—By Father David DO900 13 March 1980

1. (MARIA: WE'VE HAD QUESTIONS FROM WOMEN IN OUR FAMILY WONDERING IF THEY SHOULDN'T PRACTISE SOME KIND OF BIRTH CONTROL because they don't want to bring their children into a World whose future is going to be difficult.) I remember a woman like that who had been a professional call-girl, a very high class prostitute. I was just a teenager then, & I remember a discussion she & my mother had.

2. SHE MARRIED A TRAVELLING SALESMAN, a sweet quiet fellow like Tenerife Bernardo. They had been living together for several years & my mother was asking why they hadn't had any children. Mother came in contact with them through a meeting she was in in Oklahoma City where this girl, a very beautiful woman with gorgeous long flowing blonde hair, a statuesque blonde, had heard my mother preaching on the radio about healing & at this time she was terribly terribly sick with huge cancerous sores in her armpits!

3. THE DOCTORS DIDN'T GIVE HER MUCH HOPE & SHE WAS IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE when she phoned my mother with such a sad plea that my mother consented to go to her home & pray for her because she said she couldn't possibly get out of bed to come to church to be prayed for. My mother went there & prayed for her &

4. SHE WAS MARVELLOUSLY HEALED & SAVED & HER HUSBAND too! He reminded me so much of Tenerife Bernardo, faces & everything, quiet, and very likable. I liked him, he liked me. And so we visited them often & they became very good friends & supporters of my mother. And they visited us often & sometimes we took trips together. We were all staying together at this motel in Oklahoma one night & I heard her & Mother in this big discussion. My mother had asked her, "Why haven't you two ever had any children?"

5. "OHHH," SHE SAID, "I DON'T WANT CHILDREN! I couldn't bare to think of bringing a child into this awful World! Why should I want a baby of mine to face the horrors of this World & things that are happening & things that are coming? They would just probably have to go through the tortures of the Tribulation & the Antichrist & the war & all that!"

6. WELL, I WAS JUST A YOUNG TEENAGER THEN, & SO THAT WAS OVER 50 YEARS AGO & that baby would have no doubt had a chance to live & get married & have children of her own & have lived her life without too many problems, especially if she had Christian parents like them who were trying to serve the Lord. She could have been a great blessing to them & others.

7. AND I WAS AMAZED BY THE WAY THEY ALMOST SELFISHLY REFUSED TO HAVE CHILDREN‚ supposedly because they didn't want the child to have to face the future! I understand that some of our girls are having the same problem, dreading to think of bringing a baby into this kind of World & what it may have to face.

8. AND I WAS EVEN KIND OF THINKING THE SAME THING THE OTHER DAY: "What a horrible time to live! It seems like such a terrible time to bring children into the World!" But on the other hand, oh my‚ look how many children the Lord is bringing into the World, especially in our Family! Maybe they are going to be needed. Apparently they are going to have a real ministry of love & be a real blessing & encouragement to others, to inspire their faith & to help others.

9. THE LORD MUST BE INTERESTED IN OUR HAVING A LOT OF KIDS RIGHT NOW. But I must admit that I was kind of depressed as I sat there on the toilet thinking about it! I was thinking, "What a terrible time to live! What a horrible future we have to face! What a time to bring children into this World, to have them have to go through all of this!"

10. I WAS REALLY DOUBTING THE LORD'S WISDOM A LITTLE BIT, it was almost a complaining spirit. I guess in a way it was really a murmur. I was kind of reflecting on the Lord as though He doesn't know best. "What a terrible time, Lord! Why would You want to create more children to face the horrors of the future?"—And just as clear as I ever heard the voice of the Lord,

11. HE SAID, "WILL I NOT CARE FOR MY OWN?" Praise the Lord! Thank You, Jesus! I mean, how can you answer that? "Will I not care for My own?" The Lord is able to keep us through anything, everything, & I'm certain that He wants to spare us to minister to others, to help & encourage & inspire faith & glorify Him.

12. SOMEBODY'S GOTTA BE HERE TO CARRY ON. Thank You Lord‚ hallelujah, praise You, Lord, praise You, Jesus! Oh, that was sweet! That was really beautiful: "Will I not care for My own?" What can you say against that? I mean‚ how can you argue with that?

13. HOW CAN YOU SAY WE SHOULDN'T BRING CHILDREN INTO THIS WORLD in this day when the Lord has promised to care for His own, & we're most certainly His own! And I think of that time the Lord said to me, "But if I fail to care for My own, I am worse than an infidel!" And the Scripture says, "He that careth not for his own is worse than an infidel" (1Tim.5:8). And the Lord said‚

14. "AND IF I FAIL TO CARE FOR MY OWN, FOR YOU, I AM WORSE THAN AN INFIDEL!" It was sort of like He was reminding me of that verse: "Will I not care for My own?" PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! I haven't gotten too many things like that lately. I'm too busy teaching you how to survive!

15. I CERTAINLY BELIEVE YOU OUGHT TO PREPARE FOR SURVIVAL IF POSSIBLE IN ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN. You ought to prepare as if everything depended upon preparation‚ but you ought to pray as though everything depended upon prayer! And follow the Lord as though everything depended on Him—which it does! I don't doubt that many of these survival preparations will help some of us to survive & get through difficult times, & I'm sure that's one reason the Lord's helping us to prepare.

16. THERE ARE MANY OCCASIONS & EXAMPLES OF THAT IN THE SCRIPTURES. Remember the seven years—fat years—of plenty in Egypt when Joseph stored up grain for the seven years of famine? He was certainly preparing! He wasn't fretting about tomorrow or worrying about the future‚ he was just preparing for it. So I don't doubt God will use a lot of our survival preparations to help us to survive & carry on & get through, so that we can be a witness & a testimony & a blessing & help to others, but the rest is up to Him.

17. WHAT WE CAN'T DO HE'LL HAVE TO DO, & HE WILL DO, thank You Lord! We can't dodge the nukes or the kooks! But He can protect us, praise the Lord!—And He will! "Will I not care for My own?"—We & our little ones & all of His children everywhere! PTL! That was really encouraging! God is able to care for His own. We used to sing a song: "Mothers have been known to forget their own, but God will not forget you. He will care for you!" Remember the rest of it?..."He will never fail", I think it was something like that.

18. SO, IF WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR OWN, HE'S CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT HIS OWN, & we & our own are His own! PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! "Will I not care for My own?" And I always used to sing: "Oh yes, He cares‚ I know He cares! His heart is touched with my grief. When the days grow dreary, the long nights weary, I know my Saviour cares!" PTL! TYJ! "Will I not care for My own?"

19. IT MADE ME ASHAMED OF WORRYING OR COMPLAINING, thank You Lord! Bless us tonight Lord. Give us a good night's rest, safe-keeping. Continue to care for Thy own, Lord. We thank You for how You have so marvellously protected us from illnesses & accidents & enemies & so wonderfully provided for us Lord, every need, want, & exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think, Lord! TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah! Amen, thank You Lord!

20. HELP US TO CONTINUE TO TRUST THEE & NOT FEAR NOR WORRY. Like You said, Lord, "Will I not care for My own?" We know You will care for Your own, us & ours, for Yours‚ Amen, give the Family all a good night's rest tonight & safe keeping. Keep the children, Lord, & bless those who go out tomorrow in their work for Thee & work for survival, & all of us as we endeavour to find Thy will Lord, in Jesus' Name. Have Thy way about our housing.

21. YOU KNOW, YOU LOVE, YOU CARE, NOTHING YOUR TRUTH CAN DIM! You've always given Your very best to us when we've left the choice with You Lord, & it's usually been better than the last! PTL! TYJ!

22. THANK YOU LORD FOR BRINGING US THROUGH THESE PAST TWO OR THREE DAYS OF SURVIVAL WITHOUT ELECTRICITY & WITHOUT HEAT! That was a good test run! We didn't do too well either.—We weren't well prepared! After all those warnings we still weren't really completely prepared, but we're better prepared than some might have been! At least we had candles & some kind of heat & some wood! Thank You Lord! Amen. PTL! TYJ—In Jesus' name, Amen!—GBAKY!

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