Did you know…

Interactive social media algorithms are developed basically by tracing your web history. In other words, everything you are doing on the web is traced and developed into an algorithm which then specializes in presenting you with product advertisements and even political views that you typically WANT to see. Because these algorithms always steer you toward what you WANT to see rather than what you may NEED to see, they diminish the amount of exposure we have to other peoples points of view and balanced opinions.

 

For heavy social media users, this tends to increase polarization between people with different points of view. Each side is seeing mostly stories that support their own beliefs and typically this causes people to feel better about their own views while distancing them from the reality of the world around them.

 

Thus, we are being continuously manipulated on social media and at corporate websites into a manageable herd mentality via behind the scenes, profit and politically motivated digital machinery.

 

This is what happens to a society when the Almighty Dollar is more important to people than the Almighty God. 

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The Light of the Glory of God

In chapter 21 of the book of Revelation we are told that all light within the new Jerusalem will be supplied by the Glory of God and the Lamb will be its lamp and there will no longer be any night within the city.

^{Rev 22:23} The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

All spiritual light comes from the glory of God because the glory of God is sourced in the holiness of God. The holiness of God produces the glory of God which is the light that shines in the darkness.

It is the glory of our holy God that shines into the darkness of men’s souls to bring light to them. Christ is the lamp from which this light is brought forth.

In these darkest of times, it is the glory of God that will reveal what is hidden in darkness and it is the glory of God that will illuminate the Way that we are to go.

Within the radiance of the brilliance of the glory of the Lord the blind will see and the lame will walk. And in this I mean the body of Christ, for surely we are the blind when we have turned away from the light and we are the lame when we do not walk by the Spirit.

The Spirit said to me, “When the glory of the Lord rests upon a place, that place will be known as a Glory House. When the glory of God lifts from that place it will still be known as a Glory House because the glory of the Lord was there.”

Let us pray that the glory of the Lord will be with us that there will no longer be any night in our houses of worship and in the places where we dwell.

Darkness for light and light for darkness.

I literally cannot watch mainstream news for more than 60 seconds without feeling deeply repulsed by the constant barrage of unending lies and deliberate distortions and omissions. They seem to be almost entirely given over to propagandizing their viewers with endless attacks of ridiculous accusations and hysterical conjecture toward those who dare to think differently than them. It is an unending barrage of arrogant criticism and negativism.

But, even more sadly, the television ratings of these networks indicate that about half of the viewing public may actually agree with and believe these deceptions.

Isaiah 5: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

and prudent in their own sight!”

 

Is Knowledge about God the same as Godly Wisdom?

Learned Christians who teach well and can exegete the difficult verses of Scripture are much admired within Christianity. Their goal is gaining knowledge about God and this is often equated with spiritual progress in the Christian life. Academic prowess is prized and church is often made into a classroom.

But the central idea that knowledge of theology is the same as spiritual progress is deeply flawed. One of the first and most fundamental things to understand about Godly wisdom is that the accumulation of information about God and even the intelligent application of that information is not necessarily in itself, Godly wisdom. Godly wisdom is measured more accurately by the extent to which we allow the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus in every area of our lives.

1 Corinth 1:30 tells us that it is because of God that we are in Christ Jesus “who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.” Christ has literally become for us true wisdom from God. It is not the knowledge of Christ that is our wisdom; it is Christ himself!  Thus, as the person of Christ is allowed to rule in us, the personification of His wisdom is revealed in us. Wisdom for us is not about placing our faith in the accumulation of information. Wisdom for us is Christ in us.

We are not simply collectors of information about God; we are receivers of living truth. Truth and wisdom are more than facts. They are a person. We receive living truth and wisdom through surrendering to the process of the character of Christ being perfected within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. As Christ lives and reigns in us, truth and wisdom live and reign in us.

The Christian Clone Ministry

After visiting quite a few Christian churches over the years, there is one thing that I have found particularly unsettling. It is the way so many Christian leaders in public ministry change their way of speaking to mimic the performances of certain other popular media-producing Christians.

They begin to use drawn out accentuation – God becomes Gawd. And many of their sentences end with extended, over-accentuated dramatic flourishes. It often sounds something like “Praise the Lord-uh” or “You just need to Believe-uh.” Sometimes there is even shouting and running back and forth combined with tears and strong exhortations. Is all this theatrical behavior supposed to represent to us that they are truly passionate about the Lord or perhaps that they have a special anointing from God?

Personally, I am immediately wary of any representative of the Lord who is using heavy verbal showmanship in the presentation of their message. I feel as though they are trying to both impress and manipulate me to believe that they are exceptionally Holy Spirit anointed and appointed men and women of God.

I believe that this is frequently an indication of a religious spirit that has infiltrated Christian ministry. What may have begun with all humility and sincerity is slowly replaced by religious performance and theatrical display. The Holy Spirit may very well be moving through them; even doing miracles. But, I also believe that in many cases they have chosen to believe that they must place a garment of performance over the cloak of their Holy Spirit anointing in order to be perceived as possessing a “special anointing” by the people to whom they are ministering. Reinforcing this behavior is the unfortunate reality that many of the people sitting in the pews show considerable appreciation for a good performance!

The primary danger is this: Once we determine to travel down the slippery slope of seeking the approval of man it becomes increasingly difficult to ever return to the straight path of humble service to God. 

Matthew 23:5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long…

My personal worship testimony:

Many years ago, we attended a church where the worship team was simply the pastor playing guitar and his wife singing along. They worshiped very passionately. Occasionally, he would pause and strongly exhort people to participate more in the worship. I was mostly annoyed by that.

Then one day I was sitting at the back of the church during the worship. The lights were dimmed and I thought, “Maybe I could stand up and clap my hands and move around a little bit since probably nobody would see me.” So, I got up, looked around to see if anybody was watching and then began to clap my hands and sort of shuffle around a bit to the music.

Suddenly, I experienced a tremendous sense of the presence of God! Then I felt almost overwhelmingly compelled to praise God without caring what I may look like to others or what other people may think. The Holy Spirit had hold of me and I didn’t ever want to be released from His embrace. Until that moment I did not realize that I could experience God in such a profoundly personal way through worship. A few moments later, when the music ended I could hardly bear it. I was like, “NOOOO! This should never, ever, ever end!” Worship was never the same after that.

Then one day, I saw this video playing at a Christian book store about the day the Spirit of God took hold of Shirley Caesar in a very similar way. It is my prayer that everyone would experience this dynamic connection to God through worship. But we must be willing to step out…

YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

“You are forgiven” are the most important words you will ever hear from God while you are on this earth because that is where life begins.

Luke 7:40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.