Not that many decades ago that most professing Christians had not connected to the Internet. Now, there are millions of them with FB pages, Twitter, TikTok, and blogs. They are a way for individuals to be recognized that would have slipped through life only noticed by a few local people. It is not a bad thing to be popular if the purpose is to minister or stay in contact with family and friends. The problem is when people become obsessed with being famous. Each day begins a quest for “likes” and “shares.” It has led to plagiarism by some individuals. I know of several that steal the intellectual work of someone and post it as their own words. I confronted one individual repeatedly for copying my articles and reposting them as his work. He became very popular until he passed away. Plagiarism is lying. It is, by all definition, deception. The only motivation for plagiarizing is to build up oneself to be something they are not. It is all about “likes,” “shares,” and popularity. Popularity has a very short lifespan on the Internet. It requires an obsessive stream of posts to receive a tiny glow of the spotlight. Competing for who will be God’s most popular spokesperson is religious silliness. Continue reading

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:2

One part of that sentence doesn’t get a lot of attention. Paul reveals that someone might write a letter to the church as if from him. Imagine that! And we thought that emails and texts pretending to be legit were a recent phenomenon. The Early Church had to sort through many false letters when determining what to include in the Bible. Paul revealed in person and by letters what God wanted the churches to know. But he was likely warned by the Holy Spirit that people would attempt to deceive them. Few people would go through the bother in that period to do such a thing. Parchment was scarce and expensive, and sending it was costly. They were on a mission influenced by Satan. The goal was to discourage the Believers, cause division, and hinder Paul’s ministry. Continue reading

During my childhood, I worked along with my mom and brothers tending to a large garden and even larger truck patch. From end of summer and until spring of the following year, the garden and truck patch grew over with weeds and grass. Except for the strawberry plot, it all had to be tilled. We raked the weeds, cockleburs, and grass in piles and removed them. Then, we plowed rows for planting and sowed the seeds. Each day, we conducted Maintenance to prevent weeds and grass from taking over again. Considering the references to seed and planting in God’s word, can we understand that plowing comes before planting and planting comes before a harvest? If so, why do we invited individuals that have “plow-and-seed-phobia” when we advertise a harvest? Most church need a prophet but they send for an entertainer. People may complain about the prophet, “We don’t like the speaker. He is negative and makes me uncomfortable.” Good, then he is doing God’s will. How long will the “spots” among our “feasts of charity” might remain and feed without fear. (Jude 1:12)

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12 Continue reading