The Social Media Dilemma

Today I watched a new documentary call "The Social Media Dilemma".  What an eye opener and what a tragedy for the future of humanity if things do not change in the minds and hearts of all human beings.  This documentary was done by those people who invented the social media platforms used by billions of people in the world today.  These people are worried about the future of mankind.

The following words are from my notes while watching.  I have put them in alphabetical order since they are actually all in the number one position of what I deemed important and what faces the entire scope of human beings on the planet today.  Each person must decide for themselves the importance of social media in the lives of those they care about.

Addiction

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Brainwashed

Chaos

Clueless

Conspiracy

Control

Death

Destruction

Divide

Division

Dopamine

Dystopia

Exploitation

False information makes money

Hatred

Influence

Lies

Manipulation

Money

Power

Program

Psychological

Seduction

Self absorption

Self worth

Social media is a drug

Tribalism

Truth

Truth is boring

Users are associated with drugs and software

Vanity

Violence

War

Zombies

Covid 101

Life moves on and the days pass by, slowly.  Nothing is the same and none of us know who or what is pulling the strings of this bizarre time of life. 

It has been 6 months since the world shut down because of the corona virus.  Covid-19 is the name they have given it.  As of today there have been around 187,000 deaths attributed to the virus in just the USA.  But in just the past week we have learned that only 9,000 have died from the virus alone.  All of the others who have died had other conditions that were causing serious health issues for them prior to the virus showing up on earth.  I believe the corona virus, which is an influenza virus, was just the final blow for these people who were mostly older and mostly of ill health.  Across the globe over 800,000 have died and each death is being counted as a corona virus death.  There have been over 26.5 million positive cases of the virus worldwide.  This equates to roughly a 0.03% chance of dying from this flu virus and a .03% chance of testing positive.

 

At no time on earth has the entire human population been exposed to this amount of testing and with the planet now having a population of 7.8 billion people.  The testing of .032% of the world population is very minimal. But government officials have closed off their countries, closed down their cities, closed down their people for the most part.  Nations are in shut down.  People are out of work.  Children are not going to school.  People are required to wear masks when they are out in public.  People are required to stay 6 feet away from one other.  There are no large gatherings, at least legal gathering.  The riots and protests in large cities are another story.

 

We have come to a time in life where there are no answers to the questions.  From a religious perspective, I can live without the answers, though the questions are still on my mind. Why?  Why with such a minuscule amount of death from only one of a thousand diseases on the planet, have the leaders of nations jumped to this surreal way of handling this virus?  Is there something more sinister at work here? 

 

A very time long ago 50% of the population on the British Isles died of disease.  That was hundreds and hundreds of years ago and modern medicine has eradicated so many diseases in the past centuries.  Why are there so many modern doctors and medical experts so unraveled by this virus?  Because it is new?  The other corona viruses SARS (2003) and MERS (2012) never freaked them out to react with such devastating public consequences.  And by the way, there are no cures or vaccines for those corona viruses today.

 

It's a very weird time of life.  No one has solutions. No one has answers.  No one is telling us the whole truth.  Only God knows how this one will pan out in the end.  It will end though, one way or another.

A letter to my Christian brothers and sisters - Take Heed

 August 29, 2020 - A letter to my Christian brothers and sisters:

If you say that you are a Christian are you doing your best to show others the love, kindness, and compassion of our Almighty Father?  Are you showing the world how Jesus would act and respond in such a time as this?  Are you doing your best to control your opinions, your words, and your actions, to exemplify our Savior?  Or are you Christian in name only and not in action?

I have been there.  I called myself a Christian the entire 8 years Obama was in office and yet I belittled him, called him names, spewed disrespect in my words and actions, and said with my own mouth that I hated him.  I lost several friendships over this type of action and rightly so.  I was not acting Christian in any sense and only hurting many of the people I called friend, even family.  I hope I will be forgiven by the Lord and the people I hurt with my words and actions back then. 

Fast forward, we moved in the President Trump era.  I hear many of my friends and family doing exactly to Trump what I had been doing to Obama and his people.  How can I be offended when I know that I did the same thing to another president?  How can I not forgive my Christian family and friends whose words and actions are far from being any kind of love or compassion when I did the same thing for 8 Obama years?  How can I call them Christian hypocrites when I was exactly the same? 

Nothing I did or said back in the Obama years changed anything that happened in our nation during that administration.  I spewed my hate for the man and it literally had no effect, whatsoever, on his time in office.  He didn’t hear me.  Those closest to him did not hear me.  99% of the nation did not hear me.  The only ones who heard me were the people in my tiny, little circle of life.  My unkind outspokenness only caused grief for some of my family and my friends. 

If you are a Christian and you are acting like I did, I implore you, don’t do it.  Don’t go there.  You will lose some of the people that have brought you joy and smiles throughout the years.  You will look back at yourself and wonder why you abandoned your Christian values over hatred and disrespect for a man you do not honestly know and never will.  You will never sit down and speak with the President of the United States and get to know him.  You do however know Jesus Christ if you are an honest to goodness follower of Christ.  He has told each of us to love one another, not hate those who we do not agree with in values, morals, or even political stance.  (John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, I Peter 3:8).  He has told us not to judge the actions of others and let him take care of the world and the affairs of the world. (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, Micah 5:15, Jeremiah 51:11).

The word “heed” is defined as; “pay careful attention to; take notice of.”  The words “heed” is in the NIV version of the Bible over 2,500 times.  Do you think the Lord was trying to get his point across to his people that we need to take heed of his words, our words, his actions, and our actions?  I am trying harder and harder these days to choose my words wisely or say nothing at all.  The only way we can save our relationships with family members and our relationships with friends and acquaintances is try our best not to offend with our words and our actions. I am far from getting it all right but I am trying.  If you are a Christian I hope you will try too.

They Lied

                                                        They Lied

 

They told God to get out of the schools.

They told God to get out of the government.

They told the people that sex outside of marriage was fine.

They told the people that homosexual sex was normal.

They told the people that men could marry men and women could marry women.

They told the people aborting an unborn child was nothing.

They told the people the government would take care of all their needs.

They told the people to stay home, not go to work, not go to school,

Avoid all human contact or you will die.

They lied.

They have been lying for decades.

Only God can save you now.

You had better find him before it is too late.

If you do know him, you’d better be talking to others and praying for the lost souls.

There are billions of them.

 

Proverbs 8:35

For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.

 

 

Debrakay

8-17-2020

SUFFERING

 The people suffer and curse their image of god.

The people of the One True God call upon him for relief.

Has God abandoned His people?

Have His people abandoned Him?

Will the Father abandon His children?

Have the children of God walked away from Him?

How many days and years can God watch His people dishonor Him?

Many speak out of the love of God.

He is a God of love.

He is a God of wrath.

How can He be both love and wrath?

A father who loves his children will teach them discipline.

He will teach them that trials and failures bring strength.

He will allow each child a free will to accept or reject his teachings.

When a child turns their back to their father they are left to live their own life.

If the failures and trials become more than the child can bear, they suffer.

Suffering children have a choice to return to their father or continue in their suffering.

The return of the child to the father’s house brings joy to the father.

His arms are open and his love is apparent.

Just as the human father welcomes his child home, the Creator Father does the same.

He calls time and time again for His child to return to him.

His love is immeasurable and eternal.

His wrath and abandonment is the choice of the people.

People are free to choose love or wrath.

People are free to choose God or themselves.

Choose God and receive love and forgiveness.

Choose yourself and live with abandonment and wrath.

 

Matthew 11:28- 30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Where Do We Go Now?

Sunday, August 2, 2020

3:00 PM

 

It is hard to understand what has happened this year.  Two years ago when my brain tumor was found, I was asking the same questions, but at that time it was for me personally.  This time it is about the entire planet and all of it's inhabitants, not just me.

 

The economies of all nations are suffering.  Most have lost more than 10% of it's economy and there seems to be no reprieve in sight. There are people who have lost everything.  They have lost their businesses.  They have lost their jobs.  They have lost their incomes.  As this moves forward, many will lose their homes.  They will have to start completely over.  Of course, that will not happen until businesses open at full capacity.  I honestly do not see that happening the remainder of this year and into the next year.  It will be a very slow recovery and the recovery has not even begun.  Most of the government restrictions are still in place across the world.  Schools are not reopening this month or next month.  Large gatherings for any kind of entertainment are still closed.  For the most case, in Oregon, we have a limit of 10 persons per gathering, regardless if it is a private gathering or a public gathering.  These kinds of restrictions are ongoing across the globe.

 

So what does God think of all of this?  Does he even care anymore about the suffering of the people?  Does he hear the cries of the hopeless people asking 'why'?  Can he or will he, move to end the suffering? 

 

God has watched the suffering of people since the beginning of time.   He also knows that much of the suffering is of our own free will.  As humans, we have chosen to turn our backs on God.  We have chosen not to follow him and his way.  We have obliterated him from the minds of the children and then we wonder why the children are up in arms, are disrespectful, are lost in their own selfish desires and wants.  All across the nations, God has been booted out of the lives of the people yet when there is suffering they turn their screams and cries to him and ask him to end the suffering.  As he hears the people call out to him, his heart of compassion comes along side of them.  He has not walked away from them, ever, but they have walked away from him.  It does not mean he has stopped loving them, ever.  It means he will only come to the aid of the people when they cry out to him and ask for his help. 

 

Over and over throughout time and throughout scripture we have heard the stories of the lost people coming back to the Father.  Mostly it happens during a time of suffering.  When the people of Israel were held in slavery by the Egyptians they had no choice but to do as their slave masters told them.  If they did not, they were killed.  They suffered for 400 years as slaves to the rulers of Egypt.  But the time came when God responded to the cries and led them out of slavery.  It was a tough road with many more years of hardship but they were no longer slaves.

 

Exodus 6:6 (NIV)

Therefore, say to the Israelites:  I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

 

Will it take 400 years for God to hear the cries of his people again?  I have no idea, but it is a possibility.  The United States was built on the premises of faith and freedom.  That was 400 years ago this year.  But America stayed faithful to God up until 50 years ago.  As America walked away from God we watched the people of the nation fall into pits of evil and hellish ways.  The people became selfish and killed their unborn children in the womb.  Both sexes became selfish and lusted after their own kind.  All became obsessed with money and power.  The spiral to hell has continued and is now spinning so fast that one cannot keep up with the evilness and vileness of the human being. 

 

As I see it today, the people of America and the people of the world will continue in their suffering and mostly because of their own doing.  You can't blame God when you don't believe in God.  You can't expect God to help you when you never thanked him for the good things in life.  I would like to be writing a more positive word than words of a bleak future.  I'd like to be a shining light for God filled with words of hope, encouragement, and a pleasant future.  Instead, I am here writing about a suffering people and a God who may chose not to alleviate any of the current suffering.  For 400 years, in just one story, he did not help.  There is another story of the destruction of Jerusalem and the people taken into slavery by the Babylonian nation.  They lived in slavery for 70 years during that period of suffering. 

 

Jeremiah 15:2 (NIV)

And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “ ‘Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.’

 

I guess my best hope today is that American's only suffer for 70 years and not 400 years. I don't want to be known as a follower of Christ with only bad news on my lips.  What I would like for God to do in this day and age of suffering is to melt the hearts of those with hard hearts.  To make himself known to the god-hater.  To find a way to speak to those who feel alone in their hopelessness.  To raise up and army of believers to take back what evilness has destroyed.  To bring the people back to their knees before him.  I would like to hear of and see revival in the hearts of the lost and those who have walked away from God.

 

The God that I know can do this.  He can make a way to do this, but only if it is his will to do so.  6 months, 70 years, or 400 years God can make changes in and to the lives of the people he loves.  Our part is to be patient, pray, and watch and see what God can do.

 

The following scripture in the book of Revelation repeats the words from Jeremiah, but then God added the last sentence to give us hope.  Hope in him and his plan.

 

Revelation 13:10 (NIV)

“If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

Power of Twelve - 2 Years Later (written on July 12, 2020)

In 17 days it will be two years since the Lord decided to start the Power of Twelve group.  It all began with a brain tumor in my head and then a move by the Holy Spirit.  From the beginning each of us that responded to the call knew that the Lord has called us to meet and hear from Him.  Some of us have been here from the beginning and some have been called to join us as we moved ahead month by month.   Each one are chosen by the Lord and each one has answered his call with a "Yes" and "Amen".

Who would ever have guessed we would be here at this moment in time?  Who would ever have guessed we would need to hear the voice of the Lord at such an imperative time in the creation of the world?  We have talked about the word "coincidence" and all of us agree that God moves and always has a plan.  It's definitely no coincidence we are right here, right now, on this day.

He wants each of us to know His love is more powerful and more "Ever" lasting than anything and everything that happens in a day.  He hears.  He knows.  He sees.  He feels.  He cries.  He continues to call out to the lost ones.  He brings hope.  He brings faith. He brings joy. He brings peace.  He brings love to ALL!

He is asking each of us to dig deep into our hearts and show love and kindness no matter how hard it might be.  We are His light in a world that only continues to become darker.  He wants us to stand firm in our faith, even while thee raging storms are around us.  We will bend but we will not break because He holds us up.

Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Ephesians 6:10-12 (MSG)

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Write Again Says the Lord

The days have all melted together for the past 4 month since we were hit with the Coronavirus.  Nothing has been normal and nothing will be normal again since it has gone on this long.  Personally, it has been a very testing time for me.  I have always thought I would get through anything but this one has me sitting on the sidelines looking at the days flash by like never before.  

I have been strong in the Lord for 40 plus years and even this has me questioning my life choices.  There are no questions of the Lord, only myself.  I have been fairly complacent as the days have moved on.  I have not fretted too much or complained excessively.  I have mostly hunkered down waiting for whatever to happen, to happen.  For 4 months nothing much has happened.  Except for 126 passing by and 20 pounds of extra weight on my already extra 30 pounds.  I eat, sleep, and work.  

With all of this said, I had to ask the Lord,

"Why do you want me to write again?  I really don't want to put down my complaints and my negativity.  I just want to quietly sit by and watch as the days move by."

"Many, many, many, are feeling like you. They are exhausted by the days of this terrible ordeal.  The fear for them is overwhelming at times and they have to tell themselves to breathe.  Their hearts hurt. Their minds are spinning out of control.  They can't focus on the good in life. All they hear is the bad.  They need some hope and some assurance that one day they will begin to heal.  They would certainly heal faster if they would come to me and let me carry their burdens.  But their stubbornness and pride prevent them from seeking me."

"Lord, I can't help them with my words.  I am having a hard time too."

"I know Daughter, but you have a way of telling others that things will be alright, even when times are dark.  You have a way to soften the feelings of others with just a simple expression of faith and love.  Your words have been my words for years and you should know that by now.  Just look at what I have accomplished through you with your simple words."

"Alright, Lord.  I will do as you ask and try to speak from your heart, to mine, to them."

So here we are listeners. Here I am writing again.  I really never expected to write about faith and hope during a pandemic.  I really never expected there to be riots, looting, killing, and threats of ending the American dream with socialism, communism, and Marxism rapping on the door of our free, independent nation.  I never expected a brain tumor almost 2 years ago either, but here we are.  Life is different and becoming increasing different each and every day.  There is not one single person who can tell you what tomorrow will bring.  

The point of all of this is that only the Creator of the Universe knows what is happening.  Even if you are not a believer you have to admit that something supernatural is happening on earth today.  We can question every single thing and we will still find we have no answers.  We can cry and scream and throw a tantrum which will change nothing.  There is not one human being who can change what has happened and what is going to happen.  This is the point in life where we finally admit defeat.  We can change nothing.  We can postpone things by running away.  We can hide and hope tomorrow does not find us.  There it is.  The only real answer.  You can run, but you cannot hide.  

There is  a time in every single human life on this planet where there is a question about life and death.  Why are we born?  Why do we die?  All of your friends will give you their opinion of life and you get to decide if you want to find answers for yourself or assume they know what they are talking about and just accept their path.  If you are a follower, you will let them lead you on their path, which will not be your own.  If you are more of a leader, you will listen to your friends, but then make your own choices.  If you are a fence sitter, you will just keep sitting there, hoping to fall off the fence on the right side when the time comes.

As I write this, my only advice would be, decide for yourself.  Don't let others choose your path to faith, truth, hope, and love.  None of us have chosen this path of living in a pandemic, living in a season of terrorism and turmoil, and watching others try to take away the dreams of all who live in America.  I would encourage you to be a leader in your own life, not a follower of someone else or a fence sitter.  At least wake up and search for something.  Search for something good even when it doesn't look so good.  Try to find a positive amongst all of the negative.  Be different. Do something different than what everyone else is doing.  

I'm writing again.  I'm hearing again.  I'm speaking out again.  I want everyone to know that your choices can be what makes all the difference in your world.  Choose wisely.

July - Winter Season

It is pouring down rain, cold and wet today and here it is the first day of July.  It feels and looks like it could be the first of December.  If we did not have calendar you might be able to persuade someone it really was winter!

The weather is just another one of the weird circumstances surrounding this entire year so far.  It seems like we just got done with Christmas and then in January we made it to a basketball game of our grandson's in Washington State.  That was late January, early February.  Around this same time we were hearing of passengers stuck on cruise ships for weeks with some kind of sickness.  Then all American travelers were told to get back into the United States now, as they were going to close the borders.  That was done and then each of the states started shutting down business, school, events, church, everything!

All of the upcoming graduation plans, wedding plans, vacation plans, sporting events, everything, cancelled.   We all stood around our home with the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights look.  What just happened? Life stopped.  What is going to happen now?  Nothing and I do mean nothing.  Many of us went straight to God in prayer for answers.  I did not get an answer except; "Be patient.  Be at peace.  Rest in me."  That was three and one-half months ago.  That was in March.  Now it is July.  

My life feels like a winter.  My heart feels like a winter.  My brain feels like a winter.  Everything is cold and gray.  Nothing is shining.  Nothing feels good.  I keep waiting for God to say something else to me but he is quiet.  I wish I knew what this is all for.  I wish I could find some joy during all of this.  I wish I could find a way out but there is no way out.  

Millions and millions of us across the globe are feeling this way.  We are all uncertain of what tomorrow may bring.  The younger generations have gone out of control as they have nothing to draw from.  There is no God for them to reach out to.  They have never known him or even wanted to know him.  They have focused their 20,30,40 years on themselves and have nothing else to guide them.  They are protesting, rioting, vandalizing, looting, even killing.  They are the lost souls that God wanted to save but never got the chance to meet.  

Could it be that all of this will continue as God finds a way to meet some of these lost souls?  If so, I will try to be more patient as we go through this winter season of life.  He waited for me at one time in my life to come to him so maybe he is waiting for you to call upon him.  At this point in time what do you have to lose?

God’s Wrath or God’s Love

The people suffer and curse their image of god.

The people of the One True God call upon him for relief.

Has God abandoned His people?

Have His people abandoned Him?

Will the Father abandon His children?

Have the children of God walked away from Him?

How many days and years can God watch His people dishonor Him?

Many speak out of the love of God.

He is a God of love.

He is a God of wrath.

How can He be both love and wrath?

A father who loves his children will teach them discipline.

He will teach them that trials and failures bring strength.

He will allow each child a free will to accept or reject his teachings.

When a child turns their back to their father they are left to live their own life.

If the failures and trials become more than the child can bear, they suffer.

Suffering children have a choice to return to their father or continue in their suffering.

The return of the child to the father’s house brings joy to the father.

His arms are open and his love is apparent.

Just as the human father welcomes his child home, the Creator Father does the same.

He calls time and time again for His child to return to him.

His love is immeasurable and eternal.

His wrath and abandonment is the choice of the people.

People are free to choose love or wrath.

People are free to choose God or themselves.

Choose God and receive love and forgiveness.

Choose yourself and live with abandonment and wrath.

Matthew 11:28- 30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.