FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:
FACT-CHECK ALL INFO FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
Paraphrasing an old but still sound cliche, IF anything sounds or looks too good and too easy to be true, it most likely is—especially in the last days when confusion, contradiction, counterfeiting, deception and distraction were prophesied to prepare the way for Satan’s final “over mastering delusion,” just before Jesus comes.
Hence, it is even more vital now that we first “stop, look, and listen,” “look to the left and right before crossing the street” or “test the condition and depth of the waters before leaping in. Or as the Bible says, “Count the cost first” before engaging in any endeavor.
Indeed, Caution and precaution are the “parents of safety.” An American Indian proverb says “Words [spoken but particularly printed] are like arrows; when you shoot them they never come back again.” Just look at the American democracy-shattering and history-making event that the nation and the world watched in disbelief abs horror that happened at the Capitol Building—the physical symbol and center of the exceptionalism of the American democratic process—-as men and women, egged on and corrupted by conspiracy theories and lies propagated on social media platforms, deteriorated into fanatical “patriots” and turned them into irrational, wild-eyed, war-like people you would normally see acting that way in third-world countries and banana republics.
“It is part of my responsibility and accountability to God towards you, members of His flock, as one of His little “watchmen and light bearers” and “under shepherd” to remind all to be EXTRA discerning and vigilant on how you access, accept, search, receive, process and handle all kinds of information and content in age of information explosion—-especially coming from the mammoth social media platforms and influencers. While their owners have set their own standards of public interest and safety, God’s people in these last days described as not only as the “commandment-keepers that have the faith of Jesus” but are “patient.” This characteristic virtue of patience—-in an overwhelming global environment and atmosphere of impatience, impulsive-compulsive behavior and reactionary rather than well-informed proactive, thoughtful decision-making and plans—-is in itself, a valuable defense and protection. It dramatically reduces, if not totally preemptive, of many unanticipated, unforeseen, unhelpful and even regrettable choices, decisions, and actions.
Here are some practical tips:
1) Read carefully and unhurriedly: do not immediately “read between the lines” with your own preconceived ideas and opinions involved right away—these leans heavily on subjectivity instead of objectivity.
2) Pray and consult the Bible and Testimonies first as your main “man of counsel,” focusing on what God has chosen to reveal in prophecy: that is what is for: use it to your advantage and to Satan’s disadvantage.
3) Fact check in the internet what other official sites are saying.
4) Consult those whom you know and trust as having experience, maturity, knowledge and understanding of such matters, intellectually and spiritually. Remember that sincerity and purity of motives, in and of themselves alone, are not enough to win a war. We are in fact fighting the war of all wars, hence, our General personally designed and ordered us to wisely use “the whole armor of God” specified in Ephesians 6:10-18. Review your war manual again in conjunction with the marching-working orders detailed in Matthew 10: 1-42.
This is how to “fight the good fight of faith,” “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints,” and “overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil” as we navigate the treacherous stretch ahead heavily-mined with Sagan’s “unnumbered snare.”
Remember that God is on our side IF we are on His side, not on the opposite, opposing or complacent or compromising side of the great controversy. Win a personal battle today. God bless all, NMF
