Living Martyrs: July 2013

These are some shallow times and there's very little depth to today’s man. It’s hard to find not just good people, but real people. People who are truly interested in lives. It's my responsibility as a father, husband and more so a Christian to dig deep and NOT allow myself OR my family (which is my 1st ministry) to settle for mediocrity. God spoke in his word about this age and how it would be selfish and shallow, lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (2 Tim 3:1-9). It's not interested in real relationships. Most people only know us so superficially, they never really develop the discipline it takes to go deep enough into a relationship. The amount of work it requires is too high a cost for most, too great a risk of people getting to know the REAL you. We are lazy by nature and treat real living breathing relationship like face book accounts. This media driven society does not allow us to live in the NOW! The present, (Hence which is a gift) is rarely lived due to status updates constantly going on in our minds. It has become the battle of tweets and status updates, producing spirits of envy, jealousy, and depression all in the name of vanity and needing to be validated. All the while we're competing with a false perception (because no one posts reality) we are left trying to get heat from a painted fire (Proverbs 12:15). Being Omnipresent like social gods desperately seeking attention / worth, burdened with various passions. Yet we are always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of truth. Most never take the time to get to know the multiplicity of who we are. It’s usually a one dimensional experience and the main focus is ME, Me, Me and what can I get out of this relationship, or what should I share to better portray myself. Therefore never getting to experience true fellowship, friendship or the ABUNDANT LIFE ( John 10:10 ). We are an image conscious generation that has created social avatars to represent the us we rather portray. We use these avatars who are like our safe versions of reality and never going into deep ( it's the one we use by default, our avatar that projects like everything is OK ) while we are dying inside.( Matthew 11:16 )

Man was not meant to be alone (1 Corinthians 1:9, Genesis 2:18). Why do we put so much effort into defending an image / lie only to get upset at the world around us for not being understanding, personal, or relatable. We then begin to say things like people are not real, cold and no one cares, not realizing we have allowed the stage to be set for such a performance... Funny how we can sit in front of a screen and share openly with the world wide web yet the real world around us knows us not (Matthew5:14-16). What a façade we have bought into and called it community, communications, and relationships / friends. Many people are trapped in the web and don’t realize the impact of the web. Keep in mind how a Spiders likes to trap their prey in the web, and keep them bound until time for feeding (Matthew 12:29). This is the same tactic Satan is using in modern society today. Having people bound and then feeding them lies allowing the poison to spread while becoming the Lord of their emotions. “What a web we weave”. I think soon there will be social media shrinks if not already... The scary part is that we have allowed ourselves to be conditioned with this social disorder; we have forgotten the responsibility that comes with creating and sustain relationships. We have become selfish and bought into this “I” generation. Hence why everything is I-pod, I-pad and now I-God. Yet just like a thief, social media robs us daily and breeds introverts. We have more virtual relationship than real up and close personal ones. What have we become? Did you know humans need physical touch? The sound of a voice can work a miracle rather than then reading of text! We were not created to be hid away behind a screen living a cyber life but created for greatness, adventure and helping change lives through sacrifice and commitment and community. But because we have abandoned both sacrifice and commitment we have produced what you see around you. Busyness a BUSY generation accomplishing nothing but….
(Being Under Satan’s Yoke) Matthew 11:28-30

I find it interesting how we all have more friends now than ever before and invest so much in them "yet" we have LESS equity in these relationships. Why? How do we have more resources / tools of communication yet are more disconnected? Because nurturing a real relationship is a lost art and priceless when found. It never loses value but increases in time. It earns equity because of the quality of its craftsmanship, not like a cheap copy of a Mona Lisa that has no real value. A real relationship is a masterpiece that survives the realm of time and allows you to withdraw from it when needed due to your investment / equity gained through the years, especially in hardships! But today's friendships / relationships have high interest rates with little gain on your investment. When you’re in need and try to withdraw from these relationships you quickly find out that you have very little equity gained (which equals trust) and you are left with a negative balance because of the little interest in YOU but the HIGH interest in what can be gained from YOU. It is truly the "I" generation and everyone is interested in themselves and how much they can get for the little they give (Mat 24:12). There’s something missing, life just isn't what it once was. Don’t get me wrong change is good but it’s also good that some things never change.

I’m so grateful that I got to experience what many get from movies, books, and stories told to them by their elders. I’m so grateful that my eyes, ears, and mouth had the opportunity to taste life before the big bang of the Internet, Face Book, YouTube, social-networks, texting and gamers took over. I grew-up with coffee shops and not Internet café’s, when requesting a friend was something done face to face and not something done over some impersonal request then having to wait and see if you will be accepted into this false circle of trust. I feel so bad for this generation and what they have settled for. It only makes me all the more happier to know that I AM A FRIEND OF GOD BECAUSE HE CALLS ME FRIEND!!! John 15: 15. How smart of the enemy to condition the natural man knowing that it will affect the spiritual man. NOW JUST THINK, if this is our attitude towards living beings or better said if this is how we CHOOSE to fellowship / interact with those we can see, how then do we fellowship / interact with the UN-SEEN? This is the true message I want to relay to you. Look how we interact and invest our lives and call ourselves CHRISTIANS! If we are disconnected from the natural aspect of life how much more the spiritual? Just look at how perfect it all lines up and how the enemy has been able to thrive in this age through much negative association created to make the children of God feel like bastards. We are being called the fatherless generation. Why? Do you know the percentage of fatherless homes in America? Do you know how many children grow up never knowing or having a relationship with their biological fathers? The word dad and father becomes a curse word and now we’re telling these children to have relationships with a father they cannot see! All the while they never saw the father that they could physically see. If it is hard to have a real relationship with an earthly father how will we thrive in a relationship with a spiritual father? This is the devils tactic and by the looks of it, it's working... What a perfect plan to hinder the children of God..

When God called Abraham a friend what do you think that meant? I assure you it DEFINITELY was not just a status update

Proverbs 27: 17(NKJV) this proverb can never be fulfilled till we stop being fake / plastic because a plastic sword will never sharpen iron… BUT as iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens the countenance of his friends

THE MATRIX CAN BE LIKENED TO SOCIAL MEDIA.. (PLEASE WATCH THIS SHORT CLIP)