Our Calamity

A lot of people like to share memes that claim they just want people to be real, because they hate fake people.
Well, this is me being real.

The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecclesiastes 12:1‭0

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13‭-‬14 KJV

If you're going to come on social media, seeking the sympathy of others, because your life is not going as you expected, be man enough to examine yourself and see if there is a reason for the calamity.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:33

Jesus says that if you deny him before man he will deny you before God the Father. That changes nothing about salvation, if you are already a child of God. But don't expect to be continuing in your sin, denying Christ through your actions and inactions, and expect him to perform his role as mediator between you and God.

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Proverbs 28:9

When you complain about how others are treating you, consider how you have treated God.

Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,  Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?  Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.  Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.  Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.  Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord .  Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.  Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.  And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
Haggai 1:3‭-‬11 KJV

You have sought to find pleasure for yourself, but you have neglected that which pleases God. At some point you have to realize that the reason you're in pig slop is because it is time for you to return to God.
There is pleasure in sin, for a season. But eventually you have to come to realize that esteeming the reproach of Christ is far greater riches than all the treasures that you are seeking for your own pleasure.
God makes it very clear how he will react to our continued neglect of his will. Not only will he make sure that we do not prosper, but the Bible says that he will actually laugh at our calamity.

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?  Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;  When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.  Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:  For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord :  They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Proverbs 1:22‭-‬32 KJV

Throughout my life, I have probably had more people laugh at me than with me. The majority of that is probably my fault. But if God laughs at me, it is all my fault. I do not say this boastfully when I say that I know God has had his season to laugh at me. I cannot raise my fist towards heaven and declare him injust. The only way to stop him from laughing at my calamity is for me to shake my fist at the man I see in the mirror, and decide to return to the path God has for me. That path is declared in Ecclesiastes 12:13, Revelations 4:11, and elsewhere in Scripture.

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11 KJV

If you believe that this is aimed squarely at you, consider yourself among friends, because I do not know of a single Christian who can read these scriptures and not say, "Ouch!"
I have tried to include enough scripture that you could delete my commentary from this and still receive the instructions that God has given us.

"True" Christians

I'm always perplexed when people use the term "true Christian."
Christian means Christ-like. You either are, or you ain't. If you ain't, you are still headed to Hell. Sin doesn't send you to hell. Stopping sin doesn't make you avoid hell. It's a matter of belief. Do you believe the Gospel, that you are a sinner, Christ died for you, was buried, and rose again? If so, you are already a "true" Christian.
It is similar to when George H. W. Bush was asked, on 9-12-01, if he was a Christian. His answer was yes, but not a born-again Christian, like his son. There is no other way to become Christ-like. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again."
If you HAVE been born again, you are already a "true" Christian. That does not mean that you have received some special work of Grace and are now sinless or perfect. It simply means that your sins have been forgiven, and as in Scripture, when Jesus forgives your sins he says, "Go, and sin no more."
Why then do we choose to segregate Christian into categories? If we had to take a lie detector before coming in the church to decide who sits on what side of the building, I am afraid the building's foundation would be weakened by everyone being on the "not true" Christian side.
We all still sin, but thankfully we have an advocate with the father. 1 John 2:1
When someone points out your sin, or alleged sin, they are not saying that you are not a "true Christian." They are saying that you might be in sin. They recognize it, because they have been there. Maybe not in the same sin, but we all know what it is like how to fail our heavenly Father. They point it out for many reasons, beginning with your spiritual health. But it might be for the help of another.

To the sinning Christian (that's all of us), be forgiven (ask) and go and sin no more.

To the person segregating Christians into true and not true, stop. "Not true" Christians are simply Not Christians and need the Gospel.

Social Media

Getting my fourth, I believe, 30-day suspension on Facebook, and the possible actions have others close to me has caused me do you want to give my thoughts on social media and it's value to conservatives and Christians.

First, let me say that all of my suspensions have been over ridiculous stuff. The last two have been for using the term "white trash." The latest was me telling my son that using ALL CAPS makes him look like white trash.

Over the years, many people have proposed conservative just leaving Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms that occasionally ban us for saying stuff. While that sounds good on the surface, it is actually a white flag surrender to the liberals who run those platforms.

By "taking your ball and going home," you're giving the liberals exactly what they want. Is Mark Zuckerberg had his way, there would be no conservatives and Christians on Facebook. He made a big deal out of traveling all over the country, meeting ordinary folk, but then returned to Facebook and did nothing to meet the needs of those ordinary folk. It was just an excuse for him to travel around the country and make a few PR points.

I don't have a problem with people creating other platforms for those with particular interests. There are social media platforms out there for hunters, gun enthusiasts, Quilters, and just about any other group that you can think of. Those groups are great for those people communicating with each other. But that is kind of like the church only taking God's Word to saved people.

I'm not saying that any of my conservative and Christian posts are doing anything to change anyone's mind, but I am at least letting others know what is right. If I just shut down my account because I am ticked off at Facebook, or whatever social media account is involved, I no longer have any access to the people who could probably use a little truth and perspective in their life.

Yes, there are also dangers involved with participating in social media. Men have fallen for old flames, new flames, and just fallen back in love with their old single life, ruining their marriage because of online activity with social media. Despite the age restrictions put on Facebook accounts, children have been lured into dangerous and sometimes deadly situations because their parents are too sorry to monitor their social media accounts.

But I have a news flash for you. There is an inherent danger with leaving your house everyday. You could even die in your house, alone. We face dangers with everything that we do, including breathing.

There is nothing wrong with playing by the rules set forth by whatever social media platform you use, as long as those rules do not violate scripture. If they try to force me to add something that is pro-abortion, or Pro sodomite to my account, then I must leave. But if they are just trying to censor my speech a little bit, I will just continue to learn how to navigate around their rules to be able to have the platform that I want to have and share my views and ideas.

There is plenty of good in social media. That is actually my number one news source. I see the links to legitimate news that are posted and I look into those issues. I have not sat down and watched, or listened to an actual national news show in probably over 4 years. I follow local news personalities to keep abreast of the news and weather back home while I travel. I follow a lot of conservative personalities to keep abreast of national and international events. I also check out some of the stories that I see my liberal friends share. I actually do find it a value to know how they think on some of these issues. I usually find their thinking to be disturbing, but I come away with at least knowing how disturbing their thought process is.

If Facebook or any other social media platform is causing you to sin, then I suggest you get rid of it. But if you are just upset that they are censoring what you say, just be smart, and learn how to navigate their rules. America needs conservative voices in every Avenue available to them.