Me and the Lord Jesus on Facebook. Using Twitter one with Christ. Social networking, the Lord Jesus, and me

What does God have to do with the social networks? What does Jesus have to do with Facebook? Can you actually have God seen or expressed on twitter? In the world of free expression of everything that's going through your head, everything you see, everything you want to do, all your emotions, the things around you, etc - can you actually say something meaningful about the Lord Jesus? Can you find Jesus on twitter? Do you see Christ on facebook? Is the word of God on Google+? - these questions many Christians face and deal with in one way or another, mostly ignoring the Lord when it comes to social networking...

It's free to use the social networks, and this also means that you can literally say whatever you want, you can post pictures and videos and other media items - freely! The social networks allow you not only to connect with people you know, but with people you never met nor will ever meet, with all kinds of superstars and dignitaries, famous people or infamous persons, and you can "become best friends" with people you have no idea how they look like, what do they really do, what's their personality like, etc. Many times I am asked - probably TOO many times I am asked, Stefan, do you really know EACH and EVERY ONE of your over 2.8K friends on Facebook? Do you know each one of your over 1K followers on twitter? I stopped trying to answer this kind of questions, even though for a while people would start naming my friends and asking me "how did you meet them? Who are they?"

But what about expressing Christ on Facebook? How about speaking the Word of God on twitter? What if we +1 the articles and websites with spiritual and nourishing food? How is our being on the social networks - do we use these intensely personal and private websites (which happens in public...) together with the Lord? Have we ever asked the Lord to be with us as we browsed our friends' pictures on Facebook? Have we ever prayed for our followers or the ones we follow and chat with on twitter? Did we ever ask the Lord's advice and feeling as we use the social networks? Or do we just post how we feel ("I'm bored", "what is everyone doing - I'm dead bored", etc - the most popular status updates), what we think about (cool quotes from famous rappers, movies, world renown philosophers, inspirational quotes, etc), or where we're going / what we're doing... ?

No, we don't have to be super-spiritual while using Facebook or twitter, we can and should write things we are interested in, but what if we share with the ones we're friends with / the ones we follow something of our enjoyment of the Lord? Have you ever felt responsible for your friends on facebook? Has it ever crossed your mind that you owe the gospel to each and every friend you have on facebook? You may be among max. 100 people in school, but the average number of friends one has on facebook these days is close to 500, and on twitter is rising up to 100-200... We as Christians - no matter how we feel, what we had for breakfast, or what we are thinking of right now - owe all the people we interact with THE GOSPEL!

And the gospel is simply the Word of God! If we enjoy something in the Word, why not share a verse on Facebook as a status update? If we enjoyed a song or a hymn chorus, why not share it either on twitter, on facebook, in a facebook group or on a facebook page, on our google + stream, or even as our Skype status! All these means of communication and interacting are just helping us express how we really feel - we love the Lord Jesus! "I don't care now how I feel / I just know that this is real / And I know - O, Jesus, You're alive" in me! This is the reality! The Lord Jesus is living again IN ME, in YOU, wherever you are!

Are you on facebook? The Lord Jesus is right there with you on facebook. Are you tweeting away all kinds of random things going through your mind or some feelings you wish you had? The Lord Jesus is inside of you as you punch in the keys or gently touch the touch-screen keyboard of your smartphone! Our being on the social networks with our friends is so that we would bring our friends to the Lord, pray for them, and then "give them food"! We have the food - we have Jesus Christ as the tree of life, we eat Him every day, He is our constitution, and... we can minister food to others! A Tweet like, O Lord Jesus, I love You! - so real, so genuine, coming out of your inner being, is so much better and more helpful than your opinion on the recent football game!

... the question still remains. Am I one with the Lord Jesus as I am using Facebook? Do I express the Lord as I tweet, check into foursquare, +1 things away, or share links on the social networks I'm active on? ...

Photo From London :) Priceless Shoes store

[one of the many shops called, priceless shoes, with less expensive shoes, scattered all around the UK :) ]

[what do YOU think? What is Your experience related to using the social networks and also touching the Lord as we post stuff there? Did you touch the Lord in this aspect as you were "networking"? Share your experience / opinion below...] 

The gospel is always a battle, and there is much opposition! (1 picture + 1 experience with the Lord) 30-day challenge

As long as you are a believer in the Lord, one who has received the divine life, you are qualified to preach the gospel. You don't have to "go to a seminary" or "be ordained" as a priest to be qualified to preach the gospel. Actually, if you are one who loves the Lord, the gospel will be your living and it normal for you to speak of your Beloved Lord Jesus, of His Word which you enjoy daily, of the things He did for you, or of your experience and enjoyment of Him daily! It is normal for a believer to speak the gospel and to tell others about the Lord!

1 picture today - a Hotel on Seven Sisters Road

This is one of the many hotels on Seven Sisters Road as you walk from Finsbury Park towards Manor House. It's a long road along which there are several such hotels and motels. Some are more fancy while others aren't. I guess that for the many people working and visiting London, especially in the Finsbury Area, towards the Arsenal stadium / the Emirates, there's the need for hotels and short term stay motels... Guess what, they are building even more of these! There are several areas in London, close to large centres like Paddington, Finsbury Park, Stratford, Liverpool Street, Notting Hill Gate, etc - where these little or medium size hotels are booming!

1 Experience with the Lord today - The Gospel is a battle, and there's much opposition!

I think that this is our experience every day - there is a struggle within us to speak about the Lord, and there's a battle outside of us when we open our mouth to speak. We love the Lord and we really want our friends and the ones around us to know the Lord, love Him, taste Him, and see how amazing He is. So we pray for our friends, and sometimes we try to speak to them... Why do we feel so "awkward" when we speak the gospel? It should be normal for us to speak about the Lord, but there's a struggle within... And then, many times the response is either not so positive or we may even be ignored...

These days I've been reading the book of Acts, and I was impressed with this matter - even in the Apostle Paul's work and ministry there was a battle when he spoke the gospel. Let's just say that he overcame "the inward struggle", since he as a Jew went all around Asia and the Gentile world announcing the gospel(which is something quite unusual)... But in city after city, as he spoke, he had a lot of people who received the Lord! In some cities there were hundreds who received the gospel... And then some jealous Jews would stir up the whole city against him! They saw how many people received the gospel and they were jealous - so they would stir up a certain class of people and then persecute and oppose the apostle! Paul had to flee from one city to another - and sometimes the Jews would even follow after him to speak things against his ministry! How about that as an opposition!

Today we may speak to our friends about the Lord, and the hardest thing to do is to be together with all your friends and speak something - it's almost as if they are all "judging you" and "not on your side" as you tell them you're a Christian. When you speak to your friends one-on-one is easier - but even then, sometimes they speak not so nicely about you, or even criticise / undermine your speaking and your working... Sometimes people would even reject you openly and scream and shout at you. As you pass leaflets with "The Mystery of the Human Life", "A Thirsty Mankind", or some Rhema cards, people would reject you or sneer mockingly at you... You manage to overcome the "inward struggles" and speak the gospel, and people are rejecting you!

One thing I was very encouraged with is that the VERY FACT that we are rejected and opposed when we speak about the Lord Jesus to others shows us that we are on the right track! The Lord Jesus was rejected and He still is being rejected today! The apostles were rejected - and many times they had to be physically fleeing a certain city because the very people to whom the salvation has come first - the Jews - would stir up the whole city against them! Whenever we announce the Lord Jesus Christ as the gospel, Satan's kingdom is being shaken and exposed, and the enemy does not like it. But we have the Lord Jesus on our side, and He is the One who speaks in us and through us! The sons of peace will hear the gospel, and they will believe!

Another matter I was encouraged with is the fact that in spite of all the opposition and persecution, there are SOME who receive the Word and who believe into the Lord! It is not up to us to pick and choose WHO will receive the gospel, but it is up to us to speak the Word of God! The Lord will accompany our speaking and He will speak His word through us. The seeking ones, those ones who are "ripened", ready to receive the Word, will receive the Lord! We would love to save everyone to whom we speak, but God carefully selects some that He will save! So even though the apostles were persecuted and sometimes they had to flee a city, there were some disciples who continued in these things back in that city! Praise the Lord!

All we need to do is just to SPEAK! All God needs today is not a great work that is welcomed by every one but He needs that all His believers would be strengthened into their inner man to SPEAK Christ - preach the gospel! The more we speak the gospel, the more we announce the good news, the more there will be an opposition - but at the same time the Lord is with us! His presence accompanies us as we cooperate with Him to bring in His kingdom! Also, there will be SOME among those to whom we speak that the Lord has worked on and has prepared them to receive Him! These ones will receive the good news and will come into God's kingdom! I don't know about you, but I want to learn to speak! Yes, there's a battle, but the Victorious One is on our side, and His arrows are in the heart of His enemy! Praise the Lord!

Wearing my, Christians On Campus T-shirt Today - One Meaningful Thing I Did Today (30-day challenge)

This may not mean much to some people, and it is definitely not "an item of the faith" or something that everyone should practice or else.... No, this is just my recent experience with this. The United Kingdom, and Western Europe in general, is not just in "open rebellion against God", but many people hate everything that is Christian while at the same time they declare themselves to be atheists.

If you try to talk to someone on the street about the Lord, you get looked at, rejected, talked back despisingly, ridiculed, and even hated. The Muslims have more effect or impact on the society than Christianity. Someone from the USA recently, after going out with the saints to speak to people about the Lord, asked, "WHY are people here so rude? If you don't want to hear about this, just say NO THANKS, but don't be so RUDE!" People are not afraid to show their real feeling towards God / Christians...

What I have been impressed with while being in Western Europe / the UK, among other things, is that people don't feel shy to express themselves, to express how they feel, even if this means being almost naked, staying up late on streets, drinking, putting on a lot of make-up, trying to copy all the latest fashion or pop stars, having lots of tatooes or piercings, etc. One of the main things they do is they WEAR stuff - some wear simple stuff, others more bright colours, some classy, while others wear all kinds of T-shirts with all kinds of inscriptions / slogans. Sometimes just by reading what those T-shirts are saying you are defiled and filled with death - and young people wear them, recommend them, and boast with them! This is why I'm now coming to,

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - Wearing my Christians On Campus T-Shirt!

Christians On Campus at UC Berkeley -
similar to the T-shirt I wore today 

I walk about in London, travelling to work, to meet saints, visiting, sight-seeing, etc, but I very rarely see anyone wearing anything that has a "Christian message / text" on it. Rather, the heavy metal, skull bones, rock inscriptions, and all kinds of dark and weird writings can be seen on people that look relatively normal. Just like Lot(2 Pet. 2:8, For that righteous man, who settled down among them, in seeing and hearing tormented his righteous soul day after day with their lawless works), my spirit has no rest, and you are stirred up within...

The only ones that wear something related to God are either pastors, evangelists, street-preachers, ... and they are mainly older ones. If they are young and wearing something Christian-related, it is so "cool" and complex that you "have to think about it"... - there's no life, divine life, that you receive from reading something like that....

Even us as lovers of the Lord many times have no problem wearing what's sold "on Oxford Street" in Next, Topshop, Accessorize, Burton, Halfords, JJB sports, JD Sports, House of Fraser, French Connection, Topman, Uniqlo, Gap, Banana Republic, Primark, etc, - even in the meetings! So when I went to the gym these past few months I gladly wore my Poland Camp T-shirts - The Birthright, The Nazarites, the Testimony of Jesus, The Spirit, And The Rock Was Christ, etc. Though it's just a "piece of clothing", I felt like it sanctified me, separated me, and kept me.... People would look at me, some trying to read the writing, some were curious what's written / what's that, while others turning their head from me... but I believe there's something of the Word that's infused!

Actually this week I was wearing The Testimony of Jesus Poland camp T-shirt and someone approached me and said, Nice T-Shirt! After I conversed with him it turns out he's a brother and he's looking for fellowship with believers - since he has a hectic schedule at work! I have been praying and I am praying + enjoying the Lord at the gym, and may the Lord continue to sanctify the environment we're in even in this way! We don't know who is seeking, but we can be a testimony! I'm looking forward to meet this brother soon!

But today as I went to the brothers mtg I wore my Christians on Campus T-shirt(I received it as a gift, Christians on Campus at the University of Oklahoma), and I really really felt people looking at me. Who would wear a T-shirt with the word Christians on it? I felt the people stare at me as I was walking, but this only encouraged me to pray and continue enjoying the Lord. Even in this simple way, wearing something with the Word of God inscribed on it, we can preach the gospel! I may not have the courage to go speak to a stranger on the street, but I can wear something that gives him Christ! If someone is hungry, he knows where to go and get some real spiritual food! I would feel people's looks and pray for them as I was walking...

Again I say, this is not to "promote" this, even though it would be good - as the brothers have advised in some conferences - to have some T-shirts or jackets / jumpers with "O Lord Jesus!" or "Taste and see that the Lord is good", or another call to salvation and drinking... But I realized that even what I wear can preach the gospel, or at least can be an entrance to the gospel! Yes, people will stare at you, but some also will look and smile approvingly - this is how you know where the believers are! And if there are seeking ones, they will come to you - or you will see them being ready to talk to you!

Praise the Lord for the Christians on the campus! Praise the Lord for the Poland camp and the T-shirts we receive there! Praise the Lord for all the saints who are consecrated to the Lord and know how to and can design some clothing / inscriptions on clothing - with God's economy! There are so many who wear the "SUPERDRY" stuff (what is THAT all about?) but WHO wears something that tells people about God's economy? How will people hear or see or know about God becoming a man? How will man know that he needs to repent? ... This is why I love this series of Students Testimonies, Christian Students on Campus facebook fan pages / web pages collection, or Christians with a blog online - compilation of links. If we don't speak, WHO will speak?

.... Lord, what about the things I wear? Lord, make my living the preaching of the gospel, expressing You even without words! Make us living testimonies, Lord, and sanctify the things we wear! Save us from wearing what the world wears - save us from BEING like them even in this! O LORD! We open to You even in this matter...