Junk Mail
““You must not pass along false rumors.”
(Exodus 23:1 NLT-SE)
““Do not deceive or cheat one another.
“Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the LORD.
“Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.
“Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the LORD.
“Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.
“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD.
“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
“You must obey all my decrees.”
(Leviticus 19:11-19 NLT-SE)
Every morning when i get up, I make my coffee, take my meds, and check my email.
It’s important that I take my meds before checking my email…
Every morning in my email there are dozens of lies.
“Your Mcafee subscription has expired. Your information is in danger!”
” Your iCloud storage is full. Your information is in danger!”
“Beautiful Russian women want to meet you!:”
There are fifty to a hundred of similar messages meant to scare me or seduce me…the real intent is to financially scam me.
I’m used to these, but it’s getting more and more difficult to be sure of what I’m seeing.
The thieves have upped their game…the fake messages from my bank or Apple or PayPal look more and more convincing.
When I’m unsure, I go to the source…I check and make sure all my accounts are secured and that no one has hacked me.
When I watch what passes for “news” online, it looks more and more like my junk mail folder.
Lots of lies meant to either scare or seduce one into giving, if not their money, their trust.
It seems to be working.
Not only do people trust the lies, they spread them and demand that you believe them too.
When one looks at the biblical injunctions against such things, a wise person will ask why these things are so important to God.
It’s because God knew that all the lies and spreading of rumors would eventually destroy the community and the nation.
God, being God, was of course, right.
He still is…and we’re watching in real time the consequences.
Today, you’re fine with all the hate and division because you know you’re right and “they’ are demon filled swine out to get you and your holy allies.
You think civil war might be just the ticket…because you have never understood the real carnage of civil war despite the fact that 700,000 graves give testimony.
When you figure out the junk mail you believed was a lie, it will be too late.
By the time you realize you have been played for a fool, the loss will be irretrievable.
The powers behind all of this laugh out loud at our stupidity and mock the God we claim to know.
My only place of rest is in knowing He’s coming back and their laughter will be turned into crying.
Our shame will be covered, but it cost God His son.
So keep on spreading lies and rumors and rejoicing in your “discernment”.
Soon, there will be nothing to laugh about.
Maranatha.
Amen Michael.
Today it is SO disheartening to see clear Biblical teaching shown to a BELIEVER, and they reject the teaching AND you because it doesn’t fit the narrative they believe in.
God’s clear commands are given a “thumbs down” from BELIEVERS.
I am guilty too. I remember back in college I took part in passing out flyers stating that the deceased famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair was try to get Christian broadcasting off the air. I was gently but firmly told that it was a rumor/falsehood. There are other examples too.
These days there is HUGE resistance to setting down our lies. I sometime think that this is what the Bible speaks of when it states that God will send a strong delusion.
This is so powerful. Amen to all you’ve posted, Michael! I’m saving all these Bible verses. We all need reminding that God has seen the deceitfullness of mankind before; its nothing new to Him. These verses are a warning to both the purveyors of the deceit and the gullible victims of the deceit. We hear the term ‘ gas lighting’ so often today, but this sinful behavior is as old as mankind. Everyone needs to fact check EVERYTHING with reliable sources and not just be led around by the nose. And no, its not true just because you read it on the internet somewhere!
Dan,
I believe the delusion has been unleashed…
Janet Linn, BrideofChrist,
Thank you…this is old indeed…but may be the last time…
I believe that technology has caused us to create our own realities, with our own filters for what is true/untrue. It’s the old “but I saw it on TV” excuse for buying into the most horrible of lies. I have two email accounts (work and personal), and I have to empty spam out every morning before I even begin to read the “real” email (which sometimes turns out to be spam, anyway). We are also suffering from an education system that doesn’t teach people critical thinking skills. I am amazed at the conclusions people come to just because they “did their own research.”
I don’t know how to cure a society that has become so easily deceived. We may not always share the same opinions, but we should at least have some reasonable facts to back up our opinions.
Besides loving one another and loving our enemies, perhaps one of the greatest measures of Christian remnant living will be our honesty/truthfulness, both towards each other and those outside the faith. Not the self-serving arrogant ‘telling the truth because they need to hear it/the spirit told me to correct your error’ either, but speaking the truth in love. Perhaps we should begin by practicing with those within the circle of faith…
Well said, Linn….thank you!
filistine,
Amen and amen to all you said…
well put filistine!
Good stuff, Michael… unfortunately
CK,
Thanks…I must write better right after I’ve been gut shot…
Dread is correct however…the thousands of people that no longer visit this den of iniquity won’t read it and it won’t matter.
Ok
My insult was public so let my mea culpa be public. Gut shooting a man I love was not my intent. I am sorry Michael. Forgive me.
I cannot find a way that will get through here. I disagree over and over . I owe my life to the evangelical presentation of Jesus. I will never cease to be grateful that zealous witnesses reached my darkened heart. It’s all falling apart but my life in Jesus is owed to their flawed fervor.
The Bible thumpers that I know never stop loving. They are the most devoted, genuine, beautiful people I know. The institutions they serve do not deserve them but did help create them.
I don’t like the spirit of PP anymore but this has been my only online home for years now. Not belonging is definitely a thing.
I brought hurt and pain to a friend and damn me for it. I doubt I can do any better. That’s my problem.
No solution, I just don’t want to be the cause of pain. I have enough of that.
So here I am with no answers and no excuses.
Alan,
Accepted.
Forgiven.
Thank you.
So if you disagree over and over, a good place to start would be what you disagree with and why.
The exodus from here didn’t stop for conversation…
You have had good experiences with evangelicals…talk about them,…tell us what we need to know and …big and…tell us how to balance it against what I see as slavish devotion to a devil and more weird stories and myths than I can number.
I didn’t ask anyone to leave…and when I did it wasn’t because of politics.
I was loved…until I wasn’t…
I want to be fair and I want this place to be set apart in terms of its witness to Jesus…where do we go from here?
While you’re at it…explain to me what happened to Beth Moore, Russel Moore and others…they too were loved until they weren’t…hardly liberals, yet excluded.
“While you’re at it…explain to me what happened to Beth Moore, Russel Moore and others…they too were loved until they weren’t…hardly liberals, yet excluded.”
And most recently, Alistair Begg.
I was pretty impressed with the message he shared following the dust up. He (humbly) stuck to his guns based on scripture. Not that the issue doesn’t cause one to wrestle.
Begg spoke to something that you have talked about here: the ability to deal with tension and nuance. Seems some are able to go there….and some are not.
Amen, Michael.
(Unfortunately.)