Forgotten God

(By Thor Knutstad)

Did you know that the LORD refuses to be a forsaken and forgotten God? Look at Jeremiah chapters 1-6 -- indeed this is a sobering biblical passage from a prophet who mourns sin and addresses it boldly, but he is addressing remembering the LORD foremost. You see, our God wants to be remembered. Remembering is holy. Remembering is a mindset action of worship. This theme permeates Jeremiah's emboldened and grieved heart in his words. The LORD rejects being forsaken and forgotten. He refuses it. Are we acknowledging Him who is Creator-Father-Savior-Redeemer-King Christ-Lord Jesus? Remember the Lord, dear people, for His glory absolutely refuses to be the forgotten King. Remember.

Why do we forget? Why does God-forsakenness seem to abound even in believing Christ-followers? Here is a list of statements (some quoted, some derived) from Jeremiah chapters 1-6 that explains how and why we forget and forsake the LORD God:

1. Idolatry (false worship) 1:16, 11

2. Lack of devotion (as a bride) 2:1-2
3. Leaders don't know the Lord or His Law 2:8
4. No awe of Him 2:19
5. Unfaithfulness/faithlessness abounds 2:20
6. People forget God ("would a bride forget her wedding jewelry on her wedding day?”) 2:32
7. No reverence or fear of the LORD God 3:8, 5:22

8. Perversions are prevalent 3:22

9. People skilled at evil, not doing good 4:22

10. Dishonesty prevails and truth is absent 5:1-2

11. Repentance of turning from evil refused 5:3
12. Assumed God would do nothing 5:12
13. False prophets refuse to rebuke evil and would not point people toward the LORD 5:13
14. Stubborn rebellious hearts are hardened 5:23
15. Wealth and deceit chokes the heart 5:27
16. Prophets lie and rule by their own authority 5:31
17. Real warnings land on closed ears 6:10
18. God's Word is unheard and offensive to them and they find no pleasure in His Truth 6:10
19. Leaders are greedy for gain and deceitful 6:13
20. Leaders treat serious stuff as not serious 6:14
21. Leaders proclaim peace where there is none 6:14
22. No shame or blush over sin found 6:15,26
23. Law of God rejected boldly and outrightly 6:19

Though the prophet Jeremiah addresses the sinful and stubborn hearts of the people in general, we must note that he speaks about the effect of the leaders on the people. It's like he's saying that the leadership takes people south when they should lead them north. Let's not forget the LORD God, and let's abandon the bad theology of false prophets who rule by their authority and are not called by God. Know your Bible and remember the unforgotten God, people. If you do not, deception and confusion will encompass you in the current history and turning tide of anti-Christ.

People had followed the stubborn inclinations of their hearts (God’s exact words).  Jeremiah, the spokesman of God, extends himself by calling them “deceived,” unrepentant, evil, stiff-necked, disobedient, idolatry lovers, thieves, murderers, perjurers, adulterers and oppressors.  He pulls no punches about how sinful they have become in forgetting God. But he does more than declare that they have refused to ‘walk in the Ancient Path’ of remembering the LORD their God (16:6).  Jeremiah steps into dangerous territory by slamming the leadership (prophets/priests/scribes/elders/shepherds) with these direct and bold accusations:

You cling to deceit and trust deceptive words (7:4,8; 8:5). Note:  the word ‘cling’ means to grab or hold tightly to (like fabric) or like a child does to its mother when fearful.

You refuse to return and there’s no repentance (8:5). Note: though they have been repeatedly called to go in the opposite direction, they continue in an opposed path.

You pursue your own course (8:6). Note:  the word ‘own’ differentiates a path not of God.

You act like you are wise and know the Law (8:8). Note: Jeremiah calls the scribes ‘lying pens’ who are not writing or inscribing to circulate the Law of the LORD.

You are greedy for gain and you practice deceit (8:8-9).

You dress wounds of people as though they are not serious (8:10-15) Note: too lightly.

You say peace when there is none. Note: Danger was imminent.

You don’t shame or blush at sinful conduct. Note: brazen, bold sin by hard hearts.

You are a crowd of unfaithful adulterers who do not acknowledge God.

All of you are deceived and none of you speaks the truth because you live in the midst of deception. Note:  All are in the fog of lies/deception/untruth.

You worship dead idols that are as lifeless as a scarecrow (his term). Note: the LORD God is real and alive, while your idols are dead/worthless/lifeless.

You are senseless (10:21). Note: You lack common sense in your thoughts/life/decisions.

You do not inquire of the LORD (10:21). Note: You don’t pray!  Ever!

You refuse many prophetic warnings (10:22).

You always speak of God, but your hearts are far from Him (12:2-3). Note:  The LORD is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.  Not near.  Far.  Way far.  Super far!

You uncalled and not ordained leaders are prophesying lies in the name of the LORD (14:14) and giving people idols, false visions, divinations and delusion of their own minds and by dishonoring God by not keeping the Sabbath Day holy and restful (17:21-22).

Isn’t this a sad depiction of the leadership of Israel during this time?  Jeremiah sadly weeps as he speaks this great unfolding tragedy of lament and confrontational judgment.  The leaders are lost.  Simply stated, they are deceived.  In chapter 9, Jeremiah speaks of weeping a “foundation of tears” as he walks over the sins of the nation and the leaders.  They have, to put it simply, forgotten the LORD their God.  They have not remembered His Word, His world, nor His works throughout history.  And behind this forsakenness are deceived and disobedient leaders. Dear friends who share the burden to lead stubborn sheep to the great shepherd Jesus the Messiah called Christ, the word of Jeremiah to Israel ought to cause us to stop and think and to weep.  Why?  Because there is a deep grief and sadness in seeing that many refuse to remember the forgotten God.  Cry on, brothers and sisters.  But as you shed many tears, with joy, point them toward the Savior their LORD.  Everyday, live and say and speak and share the Gospel.  In being forgotten, the LORD longs to be remembered.  And in your service and work, He will bring many sons and daughters to glory. 

Copyright, 2014.  Thor Knutstad – All Rights Reserved.

Why I’m Afraid of Ebola…Opinions

I spend way too much time reading political posts and the accompanying comments on Facebook. The posts themselves are interesting enough, but I am really fascinated by people’s comments and how they reflect cultural mindsets.

The Ebola virus outbreak has dominated the social media world lately, and the posts and comments follow a common theme:

“Stop all flights from Ebola-stricken nations!”

“Keep all health care workers coming from West Africa in quarantine for 21-42 days!”

“A person in New York City has the virus! Who did he infect???”

The common theme is fear. Panic. A desire to protect oneself from the potential health crisis. 

Is it bad to be informed and want to protect oneself? Of course not. What scares me are the motives that accompany this panic. Most of the comments I have seen are based entirely on protecting Americans from this deadly virus. There is a real sense of protecting here and not worrying about the crisis “over there.”

Where is “over there”? How bad is it “over there” in West Africa? According to Monday’s edition of The New York Times:

“More than 10,000 people in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone have contracted Ebola since March, according to the World Health Organization, making this the biggest outbreak on record. More than 4,900 people have died.”

In contrast, only eighteen people have been sickened with the virus in the United States and Europe. (This is also according to The New York Times from Monday, October 27, 2014.)

These West African countries most affected by Ebola are among the poorest and most politically unstable in the world. Life is not easy at any time, much less during a deadly disease outbreak. Health care resources and basic sanitation are limited or non-existent in much of the area.

The Gospel is not limited to our little world of South Jersey. I’m afraid when we start focusing on our safety and comfort, we lose any vision we have for other parts of the world. How many of us have prayed for West Africa in the wake of this tragedy? Some of the Americans infected with the Ebola virus were missionaries and other aid workers caring for some of the “more than 10,000 people” affected in Africa. Are we praying for these brave people willing to put their lives in danger to save others’ lives?

Or are we more worried that we could be affected in our safe, insulated little worlds?

It is our obligation as followers of Jesus to bear compassion and hope for the darkest regions of the world. When we get caught up in the hype in our culture that is all about me and mine, it is really easy to lose focus on other people. 

Make it a priority to live the Gospel even in the “little things.” Pray for West Africa.

Nancy Vasquez

Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All

Advent Conspiracy is for churches to engage in authentic Worship and Giving at Christmas more fully- a simple idea for you to take and run with. Be creative and bless those in need by giving relationally as God gave His Son to us at Christmas. 

Find out more here about what it's all about. If you are looking for creative ideas for gift giving this Christmas season check out this Pintrest page: http://www.pinterest.com/advntconspiracy/

Moses Prays, We Could Gain A Heart of Wisdom

(By Diego Cuartas)

How do we gain wisdom? I suspect there are several answers to this question. A few weeks back I came across Psalm 90:12, and there was something sobering about the message found in this verse. In this Psalm, Moses prayed: "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

In reading the rest of the chapter, I found more insights as to why Moses would request such a thing from God. I invite you to explore what are the ways we can gain a heart of wisdom. As we will see, perhaps there is more to it than "numbering our days".

A look at the Psalm.

• God is recognized as the "dwelling place in all generations" (ver 1)

• He is also recognized as the everlasting God who existed before everything was even created (v 2)

• God holds the power and right to terminate the physical existence of man by calling him back to "dust" (v 3)

• For God, time is different than the way we experience it. One thousand years for Him are like a day or a watch in the night (v 4)

• The language that describes our fragile existence on earth is depicted by phrases like "swept away", "like a dream", "flourishing and withering like the grass" and ultimately "brought to an end like a sigh" (v 5-7, 9)

• Our iniquities and sins are present before God; they are not a secret to Him (v 8)

• In this Psalm, life-span was considered to be between 70-80 years, the latter being by reason of strength. These years of existence are characterized by "toil and trouble" (ver 10)

• We can see that the question raised in verse 11 is very revealing: "Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?" The question reveals the innate inability of man to consider God's power and judgments over our lives. 

• This is another reason why we are exhorted to learn to number our days: for the purpose of gaining a heart of wisdom (verse 12)

In other words, to live our lives unaware of both our fragile existence and God's supremacy over man it is to live out of a foolish heart, not a wise one.

When we recognize our fragile condition and God's everlasting nature, we then will be more inclined to:

1. Call for His mercy (or pity)

2. Ask Him to satisfy us with His steadfast love 

3. Request the restoration of our gladness

4. Pray that God will reveal His "works" to us and His "glorious power" to our children

5. Ask that His favor be "upon us"

6. Petition that He "establishes the work of our hands upon us"

What an insightful Psalm this is. We are given perspective for life here! The wisdom our hearts can gain as a result of "numbering our days" deals with the most significant needs we have as humans. We need mercy, steadfast love, gladness, the revelation of God for us and the next generation, His favor and a purposeful life. I can't imagine possessing these things and lacking hope and enthusiasm for each new day!

How then can we number our days? From this passage, we can see that two things are essential. One, we need to regard our humanness as fragile and short. This should affect the way I think about today and the future. My experience of today and my plans for tomorrow need to be considered and embraced with humility and dependence on God. Two, we need to consider the fact that God is present in an everlasting way and has the power and freedom to accomplish His own will, in His ways, in His time. He also has knowledge of our situations, sufferings and sins. And He holds the prerogative to judge and deal with each person according to who He is and what He values. 

Is numbering our days enough? I don't think so. What we are being exhorted to do, through this prayer, is to number our days in light of God and who He is. To just number our days will miss our origin, our source of strength, our faithful, merciful and loving Father and our real purpose in life.

Hopefully as we do this we will gain a "heart of wisdom" accompanied with the gladness of being part of something bigger than ourselves: a glorious God!

This is your day; what is God doing? How are you living in light of Him?

What is Jesus Doing Today?

(By Diego Cuartas)

I am getting emotional thinking about what Jesus said in John 17:26, in speaking about his desire concerning his disciples, as He interacts with God, his Father:

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and in them.”

Jesus promised that He will continue to make known to you and I the Name of his Father. He also indicates the reason He will continue to do that is so that we will experience the love his Father has had for him. Furthermore, Jesus wants us to get caught up with him in this love he and his Father have going on!

One thing for sure Jesus is doing today is that He insists in making the name of his Father known to us, to you, to me.

Do you find interesting that Jesus wants to reveal the name of his Father to us? Why not go to the point and say he wants to reveal his Father to us? The way Jesus is expressing his intentions is consistent with the way God would be understood in the Old Testament times. The name was a way to refer to the person, the whole person. The name embodied the character of that person. Thus, God would reveal himself through different names.

Whatever your circumstances may be today, you can be sure that one of Jesus' intensions is to continue revealing what his Father is like to you so that you can be rooted in his love.

I encourage you to reflect today about ways in which Jesus is revealing his Father to you in the midst of your situations. Then see if you can connect that to the reality of God's love for you.

For instance, this morning as I was getting ready for the day, I noticed my mind was quickly going to places where I was being critical of several individuals--almost like obsessed with the thoughts that were going through my mind. As I sat for a few minutes and open my heart to God in prayer something happened. I sensed that the Holy Spirit was saying to me "Diego, you are on a dark path right now....let's turn that to praying for those individuals instead." So I did. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father and Jesus have sent to dwell in those who believe, was revealing the compassionate nature of the Father which is contrary to my judgmental heart. In this experience, I was sensing God's love for me and for others. it was beautiful and I am thankful for this God-moment.

May you know God today and be rooted in his love in deeper ways.

When I’m feelin’ Some Kinda Way...

(By Lois Robinson)

I strongly dislike generalized statements like, “All women love to shop” or “All guys love sports”, “everyone” wants this or “everyone”  wants that. A  recent one  I’ve heard is “All teenage boys cuss when they are together with other teenage boys. That’s what teenagers do!” Or these little gems, “That’s a man thing because they’re stupid” or “That’s a woman thing because they’re so hormonal”. Just love when people boil down the complexities of individuals to such a small definition in order to understand how “everyone” functions. Wrong conclusions being made every time is usually the case!

Therefore, I will intentionally avoid a generalized statement here and simply say, “If you are anything like me, I have frequent times of “feeling’ some kinda way!” Sometimes its feeling frustrated out of the blue, sometimes it’s feeling hungry for the Chinese Buffet, sometimes it’s feeling angry over violations or other times its just feeling  UGH! At times my feelings are all over the place, hard to really understand what is going on.  Sometimes the anger is an appropriate response to external circumstances that are wrong and my internal response towards the violation or sin is anger. While other times my anger is strictly my own sinful heart not getting its own way. As my Pastor Nate has taught, anger is a barometer of our heart that says something needs to be dealt with. That’s a blog for a whole different day!! Remember, feelings are a gift from God but we must learn how to recognize them, process them appropriately and not avoid them. God has given them to us for a reason.  Feelings, oh they can be so powerful. I am very thankful God gave the human heart, mind and body, the ability to feel. How dangerous would it be if we couldn’t feel.  When we feel extreme heat, the normal bodily response is danger and we step away. When we feel sub zero temperatures, we normally  respond by putting on more clothing to prevent frost bite. Hopefully I have made the point regarding the importance of our body feeling sensations and responding appropriately.  Otherwise it could be very detrimental to us. For some who have lost the ability to feel, due to some diseases or traumatic accidents, they have to be very cautious and take proper measures to ensure they won’t be subject to danger. God created the human body with an awesome alert system to protect us from danger.

This brings to the next point. The beautiful gift of emotions that God has given us. They are designed to work in our favor, to be a part of our celebrations, our healing process, our warning signals from danger, our own brokeness and need for a Savior. We are so broken in this area friends and unfortunately many of us base our reality on “how we feel” and then label it as God’s leading or lack thereof because they can’t feel Go. I have sat with young girls who “feel” like they love the new boyfriend as of 3 weeks and has sex to show him. Only to end up feeling shame and guilt. Others have felt like fitting in with the peer group and made some bad decisions that get them arrested. Others compromise their values very quickly and perform sexual acts to get needs met. In the church, people operate in their feelings to the extreme of disengaging in worship because they don’t feel like it, don’t like the worship song or don’t actively engage in the celebration time because they aren’t feeling anything.

               NEWS FLASH

WORSHIP ISN’T ABOUT YOU!!!

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE GOD WHO DESERVES YOUR PRAISE

AND CAN SAVE YOU FROM YOUR SELF-FOCUSED ORIENTATION.

This is a little diddy I had as a piano lesson back in the day as a child. I thought I was all that being able to play it......OVER AND OVER!! Check out the crazy lyrics!

Feelings

Feelings ,Nothing more than feelings, Trying to forget my feelings of love 

Teardrops, Rolling down on, my face, Trying to forget my, feelings of love 

Feelings, For all my life I'll feel it, I’ll wish I've never met you, girl, You'll never come again

Feelings, Wo-o-o feelings, Wo-o-o feelings, Again in my heart,

Feelings, Feelings like I've lost you, and feelings like I've never have you, Again in my heart.

Feelings, For all my life I'll feel it, I wish I've never met you, girl, You'll never come again

Feelings, Feelings like I've lost you , And feelings like I've never have you

copyright (http://elyrics.net)

He is the God who created the entire universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th.

He is the God who parted the Red Sea and killed the Egyptians who were chasing His children the Israelites.

He is the God who parted the Jordan River in order for His children to walk into the Promised Land.

He is the God who sacrificed His only Son and raised Him from the dead in 3 days in order to Save us.

He is the God who HEALS. He is the God who PROVIDES. He is the God who REDEEMS. He is the God who COMFORTS. He is the God who is JUST. He is the God who CARES. He is the God who FORGIVES. He is  God, He is my God, He is my Savior, He is my Abba.

In spite of your feelings, .....I ask you friend....a question that Jesus asked His disciples...

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loose din heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)

Feelings are a gift but must come under the authority of Jesus Christ. Through His Spirit, we can understand what we are feeling, why we are feeling that way and how to process appropriately so the feelings we experience lead us into a closer relationship to Him and Christ-likeness.

Blessings Friends-

She’s essential. I’m essential. We’re both essential.

I’ve recently been realizing that I have quite a few bad habits that I’ve never noticed before. I’ve didn’t know that I do them. It’s kind of been like playing a sport since you were young, and then realizing all of the sudden as an adult that you haven’t been implementing a fundamental skill correctly.

For instance, I had no idea that I was a perfectionist until this past summer. I also didn’t know that I tended to live without boundaries, and that my well-being is frequently enmeshed with other people’s opinion of me. I didn’t know that I tend to kiss people’s rear ends, and (this is the one that I want to talk about), I didn’t know that if I see someone else doing something well, I feel immediately threatened by it. Then I start to feel a push to either compete or to despair of my own worth.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen this same habit starting to develop in someone that I so wish could avoid it all: my daughter. She’s four and her younger sister is two. When I compliment her sister on doing something well, her typical response is to try to do the same thing and draw everyone’s attention to herself by saying, “Look at me. See how great I do it?” And if we don’t give her the same praise, she’ll express something along the lines of: “When you tell Bethie she is doing a good job, it makes me feel like I don’t do a good job at all. I’m not special.”

Bleh!! When I see it in a four-year-old, I realize what a ridiculous and yucky mentality it is to consider my value forfeit simply because someone else does something well. But I’ve realized that I do it all the time. If I have a friend who is gifted in some area that I’m not, I start to feel threatened. This yucky little feeling inside will start ‘whispering’ to me, “Oh no. Oh no. Your friend does this particular thing so well. She’s so gifted in that area. Why don’t you think to do that more often? Why don’t you enjoy serving in the same way that she does? People are going to like her more. She’s going to be safe and secure in life. She’s going to have a status of belonging in life. She’s going to be saved from rejection and pain in her life. And you won’t. You don’t do the same things she does; and because of your poor performance, you’re just not good enough.”

I didn’t even know that I had that habit: seeing what other people do well and feeling that I’m disqualified for not being able to do it just as good...or better. But I realized that I do it all the time, and I worry that my performance won’t be good enough to secure me the future that I think I need.

You know what is so beautiful, though? There’s hope for me (and people like me)! I’ve got this habit of comparing and disqualifying myself, but God says there’s another option! There’s another way to live. 1 Corinthians 12 describes His way. I just love, love, LOVE this word picture:

“God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.

He decides who gets what, and when.

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything.”

Isn’t that like one thousand times better than being threatened by my friend’s gift and deciding that it means I’ll forever be rejected? I love the idea that we’re each uniquely gifted, and that if I don’t recognize and use my particular gift, The Body will miss out. The Body doesn’t need me to be someone else. The Body NEEDS me, and The Body needs me to be ME. As I am being changed into a new person with God teaching me His way to live life, I can appreciate the beauty of my friend’s gift, but the uniqueness of her gift doesn’t change or define anything about me.

She’s essential. I’m essential. We’re both essential.

Sarah Howard

Artificial Intimacy

(By Thor Knutstad)

Life on TV is far from reality.  I think we all agree with this simple statement way too easily without understanding its various implications.  Let me state it again – life on TV is far from reality.  Even when the show or series appears to be healthy, moral, family centered or even biblically rooted, a camera of lens and microphone was never intended to capture in motion the unique story, history and context of people’s lives.  Even while we applaud those who are loving, family oriented, God-centered and who defy the norm of society, their higher road living sometimes only serves to create more comparison, more depression and more striving of works and performance; it actually leads to less joy in most people.  Life is not The Ingalls Family (yes, this dates me – I’m referring to Little House on the Prairie from the 1970’s and 1980’s).  Life is not Duck Dynasty, though I love Willie Robinson’s bold and candid expressions of the Gospel and New Testament truth.  Life is not the latest Christian movie to come on the scene and touch the hearts of audiences (but I will say that God’s Not Dead did present the Gospel as clearly as any portrayal that I have ever witnessed in larger venue film).  Life is not movies or videos that depict the life of Christ like The Jesus Film, Jesus of Nazareth, or The Passion of the Christ.  These grip our hearts and stimulate us to see the life of our Lord, but John says that all the books of the world could not list all of Jesus works and miracles and life.  Hmm.  Are my statements pessimistic?  Am I labeling all these things as bad?  I’m not.  You may enjoy these things, but they are NOT the setting for your life, your world, your situation and your unique context.  They should NOT define your worldview or your values.  Even when “quality viewing” seems to touch the strings of your heart, it’s still like finding two diamonds deep in a large pile of manure.  You may find a few valuable pieces, but you get very dirty wading through everything else to find the treasure.  And you aren’t unaffected by it.  In fact, you’re worse off than without it.  Some of you may think this sounds legalistic.  It is not.  This is a call to prudence and sober thinking about what we view, how we perceive and interpret it and why some of our “better” viewing may just be a lesser evil and just another plot of the enemy to have us fall into the trap of Artificial Intimacy.  A sober evaluation of this requires spiritual maturity and a more “meaty” understanding of the Scriptures.  My heart is to make us think this: Am I filling my heart and soul with Artificial Intimacies?  If you are, then this article is for you.

TV, movies, FB and most social media (even including sports) and the internet promote Artificial Intimacy.  Artificial Intimacy can be defined as “the result of anything that promotes feelings of connectedness and closeness.”  Artificial Intimacy blurs the lines of reality and fantasy to create a passive distraction.  In it, we consume data and feelings are created.  We are emotionally manipulated, and we don’t even know it sometimes, if not often.  Artificial Intimacy is known by, but not limited to, the following defining factors:

1. It disconnects us from real life (makes us want another life)

2. It discontents us with real life (hmm, where is the secret of contentment?)

3. It devalues real life and devalues the ordinary by craving the extraordinary

4. It deceives our hearts and minds with world views that are less than biblical

5. It disappoints us and is often quite idolatrous (promotes a false worship of something/someone) without ever really saying the word “idolatry” or “idol of the heart”

6. It dramatizes everything that happens and looks to solve every problem

7. It deepens our sinful desires for a good, comfortable life (not a cross-bearing, self-denying one)

8. It doesn’t deliver the end of isolation and loneliness; it actually isolates us even more

9. It lures us with tastes and hungry cravings for more entertainment and self-preoccupation

10. It doesn’t tell you that the backdrop and setting for consumerism leaves us with a plethora of multiple choices, selfish humanism, false optimism, a gospel of social justice that trumps the Gospel of death and resurrection, a desire for more efficient and the faster version, a bow to rationalistic reason and a freedom of doings that go beyond biblical boundaries.

11. It doesn’t tell you that as you are emotionally manipulated, you will feel more passive and actually more depressed.   Consumer and cultural absorption will fill the sponge of you if you haven’t soaked up the deeper truths of God in His Word and soaked up His presence.   Artificial Intimacy would never tell you that you’re given dirty and sick water from manmade cisterns (wells) as a trade off to our Lord’s living water for the heart (tough statements, but read them again).

12. It will make you think that you are ruled by your rights and not by your responsibilities.  You are not ruled by your rights.  You are ruled by your responsibilities to the Savior and the King.  Artificial Intimacy calls you a victim, but the Bible calls you a culpable participant.

13. It won’t tell you that it wants your theology to come from culture and the world; instead, your theology should stand against and infect the world’s sick heart with cures and antibodies.

Whether it’s TV, social media or even our cell phones, we have to ask this question: are we becoming over connected to Artificial Intimacy?  We fear a slowdown from Artificial Intimacy because silence and conversations often reveal what lives below the surface of our hearts.  Distractions and busyness are welcomed (in Artificial Intimacy) because they keep us away from sober, somber and prudent considerations.  Loud surroundings, the motion of commotion and the visually fast will always occupy and attempt to dominate our minds.  But it’s artificial.  Let’s get real, people.  Is your Intimacy Artificial?  Are you over connected?  What masters and enslaves you?  What is the noise that preoccupies your soul with distractions and stimulations?  We wrongly allow the enemy a foothold over the cacophony of our hearts ponderings and pains and the even the voice of God – Satan and the world love the silence of Artificial Intimacy.  And Artificial Intimacy is a god (a false one) who serves that very desire.  But it is deafening to our souls.  And the cost of Artificial Intimacy is vast.  It robs you of the gold of True Intimacy – being connected in a still and quieted soul to your Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God –