DEAR DEB & JETH!                  DO 110                   9/71

THEFT--CAUSE, METHODS OF, RECOVERY & PREVENTION!

         1. IN ALL THE YEARS I HAVE DRIVEN VEHICLES, I'VE NOT HAD ONE STOLEN, NOR ANYTHING STOLEN OUT OF ONE, TTL! I'm sure it was the Lord, because we always tried to remember to pray for our vehicles when leaving, even laying hands on them many times, & also for the things inside, that the Lord would protect & keep His property--so we have yet to have anything stolen either out of house or car! Of course, we've always tried to give the Lord a lot of cooperation, too:
                 A.) NEVER PARK A CAR IN A BAD NEIGHBOURHOOD, UNPROTECTED, or in an unguarded lot if it contains valuables!
                 B.) EVEN SO, ALWAYS LOCK ALL VALUABLES IN THE TRUNK or cover them with blankets or newspapers or clothing, so that they're hidden from plain view. My teacher used to say: "He who tempts a thief to steal is equally guilty"!
                 C.) ALWAYS BE SURE ALL WINDOWS ARE UP TIGHT & THE DOORS ARE SECURELY LOCKED! These measures will not always deter theft, but will greatly reduce the possibilities, as any thief can tell you, since, although there MIGHT be something valuable under that blanket, yet again, there might not be, so he hates to take a chance on the danger of breaking a window, the possibility of detection, & getting caught for breaking & entering & getting a jail sentence of at least a year or more, for something that wasn't even worth it! I've often had some of our women folk leave an empty purse on the front seat or a purse with nothing valuable in it, saying to me, "Oh, there's nothing in it!" But my reply is always, "Sorry, but I don't care to risk a broken window just for a thief to discover there's nothing in it!"
         2. IMMEDIATELY REPORT THE THEFT TO THE POLICE! Anything over a thousand Dollars is grand larceny & usually considered a serious crime. Reporting it to the police, especially such a rare item as a VTR, could very well have helped them & some shopkeeper to apprehend the culprits, because there are pretty serious laws against & penalties for "fencing" or accepting stolen goods, especially if the police have already notified them of the nature & description of the item--so that the shopkeeper is without excuse if he's found trying to sell it later! Most shopkeepers have a prearrangement with the police, that if any such police-listed item is brought into their store for sale, they are to make some excuse or signal someone to go into another room & phone the police, while someone keeps the thieves busy by inspecting or testing the merchandise. Many thieves have been caught this way while trying to dispose of stolen goods!
         3. SOMETIMES YOU CAN GO AROUND YOURSELF TO THE VARIOUS PAWN SHOPS or electronic stores who might have a sale for such items, & casually ask if they have such-&-such for sale. If then one of them should produce that very item & you can prove you are the owner & that it was reported to the police, you have a chance of getting it back. If the theft was reported immediately & the police can prove that the shopkeeper purchased it AFTER notification, you can get it back free! But if you delayed in reporting the theft & the shopkeeper can prove that he bought it BEFORE notification, you can still redeem it--but you'll have to pay him whatever he paid for it.
         4. IF A CAR IS PARKED IN FRONT OF A BUSINESS DURING BUSINESS HOURS OR A RESIDENCE DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS, the thief never knows but what the owner might be watching from within the store or residence, so such a parking spot is usually fairly safe during business or daylight hours, even though the business or residence is not yours, because the thief does not usually know this & he knows he'd be a fool to try it, since you might be taking a shot at him or calling the police. You've gotta put yourself in the thief's shoes & try to figure out what kind of situation he would most likely not want to tackle!
         5. BUT THE IDEAL SITUATION FOR MOST CAR THEFTS IS A DARK SPOT ON A DARK NIGHT on a deserted street or parking lot, particularly in a downtown area, which is also usually deserted during the late night hours! He knows no one is in the business places at that hour & no one lives near there--so all he has to do is to be careful to avoid a patrolman, watchman or occasional prowl car! Most professionals are equipped with a little gadget which works right around the edge of the window & pops up the door lock with a quick twist, so that all he has to do is jerk open the door, grab what's plainly visible or even rifle what is not in a few swift seconds, & be gone before the next passer by. This is particularly true with cars containing plainly visible valuables, which are literally advertising themselves to be stolen & actually invite theft!
         6. EXPERT PROFESSIONALS HAVE EVEN BEEN KNOWN TO WALK UP TO A CAR ON A CROWDED STREET in broad daylight, pretend like they were unlocking the door with the key, but while hiding the operation with their body, actually cleverly unlocking it with one quick deft twist of their ingenious little instrument, reach in calmly, pick up the camera or valuable as though it were theirs, then stand up, push the door button, lock & shut the door again, & walk calmly away in the sight of multitudes of onlookers. As long as he is bold & calm enough & well dressed enough, no one will think a thing of it, but will simply think, even if they bother to observe him at all, that he simply came back to get his camera. This is one of the most common types of car theft. Only kids & beginners break windows--it's too dangerous & too noisy!
         7. OF COURSE, USUALLY JUST A LITTLE PRAYER & GOOD COMMON SENSE CAN PREVENT SUCH THINGS, even without a lesson on car thefts! I'm sure that His Spirit is faithful & must surely have warned you before this happened, as He never forgets or neglects anything & often protects us & our things even in our ignorance! But if we are willfully or woefully ignorant, careless, negligent & slothful stewards, then He will sometimes allow us to suffer for it by learning a bitter lesson as a result of it!--As we hope you have now learned!--Were you a little proud of it, possessive or just plain careless?--Or all three?--Which?

PERSECUTION FORCES US ON TO MORE FERTILE FIELDS!

         8. WE ARE PILGRIMS & STRANGERS HERE & HAVE NO CERTAIN DWELLING PLACE, like Jesus & the Apostles of old. It is the Book of Acts all over again, as well as the Gospels, but it is going to be on a far more massive scale. I know some of you are going to miss the old familiar stomping grounds, but we must never let the roots grow down so deep that we cannot be uprooted again. We must be a thoroughly mobile army, a veritable blitzkrieg invasion, which takes the territory quickly & when leaving, leaves behind only a scorched earth, unusable by the Enemy, because we have delivered our souls & washed their blood from our hands, to let those that remain die in their own iniquity. Hallelujah! His Truth is marching on! It hasn't time to wait for the laggards, the shirkers & the impenitent! We've no time to waste! We must go on & leave behind those who will not follow.--Leave them to their sad fate!
         9. GOD'S CHILDREN MUST GO ON TO MORE RECEPTIVE & RESPONSIVE FIELDS WHERE HEARTS ARE EAGER & HUNGRY to believe & receive & to obey. Let the others die in their iniquity & be judged by their lack of works & their lack of fruit! God's true Children must march on to greater conquests & mightier victories in fresher fields till Jesus comes! Nothing can stop us now! They can never kill us all! We'll be witnessing to the last Day, even in the very capitol of the Antichrist, who is trying to exterminate us! PTL! Hallelujah!

CHILD TRAINING--A VITAL MINISTRY!--PLEA FOR LABOURERS!

         10. OUR OWN FLESH-&-BLOOD CHILDREN ARE ONE OF OUR GREATEST MINISTRIES, one of our most important ministries & a ministry for which we'll be held responsible by both God & Man! We must not fail in it, no matter how busy we are! You children are what you are today because your Mother & I were willing to spend time with YOU, teach YOU & train YOU, as well as give you a SAMPLE when you were small! So there must be Godcalled Mothers amongst you girls--& Fathers, too!--Who must get the burden for this ministry of our children! They need you NOW!
         11. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST VITAL MINISTRIES WE HAVE--ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, & of the greatest necessity & urgency-not only for the children's sake & their future ministry, but for the sake of the ministry of their Mothers & Fathers now, who are feverishly labouring in the Harvest fields so white, to bring in the grain while it's ripe, before the approaching storm! This is an emergency! We are in a desperate situation! We need every possible hand in the fields for this furious harvesting while it is yet day!--And someone must help care for the children to make this harvesting possible! God has promised that they which stand by the stuff shall share equally in the rewards & the spoils with them which go forth to the battle! So you who stand by our children will share equally in the reward & the souls we are harvesting, just as much as if you were on the battlefield yourself! It is your part of the War & without you we could not do it!
         12. AND NOT ONLY THAT, YOU YOURSELF WILL BE ACTUALLY TEACHING & TRAINING THE FUTURE PROPHETS & PROPHETESSES OF THE VERY LAST DAY! For the Lord has prophesied time & again that these children are going to be witnesses unto Him & stand before Him as the Prophets of old in the very End! So you will have a share in their ministry also by stepping forward now & caring for them now while they need you now! This is urgent, Children, & you must ask God to show you the need, burden your heart for it, give you the Grace for it & the great Love for it & help you to volunteer now for this Mighty Ministry of His Mighty Mites! Do it now! Today!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family