READING, PINUPS, MISTAKES & WORLD CONQUEST!--THRU' LOVE!                  DO 151            1/72
                 
MISTAKES: NEGLECT OF SHEEP, PRIDE & LACK OF LOVE!
        
         1. SOME OF YOU SMART ALECKS SEEM TO THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE I BAWL PEOPLE OUT WHEN THEY MAKE MISTAKES that I'm ready to throw them out, so you jump on the bandwagon & proceed to take it upon yourself to also beat them over the head. This is like everybody in the family deciding to spank one errant member just because Dad has spanked them, so everybody else jumps on'm too! Nothing could hardly be worse or further from the truth, & some of you made a big mistake in so doing, along with making some other even bigger mistakes than they made.
         2. SOME HOME SHEPHERDS SEEM TO BE MORE INTERESTED IN FIGHTING WITH OTHER SHEPHERDS INSTEAD OF CARING FOR THEIR OWN FLOCKS--more interested in pinching pennies because of their little faith than properly caring for the lambs--more proud of their own authority than concern for their babes! God's way up is down! He that is greatest among you must be servant of all! If the power of your position goes to your head so that you forget what you're there for, you're simply proving that you're still a novice, filled with pride, & not ready to be a leader!--Mat.18:23-35; Luk.22:26; 1Tim.3:1-6.
         3. DON'T LET YOUR HOME GET SO BIG YOU CAN'T TAKE CARE OF YOUR SHEEP. You're bound to grow, but when you get to 24 you ought to divide & give the other half another shepherd & send them to some new fold in greener pastures where they can continue to grow, but not lose the intimate fellowship of the small Home spirit, both with the Lord & each other! Hallelujah! It's God's Own plan! Use it!

NEW TEAMS & ADVICE FOR PIONEERS!
        
         4. I'M CONVINCED THE LEADERS OF THESE NEW HOMES SHOULD BE OUR VERY BEST, SKIMMED RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF OTHER EXISTING HOMES, THOSE WHO ALREADY KNOW HOW TO RUN HOMES on their own, & particularly those who already know how to pioneer new Homes & who have had experience in pioneering, if possible! Take it from an old pioneer who knows: Once a pioneer, always a pioneer! Almost anybody can drive a car, but it takes a genius to build one! Once you pioneers have established a new Home & things are going well, almost any good leader can keep it going with the Lord's help, what you've already built, while you go on to pioneer another! Don't you good pioneers let yourself get bogged down too long in one place! You know who you are. When you've got THAT Home rolling, keep moving & start a NEW one as the Lord leads! Hallelujah! GBY! I love pioneers! The pioneer is only interested in pioneering! Once he's got something built, he's happy to let somebody else run it, while he moves on to pioneer another! Amen? Keep moving, pioneers!--And keep breaking in new young leaders to take over when you're gone! Keep growing & going for God!

WORLD CONQUEST!--THRU' LOVE!

         5. THE PRAYERFUL SELECTION OF ALL NEW TEAMS SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE MOST LIKELY CANDIDATES encouraged to volunteer & be chosen for: Their proven, self-sacrificial love for the lost, their very close spiritual link with the Lord, their tested ability to be led by Him in major decisions in the absence of any other leadership, their proven leadership ability in having a loving concern for their undershepherds & sheep, an ability to get along with them & lead them aright as well as to win souls.
         6. THE LEADER OF EACH TEAM MUST ALSO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF WISDOM & common sense about the practical affairs of transportation, government relationships, good public relations, good business sense & good management ability in caring for his flock in the everyday things of life, as well as teaching & spiritual leadership. He must also certainly have studied up as much as possible on a thorough preliminary knowledge of his prospective field & its people & the conditions to expect there in order that he might be prepared for them, including a usable knowledge of their language & a familiarity with their customs, religions, taboos, laws, practices, attitudes toward his nationality etc., as much as possible, God willing.
         7. LET ME EMPHASISE HERE THE PRE-EMINENT REQUISITE FOR ANY PIONEER TEAM--OR FOR ANY TEAM, FOR THAT MATTER--OR FOR ANYONE IN THE REVOLUTION--must be the same driving passion which motivated the Apostle Paul & all the Apostles & all the martyrs & every great man or woman of God--in fact, that irresistible compassion which SHOULD motivate EVERY Child of God in everything you do, everything you say, everywhere you go, with everybody, & which that great fanatical Apostle summed up in these few famous & ringing words which have cried out from the heart of every true Christian in every true good deed he has ever done, & for which indeed he is willing to die: "The love of Christ constraineth us"!--2Cor.5:14.
         8. "HEREBY PERCEIVE WE THE LOVE OF GOD: BECAUSE HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US, & WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN." "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."--1Jn.3:16; Jn.15:13.
         9. BUT IF YOU CAN'T EVEN LOVE YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER, YOUR HUSBAND OR WIFE, your leader or follower, or your mother or father whom ye HAVE seen, how are you going to love God or His heathen children whom ye have NOT seen?--Especially when his looks, language & customs will be so different from yours! If you can't win souls here, you're certainly not going to be able to win them in some other country under even more difficult conditions! Just transporting you across the ocean is not going to make a missionary of you if you can't love the folks in your own back yard, & just sending you to some foreign country is not going to make a leader out of you if you had no concern for your neighbour at home, & no tender loving care for the sheep of your former fold!--1Jn.4:20.
         10. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE A MISSIONARY UNLESS YOU LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO DIE FOR THEM. "Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I have found thee! Ah, at last I've found the reason for it all! Ah, 'tis love & love alone the whole World yearns for! And 'tis love that bids them heed Thy call!" Hallelujah! Love conquers all, & to win some you must be winsome & willing to become all things to all men that ye might win some. Love loves the unlovely & casts a veil over countless sins! Love prefers the happiness of others to your own. It's hard for you to see anything good in someone you don't love, but if you really love someone, it's much easier to overlook & forgive their faults.--1Cor.9:22; Pro.10:12.
         11. MAYBE THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH SOME OF YOUR MARRIAGES!--You don't really love each other--And if you don't, you don't have the Love of God, because His Love can love anybody, even your enemies! Love begets love, & we love Him because He first loved us! Ask God to help you love them with HIS Love, which passeth all understanding! Love is not blind--it has an extra spiritual eye which sees the good & possibilities that others cannot see! Ask God for His Love for each other, or you'll never make it--as a marriage OR a missionary! Only the Love of Christ can constrain you!--Mat.5:44; 1Jn.4:19; Phil.4:7; 2Cor.5:14.
         12. SO ONLY GOD'S LOVE WILL MAKE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE IT--CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY! Then you can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth you! But if you have any other motive, you'll fail!--You'll fail your leaders, you'll fail your followers & you'll fail the Lord! But love NEVER fails!--Do you want to be successful for the Lord & with others?--Love, & you can't lose--for love never fails! Do you want the key to every heart!--Try love!--It never fails, because GOD is love, & it's impossible for Him to fail!--Col.1:27; Phil.4:13.
         13. IF YOU GO IN GOD'S LOVE, YOU CANNOT HELP BUT WIN THEM, AS SO MANY OF YOU ALREADY HAVE. You have already found out that God's Love is the answer to everything: It saves souls, forgives sin, satisfies hearts, purifies minds, redeems bodies, wins friends & makes life worth living. It's the only Truth, the only Way & the only Peace! Love worketh no ill to his neighbour. You'll not curse him, cheat him, steal from him or lie to him, if you love him--much less hurt him! You also won't run up his telephone bill--or give him hepatitis, VD, or Hongkong flu by kissing him on the mouth when you're sick! Love even prevents accidents! I gave a safety lecture in college once on how that most traffic accidents are caused by a lack of love & consideration for the other guy, believe it or not. So not only wars, but slaughter on the highways is caused by pride, selfishness & lack of love. So a lot of our recent troubles with parents, backsliders, & our recent rash of disease & accidents have undoubtedly been caused by a lack of love & the consequent breaking of His Commandments--for if you love Him, you'll obey Him & avoid these!--Jam.4:1; Jn.14:15,23.
         14. SO THE ONLY WAY TO WIN THE WORLD, THE YOUTH OF THIS GENERATION, IS WITH THE LOVE OF JESUS!--Which we're doing & showing as we're going, & we'll keep on winning if we keep on loving them with His Love, PTL! So make each new step to each new country a loving step, & let each new leader be a loving leader, & each new Home a loving one!--And we cannot fail. PHN! For Love never fails! Let's win the World with His Love! Love your way IN, THROUGH, OUT & AROUND it!--Long live LOVE!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family