Connectivity

I wonder how many of you find yourself, like me, frustrated at the various facets of modern technology.  Yesterday and today I have been frustrated by Google and it's security.  I found that I had to change my password which has resulted in far too many requirements and texts to ascertain that it is me.  I thought I was done with it all yesterday and today it began all over again!  I wonder if I'll be sure of my own identity when Google has finished with me!!  Now another requests pops up as I'm typing....is this going to continue.  My inner voice cries out, "How long, Lord, how long?" 

However.....I must remember that there are many benefits from the connectivity we enjoy these days and decide to be thankful for them.  Actually the situation has worked for me today because I had in mind (yesterday), to write about connection - with others and with God, so here is my practical example.

I believe that humans were made for connection with each other.  Over the years Col & I have lived in a number of countries and have made wonderful friends in each place.  With modern technology we are blessed to be able to keep those connections very easily by phone, Facetime, Messenger, email, and any number of other apps available to connect with others. Unlike my mother, who had left her big family in the UK when I was just 5, who had to wait weeks for letters which connected her with her Mum and family far away.  We have it so easy today, but sociologists tell us that loneliness (i.e. lack of connection) is a big problem.  Why?

Possibly, because we connect, but not really on a deep level.  There is something about face to face contact with others that fills a need in most of us.  I enjoy time alone very much but I still find that I am 'fed' in a certain way by social contact, so I need to work on having those connections. We need the balancing factor of others in our lives. We need to exchange ideas, be challenged by opposing thoughts, because they make us think.  I often process things best in conversation with others as I'm not a natural 'thinker'.  

Deeper still (and you know I'll always tell you this!), we have an innate need to connect with God in whose image we are made.  This is the greatest privilege offered to humanity and the least used.  Prayer is that connection that is open to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us not neglect it because as Billy Graham said "You will never understand who you are until you understand who God is."  Wonderful Corrie Ten Boom challenges us still with her words, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tyre?"

Connect afresh with God today by "coming boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).  I commend to you one of my favourite passages of scripture - Psalm 37:1-8.  Read it here.

Prayer: God, forgive me for the times I have not turned to you first in my needs.  Help my connectivity with you be the most important thing, and then, help me to connect in life-giving ways  to those I meet.  Amen

Signs of our Times?

 

This morning I was watching an interview between a journalist and a person from an educational institution.  The topic of conversation was artificial intelligence, specifically the new chatbot called ChatGPT , launched in November 2022, which is causing some concern among some people who understand the huge and dangerous implications of AI. 

What 'floored' me was the secular journalist beginning the interview with "Tell me what's happening.  Are we in the end times or what......?" Wow, I wonder what his understanding of end times is. A discussion ensued on the incredible ability of this artificial intelligence that has even been found to lie to a question!

Earlier this month our NZ Prime Minister was caught on the hop with an unexpected question from a journalist in a press conference.  He was asked what his definition of 'a woman' was.  He apologised that he was not prepared enough to give an answer!  It should be an easy question to answer in the normal course of things, however there is not much 'normal' in our current crazy, politically correct, world.

According to the Bible the last days, or end times, are the days between Jesus death and return to heaven until he comes again in judgement.  That, at the moment is about 2,000 years.  Yes, there are many thoughts on the end times but the Bible makes a few things very clear.

The prophet Daniel was given much information by God about 'the times of the end' when 'many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase'. Daniel 12:4.  Timothy wrote to the early church 'that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 Timothy 3:1.  "That word perilous can mean, harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with. The word describes a society that is barren of virtue but abounding with vices". (Quote from a note in my Spirit Filled Life Bible.)    In his previous letter Timothy had written this,  "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.  These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. " 1 Timothy 4:1-2

Jesus also spoke of end times in Matthew 24:3-13, what it would be like.  Check it out for yourself here, (https://biblia.com/bible/esv/matthew/24/3-13 ). As I watch world news I become more and more convinced that time is short.  Wars, famine and floods are everywhere. Evil is rampant as are the elements. The apostle John wrote...."we know that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (Satan)". 1 John 5:19.

So where does this leave humankind?  Peter said, "Therefore since these things will be dissolved (i.e. the heavens and the earth), what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..." 2 Peter 10-11).  

Daily I am thankful for the peace that I have through faith in Jesus Christ.  I don't wonder what the world is coming to because the Bible tells me clearly what it is coming to and I do not fear, because He has me, and all those who confess his name and walk in obedience to His truth, under his protection and destined for a new world which is eternal.  You can have that peace and assurance too. You have a choice to make. All are welcome.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. John 3:16-19