—Part 3
A Heavenly Visitor!1
News About This Year's Summit Meeting!4
Using the Garment of Prophecy!7
Getting Fed from the New Wine8
The Perils of the Internet!11
A Serious Warning About the Internet!13
Beware of the "Information Superhighway!"14
The Jangled Lines!15
The Popcorn Prophecy!17
Prophecy About Watchman's Death!19
The Days of Filling the Storehouses!24
Dear Ones,
1. God bless you! I love you! In this GN I'll be covering a number of subjects, which I pray will be interesting and helpful. Many hours of prayer and effort have gone into preparing these GNs for you, to encourage you and to help you in your walk for the Lord, so please take time to get as much as possible out of these messages from the Lord! Knowing how important they are, I would be disappointed if you didn't. Happy reading, and may the Lord bless and guide you as you apply it!
A Heavenly Visitor!
2. To begin with, here is a fascinating testimony sent to Peter and me from Nicolas and Daniela in Brazil:
3. "Our children, Benjamin (5 years old) and Cristian (3 years old), told us they received a supernatural visitor. One night before going to sleep, they saw a very bright light, and in it appeared Grandpa! He was wearing white clothes, his face was shining, and he had a halo of light on his head. At first Cristian was scared, but Benjamin calmed him by saying‚ 'Don't be scared. Look, it's Grandpa!' Grandpa played with the children and had fun, he told them a story, and most of all he gave them lots of love. He also showed them how he could put his hand through the wooden window frame without breaking or opening it.
4. "At first‚ when we heard this account, we thought maybe the kids had been dreaming, but they emphatically affirmed, 'No, he played with us! We were awake! It was Grandpa!' They told the same story when we talked to them both together and separately.
5. "Our first feeling was of happiness. We felt happy that they'd had the privilege of personally receiving Grandpa's love. But we also felt convicted because we were busy working and weren't able to spend much time with our kids at the time. So Grandpa had to come and give them the time and love that they were needing. It was amazing! The kids told us it was super fun‚ and a really sweet time.
6. "This experience made us get on our knees and pray, thanking the Lord, praising Him for His kindness, and listening to His voice in prophecy. He told us that we shouldn't be surprised that this happened, since we live in the world of the Spirit, and He wants to bring us closer to Heaven in these Last Days.
7. "This incident made us think about how Grandpa can now more closely supervise our Homes and help us much more than when he was here in the flesh. The Lord also corrected us in the prophecy He gave us, motivating us to get our priorities straight and telling us that 'this you ought to have done, but not to have left the other undone.' In other words‚ the job of shepherding a Home is important, but we also need to be filling the spiritual needs of our own children.
8. "In conclusion, we have decided to believe this story. To begin with‚ we don't see any reason why our kids would invent a story like that, and also‚ the truth of their testimony was confirmed when we heard from the Lord in prophecy! We know it happened, and we're very thankful to the Lord and to Grandpa, who took his time to visit our Home‚ even with all that he has to do in Heaven!
9. "We feel very grateful and also humbled by his surprise visit. We'd like to ask if you, Mama and Peter, who are much closer to Dad in spirit, can hear from the Lord and ask Him once more what this visit from Grandpa meant, and why he bothered to make it. We know it's a lot to ask, but the Bible says 'Ask and ye shall receive‚' so we're asking. God bless you! We love you! We pray this letter will bring you joy, as it did to us. Thanks for reading this."
10. (Mama:) Yes, Nicolas and Daniela, your letter certainly brought me joy! Praise the Lord! I'm so thankful that your dear children were able to benefit from Grandpa's loving care, and that you learned such wonderful lessons too! Isn't it sweet of the Lord to allow Dad to spend that time with your little ones? The spirit world is a marvelous place! God bless you for having the faith to believe!
11. I was so glad you wrote this testimony so that we could share it with the whole Family, and of course, we were happy to ask the Lord for more information and for a confirmation of what He showed you, as you requested. I asked someone to pray about the questions you had concerning this wonderful, mysterious visit from Dad, and you'll see in the prophecy below that the Lord answered beautifully.
12. As you know, Peter and I and our helpers often pray about questions that come up, especially those that have to do with doctrinal points or matters that affect the worldwide Family. It's thrilling to see the Lord lead, guide‚ explain and instruct so specifically when we bring our questions before Him. He certainly is an ever-present help not only in time of trouble, but also whenever we're puzzled about anything, or in need of His specific direction and instruction! I encourage you to also pray‚ asking the Lord about things that have to do with your personal lives. It's true: Ask and you shall receive! Isn't it reassuring to know that you can go directly to the Answer Man Himself, the One Who knows all the answers and is constantly available! The Lord is very willing to speak to you, if you just have faith to ask and listen to His whispers! Praise the Lord!
13. Now on to the message the Lord gave when we asked Him for more information about Nicolas and Daniela's testimony. I think the following prophecy will encourage you when you see how close Dad still is to you—even closer than before!
14. (Prophecy‚ Jesus speaking:) Listen, My children. Listen to Me, and I will teach you the ways of the Spirit. For did not I say that you should all become as little children? These children were blessed with a visit from your Grandpa. Did he not say that he would come and visit you, that he would whisper in your ears, and visit you in your dreams? He has done so with many of you. In fact, he is so busy visiting you that we can hardly get him to sit down!
15. For Here, the spirits have choices as well, and his choice has been to spend as much time as possible helping you, his beloved children. And though he was not able to travel all over the world and visit you while he was alive, he is able to now. He loves you! He gave his life, his strength, his love, his energy, his all, to help you! Is it any surprise that he would choose to visit you? And especially the young ones, the little ones—those he loved so much while on Earth. Over and over he emphasized their care. He spoke of how close babies are to Heaven, and how you are molding the future and changing the world when you care for‚ encourage, feed‚ instruct, and love the little ones. For these [My little ones] are the shepherds of Kingdom Come! A little child shall lead them.
16. Even now, as he has passed into the Heavenly realm, he encourages and speaks to his children, your children‚ from the other side. Do you wonder at this? Do not worry and wonder and fret. Do not take it as a strong chiding. It is a lesson—a beautiful example, a glimpse of how precious and how important your children are to Me, and to him—all your children.
17. Do they not see with eyes of great faith? Are they not open, receptive, and believing? So should you all be. Worry not and fret not‚ but be thankful for the blessing of this Heavenly visit. For so do I prize and cherish and treasure each one of your little ones. Each one is a marvelous, wonderful creation of Mine—each one unique, each one with their own special gifts and a calling that no one else can fulfill as well as he or she can.
18. So prize these tender, delicate possessions. You are as stewards of them for a time, and so soon they will stand on their own and proclaim their need to be independent. So treat them with great love, care and tenderness, and let not this time pass by without the full enjoyment and appreciation of it. For as they are yours, they are also Mine, and I have delivered them into your hands for this season. Therefore be good stewards. Love, enjoy and tenderly care for these‚ your little ones, these who are close to Me, close to your Grandpa, and who receive these precious visits in the night.
19. The time is coming, and now is, when you shall all become more attuned to the spirit world. These manifestations and experiences would be strange, unless they came from Me. But when a spirit is sent from Me‚ such as your beloved Grandpa, it is not strange or weird or fearsome, but it is a natural, beautiful, simple and loving thing. It is just a short space from our side to your side, and so it is not so different when someone visits you from over Here.
20. The reason this is happening is to prepare you, so you can practice‚ so that all these happenings will not be strange or unusual for you, but you will see how it is a normal, natural part of life. It's so simple! It's so natural! It's very, very real. It's just a short space from your world to this world. With the guidelines of prophecy and the way your queen and her king have instructed you, you can partake of much Heavenly help and instruction. The other side is much nearer now.
21. Do you think we would lead you into the Endtime without lots of help? But as it is written, "They that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits." You'll be strong in the strength we give you, in the strength of waiting on Heavenly help‚ in the strength of receiving help from this side. Simply be as a little child—with the child-like faith and trust of a little one—and reach out and receive. You will not be disappointed. I will come to you. I will send many other spirit helpers to come to you. And you will be strengthened with strength beyond yourself, because it will come from Me and from these.
22. So don't be afraid or wary of visits from Me, from My helpers, from departed spirits. Am I not in all these? Only test the spirits and stray not from the guidelines laid down by your king and queen.* Stay close to them [your king and queen] and close to Me, and you will see the Heavens open in power and great glory, as I reveal more and more of the Heavenly surprises and joys and wonders to you. For you are My beloved children, and I long to love you, and to give these good gifts unto you. Therefore faint not in your minds, but pray for faith. Pray for simple, honest, sincere belief in these things, and I will bless you for your faith. For I wish to pour blessings upon you, and I am only limited by your faith. (End of prophecy.)
(*See "Prophecy Questions You May Have Always Wanted to Ask!—Parts 1-3," GNs 655‚ 667 and 668.)
23. (Mama:) What a marvelous answer! I can just see Dad excitedly visiting here and there, checking on your Homes, your children, your witnessing, your everything!—And being so busy that those on the other side can hardly get him to sit down! Ha! That's our Grandpa! We love you, Sweetheart, and are so thankful for your help! Keep it comin'! We need you!
24. We are so privileged to have so much Heavenly help! It looks like we can expect more such Heavenly visits as the Lord prepares and strengthens us for the days to come. It's thrilling to learn more about the spirit world and those on the other side who are available to speak to us‚ help us‚ and even visit us. There's nothing weird or strange or scary about it. In fact, the Lord said that when a spirit is sent from Him, like Grandpa was sent to these little children, it is a natural, beautiful, simple‚ and loving experience.
News About This Year's Summit Meeting!
25. (Mama:) Peter and Gary recently returned from hosting a six-week-long Summit meeting, along with the help of one of our top WS shepherdesses. We will be sharing much more about this monumental meeting in the upcoming months, which I believe you'll find both inspiring and feeding, but right now I want to tell you about one of the exciting new aspects of this year's Summit!
26. The Lord showed us that in addition to the CROs attending, we should also invite a number of YAs and second-generation adults as representatives of the younger generation. For the last few years you young people have increasingly taken part in helping to lead the Family by being elected to the Home teamworks of many Homes, helping to oversee many important ministries, working as assistants to the CROs and in our WS units‚ etc. The Lord indicated that now was the time to bring some of you young people a step further into leadership by inviting some of you to participate in the Summit meeting alongside the CROs.
27. The purpose of this was two-fold: First, to serve as training, as those attending would be able to observe and learn from how Peter and Gary and the CROs discuss and seek the Lord together for His solutions to the various problems that need resolving and questions that need answering. And second, to get the young people's input and observations on the different points that were to be discussed, and to learn how they see things‚ based on their personal experience and the Homes they had been living in.
28. Initially we had planned to invite only a couple of YAs from each CRO area, as that's all we thought we could accommodate, due to logistics, etc. But as plans for the Summit progressed, the Lord indicated we should bring in more, and He worked miracles to expand the space needed to house them! In the end, we brought about twice as many young people as we had originally intended! In fact, there were more young people than CROs in attendance—32 young people in all.
29. The fact that young people were invited to this year's Summit is pretty big news, isn't it! I imagine that this probably evokes a number of different reactions among you adults and young people. On the one hand‚ I'm sure many of you young people are happy that some of your peers whom you look up to and respect are able to get further training as shepherds and be more involved in helping the Homes in your area as VSs or CRO trainees, etc. You may also be rejoicing that Family young people are being brought in to leadership more and even given certain responsibilities and training that you may have felt were reserved for the first generation only. Also, many of you adults and parents are probably happy to see how our young people are growing and maturing into loving shepherds who can be trusted to help shoulder the load that many of our adult leaders carry!
30. On the other hand, I know that some of you young people, and adults too, will probably feel a bit envious that you were not invited to the Summit. You may feel that you are just as dedicated and qualified as those who went, and I'm sure many of you are! There are many YAs in each area who are very deserving and who would benefit from the experience of attending such a meeting, and believe me, your CROs had a difficult time choosing which ones would attend the Summit. There are also many faithful adult shepherds who were area shepherds or who are now VSs or who have worked with the CROs or have shepherded Homes large and small‚ who deserve and could no doubt have benefited from additional training.
31. To choose only four or five young people from each CRO area was a difficult task. In order to decide, the CROs prayed and asked the Lord to speak concerning each of the YAs that was considered, and He made it clear through circumstances and through prophecy which ones He wanted to attend.
32. We were not able to have more young people or adults attend because the meeting was already a large one‚ with nearly 60 people in attendance—including the young people and most of the CROs, as well as a staff to help run the Home. I felt it would have been asking too much of Peter and Gary to expect them to pour into and spend personal time with more than 60 people over such a short period of time. Also‚ it was a very expensive undertaking to have people travel from all over the world.
33. However, the main thing which restricted us and kept us from adding to the numbers was the housing. Family members looked for large housing for quite a while‚ exhausting every possibility, but the Lord did not lead them to anything which would have been able to accommodate more than the number that had been invited. Even finding something big enough for those already invited was a miracle! (None of the young people from our Home or our WS units were able to attend either, due to their being needed in their ministries‚ as well as lack of space.)
34. All of these reasons, while they're legitimate and I'm sure you respect our reasoning and see the validity of our thinking and decision-making process, still may not make some of you feel much better. You may understand all our reasons why we couldn't invite more, but you may still feel sad that you couldn't have been one of the ones to be chosen. The negative emotion that hits you when you're feeling left out and passed up can be devastating. It comes over you like a wave and steals your joy and enthusiasm, and then even the activities that you normally love to do and that bring you so much joy and satisfaction suddenly pale by comparison. It's hard to not think about anything except what the other person is getting to do and what you're missing out on.
35. Feeling left out is really a very difficult battle to fight, and unfortunately, it's a common one. It seems to be one of the Devil's favorite and most effective weapons. I know‚ because I even felt a little the same way when seeing Peter and Gary go off on such an exciting mission and I had to stay behind—not only because of my physical condition, but because I had an important job to do in preparing the Letters for you and couldn't be spared. Some of the others in our Home had similar battles, wishing they could also attend, and feeling left out. Knowing how much we all compare, and how hard it is, my heart really went out to those of you who might feel this way.
36. I know how hard it must have been for some of you adults or young people, especially those of you who saw some of your friends or co–workers or your mate take off for parts unknown to take part in a special meeting, which turned out to be the Summit! You may have questioned, "Why them and not me?" Your heart sank and you really had to fight to stay positive. I understand how you feel and I'm so sorry.
37. Of course‚ some of you young people might not feel this way because you either have no desire to attend such leadership meetings and carry the heavy responsibilities that come with them, or because you know that the Lord has a different calling for you, other than being a leader in the Family. Being a leader in the Family is not the Lord's will for everyone, let alone the Lord's highest will! His highest will is to be witnesses for Him, and to be faithful in whatever ministry He calls us to, whether it be teaching the children, caring for the Home, provisioning‚ shepherding or leadership, etc.
38. But knowing how some of you would be battling comparing and feeling left out, I wanted to do something to try to make it easier for you. I knew my words and explanation would be lacking, so I asked the Lord to please give His Words of encouragement, as only He can! Following are excerpts of what He said when we asked Him to speak to those of you who faithfully stayed by the stuff. The Lord explains that while attending a meeting like the Summit or holding a leadership position may seem most important in our eyes, what is most important in His eyes, what really counts as true yieldedness, is our faithfulness to Him in whatever He gives us to do, whether it seems glorious or not. While the following was given specifically concerning the Summit, it can be applied to many different situations:
39. (Prophecy, Jesus speaking:) To My precious young adults—I love you! I love you so very dearly! Do you know who I really think is worthy? Do you know who I think deserves special recognition, and who I would like to lift up and honor and put in the upper seat? Do you think it is only those who have traveled to a distant meeting? Do you think I feel they are better and therefore I am giving them special rewards? No, it is not so! Because it is easier for those who have traveled to a distant meeting. It has been easier for them to do My will. They are partaking of the challenge and the excitement involved, and they are partaking of the blessing. Therefore it has been easy for them to do so willingly and cheerfully with a yielded heart. So I have no need of giving them special recognition.
40. But who I see now and who I want to lift up and acknowledge and recognize are you young adults who are also doing My will cheerfully, and are yielding to My will by staying with the children‚ by carrying on the ministries at home, by carrying on the work in the fields‚ and by carrying on with the many jobs in order to reach the lost, which is the main reason I have chosen you.
41. Therefore‚ bring out the fatted calf, bring out the feast, bring out the music, bring out the dancers! Hold not back in the celebration for these, My special chosen ones, who faithfully and willingly say "yes" to My will. I am so proud of you and so thankful to have such wonderful young adults in My Family!
42. I know it has not been easy for you to carry on with your work‚ taking care of the children and taking care of the home fires, while feeling that others have perhaps gone on to something more exciting. But you are also My truly great people, because you are truly yielded! And those who are yielded are truly great!
43. So don't feel that you are being passed by or left behind or brushed aside. This will never be the case! My hand is on each of your lives and I know every one of you. My plan for your lives will be fulfilled, and I will never pass you by or brush you aside or leave you behind.
44. Although you may feel that way at the moment, it is only because you do not see the whole picture and you do not see the future. You do not see how wonderful you really are! You do not see or believe how great you are being right now! So please do not be discouraged, but think of it as a time in which you are receiving your training in this way—in being faithful to stay by the stuff, in being diligent by the home fires, and in caring for the many details of life and of My sheep. For My Kingdom runs on many small, important details.
45. So please do not be discouraged and do not worry and compare yourselves with others. There will be opportunities for each of you when I can use you and train you in new ways. So do not be envious of your brother's opportunity, but be happy and do your best where you are.
46. Just look to Me and to My Word each day and do not worry about anything. Do not compare yourself with the next person and start thinking that they must be better than you—because it is not true! In My eyes you are terrific, you are wonderful! I love you and I think you are just the greatest! You are all My missionaries on the field, and to Me there is no one better than My missionaries, who are willing to lay down their lives to preach the Gospel no matter what the cost! The cost is sometimes high, and sometimes when you are face to face with the cost‚ it can be a struggle. But I promise that I will help you. Look to Me and cling to My Word. Call out to Me when you need Me. I am always there for you. I have not forgotten you. You are very important to Me, very dear to My heart, and I need you very much.
47. Please do not feel that you are a failure because you did not get to go. Do not feel that there must be something wrong with you, or you have too many problems or weaknesses, because that is not true. That is what the Enemy would like you to think, so he can keep you discouraged. But do not listen to him! I want you just the way you are right now, and I want you just where you are right now, because I know I can trust you and I can depend on you to continue to be faithful where you are.
48. You are My dependable, strong and faithful soldiers! You are the ones who stick through thick and thin! You are the ones that we can count on, who are willing to do anything for Me—even stay back by the stuff. That takes real love and sacrifice, real denying of yourself and your own desires and wishes. And that takes real dying daily. It is a real death, but I know you have been willing to do it.
49. So you are the ones who really deserve the greater credit. You are the ones who deserve the most commendation! You are the ones who deserve the high seat, and the ones who should have the royal carpet rolled out for them! You are the young adults who should be honored at the feast and be given a place of recognition for the many hours and days of faithful, sacrificial, unfailing love.
50. I love you, My wonderful, wonderful children! You are just terrific! You are the greatest! (End of prophecy)
51. (Mama:) Jesus has not forgotten you, my dear ones. He has a special plan for each of you, and He's as interested in giving you training as you are in receiving it. But sometimes our ideas of "training" are different than His. Sometimes the training you receive is more obvious, in the form of meetings, counsel, special opportunities, etc. But in this case‚ the Lord said He's training you in being faithful to witness, to stay by the stuff, to keep the home fires burning and to care for the many details of life and of His sheep. That's valuable training too, and it's a step in your progress. Yours may not be exactly the same opportunities as those who attended the Summit, but they will be just as important and rewarding, and make you into the man or woman of God, the pioneer, bellwether or leader that He wants you to be!
52. So please try not to compare, but be happy that the Lord said in the above prophecy that He wants you just where you are right now. That reminds me of a very good attitude that was displayed by one of my co-workers, someone who could have easily fallen into comparing and being envious and discontented that he did not have the opportunity to go to the Summit. But instead he simply said, "Why would I want to be anywhere other than where the Lord wants me?" What a good attitude and example to us all!
53. Also, you'll be encouraged to know that there will be numerous publications coming your way before too long, which were generated from the Summit. In addition, various videos of classes given by Peter and Gary were filmed‚ which the CROs and VSs will be trying to show to as many Homes as possible during the course of their visitation. We believe you'll be able to partake of the wonderful things the Lord did during the Summit, and through these pubs and videos learn many of the same lessons as those who actually attended. Praise the Lord!
Using the Garment of Prophecy!
54. I've been very happy to hear how so many of you, both individually and as a Home, have been taking time to hear from the Lord in prophecy on matters which concern you. The Lord is showing you the benefits of putting on the garment of prophecy. Here's one Home's experience:
55. "Mama and Peter's Love Story taught us a lot of different lessons. One of the main ones is being willing to let the Lord have His way in our lives. Also, as a Home we saw the need for what Mama shared in these Letters about letting the Lord speak through us in prophecy, and we are trying to do this more. As a sample of the importance of hearing from the Lord, we want to share the following testimony:
56. "This month we were visited by a city councilman, and in the process of making the plans of who was going to be at the meeting with him, etc., someone put forth the idea to hear from the Lord to see what He wanted us to talk to this councilman about. We did so, and the Lord spoke so clearly about the need to love this sweet person, encourage him and talk to him about faith; and faith was exactly what the whole conversation was all about that night. (This person needs a lot of love, faith and encouragement since he is going to be running for mayor of our city.)
57. "At the end of the conversation he thanked us so much for the encouragement and he confessed to us that he was going through heavy battles in his life due to the fact that his political opponents come to him expressing a lot of doubts, asking him to resign. We told him that we had heard from the Lord about what to tell him, and that the message from God was to give him encouragement, love and faith. We told him that it was not our idea, but the Lord's. He was super inspired to hear that and thanked us for having the faith to tell him that.
58. "The next day he told a mutual friend about his experience with us the night before and said that it was one of the best nights he'd ever had. We learned that it is important to read the written Word‚ but it is also important to hear fresh from the Lord. Thank you, Mama and Peter, for sharing your intimate lessons with us all. It sure has helped us. We love you!"
Getting Fed from the New Wine
59. (Mama:) I have heard from numerous sources that some of you still have a difficult time getting spiritually fed when reading pubs that contain a lot of prophecy. Granted, reading prophecy takes some getting used to‚ and thank the Lord, many of you have adjusted to the new way the Lord is speaking and have learned to tune into and get very fed from the new GNs. But there are others who are still struggling with it. Part of the problem may be with the way the prophecies are being read. Reading more slowly and with expression, allowing time for the different thoughts to sink in, would probably be a big help. But now I can hear you saying, "If we read more slowly, we'll never get through all the New Wine!"
60. I understand that you have a hard time keeping up with reading all the new material that comes out, but rushing your way through the pubs as quickly as possible is not the solution. To get fed spiritually and to understand the important points the Lord is making in the pubs is the goal, not to simply get through them so you can check them off as having read them and quickly go on to the next ones.
61. Peter and I and our helpers are doing all we can to empty the vats, but the Lord is pouring forth His Word much more quickly than we can get it out! The more we give out, the more the Lord gives us—so much so, in fact, that it seems we hardly make a dent in the wonderful Word the Lord has given. There is still so much to come! Lord helping us, we will continue getting out the Word as quickly as possible. That is our main responsibility!
62. There are many very exciting pubs in the works right now, and there are more to come that we haven't begun to finalize yet, but hope to get to soon! You may recall that in GN 669 I told you that we had had three separate groups of people ask the Lord the same question: "Is it really necessary to be putting out so many pages of pubs for the Family right now?—So many lengthy GNs and FSMs in such rapid succession that the Family can't possibly read or absorb it all?—Or should we slow down and give everybody a chance to get caught up?" The Lord gave a strong‚ resounding answer in the prophecies from all three groups that we should continue to get the Word out as quickly as possible. (See ML #3037:41-82.) Therefore we have to be obedient to what He has shown us, and not lessen the flow of the New Wine.
63. But getting the Word to you is only the first step in the process. Then it's up to you to take that Word and do something with it. It's important that you as a Home discover how you can get as much from those pubs as possible. You should try to find a way that you can read‚ understand and digest the pubs, as well as grasp the spirit of them and put them into practice as much as possible. Please discuss as a Home how you feel the reading of the new GNs is going. If it's not going that well, if you are not able to really tune in, concentrate and get fed, then please try to find a solution! (See FSM 276, "Seeking His Treasures," for tips on inspiring devotions, Word and prayer time.)
64. Let me remind you of a few points that you should keep in mind when discussing and praying about this:
65. Under the Charter, your Home is actually required to meet a minimum of four times a week for united reading, prayer and praise. The time and length of these meetings should be determined by the Home. These meetings can be morning devotions‚ vespers, or evening united times of reading the Word. Four times per week is only the minimum amount. We recommend that you meet even more than this, if at all possible. But you must make sure that your Home meets together at least four times per week, because otherwise you will be violating the Charter and your Home is in jeopardy of being put on Probationary Notice. (See The Charter‚ page 56.)
66. Home members must also be allowed a minimum of four hours a week for personal Word time, private reading time. Of course, it is up to the individual to use this Word time wisely, but your Home is required to make it possible. The four times a week is only the minimum, but we recommend more. (See The Charter‚ page 57.)
67. If reading every GN unitedly instead of privately turns out to be a major factor in your not getting sufficiently fed from them, please remember that it is not required in the Charter that you read all the GNs unitedly. You may want to read some unitedly rather than all—whatever is most convenient in your Home.
68. If your Home reads a GN unitedly, that should hopefully not be the only time you as an individual read that GN. Since you don't usually absorb as much when you only hear something as opposed to studying it on your own and being able to reread parts that are significant to you, you should try to reread the GNs privately that you read unitedly. If you have a copy that you can look at during the united readings‚ you could even mark paragraphs or portions of text that you want to reread later on.
69. You may not have time to read all the GNs twice, but I'd like to encourage you to try to read as many as possible more than once, if you can. This especially holds true if you have any questions after the initial reading. Often those questions are actually answered within the GN, but the answers are sometimes found only after a second, more thorough reading. (We have received questions on some of the more complex GNs such as "Go for the Gold" and "Loving Jesus‚" most of which have already been answered right in the GNs! If you don't have time to reread the whole "Go for the Gold" GN or the whole "Loving Jesus" series, at least reread the Questions and Answers, which serve as a summary.)
70. You can photocopy GNs if you wish to have more copies so people have easier access to the GNs and other instructional pubs for personal study. If photocopying is too expensive, you could try to provision a copier for your Home. (See FSM 276, page 3, and FSM 287, "Charter Questions and Answers—Part 2," question #57.)
71. Many times Homes like to read the GNs unitedly because they have prayer afterwards and unite their hearts around the new Word, rather than having everyone off in their bedrooms reading the new GNs privately. But if you find that your Home members are not getting fed from the united readings of the GNs, you might want to forego reading some of the GNs unitedly‚ and instead allow people more time to read privately. You could consider assigning someone to mark key paragraphs or portions from the GN‚ and then later those key portions could be read unitedly during one of your united reading times. Then, after reading those key portions together‚ you could have prayer as a Home, committing yourselves to putting the new Word into practice. Perhaps doing this would still supply the need for your Home to unite around the new Word, without having to read the whole GN unitedly.
72. Some Homes have found it beneficial to have study halls during part of their devotion time. What this means is that everyone meets together, studies quietly for X amount of time, and then they have a short time of united devotions and prayer time. One of the big advantages to quiet study halls is that people can read many more paragraphs and often get a lot more out of them when reading silently. Thus, the time allowed for reading is more beneficial all the way around.
73. Sometimes, however, people have problems with daydreaming when reading on their own. In such a case‚ those people may prefer to pair up to read or take turns reading aloud with others, which some say helps their minds not to wander as much as reading silently or just listening while someone else reads.
74. The word pictures in some of the prophecies in the new pubs can be very feeding for children too. Someone sent in the following tip: "Our anointed MC teacher loves to read appropriate portions of the new prophecies to the children he teaches because they contain such clear word pictures which the children enjoy and can easily grasp. Sometimes he reads to them and then lets them draw what he reads, and they come up with very creative and clever ideas. They seem to be able to absorb the new Word well in this manner."
75. (Mama:) One of the second-generation adults who recently joined our Home commented:
76. "In my last Home we were working on this area of united prophecy reading, and a few things that we found helped in some situations were:
77. "—To have as many copies available as possible for people to follow along. We made an emphasis on everyone bringing their copies to devotions.
78. "—We made a real Home push on everyone reading the pubs personally, especially the GNs and FSMs, not just relying on the united reading to absorb them.
79. "—We started having separate readings sometimes for our junior teens where we could pow-wow and gear things more to their level, as it was distracting for others when they would space out and be real fidgety.
80. "—It was also helpful to sometimes pause after a prophecy and briefly discuss its application either personally or for the Home as a whole. Of course, this is not always a good idea, as it depends a lot on the subject matter and your audience.
81. "One attitude that I feel sometimes hinders our young people from receiving or tuning into prophecy that is read aloud is when they have a hard time getting along with the adult who is doing the reading. In such cases‚ the young people seem to put up a wall in the spirit, because they don't like who is reading the Word, and that hinders them from receiving it. For example, in the last Home I lived in we had a prayer day during which we read prophecies for our area. The two adults reading the prophecies happened to be ones that didn't get along very well with the young people. Consequently the young people didn't get anything out of the prophecies that were read, and the prayer day was pretty dry and boring for them. They pretty much missed the message in the prophecies because of having been turned off by the readers. That's very sad, Lord help us!"
82. (Mama:) If there are adults in the Home who don't get along well with you young people and who, for some reason or other, can't relate well to you—whether it's their own fault or not—you young people should try to pray and look past the reader, if possible‚ and ask the Lord to help you get over that hang-up and not let these less-than-ideal circumstances hinder you from getting the Lord's Word. Of course, the adults should do everything they can to make the reading of the Word alive and interesting, but if for whatever reason it doesn't seem to you that they do such a good job of it, you need to look past that and do your best to tune in, concentrate and get fed from the Word. This reminds me of something I put in a talk one time about teachers and how‚ yes, it's nice to have fun teachers, it's nice to have teachers make learning ideal and appealing and attractive, but your learning should not be dependent upon that! (See ML# 2747:7–13, GN 500.)
83. We adults went to school for at least 12 years, if not more, and had many teachers who were certainly less than good teachers, ones we didn't even necessarily respect or even think were particularly qualified, and who weren't very appealing and didn't make learning much fun, but we learned in spite of it. We had to see past the personality of the teachers to what they were presenting‚ to the content, to the subject matter.
84. We would have appeared crazy if we had gone to the principal and told him we couldn't learn the subject because we didn't like the teacher. Maybe a few kids have tried that, but it doesn't get them very far because the principal says, "Are you crazy?! That's ridiculous! Get back in your class and learn it. There's no excuse for you to fail the subject just because you don't like the teacher!" If someone did fail, you can be sure that the principal or the kid's parents didn't give much consideration to the fact that his teacher was less than enthralling, or allow him a lot of leeway because of this. That's not a very valid excuse.
85. Of course you adults should do all you can to make it easy for the young people‚ but if there just doesn't seem to be a way around the personality clashes or the differences of opinion between the adults and the young people, then you young people need to understand that that isn't a good enough excuse for you not to make an effort to get something out of the Word. It's a much more valid excuse if, because of poor reading, you don't understand what is read. But to deliberately shut yourself off from the Word just because you have a few problems with the person who is reading it is very sad!
86. Whether the problems you're facing with your united reading of the Word are poor readers who read too slow or too fast or not clearly enough, or wrong attitudes towards the readers themselves‚ I believe the Lord can help you over these difficulties and make your public reading of the Letters more meaningful if you'll sincerely seek Him.
87. The points brought out above are only a few thoughts and suggestions, and you may have other ideas. But the most important point I'm making is if you find you are not getting fed from the reading of the GNs‚ something is wrong. If this is the case, please discuss it as a Home. Discuss how the pubs are read aloud and if you can improve in that area. Pow-wow different ideas for your reading of the New Wine and try new things. You all are so busy and have so little time to read as it is, therefore it's vitally important that the precious time you do have to read be as feeding as possible!
88. I explained in GN 669 that you don't have to absorb all the new Word at once; nevertheless, the Word time you do have should be beneficial and feeding. The Lord said: "I pour it out without measure‚ but your cup can only hold so much water. Take what you can, each day, each time, each moment. Drink it, assimilate it. Let it refresh your being and then come back for more. Think not, 'Oh, this is too much. I can't contain all of this.' Can you contain all the water of the ocean? No, you cannot. You can only contain a cup at a time. But if you assimilate each cup, you will have strength to take the next‚ and the next, and the next.
89. "You must encourage those on the receiving end to be able to assimilate these things and digest them.—Not just skim over them quickly and take them in for information, but to take them in as spiritual food. Encourage the Homes, My flocks, the flocks of David, to be calm sheepfolds, and to have appointed times to take in My Words.
90. "With the increased flow you must have an increased capacity to receive, so that My Words will have an effect and will empower My children. This is the time of abundantly pouring out in preparation for those times ahead. This is the time to wash My children clean—their hearts and minds—to refresh them. For there are times ahead when there will not be the abundant time and the abundant Word, and they must go on these things that they have taken in now. I will supply all your needs, including the time and the way to assimilate these things" (ML #3037:62, 64-65).
The Perils of the Internet!
91. (Mama: ) Some Homes are beginning to use the Internet for communications (electronic mail, also known as e-mail) and educational reference material. For those of you who may have heard of the term "the Internet," but are not familiar with what it is, following is a very simple explanation:
92. The Internet is often described as a giant web, with each connecting point representing a computer (or "host"—also referred to as a "Web site"). There are millions of these hosts, and all are interconnected via phone lines, satellite hook-ups, etc. So by accessing one host, also known as "logging on" to that host‚ you then have access to the other millions of hosts and the information they contain. It's as if millions of libraries in the world were interconnected and you could access any book in a library anywhere in the world from your computer. The Internet host computers are run by universities, government agencies, and private organizations or individuals, and the main purpose is to make information they have widely available to the public. This information covers a very wide range, from helpful educational material to demonic propaganda—the "good, the bad and the ugly."
93. Stories abound in the media of college students who've gotten so into the Internet that they've neglected their studies and been kicked out of college; husbands or wives who've neglected their mates for the Web, and suffered separation or divorce as a consequence; and growing numbers of young people who are virtually addicted to the Web, which affects their health, peace of mind and relationships with others.
94. Of course, like the rest of the mass media‚ the value of the Internet depends on how it is used. We use our Family Web site for witnessing and getting out the Word. Others use the Web to pass on helpful news and information, exchange ideas, or sell products. And others use the Internet for such evil practices as promoting ungodly or perverted sex, proclaiming the virtues of Satanism and the occult, and promoting every sort of vile‚ anti-God philosophy imaginable!
95. Due to the obvious dangers of this "information superhighway," as it is now referred to, I recently asked some folks in my Home to pray and ask the Lord about the Internet—how He looks at it, about our Family's use of it, and for any counsel He wanted to give concerning it. I think you'll find the prophecies the Lord gave to be very interesting, but before you read them, I'd like to share with you some comments written by one of the second-generation adults who recently joined our Home. I believe her initial reaction may be similar to how many of you young people might feel. She said:
96. "Oftentimes, when on the field, or for that matter, even now that I'm in WS, when I read a pub that contains some new counsel from Mama or a prophecy from the Lord that I feel talks 'negatively' about something, such as this section on the Internet where the Lord and Mama are cautioning us about the dangers and kind of putting the brakes on‚ so to speak, I have found that I can take it in the wrong way. If I don't read it in a prayerful spirit and with an open heart or mind, I tend to feel that the situation is being misjudged, or that we young people are being unfairly looked upon. When I saw this section of the GN, I felt like, 'Oh no! Here goes all access to the Internet‚ and now all the adults and shepherds are going to go to the extreme and crack down in this area, and it'll be out!'
97. "I personally like the Internet. It's amazing to me, and I very much enjoy learning about it. Before coming to WS I spent a fair amount of time witnessing over the wires, and I think it has tremendous potential to enable us to reach folks that we otherwise could never reach. Additionally, particularly in the U.S., using the Internet is very widespread. It's a real craze. It comes up in conversations with non-Family people all the time‚ so I've found that being knowledgeable about 'the information superhighway' and having some experience with it can be helpful in relating to others. I think it can also be a good opener for witnessing.
98. "When I glanced over this section of this GN, it didn't particularly turn my key. In fact, I honestly almost didn't want to read it, because I didn't really want to hear what it had to say. I thought, 'Well, this is great! Here Mama asked me to read this GN and comment on it, and I don't even want to read this part!’ So I just stopped and prayed that I could see this section in the right spirit, as the Lord does, and not go overboard about it. Then when I read it, I tried to put aside my personal thoughts, feelings and experiences, so I could read in faith what the Lord is saying about the Internet. And after reading these three prophecies in that frame of mind, I didn't have a problem seeing that what the Lord says is definitely very true!
99. "I've had quite a bit of experience 'surfing the net' and I already knew some of the things brought out in the prophecies. It's not like I didn't know that there is a lot of evil out there and that the Internet provides basically unlimited access to the Devil's kingdom. So I agree 100% that this warning from the Lord is very needed, and it's very true. When on the Internet, I would try to be prayerful, and also wouldn't go surfing around in obviously negative places. However, in spite of that, at times I have stumbled across or read very negative things‚ and I have to say that it affected me in some way, like making me question, or making me feel confused or depressed.
100. "Additionally, I have seen the very bad and negative effects that unlimited access to the Internet can have on people. Someone who I was close to is now out of the Family, and I believe that his doubts and confusion were largely fueled and fed by his several-hours-a-day Internet diet and 'Web time' (which replaced his Word time)‚ and his indiscriminate reading of the material that's accessible there. I agree that ultimately your heart has to be right, and in your using and browsing of the Internet you've got to have the right motivation and goals, otherwise obviously anyone can get into trouble and end up on the Enemy's turf with very little effort.
101. "I can see this section being taken by some as being a bit hard-line or just 'more rules and regulations.' I don't see how this message could be better presented, though, as it's probably not something that can be said in words, but has to be a work of the Lord's Spirit in each one's heart. I hope that we young people can see the dangers of the Internet and take this warning to heart without feeling like we're losing another freedom or something we enjoy doing, or without feeling like too many rules are being imposed on the use of it. If our attitude and motivation are right, then the rules don't bind us from accessing the Internet prayerfully for a good reason‚ in the right spirit; and hopefully, we should have that frame of mind and spirit in all that we do." (End of comments).
102. (Mama:) I pray you'll all be able to do as this young woman did when you read these prophecies. Please try to lay aside your personal feelings, thoughts and experiences, and read the following message prayerfully, with an open heart and mind.
A Serious Warning About the Internet!
103. (Jesus speaking:) Beware of Oplexicon, for he is the master of confusion, the master of confusing intricacies, a demon of great power! Beware of the demons of the netherworld who seek to infiltrate the hearts and minds of men‚ who seek to come in through every means possible—through books, through movies, through television, through the Internet.
104. Beware and stand strong, lest you be consumed! It can be a force for good, but it can be a force for much evil. You must walk circumspectly. This is a door that he who is weaker should not enter alone, but he must be accompanied by one who is stronger, that the stronger may be a safeguard‚ that he may lead the weaker in the right path, that he may hold the sword of My Word and the shield of faith to resist any darts and attacks of the Enemy.
105. Even as you would not allow anyone to sit and watch anything they want on the television, so you should not allow anyone to enter this maze, this intricacy‚ unless they are accompanied by one who is strong.
106. I say again, beware of Oplexicon! Beware of the demon of subtleties. Be not lured away through doors which you should not enter. Pray diligently and fervently whether you should enter this maze at all, for it is not for all. It is for those who are strong, who know their way, who will turn neither to the right, nor to the left.
107. Pray and pray, and counsel together, for this is a serious thing. This should not be done in a corner, but it must be done in prayer and in counsel with those who are strong. If you heed not these warnings, if you heed not My Words, you shall reap much sorrow, you shall reap pollution of the Enemy. Even as the Enemy pollutes with his music and with his movies and with his television, even so does he pollute with the Web.
108. Therefore walk circumspectly that you be not subject to his pollution. For unto him who does not have faith‚ unto him who does not walk circumspectly, it is a sin and an abomination unto Me. Hear, therefore, the word at My mouth‚ for I have given My warning, I have given My Word. It is now up to you to obey it. (End of prophecy.)
Beware of the "Information Superhighway"!
109. (Jesus speaking:) Much evil lurks on this "information superhighway." The forces of evil, the mass media moguls, and the other AC-inspired forces are working behind the scenes to pollute My sheep, to confuse them, to defile their spirits. The Devil, in his wisdom and his evil machinations, has designed a great evil. And although there is good to be found on this information highway‚ the evil lurks behind every rock and every bush. Mixed in with the good is the evil.
110. Warn My children! Warn My soldiers that this is a dangerous battlefield, a minefield, and that it will surely destroy them if they do not heed My admonitions and warnings concerning this evil minefield.
111. As Solomon discovered, of the making of books there is no end‚ and with much knowledge is much grief. These things can pollute your mind and your heart, as well as the hearts and minds of your children, unless you continue to wash yourself clean with My Word, My simplicity, and My Truth. For My Truth is easy. My way is simple. It is easy to find My ways and My simple truths.
112. Beware of the tricks that the Devil will use! Watch your children's hearts and minds. Guard them as you would the greatest treasure that you have ever had, for indeed they are. You would not put them amongst garbage and poison and evil and murderous people and creatures; likewise, you must protect them from these same evils that are on this highway. For it is an evil highway! There is great peril to anyone that travels it if they are not prayerful and washed in My Word and full of My Love, with strong faith and courage to search for the good that is amidst all this evil that has come upon the world.
113. This highway is only for the strongest—not mentally, but spiritually. Those with Godly wisdom. Those who have a perfect hatred for the Devil and his evil. Those who know the evil machinations of the Devil. Those who are aware of his traps and his treachery and his deception. So guard your children well‚ guard your sheep well‚ and guard your own mind and heart well. A true shepherd will heed this warning and watch over his flock by day and by night.
114. You cannot stop the evil that is in the world, but as I prayed‚ "Father, keep them from the evil," so you should pray for your children and your flocks and for your own self. For as the times wax worse and worse, and the evil and the darkness fall heavily upon the Earth, you must fall heavily upon Me and upon your knees in prayer.
115. Keep yourself pure. Keep yourself simple and full of the Truth. Avoid the glitter and the hype of the System‚ for it will drag you down. No matter how strong you may feel or think you are mentally, physically or even emotionally, your spirit will be affected badly if you do not prayerfully walk this road.
116. Just as a soldier walks cautiously down a lane full of snipers, you must do the same. You must discipline yourself‚ your children and your flocks, and keep them from the evil, for this is your job as a shepherd. I speak to all of you shepherds and all of you parents. These children I have given you are a gift. They are My children and I wish them to be pure and full of love, simplicity and truth—not to be filled with the evil, the lust, the greed and the vanity of the System.
117. After all of his attempts to learn everything about the world, Solomon's final words were: All is vanity and vexation of spirit‚ and the most important thing is to fear God and to live a simple Godly life. So use these things, but use them cautiously and wisely. And if you are not sure, don't use them at all; or pray and seek My face.
118. You can never seek My face too much about any question. You should pray and hear from Me about anything that will affect your spirit, and be sure you are not taking poison into your body, or allowing your sheep or your children to be poisoned. This is a true shepherd—one who oversees his flock by day and by night, in every aspect and in every area.
119. I warn you that this is one of the most dangerous areas for your sheep to enter. For though the grass seems so green and so rich, it is full of deadly poison, vipers, and all manner of evil beasts dwell there. So look to Me. Follow closely and I will lead you to the green pastures, to the safe pastures where you will find good food for yourselves, for your children, and for your flocks. Your spirits will be nourished and strengthened, and even your minds and your hearts, if you will follow Me closely as you travel down this highway.
120. But it is not for all! Be prayerful. Be careful. Be loving. Be wise. (End of prophecy.)
The Jangled Lines!
121. (Jesus speaking:) Jangled lines! Mangled, tangled‚ jangled lines! Complexities! A great web of complexities, all tangled and snarled and intertwined—in and out and over and under, fumbled, mumbled, garbled, the great web of jangled lines. They are jangled and complex. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophies and vain deceit, after the rudiments of the world and not after Me.
122. My Truth is simple and easy to obtain, easy to put into practice, even in the complex and tangled world in which you live. Simplicity is My law! I do not put the doorknob too high for My children of all colors and creeds and races to reach. I speak not only of My Salvation and of My Love‚ but of all spheres of your life. My will is simple. Simplicity is My law.
123. So beware of the tangled lines, for the Evil One walks about as a roaring lion, seeking to entrap and snarl you up in the web of complexities. He advertises his propaganda far and wide through the network of jangled and tangled lines.
124. Things are revving up now, going faster and faster, speeding along the highway in a downward spiral that is going down, down, down, headed for a crash! But I get My greatest victories out of seeming defeat, and I say unto you, there is a glorious rainbow at the end of this dark night.
125. You, My children, must walk in wisdom toward them that are without. Although I give unto you these devices of modern technology which you can also use to further My Word and to fulfill My will, remember that I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. You must be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves. And just as you must try the spirits to see if they be of Me, so you must try the information that comes across your path, by praying and seeking Me in all things, to see if it be of Me. Be wise as serpents, praying and seeking the wisdom that is from above, and be harmless as doves as you proceed down the path of My will.
126. Continue to seek Me in all things, that you may know what is from Me. Satan is very wise and very sly. He mixes much truth with the lie so that it is desirable, delightful‚ appealing to the eye, soothing to the touch, yet poisonous within. Did not the serpent beguile Eve in such a way—tempting her with a believable story? He is the same old Satan today! He does not always come around in a red suit with horns, pitchfork, and a tail‚ but with smooth words, pretty pictures, desirable appeals, even miracles to some degree.
127. You must try the spirits to see if they be of God. Continue to stay close to Me and My Words with your eyes fixed upon Me, seeking Me desperately in all things big and small, that you be not led astray from My simplicity.
128. This is the day of information, the day of knowledge. Did I not say that in the Last Days knowledge would be increased? It is the grand finale, and the stage is set for the final scene. Seek the knowledge that is from above‚ that is pure and peaceable, easy to be entreated.
129. Satan is the author of half-truths. He mixes truth with lies that are designed to trap and ensnare in the web of the jangled lines, and he is becoming bolder and bolder in these Last Days. You must walk circumspectly. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without. Log on to the Web with much prayer and caution. Pray desperately lest you fill your mind and heart with much information and confusion of Satan.
130. Though it is necessary to stay informed, to keep up with the latest‚ it is for this very reason you must stay filled with the antidote of My Word, the inoculation of My Spirit‚ that you may know how to choose the good and eschew the evil. Continue to fill up with positive, faith-building, encouraging, strengthening things from My Word, that you may hear My still small voice within you saying, "This is the way‚ walk ye in it," or, "This is not the way, turn ye away from it," that you may stay pure and undefiled in this wicked and perverse generation. (End of prophecies.)
131. (Mama:) Those are some very sobering warnings about the need to be wise, prayerful and in the fear of the Lord when traveling down the "information superhighway!" Like driving itself, it can be both helpful in getting you where you're going, and hazardous if you don't watch out while you're on your journey. If you consider logging onto the Internet for a needed purpose‚ please take heed to the Lord's instruction in the above prophecies.
132. This is serious business! The Lord likened the Internet to a dangerous battlefield, a minefield, an evil highway where there is great peril, one of the most dangerous areas to enter. He said you must walk down this road prayerfully, just as a soldier walks down a lane full of snipers! He said, "If you heed not these warnings, if you heed not My Words, you shall reap much sorrow, you shall reap pollution of the Enemy. Even as the Enemy pollutes with his music and with his movies and with his television*, even so does he pollute with the Web." (*See further comments from the Lord on television in ML #3056, coming soon, D.V.!)
133. The counsel Dad gave many years ago in "Use It" applies to our use of computers‚ the Internet or viewing of the mass media in general: "God always makes the System serve His servants, whenever it suits His purpose, if they have what He needs. 'As using this world [or System] but not abusing it' (1Cor.7:31). Own it and use it, but watch out—don't let it own and use you! You're in it, but not of it! You're surrounded by it, but not part of it! You're drop-outs from it, but you can still use it! Just don't let it use you!" (ML #27:20,21,26).
134. How do you go about using it but not letting it use you, choosing the good that's there but "eschewing" (avoiding) the evil? Following are some tips that you might find helpful:
135. May the Lord bless and protect you if He leads your Home to use the Internet. Don't let it use you!
The Popcorn Prophecy!
136. (Mama:) Lastly, I want to share with you a precious prophecy which I believe will help all of you to hold on when the going gets rough. In the year and a half since Dad's Homegoing you have gone through a lot. You've had to yield and say "yes" to Jesus about many things. You've read a great deal about it being a new day and about the new anointing the Lord is pouring out to the Family, and you may be one of the ones who wonders why it doesn't seem to have fallen on you.
137. Throughout the Word the Lord has made many promises of His blessing and rewards. He's promised new anointing‚ new strength, new supply‚ and many other things. Some of you don't feel anything but new trials, and you may wonder where the fulfillments of those promises are in your life. You may even see others who seem to have been newly anointed or filled with more love or more of the Lord's Spirit, and wonder why it doesn't seem to be happening to you. I believe the following cute prophecy from Dad will help you understand.
138. (Prophecy, Dad speaking:) The Lord has poured out His Love on the Family, and it is there, it is a new day of love, and the anointing has fallen. So do not doubt. Some have already felt the anointing and grown; for others it takes a little longer, but it is there.
139. This Love Revolution is a lot like a pot of popcorn! You pour the oil in, turn the heat on‚ and then you pour the kernels in the bottom of the pan. For a few minutes nothing happens and you wonder, "Are these kernels any good, or what?" But you know by faith they're going to pop. So you shake the pot to get it stirred up, and then—pop! A few more seconds—pop‚ pop! The first kernels begin to explode. And then—pop, pop, pop! You shake the pot on the fire, then pop, pop, pop, pop‚ pop! A few seconds later they all start popping and it explodes! The kernels of corn which were so small at the very bottom of the pot have expanded and burst and boomed until they're pushing the lid off the top of the pot!
140. Isn't it incredible to think that those little tiny seeds could expand so much to fill a whole pot till the lid pops off? Then, after the whole pot has popped, you hear a pop, pop—a few last latecomers, the last kernels of corn popping even after the heat's turned off. Then on the very bottom you always have some kernels that just didn't pan out, they didn't pop at all.
141. That's how it is. Right now you're just soaking in the oil and the heat's being turned up. Even though you're cooking, only a couple have popped. But soon there's going to be an explosion of Love and you're going to be poppin' all over the place! The world is going to come out to see you burn‚ to see this amazing miracle‚ these crazy kernels of corn who are so small and so nothing‚ yet they can pop so much and make so much noise, fill so much space and be so incredible!
142. So if you haven't popped yet, just keep cookin'! The Lord is stirring the pot, and it won't be long now! You're going to make a big cracking noise, and then the Lord puts salt on you to give you flavor! And boy, how they're going to love it!—Lots of sexy, wild, radical, unorthodox flavor that's going to make you so yummy that they won't be able to eat just one, they're going to gobble it up!
143. So hold on, be patient, your time is coming. Just don't be a deadhead, like one of those last kernels that doesn't pop. Of course, you always have a few in every bag. Praise the Lord! Just pop for Him! And if you don't see that Love, it's coming! The anointing's coming! Have faith!
144. If you feel like, "Oh‚ what's the use? I might as well go Home and be with the Lord," well, you wouldn't want to miss the show, would you, and all that exciting popping just because you pooped out? So be a popper and not a pooper! You have to have faith in the Popcorn-Maker, that He knows what He's doing. You wouldn't want to miss all the excitement‚ all the fun, all that popping, just because you gave up too soon, would you?
145. There's an exciting pot of popcorn just waiting to explode, so don't miss out! Don't give up! Hold on! The System's not going to be able to keep the lid on the pot for much longer! So watch out! Explode! Go out with a bang! It's gonna happen! Keep cookin'! Okay? And be my popcorn!—From your old Pop! (End of prophecy.)
146. Hallelujah! Isn't that wonderful? So keep on popping! Be a popper and not a pooper! Poppers for Jesus! Are you popping for Jesus? Are you popping all around the world with His message? You can be sure of it! We all are! And pretty soon we're going to pop right out of this world and into the Kingdom of Heaven! Amen? Happy popping!
Love, Mama
147. P.S. Dear songwriters, I thought you might be interested to know that one of our studios is working on writing a song based on the above Popcorn Prophecy for an FTT. I want to let you know that, as I'm sure many of you might have a burden to put those fun words to music. You are of course welcome to write and send in your own song with these fun words if you have a burden to, although I can't promise that it will be included on an FTT‚ so please don't feel bad if it isn't. As you can imagine, if we put all the songs we get based on a single specific prophecy like this one on an FTT, it might be overdoing it a bit. But please keep up the good work of receiving Heavenly Word-filled songs on the topics the Lord inspires you about. We've received some very good songs lately from you—at least lyrically‚ I haven't heard the music yet on most of them, just the words—and I've been encouraged to see the beautiful results of your listening to Heaven and catching the refreshing cascades from Above! God bless you!
Prophecy About Watchman's Death!
148. P.P.S. (Mama:) In recent years we'd heard reports that Watchman was very unhappy and seemed confused after turning to therapists and psychiatrists for the answers to his problems. In recent months there had been some progress in the reconciliation between Watchman and Katrina, and between Watchman and his children in the Family, and even with Family members. But in early June, an ex-member called our Family in the U.S. to let us know that Watchman had committed suicide, apparently through an overdose of drugs and medicine. We were saddened that Watchman would choose to take his own life. When we asked the Lord if He had anything to say about Watchman's death, we received the following message. We also asked if Watchman might have anything to say, which he did.
149. You may find that some of the ex-members have read the following prophecies before you received them in this GN. One of the main reasons for this is because we needed to give them to Romeo, Watchman's son, right away. We usually don't like to have this type of important information go to others before sharing it with the Family, but in this case‚ due to the unusual circumstances, we felt it was necessary.
150. (Prophecy, Jesus speaking:) If you do not learn your lessons there on Earth, you will have to learn them over Here—sooner or later. Beware lest any root of bitterness spring up in you, and it grow and flourish and cause great pain and great sorrow. So has it been with this one, who allowed bitterness, self-pity and confusion to rule in his heart and mind, until he thought there was no remedy.
151. I am the Maker of life! I love life and I give life, and I call each one Home in My time, according to My purpose. It is not My will that any should take his own life before his time, for this is not according to My highest plan. Satan runs throughout the whole Earth deceiving and seeking whom he may entrap and ensnare and devour. I love life and I give life, but Satan hates life and seeks to destroy it prematurely, to snuff it out and to hinder. He is the author of doubt, discouragement and despair.
152. This one, Watchman, was buffeted about with every wind of doctrine, for he trusted not in Me, but in his own arm. He leaned to his own understanding and did not acknowledge Me in all his ways, therefore I was not able to direct his paths. He chose of his own free will to walk down the broad road‚ and it led to destruction. He was cut off before his time‚ by his own hand, and is now having to pay the consequences. Follow not in his ways, but learn and be wise!
153. These are decisions of his own choosing. This is the fruit of leaning to his own understanding. Therefore he has chosen to be cut off before his time.
154. But My mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, and at last this one has come into My arms! At last he is able to look up into My eyes and find forgiveness. At last the healing process has begun. For all that belong to the Father are Mine. I know My sheep, and no man shall pluck them out of My hand—even the wayward ones. For I have wept and I have pled! I have stood before the throne of My Father for this one, pleading and making intercession. And I say unto you, at last the healing process has begun! This one is in need of great healing. He is in need of a new heart.
155. He chose to take the long, hard way, the difficult path of his own choosing, of leaning to his own understanding, of stubborn insistence on having his own way‚ of pride and self-reliance, of unyieldedness and sin. He chose of his own free will, and because of this, the road has been long and hard. But at last the healing process has begun! Now his learning begins! Now he is able to see more clearly. Now I am able to wipe away the tears and the fears and the blurred vision he has suffered these many years. Continue to pray for this one, for though the healing process has begun, it takes time.
156. If you do not learn and grow there on Earth, you will have to learn and grow Here‚ on this side. For those who choose to take their own lives before the appointed time will yet have to learn and grow and pass many tests, and this healing will require a good amount of time. I would that no man take his life before the appointed time, for this is not My plan, but according to a man's own choosing.
157. Think not that this is the easy way out, that a man may take the life I give into his own hands and be master of his own fate. Be not deceived; I am not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. And though in My infinite love and mercy I do gather this one again to My bosom, the road is now long. He has lost ground, and he is as a child starting over in many ways.
158. No man lives to himself and no man dies to himself. Therefore choose this day which road you will take—the high road of My will, where you can be fruitful and win others into My Heavenly Kingdom, or the broad road‚ the hard way, that will lead only to rehabilitation and prolonged learning.
159. If sinners entice you, consent not. For Satan tempts many with these thoughts of self-destruction. Oh children, My children, My heart is pained! I see the hurt, I see the discouragement that so many are facing in the world today—discouragement and doubts and fears. But you‚ My children, know Me and you know the truth, and you are most richly blessed! Open your eyes and live! I have mercy on those who stoop to these depths, yet the road is long and hard. I have special mercy for those who have never heard the truth, who have never known Me.
160. But for you, My children who know Me, I say, look up! Take up the challenge! You, who have life and know life, be not deceived! Call out to Me and be renewed! Listen not to the lies of Satan! Resist! Stand strong and resist temptation! And know that as you take even the tiniest baby step in My direction, I will take giant leaps for you. Think not to throw your life away, but rather give! Give your life to love others into the Kingdom‚ and I will sustain you. Give, pour out and I will pour into you!
161. Who will go? Who will go and proclaim the glad tidings, the good news? Seek not to end your life, but hold on to Me, hold on to My Word and live! I pour out the antidote, the healing balm of My Word, to heal the wounds, to chase away the dark clouds of discouragement. Therefore, spread the news! Spread it far and spread it wide! Will you throw your life away in selfishness, or give it away in love?
162. Pray for these! Pray for the lost, pray for the discouraged! Pray that they be not buffeted about by the lies of Satan. You must pray! You must fight in spirit for the discouraged, for the lost, and for the forlorn. Pray and weep for the lost and lonely world as your Father David wept. Look not at those who take their lives, or attempt to do so, with eyes of contempt, for they are in need of love and understanding. Fight for them! Pray! For the weapons of this warfare are not carnal. Pray and spread the Good News! It is not My will that any should suffer, that any should perish‚ that any should pass over to this side before the appointed time. Therefore pray and obey, and spread the news. (End of prophecy.)
163. (Watchman speaking:) My Family, my Family, I know it's right‚ my Family! Now I know! Now I see! And now I have to say the hardest words I've ever said‚ and that is, "I was wrong." I was wrong, so dead wrong about so many things. (Weeping.) I can hardly bear to face you‚ my Family. And if it weren't for the tender mercy and love of Jesus, and the loving care and forgiveness of Dad, I wouldn't be here to tell you about it. I wouldn't be able to face you. But I have looked into Jesus' face, I have felt the warmth of Dad's loving embrace‚ and here I am to tell you about it.
164. I am not worthy, I know. Oh Jesus, oh Jesus, Your mercy endures forever! I can only say, "By the grace of God, here I stand." I don't deserve to be Here, but somehow I am. I don't deserve to talk to you right now, as undeserving as I am, but Jesus is allowing me to tell you, dear Family‚ that I was wrong. My head was bloody but unbowed, and now I will have to pay the consequences.
165. I'm not very good at communicating like this, and I won't be doing it too often for right now. It's because I have a lot to learn before I can be given this privilege again. This is a special dispensation of grace I am getting right now. In fact, Dad helped me, and pleaded for me to be able to give you this message, and he even arranged for Abner to help me, and accompany me, and show me the ropes.
166. Do you know what happened when I took my life? After all I did and all I was responsible for in hurting the Family, dear Dad was there to meet me and help me over to this side. Dad met me! He opened his arms to receive me. He knew the pain and the guilt and the remorse I was about to face, and in mercy he came to see me. Now I understand how Judas must have felt. He tried so hard to do things according to his own arm of the flesh, and it just didn't work. Then Dad called for a feast and put a ring on my finger. But don't get me wrong! Although I was received like the prodigal returning home, although Jesus and Dad received me with open arms, although I have received forgiveness, please don't get the idea this has been easy or fun and games!
167. Some of you might be thinking‚ "Hey, look at that! Here's a scumbag like Watchman who has been really low, really dirty‚ and caused us so much trouble, and here he goes and even takes his own life, and then he gets this big reception in Heaven! Come on now, you've gotta be kidding!" Well, let me tell you, all I could do was hang my head in shame. I had to face Jesus and I had to face Dad, and that was the scariest, most humbling moment of my entire life. I couldn't eat when the food was brought out, and I only wear the ring as a ring of humility to remind me of all I have been delivered from.
168. The Lord and Dad went to the nth degree to show me love and mercy‚ and that is just to show you how all-encompassing the Love of God is! But let me tell you of the shame and the guilt and the remorse I have been through, the shame and the contempt that I passed through, and that I still have to live with. I have to deal with it. I wouldn't wish it on anybody! My own impulses and my stubborn ways came with a price. Let me tell you, there is another side. This is why I am here to tell you about it.
169. This is very much out of the ordinary, not only because I'm new Here, but because I have some special retraining to go through—a rehabilitation program. How can I explain? How can I make you see? The Lord has been gracious to me; the Lord is all–merciful. But when someone has gone so astray and has gotten so off-kilter like I was, something's gotta give somewhere. Words can't do the subject justice to explain what the shame is like‚ the feeling of remorse, the feeling of‚ "If I only had!" I've been able to see more fully now the repercussions of my waywardness, and that is not easy to face. Believe me, it's not easy.
170. I have a long ways to go in my re-training. I'm starting to say "yes" now‚ but believe me, it's not an overnight process, and I have a lot of retraining to undergo. I can't be too long-winded here, but there are a couple of points I want to get through.
171. First, for all those who are wondering about me taking my own life: I want to tell you, it's because my head was bloody but unbowed. It's because I had grown so accustomed to doing things my way and according to my own understanding that things got so out of control and it went this far, that even in my death I was a dandy bad example. Taking your own life is the sad result of doing your own thing. It's especially sad when you know the Lord. Yes, it really is doing your own thing. Many people who attempt to take their own life do it because they reach the depths of discouragement. But really, it's the max of just doing your own thing, and doing things your own way. You grow so used to doing things your way that you even take your own life into your hands.
172. But let me tell you, as soon as I arrived Here, I knew right away it was wrong. It all backfired on me. As I saw my whole life flash before me, I realized that taking my life was the ultimate result of how I had been living in recent years. I was going ahead and listening to my own impulses, reaching my own conclusions, trying to be master of my own fate. But believe me‚ it doesn't pay! Sooner or later the truth will catch up to you and you will have to learn the lessons Jesus has for you. Now I have to face the music. It's very, very hard, but at the same time I am very thankful and I cling to His mercy and grace.
173. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I do know it would have been much easier had I yielded there. I could have helped so many people. I could have turned around and helped to save lives, instead of helping to destroy lives. One thing I am going to have to live with for all eternity is all the souls I could have helped win to the Lord, which I didn't win. You know that verse, "No man lives to himself and no man dies to himself"? It's true, so true. Look what I've done!
174. That's why I had to come and give this little message, because I know I didn't die to myself. I know this is going to affect others greatly. I know this is going to shock so many of you‚ and I don't want anybody to get the idea that this is the right way to go! I knew immediately I had done the wrong thing. This time it was very clear, no misunderstanding. Taking your life into your own hands is not the way to go!
175. I'm here to say I was wrong. Please forgive me! Jesus forgives me, and Dad forgives me, but I beg you, my Family‚ please, can you find it in your hearts to forgive me? I know I don't deserve it. The words to that song, "I Am Not Worthy," ring so true in my ears right now.
176. The other reason that I'm here to talk to you is to address you, Romeo. Romeo, I love you! Son‚ I know you feel confused. I know you feel condemned and wish that you could have done more to help me. But, Son, there was nothing more you could do, believe me‚ because I was so unyielded. I was so wrong, and I was too proud to just call out to Jesus and let Him save me right then and there. I brought on all my own problems through lack of yieldedness and hanging on to bitterness for years and years. I could have cast all my burdens on Jesus then and there and I wouldn't be in the mess I am right now. Well, I say "mess," but it is wonderful Here and I'm experiencing the Lord's gracious mercy poured out on me, and all that is so far beyond my comprehension because I know I don't deserve it. But‚ in a way, I am in a mess. I use the word "mess" because I have so much to learn. And I say I am in a mess because the saddest thing is, I could have learned it there. I could have learned there and things could have been so different. Souls could have been won.
177. (Weeping.) Sorry. I still cry when I think about how things could have been so different‚ how instead of hindering people from coming Here, I could have helped them find happiness. Thank You, Jesus, for wiping my tears. He's wiping my tears, and I've cried a lot of them. Thank You for wiping my tears. He was there all the time, waiting with open arms‚ and I could have experienced His infinite love and mercy while there with you, and things could have been so different. He never sleeps—you know that?
178. Romeo‚ please, I beg you, listen to me now, Son, because I was wrong. If you want to do something to help me, then please, please, Son, don't go down the same path I did. I was miserable‚ I was bitter, I was proud, and I was confused—all because I took matters into my own hands, and I didn't cast my cares on the Lord. I could have had all the help I needed right there, but I insisted on doing things my way. I know now. I knew then really deep in my heart‚ but I had just gotten so far off, so off-kilter, so insistent on having my own way, and so proud.
179. I was selfish—so very selfish that my eyes were blinded. My vision was clouded through selfishness. I was jealous of so many others—jealous that they were happy and yielded to how the Lord was moving. Really, Son, most of my problems were so obvious, and all I can say is, I was wrong.
180. Romeo‚ please, listen to me now. This is my special dispensation to come and talk with you. When I arrived Here, I knew immediately how far off I had been. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind. You don't really have doubts Here like you do there, because all things are revealed Here; the facts are plain and clear and laid out on the table. But there are some people who still just don't want to accept the truth, even after arriving Here and seeing things plain as day! It's real clear, the truth is known, and there is no doubt about it.
181. All things are known Here. Everything is revealed Here. But people don't just arrive and turn into overnight wonders Here. It's just like Dad always said, we're still learning and there's still a lot to do. When people come‚ they arrive and they are at all different levels. It's according to how much progress they made before, while on Earth.
182. As for me‚ Romeo, I will be in rehab for now. I had gone so far off beam, and was so accustomed to rejecting the ways of the Lord‚ that now it's going to take some time. I'm thankful for it, though. I can't say I honestly understand it all. I mean, the Lord's mercy is really something. But, Romeo, I have to live that statement that is so true: "If I only had!" I have to live with my regrets. If I only had turned around there. If I only had turned to Jesus when I was there. If I only had let Him carry all my burdens, things could have been so different.
183. But for you, Romeo‚ or anybody else who may be listening, it's not too late! You can turn your life around right there. You can let the Lord turn it around. Let go of all those doubts and fears, and hang on to the Lord! There are infinite possibilities! He'll show you what's best if you just turn to Him. Look to the Word! Yes, this is me, your dad talking! Now I know, now I see. I was alienated from the Word, I turned away from the very life of God, and look what happened.
184. Romeo, you know how miserable I was. You saw me, you know me. You know how out to lunch I was; my spirit and my countenance showed it. I didn't have the simple‚ happy love of Jesus on my face, because I was so damn insistent on hanging on to my own way, my own pride. Ask yourself, and I think you will know the difference between me and your mom.
185. I listened to the wrong voices. All those voices! There are so many voices. Worldly prophets tell you all sorts of things—some saying go this way, and others saying go that way. Some seem concerned, caring and all that, but they are the wrong voices. There are so many doctrines and wrong voices in the world—all these people who think they know what they're talking about. I sure thought I knew what I was talking about, but I was wrong. Romeo, the only true voice is the voice of Jesus and His prophets.
186. Psychiatrists! What are they basing their facts on? What is normal? They base their facts on what they call normal—on so-called modern behavior patterns. But, Son, that is not normal! Modern behavior patterns are out to lunch! They're based on man, and most of the time man is wrong. It's awful! Look where it got me—miserable! How can they even know what is right when they don't even know the true center? Jesus is the true center. The only true center to base your life on is Jesus! And you know how far I got away from Jesus. Even when I said I still loved the Lord, I was just living selfishly for myself.
187. You know all this garbage about the "state of denial" and all that junk? I just lived in the state of total justification, that was my problem! That was the state I was in—trying to justify my actions—and look where it got me. Look at the facts—I was miserable because I was running from God. I left His guidance. I forsook my guiding Light. You know the words to that song I wrote, "I got a Light, I gotta follow"? I left my Light, my guiding Light, and when I did, I got off course and wound up lost in space. I got off the well-planned orbit of His will.
188. Son, here I am preaching to you‚ and I've gotta wind this up soon. But please, Romeo, please! I beg you, Son, learn from my mistake. This is my plea, this is why I'm here to talk to you. Besides asking the Family to forgive me, I beg you‚ Romeo, don't follow my footsteps. I know the Family will forgive me, because Jesus and Dad forgive me. I know I don't deserve it, but His grace is poured out on me.
189. But if there is anything I can do now, if there is any wrong I need to make right, it is to tell you, dear Romeo‚ to please, please, learn from my mistakes! And all of you, whoever may be listening to this, learn from my mistakes. See my life for what it was—a dandy bad example. Learn from it, and if you do, then this mission will have been of some worth. Don't take the broad road. Don't take your life and matters into your own hands, or else you'll have to pay the consequences like I have to.
190. If you feel down and discouraged, and if you're getting hit with a barrage of voices and doubts and fears, look up to Jesus and give it all to Him, and He will take care of it all. Where there is life there is always hope. Hold on to that life, it's so very precious.
191. Romeo, maybe you can spend some time with your mom. Let her pray for you. Dear Kat, oh dear Kat! What can I say? How can I say it? I need to say it though, Kat: Don't be discouraged; you did all you could. It was I who held on with bloody head‚ unbowed. Oh, Kat, I'm so sorry—so sorry, so sorry! I'm so ashamed. All I can do is ask Jesus to make it right, and I know He will. You did what was right. You stood firm and faithful and loyal. You were so strong and I was so selfish. I wanted you so much all to myself. But you were right, Kat, you were right. Please, can you forgive me? And Solomon too. Can you forgive me? I know I don't deserve it, but can you forgive me? Please, don't be discouraged. I'm so sorry! The Lord is answering your prayers now. Now I see, now I know, and now, finally, at long last I am on the road to full recovery!
192. I've gotta go now. Time's up! Keep looking up! Keep holding on! There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, now I know. Now I know. (End of prophecy.)