God with us

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.—Psalm 18:6 KJV

It should be a comfort, if you are a Christian, to know that God hears you. The question is—do you have faith enough to believe it? I encounter people all the time who say they are Christians but who are weak in the knees when it comes to believing God for what they need. They don't have confidence to approach God's throne of grace themselves so they ask others to do it for them— "Please pray for me." No question intercessory prayer is a powerful ally, but our personal prayers are what's needed to move God to act on our behalf. The Bible clearly states in James 5:16—

The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].—AMP

With that kind of power right at our fingertips, prayer should be automatic in every situation we face. Nevertheless, God is gracious to answer our unspoken prayers as well as the prayers of others for us. Sometimes, when someone experiences an instant or miraculous answer to prayer, you know without a doubt that it came from God. At other times, He may delay the answer or give a partial answer so that we might labor in prayer until the answer comes.

God knows everything about us before we even open our mouths to tell him. He wouldn't be God if He didn't. He's the omniscient, omnipotent (all-knowing, all powerful) God, nothing is hidden from His sight. David wrote in Psalm 139:2—

I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence.

So, you ask, why pray if God knows everything? One reason is because God commands us to "pray without ceasing"... because this is the way God wants those who belong to Christ Jesus to live (1 Thessalonians 5:16). The other reason is our prayers unleash God's power into the situation. Angels spring into action at God's command to rescue believing Christians who cry out to Him. That's what prayer does. Here's a simple analogy: You have a car at your disposal to take you anywhere you want to go, at anytime. You have the keys to the car. But if you don't put them in the ignition and start the car, it will never do what it's suppose to do. It's the same with prayer—it works best when you use it.

A final thought, if God is ever present in a believer's life, then the reverse must also be true—the believer is always in God's presence. Now that's reason to rejoice and pray.

Note: If you are unsure of or want a closer relationship with the God of the Bible, you'll find help at Peace with God.

Facebook may not be the best way to make friends

A post on Facebook or a "tweet" on Twitter can't replace a hug.

While Facebook has enabled us to become more connected across geographic, cultural and generational divides, it’s also left many people, particularly the young, feeling more disconnected. ---Margie Warrell, Forbes

Click. I just unfriended some people on my Facebook page. Unfriending someone may sound cold and heartless, but to be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be. I felt no emotional pangs whatsoever. Besides, it made perfect sense under the circumstances. Except for incessant snippets and snapshot postings about "what's on [their] minds," I realized that I had no real connection to the people I unfriended. They weren't really my friends; they belonged to someone else. I added them because Facebook kept pushing me to do it, so I did.

In order to create a Facebook account, you have to add friends to your profile. My friends and your friends are Facebook's bread and butter. As the largest social media site in the world with 1.4 billion users, Facebook brings home 1 billion per quarter in advertising revenue thanks largely to the friends you and I feed into it. The more friends we add, the better Facebook likes us. Facebook gleans through the snippets of personal data we provide in our posts, sells the information to advertisers who then feed it back to us in the form of ads on our Facebook page. Adding insult to injury, some users have also been touting Facebook as a way for you to even make money off your friends.

But forget about Facebook's motives, the real danger here is what Facebook is doing to our ability as human beings to relate to each other in meaningful ways. Before Facebook, a friend was usually someone with whom you shared life, a history and emotional ties; someone you cared about and who cared about you. Facebook changed all that by creating a platform that promotes instant friendships between persons whose only real connection may indeed be in cyberspace. In his blog, "Social media, Pretend Friends and the Lie of False Intimacy," writer Jay Baer says:

Social media forces upon us a feeling of intimacy and closeness that doesn't actually exist....Is that what we want – spending considerable time building large networks of shallow connections, potentially at the expense of deepening a few cherished friendships upon which we can truly rely?

With social media users spending on average an aggregate of 700 billion minutes a month online, the opportunity to cultivate and nurture offline friendships diminishes. The generation mostly affected are 18 to 24 year-olds who comprise 98 percent of social media users. Wherever you look, nowadays, you see young adults with their faces buried in their android devices, presumably checking their Facebook page, rather than interacting with the people around them. I remember watching a young couple in a restaurant having dinner. Between bites of food, their attention was focused more on their smartphones than on each other. And they're not alone, some older adults are just as guilty of this behavior. I wonder what 'Dear Abby' would say about someone who constantly checks their phone when they're with you?

So where are we headed as a society in light of our dogged reliance and near obsession with social media connectivity. A study by the American Sociological Association suggests that we are heading down a dangerous path toward social isolation, if not social stagnation:

The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be. This change indicates something that’s not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. --- Lynn Smith-Lovin, professor of Sociology at Duke University 

A post on Facebook or a "tweet" on Twitter can never replace a hug when you really need one. Hopefully, you have someone in your life who can fill the role of being there when you need them. When God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, he placed within their DNA a unique material property that seeks to pair up and replicate itself. God created Humankind to have a relationship with Him, and with other people. Belonging defines our place in this world. Life is made richer by mutually satisfying relationships that are nurtured over time.  We are defined by our relationships. Clearly, there needs to be a balance as well as a distinction between those relationships we create online and those we pursue in real life.

The people I unfriended from my Facebook page probably won't even miss me, or even realize that I'm gone. Well, no matter. No longer having to read their posts will give me more time to make a few more phone calls, send personal notes to friends I haven't connected with in awhile and join some real life friends for a game of cards. I'm sure Facebook will be waiting when I get back.

Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me --Job 29:4-5

Halloween: How should Christians respond

"Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12:21 NLT

Halloween is big business in the U.S. According to the National Retail Federation, "Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday, with Christmas being the first." Halloween spending in the U.S. alone reached $9 billion 2018. Halloween is too big to ignore, and almost impossible to boycott. And it's not going to go away as long as commercial business continues to reap huge profits from sales during its observance. Halloween is celebrated in many other countries around the world.

Most people who celebrate Halloween, have no idea about its pagan roots; or for that matter, its Christian connection. To those who celebrate it, Halloween simply represents a fun time for kids as well as grown ups. There is certainly a counter-culture somewhere that worships the darker side of Halloween. But generally speaking, those folks are not the ones who come knocking at your door asking for treats.

Halloween is a divisive topic for Christians resulting in spirited debates over Halloween's flirtation with evil, and whether Christ followers ought to partake in this holiday. A Gallup Poll survey found that Christians are divided over religious objections to Halloween. Asan alternative, some Christian groups compromise by hosting counter celebrations that capture the fun but not the spirit of the holiday. Some just avoid any observance whatsoever preferring to wall themselves up behind closed doors when the kids come knocking. But what purpose does it serve for Christians to isolate and cut themselves off from a potential opportunity to witness to a ready pool of potential converts?

The biggest trick played on Halloween is Christian kids and adults being bottled up inside churches or homes all night. That’s right! Hiding from the devil in the family life center and surrendering the neighborhood to little Ghouls, goblins, and witches is a victory for old Beelzebub. He’s got the church right where he wants it: inside the four walls, hunkered down behind the stained glass. ---Andy Freeman, The Enemy's Victory

There's a better way. While Halloween in no way deserves the same stature as Christmas and Easter, it does provide opportunities that are unique to this holiday. For example, Halloween gives Christians an opportunity to engage with non-Christians—literally, right on their doorstep. But if some Christians can't see beyond the costumed ghosts, goblins and witches that show up, they will likely miss an opportunity to shine "light" into the dark world of Halloween.

Are some Christians trying to remove themselves from the world? Ignoring Halloween or celebrating it with believers only is not exactly an evangelical approach. Aren't we supposed to "become all things to all men so that by all possible means" we might save some? (1 Corinthians 9:22) Halloween brings our neighbors out into the streets. I can think of various creative ways to seize this opportunity for developing new relationships and sharing my faith. —Mary Fairchild, Christians and Halloween

Perhaps it's time the Christian community develop a more evangelistic strategy toward Halloween that goes beyond avoidance and isolation to focusing on sharing the gospel . Think of it as overcoming evil with good like Jesus did.

Christians should use Halloween and all that it brings to the imagination--death imagery, superstition, expressions of debauched revelry--as an opportunity to engage the unbelieving world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. —Travis Allen, Grace to You

It may mean keeping your door open for Trick or Treaters. And as you hand out candy, put a gospel tract or card in their bag. In other words, re-purpose Halloween by transforming it into an opportunity to let your light shine even brighter for Jesus. Jesus never ran from evil. Instead, he confronted it head-on exposing it for what it was.

 God commands his people to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace daily. Christians are to have evangelism on their minds every day and  look for those opportunities to witness Jesus Christ to a dark world.—Leftbehind.com

In the past, Halloween was mostly about costumes and candy. Today, it's still largely about that, but it can also be about reaching  neighbors who may never have another chance to hear the gospel.

(Updated 10/2019)