maria
June 22, 2005
GN 1139 FD/MM/FM
God's views on current issues and attitudes in the Family
By Maria FD/MM/FM 3542 4/05
Note: The "Challenging Thots" in this Letter address commitment and discipleship in general and aren't always related to the issue being discussed.
The issue:
1. A lot of people give in easily to the spirit of weariness, thinking it's just par for the course of life for the Lord and fighting battles for Him. The problem exists with both generations, and there are many reasons people become "weary in well doing" (Gal.6:9). It can be a result of working in the arm of the flesh, not taking enough time for your spiritual life and relationship with Jesus, not living in the Word, taking the burdens of the work upon your own shoulders, being too focused on accomplishments and physical progress, thinking you've been fighting for so long and that more shouldn't be expected of you‚ being too proud to accept the help of others and then getting burnt out as a result, or not taking enough regular time for physical rest and relaxation—to name just a few of the causes of "weariness."
2. The spirit of weariness creates a lax and lazy spiritual atmosphere in your life, and holds you back from possessing attacking initiative in your service for the Lord. And in the worst cases, it can bring you to the point where you forsake your job and service for the Lord altogether, in favor of an "easier" life.
God's mind on the matter:
3. (Jesus:) My loves‚ in your diligent service to Me, I know you work hard and give a great deal. A lot is expected of you, a lot rests on your shoulders‚ and it's just plain difficult—physically‚ emotionally, and spiritually. I know you sometimes wonder about the promises of "My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Mat.11:30)‚ because most of the time your burdens don't feel light—they feel heavy. But as your Father David taught you, you have to fulfill the condition attached‚ which is, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden" (Mat.11:28).
4. You do come to Me to a degree. You take time in My Word. You hear from Me. But many of you still take too much upon yourselves. You still feel that in some way or another you are responsible, that you must bear the weight of the responsibility, the decisions, the progress. You don't fully put your weight on Me. Many of you still don't understand how to do that, because you're too earthbound. You're too focused on accomplishments and doing and progress. You're not spiritually-minded enough.
5. In many cases you're also too proud, and it means too much to you to feel that you had a say or a hand in something, and that it was because of you that it worked out or that progress was made. You feel the need to work hard to prove yourself, to justify your position, and to boost your self-esteem.
6. My loves, I don't want you to feel that you need to work to prove yourselves to Me or to count yourselves worthy in My eyes. I know you love Me. I know you're giving yourselves to Me. I love you and honor you for that, and you have nothing to prove. Besides, no matter how much you've proved yourself, you could never be good enough to meet My standard of perfection. So why are you even trying?
7. This trying and pushing in the flesh is making you weary in both body and spirit. When your body is tired, you must rest it. This is something that many of you still need to learn and understand. You need to teach your body how to rest, and teach your mind to accept that rest.
8. On the spiritual front‚ however, sometimes you "rest" too much or give in too easily. You give up and quit a little too easily, rather than determining to push forward in spirit. Because you're too much in the flesh and not enough in the spirit, you push and push and push in the flesh, exhausting yourself; meanwhile, your spirit isn't nearly living up to its full potential and capacity, because it's being neglected.
9. True, you need to work in the flesh, because you have a fleshly body and you are in the flesh. You can't just sit around all day and be "spiritual" and get your work done via your spirit. That's not the point. You need to learn to work harder in the spirit and push less in the flesh. You need to rest your bodies more, but you need to stir up and push your spirits harder.
10. Pray and ask Me to show you the difference and help you understand the balance in your life. Pray and ask Me to show you how you can do this in your life. Ask Me to teach you about the ways in which you push too much in the flesh, as well as about the ways in which you are lethargic and slow in spirit.
11. When you let your weariness of flesh encroach on your spirit and you become weary in spirit, you forget about My promises. You forget about your ability to rise above. You forget about your ability to overcome Satan. You forget about the spiritual power that is available to you through the new weapons. These are things that require being stirred up in spirit to use, so it's just like the Enemy to make you feel too tired, too drained, to keep you from doing the very things that will revitalize and reenergize you.
12. When your flesh is weary, it makes your spirit weary as well, because your soul is your body and spirit combined. Both must have rest—of the right kind. When you rest your body, your spirit is also able to meditate and rest; and then when your body goes into motion, your spirit will likewise have energy to do so, having been replenished. They work together. But if you tire and exhaust the body, you also tire and exhaust the spirit. Even if the spirit hasn't been much in the forefront, hasn't been used enough, hasn't been exerted enough, still, if the body is tired and drained, the spirit feels this burden too‚ and therefore it is not able to live up to its full potential.
[Box:]
13. (Question: ) How can our spirits get recharged from physical rest?
14. (Jesus:) When your body rests, your spirit also rests. There's a difference between resting your spirit and giving your spirit what it needs to survive, just as there's a difference between resting your body and giving your body what it needs to survive. You can rest all you want to physically, but if you don't give your body the food and water it needs, then you'll be dead pretty quickly. It's the same with your spirit. You can rest your spirit—and it certainly does get rest when you take physical rest—but if you don't give it the spiritual food and nourishment it needs through My Word, through prayer, through hearing from Me, through loving Me and praising Me, then your spirit will be dead before long.
15. The distinction is made by the word "rest." When you rest your body, your spirit also rests and your energy reserves are replenished. But that rest for your spirit does not take the place of the spiritual food that your spirit needs, just as rest of body does not take the place of the physical food you need to eat in order to function and be healthy.
[End of box]
16. Thus you must rest your physical body so that your spirit can rest; and when you stir up the body, you must remember to stir up the spirit at the same time. I want you to live in the spirit and walk in the spirit. You've heard that a lot, haven't you? Well, I really do mean it and it really is possible. Living and working and walking in the spirit doesn't mean only in the spirit—the body will be working too. But the difference is the focus, the balance. When you're working in the spirit, your body is moving‚ but it is being powered by your spirit, which is in sync with Me. When you're working in the spirit, your movements and actions in the flesh are energized and empowered by Me. Therefore, not only is your spirit kept revitalized and refreshed, but the toll on your body is minimized, and your body is refreshed as well. So it's really a win/win situation to focus more on the spirit and on the strength of the spirit and on fighting in spirit.
17. Fighting in spirit can strengthen the flesh. Tiring the flesh can tire the spirit. The spirit is the source of power. The flesh is the source of drain. Too much emphasis on the works of the flesh crowds out the spirit. Greater emphasis on the works of the spirit—and there can never be too much—empowers the works of the flesh. Spirit is greater than flesh. The Spirit is supreme. Am I making a point? Is it becoming clearer? If you are weary in flesh, rest. If you are weary in spirit, rest your spirit in Me.
18. Your spirit needs rest, but not rest in the sense of shutting down and letting the flesh take over. That is not resting your spirit. That is shutting out your spirit, cutting off the supply of its needs and therefore draining it. Your spirit needs to find its rest in Me—not in cessation of spiritual action or movement. There is a difference between spiritual and physical forms of rest. Both are necessary. You must have both if you are to be a strong and efficient and effective worker and leader for Me. You must strengthen your spirit, lest it become weary. You must rest your spirit in the way it truly needs to be rested. Don't confuse rest of spirit with rest of flesh, although both are needed.
19. Rest of the body is found by relaxation and slowing down or cessation of movement. Rest of the mind is found by doing something different from the norm, thinking about something different‚ being in a different environment. Rest of the spirit is found by feeding the spirit what it needs—My Words, My voice, My thoughts, My love.
In summary:
20. (Mama:) There's nothing good about growing weary in well doing. It's not a part of our Husband's Spirit of love and peace and faith, and it's not His will for any of us to be plagued by it. Becoming weary is not just an unavoidable byproduct of service for the Lord! It's an attack of the Enemy on your spiritual life, and a way he fights God's children! In order to avoid this attack, you've got to do your part to take care of yourself—your spirit and your flesh—because they both affect each other.
21. We also need to find a better balance between flesh and spirit. We need to learn to work harder in the spirit and expect more of ourselves spiritually‚ while at the same time learn to depend on our fleshly strength less. If you're not sure what this means for you, ask the Lord how you can let Him work through you more completely, and thus help you guard against and avoid feelings of weariness.
Key promise:
22. Tap into the keys of My power, which are brimming with supernatural strength and will protect you from weariness of mind, heart, body‚ and spirit.
Dig deeper:
[ ] "Rest for the Weary," ML #2915:23-24, Lifelines 21
[ ] "Let Jesus Bear the Weight," ML #2987:40-47, 121-135, 136-142, 151-160, Lifelines 22
[ ] "Problems and Solutions, Part 1," ML #3069:28-37, Lifelines 23
[ ] "Celebrating Our Second Anniversary of the Love Charter," ML #3097:63-70, Lifelines 23
[ ] "How-tos of Home Education," ML #3189:77-80, GN 794
[ ] "Cast Your Cares on Him," ML #3242:70–78, 81-86, 88-91, 94-97, 99-103, 105-108, 112-116, 120-126, 162-170, GN 844
[ ] "United Prayer Power," ML #3404:406–408, GN 995
[ ] "Death to Depression‚" ML #3464:100-101, 106-115, Post-it GN #10
Challenging Thot:
23. (Dad:) When you lack the faith to fight and overcome the spirit of weariness that the Enemy attacks you with—which is his yoke of bondage—things are missed, opportunities are lost, God's work suffers‚ and you are unable to reach your full potential as a disciple.
The issue:
24. (Mama:) Some of you SGA parents have a sour taste in your mouth when it comes to discipline. Maybe you had some difficult experiences as a child, or felt you were disciplined unfairly, and now you want to do things the "right way" with your children in order to avoid making the same mistakes. I'm proud of you for your prayerfulness in regards to your children, and your diligence in ensuring that they are given the most loving and consistent discipline you can offer them. But it's wrong if this leads to adopting a sort of laissez-faire attitude of just letting your kids grow up without giving them the proper godly oversight, discipline or training they need.
25. (Note: I've addressed some issues on discipline and the training of our children already in some previous "Shooting Straight" GNs, so this is just another message to reinforce and build on what the Lord has already said. Please see ML #3503:18-65‚ GN 1091.)
God's mind on the matter:
26. (Jesus:) All children need loving training‚ direction, instruction, guidance, and discipline in order to grow up happy, normal, and well-adjusted. And you in the Family have the added privilege of being able to raise your children to be prophets, prophetesses‚ miracle workers, and the rulers of tomorrow. Of course‚ the final outcome of their lives is dependent on their choices, but if you don't even give them a proper chance to make the right ones, you're robbing them of the opportunity of a lifetime: the opportunity to be one of My Endtime elite.
27. If you're struggling with disciplining your children and you don't see the need for it, you need to get down to business with Me and find out what is holding you back personally. If you don't change in this area and actually do something about it—start training and disciplining your children in love—you're going to be very sorry and very ashamed when you stand before Me.
28. Do you want to fail your kids? Do you want to forever carry with you the knowledge that your children missed their destiny and failed to do the great things they could have done for Me on Earth, because you stubbornly held on to your own philosophies on childrearing, instead of obeying My counsel and instruction to you?
29. Think about what it means to "want the best for your children." That's what every parent wants, isn't it? You've got to take that desire, bring it to Me, and ask Me what's really "the best" for your children, and how to give it to them.
30. Think about how you would feel if you got to Heaven and you had to face your children knowing that it's your fault that they aren't nearly as blessed or rewarded as they could've been because you failed to teach them‚ train them, and bring them up in My nurture and admonition. That's a weight you'll carry for eternity. Although I'll wipe away all your tears and eventually work everything out for good‚ both you and your children will suffer. The price you'll pay for neglect in this area will cause both you and your children a lot of pain and heartache. Do you want to go through that? Do you want to put your children through that?
31. Do you want to see them having to go through training and lessons and learning in Heaven when they could've been out ruling the world in the Millennium? Do you want to see their growth and progress stunted? Do you want to be responsible for hindering them from becoming the great men and women of God they have the potential to be?
32. If these sound like consequences you want to avoid, then you need to get desperate today! You need to seek My face, seek My forgiveness, hear from Me personally, dig into the multitude of Words on the subject, get prayer, ask for help, and start doing the job I've given you—the job of raising your children right, with the right balance of love, care, time, attention, discipline, training, and guidance.
33. Ask Me to deliver you from bitterness, resentment, or whatever else is holding you back, and get moving! Time is shorter than you think, and when the final dark days come upon the Earth, you'll either be ever so thankful you gave your children the preparation they needed to make it, and embrace their roles as prophets and miracle workers, or else you'll hang your head in remorse, and find yourself in the pitiful state of having to say, "If I only had." Which will it be for you and your children?
In summary:
34. (Mama: ) If you want what's best for your children—and that's something every good parent wants—then the only way to know the specifics of what's best, and then how to go about giving them what's best, is by both reading the written Word and by asking the Lord. You can't determine how you raise your children by what your parents did or didn't do in the past, or how they did or didn't discipline you. If you look at your parents and throw out much of what they taught you because of a few mistakes‚ or for the sake of being "different" as a new generation, you will be forsaking the strong foundation that the Lord blessed your life with. You and your children will lose out. The secret is to hold on to the truth and the foundation that you've been given through your parents' training, and combine that with the new moves of the Spirit and the Lord's personal instructions for you today.
35. All of our precious children need care‚ direction, instruction, and loving discipline today, within the guidelines of the Charter, so that they can be what God needs them to be tomorrow. And if you're not giving them all that they need to fulfill their future destiny, then you'd better get desperate and do something about it today.
Key promise:
36. By accessing My love, My Word and My keys, you open your life up to all of the spiritual power you will need to raise your children in My ways.
Dig deeper:
[ ] "Hold on to the Reins," ML #3239:13-46, GN 841
[ ] "Start Early," ML #3274:1-14, 20-22, 51-54, 60-68, 194-210, GN 878
[ ] "Are You a Delinquent Parent?" ML #3388:44-74‚ 83-118, GN 984
Challenging Thot:
37. (Dad: ) Are you training your children in the way they should go? You're not if you're being too lax in their discipline. Do you love your children enough to discipline them? Not disciplining them is throwing them into the school of hard knocks. Loving discipline is the easy way to learn life's lessons. If you don't teach them, then the Lord will or others will, and the learning process can be a lot tougher than if you'd taught them. Love your children by disciplining them in love, so that the Lord doesn't have to.
The issue:
38. (Mama:) A big topic and issue I've wanted to address for some time now is churchianity—which has been the root of a lot of compromise in the Family! Lord willing, and time permitting, we'll be addressing this topic more sometime in the future. But for now, and for the remainder of this GN, I will address some of the main problems and issues under the umbrella of churchianity.
39. For starters, let's specifically address the issue of dabbling in churchy doctrines, books, writings, tapes, and philosophies, etc. Some people have the attitude that it's okay to look to the churches for their way of doing things, and for their answers and guidance, and can even be spiritually "strengthening," because church or secular Christians often have so much "truth" we can gain and learn from. Some of you automatically assume that information and materials from the churches and secular Christians are pure, and you are even tempted to feel that they're superior to the fresh New Wine we in the Family are privileged to receive.
God's mind on the matter:
40. (Dad:) When I start seeing some of my own children of David being pulled away and sucked into reading and promoting a lot of other Christian material and writings and books and whatnot on a regular basis, without testing the quality of these materials‚ I have to deliver the truth, even if it hurts. You are wading in dangerous waters! They're not always thoroughly poisonous waters, but just because they look clear and seem to be pure‚ doesn't mean they're entirely pure. In fact‚ they can be even more dangerous. It's what you don't see on the surface‚ but what lies beneath, which is hazardous. You put your toes in and it's refreshing. You like the way it makes you feel. It's soothing, comforting, so you wade in deeper and deeper. But then it becomes dangerous, because unless you are really on guard, praying and weighing everything you read by bringing it before the Lord and asking Him about it‚ then you're in danger of completely drifting away on these waters!
41. Churchy waters can sometimes reform and patch up, mend, heal, soothe, and comfort to a certain extent, and for other Christians they might be okay. But they'll never challenge you as a dropped-out disciple, they'll never strengthen you as a revolutionary child of David! In fact—and I guarantee you this—they'll weaken you in this way and cause you to compromise.
42. Remember what the Lord gave on music a few years back, the "three wells" prophecy? Well, the same spiritual principles apply to what you read. In reading other Christian books and writings you're risking venturing into brackish waters—you might find some good and helpful counsel in them, but they are not the purest waters of the Spirit which God has given us, and unless the waters have been tested, you might be wading through a fair amount of contamination and putting your spiritual health in jeopardy.
43. This is precisely why the Enemy wants you to wade around in these waters indiscriminately and frequently—he wants to pollute your spirit. He'll encourage you with, "After all‚ they're Christians! Look at all this helpful counsel and input, and look at how it's helped you!" He doesn't just want you to wade in them, he wants you to swim in them and to tell others about these waters, to advertise these waters as being pure, strengthening, even more helpful than the purest of all crystal streams—the New Wine!
44. He hates the pure water of the New Wine! He hates it with a passion, because he knows it alone contains every spiritual element crucial to his downfall and the pulling down of spiritual strongholds! It is fueling, feeding, strengthening and creating the Endtime army of the future! And if he can't get you as a Christian to give up your faith entirely, the next best thing is to get you to settle for and swim around in the second best—the waters of other Christian writings and material.
45. These brackish waters aren't so much of a threat to the Devil and his kingdom. That's why the Devil isn't so afraid of these other Christians. Sure, some are winning souls and helping people come to grips with their problems, become more aware of the spiritual warfare, and even helping them progress in their basic spiritual growth. But none of those waters preach revolution! None of those waters preach the new weapons. None of those waters preach prophecy and hearing from the Lord like we do. None of those waters preach the keys of the Kingdom and supply you with the great and mighty weaponry of the spirit! None of those waters preach getting in touch with your spirit helpers and the spirit world, because they haven't got it! We alone have these waters—the purest crystal stream from Heaven itself!
46. The Enemy would like nothing more than to get you to gaze over the fence at the grass on the other side, so he can whisper in your ear and tell you it's greener, more appetizing, appealing, and even more strengthening than what God has given you. He'd love to pull the wool over your eyes if he could, and cause you to trade in your birthright for a mess of pottage—like Esau! Watch out for his traps!
47. Why would you even want to wade around in these other waters? You'd be better off spending more time on what God has shown you to do—strengthening yourselves in the volume and wealth of Word He's given you, not to mention strengthening yourselves in the spiritual weaponry He's given you‚ exercising and honing and developing the use of the keys which He's given you full access to! You should be down on your knees thanking God for what He's given the Family—gifts and blessings and awesome weaponry far above any other Christians on the face of the Earth! Think about it!
48. Of course, some Christian publications do have a place. And neither I, nor Mama or Peter, have closed the door on other publications and writings. In fact, they've been sprinkled throughout our publications for years, and to this day we have some book summaries from Christians on the MO site. But this material has been tasted, it's been sifted, and we've culled out the good for you.
49. I think we've been pretty tolerant in this way. I've been open in this way and trusted you to prayerfully approach this area of your life and be discerning. But most of all, I trusted you to pray and hear from the Lord if you felt led to read other books and material. I did not promote indiscriminate, wholesale reading of volumes of other Christian material and books.
50. But as I explained, you must be extremely careful—and by this I mean very prayerful—in not taking in everything you read as gospel truth. Sometimes it can be informative and helpful and reinforce what the Lord has already told us. Then it's more of a support and confirmation of what we know to be truth. In other words‚ it's going to build constructively on your faith instead of subtly tearing it down, as I explained in "Builders Beware."
51. We've put out lots of good book summaries for you all to benefit from, not to mention whole printed books filled with summaries, tips, and compilations from other Christians, as well as secular authors. But these were gone over very prayerfully in order to glean the good, to save you the time and effort of having to do so.
52. As your spiritual shepherds‚ we watch for your souls—we're responsible for you as our flock—and we're certainly not going to advocate that you read a lot of other material which we know will be a detriment to you, weakening your love for the Word‚ the New Wine, and your place in this Endtime army! We love and need you too much to sit idly by and say nothing while watching you wade around in these dangerous waters!
53. You see, if we're not daily walking the walk of a revolutionary, dropped–out disciple, then we're going to head back into the church system. And if you are daily—or even frequently—wading in the waters of other Christians' writings and books, then you are going to drift away from your high calling in the Family.
54. You, as a child of David, have the opportunity before you to choose to be strengthened and grow in the words of David, the new weapons and the use of the keys the Lord has given us.—Or you face the threat of compromise, and it may well come through this seemingly harmless, even "beneficial" avenue of reading other Christian books.
55. Remember that the whole spirit of the "Conviction vs. Compromise" series was the Lord's call for the Family to get back to full-time dedication and discipleship—to the lifestyle that makes the Family different from other Christians. Even building a greater church isn't the all in all if you're discarding or burying the unique and important New Wine that you are blessed to have received. Why would God have raised up me, and Maria, if all that was needed were the same messages the churches and other Christian writers give?
56. Of course, the choice is up to you. You are the one who ultimately decides what you read and what you don't read. There's nothing we can do about that. But it is our job to warn you of the dangers‚ so that you can be on guard and really ask the Lord about what you read, how much, and how often.
57. And then if you do come across something inspirational and instructional that could be applied in the Family, send it in so that it can be of benefit to others. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking, "Oh, wow, this is so helpful. I've never heard it said like this before, and it didn't come through one of our channels, so maybe we are missing the mark in some way...." That's when the Enemy can get your thinking askew or distorted. That's when you have to watch out.
58. The bottom line, folks, is that you are a very different and unique breed of Christians! You're being trained for a very special and specific purpose, which no other Christians in the world are being trained for. For your mission and task you need stronger meat; you need the undiluted, pure truth, and that comes from the New Wine. That's the only thing that will truly increase and strengthen your faith!
[Box:]
(Mama:) We are believers in sex, prophets of the End, portrayers of Heaven, separatists from the world‚ destroyers of darkness, and fighters for the truth! And in all these, beloved, we are preachers of the Gospel and lovers and winners of souls. ("Why We 'Preached Sex' in the Press Release Announcing Dad's Homegoing!" ML #2957:13, Lifelines 21)
[End of box]
Additional reading:
59. (Dad:) It's sad when our people give up the freedom of the spirit the Lord has given them to return to the bondage of the church system and its doctrines. Paul dedicated nearly an entire epistle to it, asking the Galatians who had bewitched them, that they'd turn from the spirit back to the law. He asked if they were so foolish to think that‚ having begun in the spirit‚ they could now be made perfect in the flesh—by following all the multitudes of little religious doctrines of the church of his day (Gal.3:3).
60. Paul also nailed down the root of the problem when he warned the Galatians: "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal.5:9). It's the same thing Jesus advised His disciples, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees" (Mat.16:6). The leaven, of course, is the doctrine and traditions of the religious system, and once you get it into you, it spreads throughout and affects the whole "lump"—you! And before you know it, you're turning back to the very thing the Lord delivered you from, just like the sow who was washed goes back to her wallowing in the mire (2Pet.2:22).
61. In many cases, one of the most seductive things about the church system today is the lure of "Christian psychology," of books written by Christian authors who have all these great, grand theories of how to apply the Bible to gain victories in your life, in your marriage, or in your relationship with your kids. Now some of these books have some merit, when they just explain the principles of the Bible and make them clear and relevant by providing examples of how to apply them today. That's what my Letters do.
62. Others of these books are very bad, because they take some little principle from the Bible and they wrap it up in all sorts of head-stuffing to try to explain it, to the point that it's much more psychology than Scripture! And that's because the author is often much more psychologist than Christian‚ and he or she thinks‚ "Well, the Bible was okay in its day, but since then we've 'discovered' all these things about human nature and self-esteem, and we need to incorporate these things too." And the result is just a bunch of baloney, to put it mildly!
63. The problem is, Christians who don't know the Scriptures very well are often taken in by these things, because they see they're written by Christians and they think the extra psychology sort of "enhances" the Bible somehow. And some of our people who do know the Scriptures well can be taken in too. In some cases, they get a little seduced by the psychology, because, after all, there are little kernels of truth here and there, so they swallow a lot of the bad with the little good. In other cases, our people have rejected some facet of the truth that the Lord or I have delivered unto them, and when you reject the truth, you usually turn to strong delusion instead—you embrace something else that justifies your rejection.
64. Well, this sort of churchy/worldly wisdom is a big subject‚ and there's a lot on it in the Bible as well as my Letters. Goodness, we even have new disciples memorize verses on this sort of thing! Colossians 2:8 says, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." In other words, as another version says, "Don't let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men's thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said." So the point is, beware of these bewitching sorts of philosophies built on men's ideas, the leaven of the Pharisees!
65. The point of the Word Revolution isn't that we're ignorant of worldly philosophies and Christian psychology and need to study it to become more brainy and intellectual, but that we need to study and absorb more of God's Word in the Letters, and especially to apply it to our own lives. That's what's going to change and transform us and our marriages and our relationships with our kids and others! These Christian psychology tomes and books of advice have changed very little down through history!
66. Now I admit that we've got some of these books summarized in our "Marvelous Marriage" book and "Raise 'em Right" and in other books and pubs. So that could confuse people a little. But we only used the very best Christian books of that sort, and we went through each one to see what was good to summarize and draw from. And do you know how much of each book we used on average?—Maybe ten or twenty percent. That means we threw out eighty or ninety percent of each of these books as unusable, irrelevant‚ misleading or unnecessary! That's the sort of work you often have to go through when you're getting into System Christian material.
67. Have some discernment, and stand up for what you know to be right and true. If you run into some doctrine that you wonder about, research the Word on it. Study the Letters and our pubs on the matter. Study the Bible on it rather than some System Christian's interpretation of it. If you're still not sure, ask the Lord about it, and He can tell you. And in the end, if it's not according to the Word, forget it!
In summary:
68. (Mama:) Don't get sucked into indiscriminately delving into other Christian writings, books, tapes, philosophies‚ etc. While there could be good and helpful counsel in some of this material, you'll have to wade through much more bad than good, and if you are not extremely prayerful and discerning, you're putting yourself at risk of being spiritually weakened.
69. Some Christian material does have its place, but overall it's best to stick to what we've already scrutinized and sifted through, which is sprinkled throughout our pubs and available on the MO site in the form of book summaries. You're better off spending most of your time on strengthening yourselves in the wealth of unique words our Husband has given the Family, including strengthening yourselves in your spiritual weaponry, exercising and honing and developing the use of the keys! This is what will prepare you for the special and specific mission you are called to.
Key promise:
70. The keys of revolution‚ faith, conviction and determination will help you drink in the pure waters of the words of David. Then your faith will increase, and you'll be strengthened and grow in the use of the new weapons so you can carry out your mission in this world.
Challenging Thots:
71. (Dad:) Make sure you're not trading in your birthright and calling within the Lord's Endtime army—one of the highest, most privileged places of service—for a place or calling of lesser value. Plain and simple, within the ranks of Christians worldwide, there is no higher calling than being within the ranks of David and the Lord's Endtime elite!
*
72. (Jesus:) If you want to survive on the IV drip of churchianity, then be My guest, but you'll never get out of bed. If you want to lead an active lifestyle for Me, you need the meat and potatoes of My Word for today! Otherwise you'll be bedridden like the churches.
73. There's a place for the IV drip, but few‚ if any, patients ever leave the hospital if they stay on the drip. Ditch the drip and dive into the meat of My Word and be strengthened for the active lifestyle of a revolutionary in the Last Days, instead of being a bedridden invalid living on yesterday's leftovers.
The issue:
74. (Mama:) Connected to the preceding issue is the problem some people have of swallowing and believing whatever secular or church Christians say or write without a second thought, and without judging it with the yardstick of the New Wine. Some people dissect, doubt, and have a hard time receiving the New Wine in the GNs‚ or are very "ho-hum" and familiar with it, but then they read something from a System Christian and are suddenly "enlightened" and "guided," and accept it wholesale and jump right on the bandwagon of whatever they're preaching.
God's mind on the matter:
75. (Jesus:) This is very much like the pastor of a church saying the same thing over and over again and people just not getting it. Then an evangelist comes through and says the same thing, and suddenly everyone "gets it." The reason for this is familiarity. You've become familiar with Me and My voice. You've heard it for years now, some of you‚ and you young people have heard it all your lives, and you've become familiar with Me.
76. I've been so loving to you‚ and I've given you so many of My Words, that you're tempted to question them, to be doubtful of their validity. And even though My Words are fresh and new and sometimes a bit crazy‚ you can become so familiar to the point that you think, "Oh, that's just Him; that's just Jesus' way of expressing it."
77. This is why when some folks read the exact same thing, just presented in a different and even less clear manner, they believe it. It's because they've become familiar with My voice through the GNs and the Family pubs. It's not that I've said something new to the System Christian who wrote the book; it's that the presentation is different, and like the evangelist, you're not familiar with them.
78. But it all stems from that familiarity, and as you know, that breeds contempt. When you get so familiar with Me and My Word that you are able to question and doubt it and stop believing it for the life-giving flow of inspiration that it should be, then you're in trouble.
79. You need to break out of the mold of familiarity, and you do that by living the Word. That's really the only way. If you take My Words, even though you've heard them before‚ and you live them and put them into action, they'll come more alive to you, and pretty soon that familiarity will be gone.
80. Being familiar with My Words is not wrong; you should be very familiar with them. You should know them like the back of your hand. But the sort of familiarity I'm talking about is when you stop living them‚ when you stop obeying them, and you begin to instead disobey, intentionally question, and stop taking them as important instruction in your life. That's a bad form of familiarity.
81. When you've become familiar with My Words in the negative sense, you have to get desperate and get down to business with Me. You have to go back to the basics and start living My Words again. Once you do that, you realize that the answers are all there, the truth is all there, and when you read something from a secular Christian you'll be like, "Whoa, that's so weak and watered down!" And it'll turn you back to the hot and heavy truths found in My Words!
82. Once you start living My Word again, you'll be turned off by the churchy and weak presentation of the watered-down truths the churches have. You'll realize that although they confirm My Words, and are in a way My Words, they've been so diluted that it's like drinking extremely weak coffee. The taste sickens you, and you long for the strong espresso of My Word that gives you a real kick in the pants and gets you moving!
In summary:
83. (Mama:) Familiarity with the Lord's Words seeps in when you stop living them and stop doing what He says to do. When you've stopped being a doer of the Word, you become less and less interested in reading God's fresh Word and living it—and more interested in the watered-down message of the churches.
84. Let's be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves into a false sense of familiarity. Let's not let our relationship with the Lord's Words reach the point where we no longer listen to Him and obey Him. Amen? Because once we get to that point, His Word has no effect in our lives. Unless we live His Words, they'll do us no good.
Key promise:
85. The keys of action will help you be doers of My Word, so you can break out of the molds of conformity and freely live My radical, hot, naked truth!
Dig deeper:
[ ] "Organization 1‚" ML #54:24-29, DB4
[ ] "You Are What You Read," ML #775:1-3, 18, 21, 23, DB1
[ ] "Forget the Past," ML #1598:38-42, GN Book 13
[ ] "Stop the World," ML #2795:6‚9, Vol.20
[ ] "New Music for a New Day," ML #3022:27-35‚ Lifelines 22
[ ] "Crisis of Faith, Part 3," ML #3090:10-25, Lifelines 23
[ ] "Don't Get Caught in the Web," ML #3174:3-26, GN 779
[ ] "Worldly?—Or Free?" ML #3233:47–50, GN 836
[ ] "Desperate for Jesus," ML #3250:36–54, GN 852
[ ] "Issues, Part 5‚" ML #3322:80-99, GN 925
[ ] "Issues, Part 7," ML #3350:63-73, GN 945
[ ] "Full Possession," ML #3376:43-52, GN 973
[ ] "What Is Full-Time Discipleship," ML #3469:371-389, GN 1056
[ ] "Psychological Seduction" (excerpts), Christian Digest 6
Challenging Thots:
86. (Dad:) All you'll ever need to cater to every level of your spiritual growth and training—from A to Z—is in your Home library. And if you have a specific personal question, you can ask the Lord yourself! Why would you want to seek out "other teachings from a variety of sources" when you have the wonderful gift of prophecy and hearing directly from Heaven yourself? Why go to the System? Do you think the System—and that includes church Christians—are going to encourage you in your commitment as a full-time disciple, much less as one of the Lord's Endtime disciples?
*
87. (Dad:) Are you desiring to grow as a child of David? Are you desiring the Word—the radical, revolutionary Word that makes us unique as Christians? Are you desiring to be spiritually challenged and to become more spiritually mature? Or do you prefer to just munch on the same old grass on the same old slopes, or even venture into the valley to munch on that lush lowland grass—rather than put forth the effort and challenge yourself to seek out new heights up the mountain?
The issue:
88. (Mama: ) Some of you wonder why we have to be so radical and revolutionary, and thus so different from the churches. You wonder why we can't be more accepting of them, their ways, their doctrines, their beliefs—to the point that we take on their ways as our own. After all‚ what's so wrong with the spirit of churchianity, and why do we have to be so different? Those in the churches seem to be happy serving the Lord‚ but they don't have to give as much to Jesus as we in the Family do. Some of you are tempted to think that we could easily do away with some of our more radical beliefs and that we'd be fine without them, and as a result suffer less criticism from the churches, less humiliation, less persecution, and less of a lot of other things.
God's mind on the matter:
89. (Jesus:) I know how difficult it can sometimes be for you to walk the lonely and often unpopular road of commitment that I've asked you in the Family to follow. Not only are there sacrifices and battles that must be fought, but something else that's especially trying for some of you is the feeling of not fitting in and even being maligned and looked down on at times because of some of your unorthodox beliefs.
90. If you remember, though, I'm not asking anything of you today that I didn't also ask of My first disciples, nor anything that I Myself didn't go through. When I was there on the Earth, even though things were very different then, I faced many of the same challenges and difficulties that you do. I experienced the same kind of rejection and humiliation from My friends and family and others—even unto blood. Yet I didn't compromise or sin by watering down My message.
91. The people I had the hardest time with, and who nearly always gave Me the most trouble, were the very ones who should have received Me with open arms. I came unto My Own—"the chosen people"—but they refused to accept Me or My Words. Instead, I was accused of blasphemy, deviltry, heresy, and just about every other evil in the book.
92. From the very beginning of My ministry, until the day they nailed Me to the cross‚ I had to continually put up with the narrow-mindedness, the self–righteousness, the haughtiness, the outright ugliness of the pharisaical‚ stuck-in–the-mud religionists of My day. Their old bottles just couldn't handle My New Wine!
93. I sometimes find it curious to think that the very things that they found so repugnant, so outlandish and unbelievable, so horrible as to drive them to kill Me, those very same things are today commonly accepted and taught by the same sort of people who vehemently rejected My teachings and crucified Me for them back then. I'm not talking about the Jews. I'm talking about the church people, the church leaders.
94. Not all of them were that way, of course. Just as there are today, there were many truly sincere believers and worshipers of My Father, even among the Sanhedrin, who secretly believed in Me and accepted My teachings. Some of them even did what they could to try to change things and to influence the decisions that were being made by others. Some tried to be voices of reason and even stood up for Me and attempted to defend Me publicly.
95. Most, however, were too indifferent or afraid to buck the tide and stand out from their peers and the status quo. Even many who believed in Me in their hearts couldn't bring themselves to confess openly, in public, because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. They couldn't bear the thought of being looked down on as religious fanatics or members of a misguided sect, or possibly even dangerous, which is what many were saying about Me and My little group of followers.
96. In that respect, things haven't really changed that much. Although My earlier teachings—which at that time were considered totally unorthodox and even sacrilegious—are now accepted by millions in the major religious denominations, anything new or radical‚ well, that would be entirely different! You've got to be a new bottle to be able to hold New Wine! And there just don't seem to be that many new bottles around. There weren't then and there still aren't today.
97. I'm still pouring out a continual flow of refreshing, radical New Wine to those who have ears to hear, and who will receive it. But the average mainstream religionist of today is no more likely to be able to hold New Wine than could the mainstream religionists in My day. Some will be able to. Some of them are humble enough, simple enough‚ and hungry enough for the things of My Spirit, that I'll be able to open their hearts and their eyes and ears to the new. But not many, not the majority by any means. The majority aren't even of the mindset that there is such a thing as New Wine today. And they certainly don't see the need for it.
98. Some of you in the Family are still trying to hang on to the old—the old ways, the old doctrines and traditions, even the old MO Letters. You find comfort and peace in the old, what you might call the "old-time religion." You don't want to have to stir yourselves up or get desperate to grow and change and progress, which is what New Wine is all about. If I were trying to just comfort you and make you feel good about yourselves and lull you to sleep, then I would go about things very differently than I do; there would be no point in pouring out anything new.
99. But I have no intention of lulling you to sleep or keeping things the same as they've always been! That's not what I'm after‚ because I know that without the continual flow of refreshing, changing Living Waters and New Wine, My people, My Church, will gradually stagnate and die spiritually. I can't let it happen. I must and will do whatever is needed to stir the pot and keep My people awake and alive.
100. When I was there, speaking in the temples and on the hills of Judea, there were many times when I could have easily watered down My message and made it less controversial and more acceptable to the church leaders and the masses. But, as was written by Isaiah the prophet, "Who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He hath blinded their eyes‚ and hardened their hearts; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them" (John 12:38-40).
101. I wasn't able to open the eyes of those who were supposedly the religious experts, those who thought they had a market on the truth. Instead, My Father chose to reveal Himself through Me to the simple, to the humble, to the babes in spirit.
102. Even My Own beloved friends and followers—whom I had handpicked and chosen and fed and taught and walked so many roads with and poured so much into—had a hard time with some of My more radical teachings. They often questioned Me about the parables and the stories I told. Sometimes it was because they sincerely wanted to understand. But other times, it was as if to suggest that I perhaps could've said something a little differently, or even not said it at all‚ because they were embarrassed, and because they feared.
103. There were times when I not only had to face the taunts and the accusations of My accusers—the leaders of the established, mainstream denominations—but also the embarrassed, questioning looks, and sometimes the almost audible groans and sighs of some of My very Own friends and followers. I knew My disciples loved Me‚ of course. And I knew that in the end, they were going to stick it out, if for no other reason than because they'd already burned their bridges and they had nowhere else to go that would be anywhere near as satisfying and fulfilling for them. But still, they sometimes doubted and questioned the direction I was taking them—maybe not openly very often, but in their hearts.
104. "Master, those people are powerful and important. Why did You say they're of their father the Devil? Couldn't You have tried to win them and get their backing and support? Are You purposely trying to get us all killed?"
105. "Do You realize what You said about hating our parents? That goes against every grain in our good old Jewish tradition, every law in the book!"
106. "That 'eat My flesh and drink My blood' thing? What was that? Do You know how that sounds? That really isn't very Jewish, You know. It sounds almost pagan. How can we defend such a bizarre teaching? Are we not supposed to be Jewish anymore? Are You starting a whole new religion or what?"
107. "Rabbi, some of those guys love God just like we do. Why can't we just stick to the basics, the important stuff‚ like being good and holy and righteous, and all that? If we do that, wouldn't that be enough? Do we have to rub everyone the wrong way? What good is that going to do? The only thing it's going to accomplish is get You killed, and us along with You!"
108. Those kinds of questions might sound pretty lame to you now‚ just as they would to anyone who is in any way founded in Christian teaching. But if you put yourselves in the disciples' shoes, I'm sure you can imagine how they felt at times, and the kinds of things that ran through their minds. Don't those kinds of things run through your minds sometimes? I know they do, because I can see what you go through, just as I could see what was in the hearts and minds of those who were there with Me then. You're men of like passions, with the same temptations and the same weaknesses, the same pride and fears and concerns as My early disciples.
109. Of course, there were other times when they felt differently: The times when I was feeding the multitudes and healing the sick, when people were praising Me and lifting Me up and wanting to make Me their king, and the times when I sent the disciples out with renewed power to do miracles and cast out demons—the glorious times. Those were the days! You should have seen their faces then. They weren't at all embarrassed, doubtful, or fearful then. At times like that, they often even tried to position themselves closer to Me, trying to be noticed and to appear to be more important‚ more highly honored and trusted by Me than the next man.
110. I understood. I knew their frame. I was there in the flesh with them, and I could see and feel for Myself what it was costing them to follow Me. I was just like them in the flesh. I was just a lowly carpenter, and I could be touched with their feelings; I understood their thoughts and the reasoning in their hearts. But still, it saddened Me whenever I sensed that they were embarrassed by Me and afraid to be connected with the things I stood for and was teaching. They knew that I had the Words of life; they had felt My call burning within their hearts and souls; they had even seen the miracles. Still, even after all that, they sometimes questioned and wondered.
111. That fateful night before I was taken, I warned Peter, one of My most steadfast and ardent followers, that he was going to deny ever knowing Me. I knew it was going to happen, and I told him so beforehand. But even though I understood why Peter would do such a thing, even though I saw it coming and wanted to prepare him for it, it still broke My heart when it came to pass—and his, too, of course. That night, when Peter and the others whom I loved and depended on so much, ended up falling asleep and then turning tail to run, although I knew it was all part of what had to happen and I didn't condemn them for it, it was still one of the saddest moments of My life.
112. As was prophesied many years before, I was wounded and bruised for their transgressions, and yours. I was despised and rejected, persecuted, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. I was as a lamb to the slaughter, arrested and judged (Isa.53:3-8). I was condemned and crucified by men who were so bound by the old, the old traditions and the old ways, that they couldn't receive the radical new truths of the Spirit. They couldn't even accept the things I tried to share with them from their very own scriptures and teachings, much less the new and radical ways I was trying to help them apply it all.
113. Although there was found no violence or deceit in Me, in the end those who claimed to know and have the mind of God didn't want to be shown up for their spiritual lacks. They chose instead to torture, humiliate, and murder Me, for as it was written, they hated Me without a cause.
114. In the sight of My Own beloved mother and loved ones, I was crucified. In front of My dear friends and followers and lovers‚ in the eyes of all those who had heard Me and who had witnessed My good works and been blessed by the miracles I had performed, I was mocked and humiliated.
115. But it was My destiny. It had to happen just as it did. What had been written had to be fulfilled. And I was able to go through it all, all the suffering and humiliation, every bit of it, because of the power of love—love for My Father and the strength of His Words, and love for My purpose and high calling, as well as My love for you, My beloved brides.
116. I'm telling you all this to help you understand that I know how difficult it is to walk the high road, the solitary road, the radical road of My more radical teachings‚ rather than just settling down to the more normal, established way. I know what it costs you and what it signifies. I know the humbling, the tests and the trials you will have to face.
117. I also know how the Enemy tempts you with alternatives, offering you an easier way, a more acceptable belief system, one that supposedly wouldn't cost you so much, a real "bargain." He tempts you and tells you, "It's not really necessary to pay such a heavy price. Those unorthodox teachings of yours aren't really relevant anyway. Even if you did believe them, why, they're not really 'Fundamental Beliefs.' You can get by just fine without them, so why should you have to suffer the indignity and humiliation?"
118. I know you get hit with things like that because Satan tried similar arguments on Me; and of course he did the same with My early disciples, too—all the time. So I know how you feel. I know it's hard when you feel that people might be looking down on you‚ thinking you're misguided, or even a little strange. I know you want to be accepted and normal and understood. Some of you look at the church people, especially the ones who look like they really have it together, and you wish you could be a little more normal, like they are. Many of them are even highly successful and respected and looked up to—at least by other church people.
119. Some of them outwardly seem to have everything going for them. They love and worship God, and some of the things they preach are pretty right on, and they seem so normal compared to you. You feel so abnormal, so small, so nothing—nothing but lowly fishermen or carpenters, with nothing much to show for yourselves except for a pretty crazy lifestyle and a bunch of strange doctrines and unorthodox beliefs. It's hard on your pride to feel like that, isn't it?—Just as it was hard on My disciples' pride at times. It's embarrassing, and you sometimes wish it didn't have to be that way. You'd much prefer to feel more normal and accepted, and even better—looked up to, admired, and respected by the world at large. That would be nice, wouldn't it? It would be so much easier.
120. I understand those feelings. And sometimes I do choose to do things that way, especially if that's all I have to work with‚ or if it helps to accomplish a specific purpose. But that's not normally the way I prefer you to do things‚ because normality and respectability and success in the world all come with their own hefty price tags. They're not really the bargains that they might appear to be. In the end you'll miss out on much more than whatever you thought you were getting by with.
121. There's a time for everything, and there will be times, depending on the situation and the mission I've called you to‚ when it will be necessary for you to go slow and use great wisdom and prayerfulness concerning the message you share with others. You're not necessarily meant to be trying to pour New Wine into old bottles, nor even into the mouths of babes and sucklings. They need the milk of the Word in order to grow in the faith. But I did call you to be My special messengers to the world‚ and for that reason, I have poured out to you an abundance of special New Wine.
122. I haven't promised you a normal life or calling. I didn't intend or ask you to be Sam or Suzy Systemite. I've called you to be My brides, My representatives. I've called you to be My wife‚ Mrs. Jesus. How can you be My followers, My representatives, how can you represent Me to the world unless you're truly willing to follow in My footsteps?
123. I've called you to come out of the world, and that includes the world's sleepy, old-bottle church system. I've called you to be married to another—to Me. I may not be mainstream or normal, and as you know‚ I wasn't very successful or highly respected, but I can guarantee you that if you stay close to Me and follow wherever I go, you'll be glad you did! You'll be thankful that you didn't compromise or choose a cheaper and easier religion.
124. I don't mind you going to the churches, if in doing so you can help wake some of them up and get them out witnessing and giving and doing more for Me. There might even be times when I'll lead you to go to the churches and show you how to work with them, if there's a specific purpose or need. But if you have to compromise in order to do it‚ if you have to water down or lay aside all that makes you special and different, then what's the point? What's the purpose? What will you be able to accomplish by it that's so important? You might be able to raise a little support and perhaps even save your reputation and your hide for a while, but will it be worth it in the long run?
125. Do you remember what I told My earlier disciples? "Whosoever will be ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38). That's still just as true today, because the world needs to hear My Words today just as much as ever.
126. If you're ashamed and embarrassed because of the kind of things that I pour out to you that make you so different and special‚ you'll end up being just like I said about the salt that had lost its savor (Mat.5:13). You don't want that to be said about you, do you? Stay hot! Stay radical! Stay sold out, dropped out! Stay special!
Additional reading:
127. (Jesus: ) I want to lift you up from the masses and I want you to explode as My Endtime church! But the only way to do this is if you are full of the New Wine of My Spirit.
128. There are many Christians in the world who have My Word, who pray and do what they can, but I have given you a greater calling, a higher calling. Your calling isn't to be a nominal Christian or one who gives tribute to Me part of the time. I have called My Family to be the ecclesia, the called-out ones—called out from the System, called out from the norm, revolutionary, and wide open to receive My input, My seeds, My new directions!
129. I have given you the foundation in the Words of your Father David, and I have raised up a new prophetess to lead My children in this dark and dreary time that is befalling the world. I want you to be a light of My free Spirit, My love, My salvation‚ to those who seek. I need you to stay free of the ways of the churchy Christians, for they go by the old, by the norm. I want you to be My explosion in this needy world, and to reach out to those who are in need.
130. The world is fed up with churchianity, even though they look at it as Christianity. Oh, the wrong ideas that people have about Me and My purpose for My children—those in the fold and the many without the fold!
131. I need you, My Family, to stay called-out, so I can call you to the fields that I have prepared for you to harvest My lost children. The old church is "established religion," and I don't want you to be part of it; I want to establish you to be My yielded obedient bride to do My bidding!
132. My loves‚ I give you New Wine and I ask you to drink it and to yield, to be naked before Me. I have gotten you used to coming to Me naked and open so I can pump My seeds into you in our times in the bed of love! Marvel not, for all this is in preparation for the things I have in store for you to win and woo the lost of this lonely, desperate world.
133. The bottom line of why I need you to stay away from the churches is because of My lost sheep who need to see My love embedded in you—a new and radical young church that has a new and radical Jesus! Not the Jesus that has become a part of their culture, but One Who lives today and is calling them to be saved!
134. The world needs you to be radical and dropped out! I need you to be My radical vibrant bride, for there are many who are looking for the Jesus of today! Will you continue to follow? Will you stay dropped out? You will if you obey the New Wine that I pour forth! You will be young and radical, and many will see you burn and want to follow!
In summary:
135. (Mama:) It's not that we don't love the church people. We do! There are many within the churches who are sincere and doing their best for the Lord, and they will certainly receive their rewards. But what we can't afford to have within the Family is the spirit of churchianity—which is ultimately the spirit of compromise! We have a unique calling—a revolutionary calling! We're not church members! We're bearers of God's radical truths for this generation, and we should be proud of it! We will never be popular or accepted or mainstream, but we'll have God's full blessing in our lives if we continue to be fully obedient to His New Wine and the commission He has privileged us to fulfill.
Key promise:
136. The power of the keys will keep you well supplied with a continual flow of My refreshing, changing, Living Waters and New Wine, so that you can stay alert‚ awake, alive, progressing, changing, moving forward and dropped out.
Dig deeper:
[ ] "Declaration of Revolution‚" ML #1336:1-9, DB1
[ ] "Expensive Bargains," ML #1401, DB1
[ ] "Churchianity Today," ML #1964, DB8
[ ] "We're One of a Kind," ML #2770, DB11
[ ] "Why We Forsook the Church System," ML #2772:3-10, 17-33, DB11
[ ] "The Dangers of System Influence," ML #2967:1-4, 7–11, Lifelines 22
[ ] "Churchianity, Worldliness and Religion," Good Thots 1‚ #9, 28, 51, 55, 68, 74, 76-77, 90
[ ] "Persecution, Yesterday and Today," Treasures, pages 165–170
Challenging Thot:
137. (Dad:) Churchianity is a disease, and it's one that has debilitated millions of Christians in the world. It leaves them weak and lazy and lethargic, and with the mistaken impression that their church service is their service for God. They do very little or nothing else for Him, and it's a cut-rate‚ bargain-counter religion, which earns them little more than self-righteous satisfaction and certainly has little or no impact on the world. That's why Jesus said He'd rather have people hot or cold than lukewarm! If they're hot, like our Family members‚ then they're a good example of what living for Jesus ought to be like. If they're cold, then at least they're a good example of what not living for Jesus is like. But if they're lukewarm, they're not any kind of example at all! They just confuse the poor people of the world, who wonder if their sample is what Christianity is all about, and they can be quite a reproach to the cause of Christ.
Copyright © 2005 by The Family International.