There are so many accusations and condescending comments on social media. The accuser of the brethren has made it to social media . . . We, as the children of The Most High must remember who "the accuser of the brethren" actually is! We can agree, we can disagree, and we can agree to disagree, but accusations are scary! I've been unfriended, even blocked, and I'm not sure we truly understand the ramifications of doing that . . . I do have a real life outside of facebook and yahoo, but I also have a spiritual responsibility on the world wide web, if I'm going to be there.
I've never blocked anyone, but I have unfriended two individuals in my history of social media. Blocking someone scares me on a spiritual level. It's like declaring I'm unwilling to forgive. Of my "unfriending," one was a man who just kept typing in CAPS that his god of the Koran was the creator. I am quite clear on social media that I serve the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which is why he was "yelling!" The second individual I unfriended was a woman who had claimed to know Messiah, claimed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and then denied and denounced! Since I have a public page, I didn't want to "aid and abet" her mission to draw others away from Messiah . . . so, although I didn't block her, I did unfriend her and "name names!"
With the exception of family, I think I've only been unfriended once over anything other than my beliefs, and that unfriending was pathetic at best, yet absolutely enlightening. It still makes me sad, but not for myself! The thought that anyone in this day and age could carry a generational grudge against a person by mere association is mind boggling. It was sort of a "Hatfield's and McCoy's" scenario and who would have imagined someone young enough to be my child would have that mind set. As I considered the scenario, there was the added variables that he found himself "unable" to stand up to two other men, so chose to take his frustration out on a woman . . . Hmmmm, in the words of Dana Carvey, "Now, isn't that special!" Moving right along . . .
When we point out what we believe is the truth, or when we have been offended, or feel we have a bone to pick, do we leave room for understanding, or do we open a door for the enemy? Most of the times I've been unfriended, it's been by former church ladies when I failed to meet their expectations. I've got years of real time experience in that area, so I'm basically unfazed by it, but I certainly don't want to become indifferent or calloused. I was joking about this with my daughter yesterday. She's unfriended me too, but she's not a church lady. Anyway, I said so many people send a big long diatribe or tell me some page I should read, then when I attempt to respond, asking for the url they didn't include, I discover my message won't go through because I've been unfriended and/or blocked.
My question regarding the spiritual ramifications of social media are many, but two stand out specifically. First, if someone sends word of offense, but removes the path for the alleged offender to respond, explain, or apologize; how is that righteous? Second, if a person blocks, that leaves them no room to forgive . . . As humans, our word is not final. In the case of children of the Most High, we'll be forgiven as we forgive. Without a doubt we can all get in the flesh, and many aspects of the world wide web can bring out the Jr. High flesh mentality in all of us, but in this interactive social media; how many opportunities are we giving the enemy?
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our Elohim, and the power of His Messiah: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our Elohim day and night. Revelation 12:10
Showing posts with label social. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Except the Very Elect Be Deceived . . .
Most of us feel we have the discernment to avoid deception, but do we really? Messiah did say, "except the very elect be deceived . . ." That has always served to remind me to not be too sure of myself or anyone else. I asked for discernment when I received the indwelling of the Great Spirit of YHWH, and confessed my need. I told Him straight out, I needed discernment, I'd fall for all sorts of "songs and dances." I accepted the lies of others over my own intuition, until, Ruach HaKodesh came into my spirit. Even with His indwelling Spirit, I still seem to be a target for a sad manipulative story, but; with discernment I don't fall for it. I am also aware of the fact, I must remain surrendered and dependent to the Voice of Abba, or I could indeed, fall for something . . . I don't think I'm alone in the following statement. "I could genuinely believe something and be genuinely wrong."
We all receive requests for help on social media, I'm sure. I pray about those. Some, I'm willing to respond and others, there's a check in my spirit. Let me say again, my insight comes from Abba. Many people call me wise, that is a gift of the Spirit. When I discern, that is a gift of the Spirit. I'm idealistic, creative, and frugal, naturally; but I don't have a lick of common sense! In this article, I'm going to use myself as an example, because I know what I'm really living and that's the point of this. We can think we know someone, but even before social media, there have always been reports in the news in which the neighbors were shocked to discover . . . So-and-so was capable of whatever.
As this subject came to mind, I was reminded of the ad years ago, and it has be at least 15 years ago, because I saw it on television. It was an ad for the internet. A couple had become emotionally "involved" via the internet, and decided to meet; when they both individually realized their profile pic was nothing like their reality . . . There are days I'm bombarded with requests for donations, but the profile information is sketchy or the photos appear to be generic downloads. I've seen marriage advice posted by people who I know are living in a bigger mess than I am. I actually read comments by a "teacher" who espoused being a mighty spiritual warrior of no compromise. proceed to tell their followers all the things the compromises they made to "participate" in a mainstream prayer group to blend in . . . We simply do not know anyone's entire story, so even in fellowship or attempts thereof; we must keep our eyes on Messiah.
I promised earlier to use myself as an example, so I will. I am homesteading. I was doing it before I knew it had a trendy label. I haven't simplified and roughed it as much as some others, but I'm certainly heading off the grid and out of the dependency upon the systems. I'll admit it, there are times when I see a good price on chicken breasts at one particular market, I'll buy it and enjoy the fact I don't have to take the feathers off of dinner. I'm still operating in experimental mode and last winter when I ran out of potatoes before I planted, I realized two things. I needed a better plan and if I wanted potatoes, I'd have to go to the store and buy them. I don't have this all figured out yet. When I established the domain www.holyhomesteading.com, I introduced it with the qualification that I would share the steps of my successes and confess my failures to serve as a horrible warning, which I think I've done. Point being, however; we know our information is filtered and often misrepresented.
The reality is, the digital age affords the potential for real deception and difficulty in retracing the original report. For example. I could be sitting in a penthouse apartment, eating bonbons while surfing the net for images of goats and full canning jars. I could be promoting all kinds of natural health while taking pharmaceuticals and smoking a cigarette. I have written about my undivorced status, but I could be undivorced and just cohabitating with a guy that likes me better. Our society has done some interesting redefinition to the point; "fake it til you make it". . . is no longer hypocrisy, but supposedly, effort that should be appreciated. The excuse is often made "that G-d is still working on me" or it's not being dishonest, "I'm just speaking it into existence." There are old sayings about "walkin' the walk or talkin' the talk," but in reality we are called to "walk our talk!" Social media and digital history allows a great deal of latitude and internet teachings abound.
I don't think I could quote Scripture while intentionally trying to be deceptive, but we do know the enemy can and has!
We all receive requests for help on social media, I'm sure. I pray about those. Some, I'm willing to respond and others, there's a check in my spirit. Let me say again, my insight comes from Abba. Many people call me wise, that is a gift of the Spirit. When I discern, that is a gift of the Spirit. I'm idealistic, creative, and frugal, naturally; but I don't have a lick of common sense! In this article, I'm going to use myself as an example, because I know what I'm really living and that's the point of this. We can think we know someone, but even before social media, there have always been reports in the news in which the neighbors were shocked to discover . . . So-and-so was capable of whatever.
As this subject came to mind, I was reminded of the ad years ago, and it has be at least 15 years ago, because I saw it on television. It was an ad for the internet. A couple had become emotionally "involved" via the internet, and decided to meet; when they both individually realized their profile pic was nothing like their reality . . . There are days I'm bombarded with requests for donations, but the profile information is sketchy or the photos appear to be generic downloads. I've seen marriage advice posted by people who I know are living in a bigger mess than I am. I actually read comments by a "teacher" who espoused being a mighty spiritual warrior of no compromise. proceed to tell their followers all the things the compromises they made to "participate" in a mainstream prayer group to blend in . . . We simply do not know anyone's entire story, so even in fellowship or attempts thereof; we must keep our eyes on Messiah.
I promised earlier to use myself as an example, so I will. I am homesteading. I was doing it before I knew it had a trendy label. I haven't simplified and roughed it as much as some others, but I'm certainly heading off the grid and out of the dependency upon the systems. I'll admit it, there are times when I see a good price on chicken breasts at one particular market, I'll buy it and enjoy the fact I don't have to take the feathers off of dinner. I'm still operating in experimental mode and last winter when I ran out of potatoes before I planted, I realized two things. I needed a better plan and if I wanted potatoes, I'd have to go to the store and buy them. I don't have this all figured out yet. When I established the domain www.holyhomesteading.com, I introduced it with the qualification that I would share the steps of my successes and confess my failures to serve as a horrible warning, which I think I've done. Point being, however; we know our information is filtered and often misrepresented.
The reality is, the digital age affords the potential for real deception and difficulty in retracing the original report. For example. I could be sitting in a penthouse apartment, eating bonbons while surfing the net for images of goats and full canning jars. I could be promoting all kinds of natural health while taking pharmaceuticals and smoking a cigarette. I have written about my undivorced status, but I could be undivorced and just cohabitating with a guy that likes me better. Our society has done some interesting redefinition to the point; "fake it til you make it". . . is no longer hypocrisy, but supposedly, effort that should be appreciated. The excuse is often made "that G-d is still working on me" or it's not being dishonest, "I'm just speaking it into existence." There are old sayings about "walkin' the walk or talkin' the talk," but in reality we are called to "walk our talk!" Social media and digital history allows a great deal of latitude and internet teachings abound.
I don't think I could quote Scripture while intentionally trying to be deceptive, but we do know the enemy can and has!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Mid-Life Crisis
I can't help but wonder if what our society calls a mid-life crisis is really G-d's wake up call. With the understanding that there are four kinds of people, I'm guessing there are basically four types of reaction to that wake-up call. Some simply turn it off and continue doing what they are doing. Others run out and make an extreme life changing decision that has long term consequences, like divorcing a spouse of 30 years and plunging headlong into new debt, or getting a significant other half their age and starting a new family, or the latest trend of finding a significant other of the same gender. Then there are those who set out on a whole new path of life, like start a business or sell it all to relocate.
There is still that small minority who hear that still small voice that realize a door is about to open to the journey in which they have been called. They may appear to be making drastic decisions rapidly, but the reality is they have heard The Voice. I became a genuine follower of The Way at 36 years of age. Oh, I'd gotten "saved" and baptized at a young age, but had no sound teaching or real leadership in what it is to follow Messiah, so I took many detours. At the age of 36, I clearly heard The Voice and The Call, and although I immediately surrendered to that, I had a great deal to learn. I spent a decade, serving and learning and being prepared to enter into the fullness of His call. I knew by the age of 40, I would be teaching a different message than the lawlessness our society has embraced, but I knew it was truth. What if some of the Bible greats were alive today in America? Messiah said the end of days would be as in the days of Noah, so let's begin with him.
Noah lived to be 950 years old, and began building the ark around the age of 500. Sadly, in America, poor Noah would have been considered certifiable, probably even by good Christian counselors and Jewish psychiatrists, but the reality is, this began at about the half way mark in Noah's life. Would the neighbors and Mrs. Noah have called it a mid-life crisis? Would his peers have asked him why he couldn't just get a red corvette or Harley Davidson, like the rest of them?
Abraham, who lived to be 175, got a slight head start on his mid-life crisis at only 75, and then started a family years after that, with a woman on the side, and then a late life baby with his wife. So he may have appeared to be a bit more in social step, but the reality was far from ordinary. Abraham believed G-d for the impossible . . .
Moses ran for his life at 40 and didn't even get started in his call until 80. Although that age was past his half-way point, he certainly gave credence to the fact, the actual plan for you, may not be what you thought in your early years, at all!
Dr. Luke has always fascinated me, in that there is little mention in Scripture as to him being a doctor. I've never found a passage in which Messiah or the apostles sent anyone to Dr. Luke to be healed, although he certainly documented miracles throughout the account of the gospel that bears his name, as well as the book of Acts. From what I gather in Scripture, he laid down a highly respected Greek medical career to take notes of where the real healing was going on. From the time frame of the writings, the indication is a mid-life discovery.
Paul was clearly advanced in his career and a well respected Pharisee. So well respected, he could obtain death orders and carry them out at his own discretion. Acts 9 gives a full account of Paul's mid-life conversion . . . and the rest is clearly; Scriptural history.
YHWH does not change and Y'hshuwah Messiah is His Son, therefore; Messiah, in fulfilling the will of the Father, did not bring a new religion, but rather came to bring us back to YHWH.
There is still that small minority who hear that still small voice that realize a door is about to open to the journey in which they have been called. They may appear to be making drastic decisions rapidly, but the reality is they have heard The Voice. I became a genuine follower of The Way at 36 years of age. Oh, I'd gotten "saved" and baptized at a young age, but had no sound teaching or real leadership in what it is to follow Messiah, so I took many detours. At the age of 36, I clearly heard The Voice and The Call, and although I immediately surrendered to that, I had a great deal to learn. I spent a decade, serving and learning and being prepared to enter into the fullness of His call. I knew by the age of 40, I would be teaching a different message than the lawlessness our society has embraced, but I knew it was truth. What if some of the Bible greats were alive today in America? Messiah said the end of days would be as in the days of Noah, so let's begin with him.
Noah lived to be 950 years old, and began building the ark around the age of 500. Sadly, in America, poor Noah would have been considered certifiable, probably even by good Christian counselors and Jewish psychiatrists, but the reality is, this began at about the half way mark in Noah's life. Would the neighbors and Mrs. Noah have called it a mid-life crisis? Would his peers have asked him why he couldn't just get a red corvette or Harley Davidson, like the rest of them?
Abraham, who lived to be 175, got a slight head start on his mid-life crisis at only 75, and then started a family years after that, with a woman on the side, and then a late life baby with his wife. So he may have appeared to be a bit more in social step, but the reality was far from ordinary. Abraham believed G-d for the impossible . . .
Moses ran for his life at 40 and didn't even get started in his call until 80. Although that age was past his half-way point, he certainly gave credence to the fact, the actual plan for you, may not be what you thought in your early years, at all!
Dr. Luke has always fascinated me, in that there is little mention in Scripture as to him being a doctor. I've never found a passage in which Messiah or the apostles sent anyone to Dr. Luke to be healed, although he certainly documented miracles throughout the account of the gospel that bears his name, as well as the book of Acts. From what I gather in Scripture, he laid down a highly respected Greek medical career to take notes of where the real healing was going on. From the time frame of the writings, the indication is a mid-life discovery.
Paul was clearly advanced in his career and a well respected Pharisee. So well respected, he could obtain death orders and carry them out at his own discretion. Acts 9 gives a full account of Paul's mid-life conversion . . . and the rest is clearly; Scriptural history.
YHWH does not change and Y'hshuwah Messiah is His Son, therefore; Messiah, in fulfilling the will of the Father, did not bring a new religion, but rather came to bring us back to YHWH.
At the age of 47, I received the vision to proceed . . . Most everyone thought I was crazy, and took the time to share their views. I've never regretted my obedience. The life I have enjoyed for the past eight and a half years is hardly the result of a mid-life crisis, but rather the destination of the Call of The Way.
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