Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and do you do Facebook?
You know, I try to keep up with it but, hey, it’s all I can do to keep up with reading your comments on my blog on the Joni and Friends’ website. I have to have a little help keeping up with Facebook, I do! And speaking of which, have you ever noticed the comments that people post on Facebook? It’s incredibly revealing. I was looking at the Facebook page of an old friend from high school the other day and was amazed to see the things posted on their wall: One person bragging that he told his boss off. Another person boasting about a prank he pulled. Someone way down near the bottom confessed he was having an affair. It intrigued me, so I went on the Facebook page of our high school reunion group just to peruse a few comments – I was stymied over the way some of them talked about their ex-husbands or their wives. I mean, people say things on Facebook they’d probably never say to your face.
And you know what it reminded me of? Philippians chapter 3, verse 19 says, “Their glory is their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” If ever this Bible verse needed a more vivid illustration, one need not go any further than the wall on most Facebook pages. People glorying in things they ought to be ashamed of. Bragging about them, boasting about them. And even Christians can fall into this glorying in things they ought to be embarrassed about. I remember a girlfriend who had an abortion, and when I heard her share her story with a couple of other girls, it was like (How can I put this?)… she made it sound as though it was perfectly normal… no big deal… like water off a duck’s back, as though the experience set her apart and slightly above these other girls who had never experienced what the world takes for granted every day.
Philippians chapter 3:19 tells us – yes, tells those of us who are Christians – not to live as an enemy of the cross. For these are the ones whose “… destiny is destruction, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” And the very next verse goes on to say that our citizenship is in heaven. Our boasting is in the Lord. We glory in His strength. Our destiny is eternity. And our God (is not our stomach), but our Savior who satisfies our mouths, our hearts, and our souls with His good things. So as we turn the corner into this brand new year, let’s be careful of what we glory in – don’t be boasting about things you really ought to be ashamed of. As you and I make a fresh start in 2012, let’s remember that we are citizens of heaven. And if we’re going to boast in anything today, boast in the Lord! That’s something worth posting at the top of your Facebook page!
Finally, don’t forget today is your last opportunity to come by my radio page and pick up your Bible Overview booklet for the New Year. I hope you’ll join Ken and me in reading through the Bible in a year starting this Sunday… and this Bible Overview is a beautiful 12-page foldout that you can tuck in your Bible when you want to find out who wrote which book of the Bible, why it was written, and what the key themes and verses are. It’s really handy and I know Ken and I are going to keep ours right next to our Bible reading schedule for the year (I think I told you, we’re doing it chronologically again this year; and we invite you to join us). And, yes, I believe we still have the chronological reading schedule posted up on my radio page for you to download. I mean, so many people have asked about this reading schedule, even writing our ministry office and asking for a hard copy of it. And, hey, it just shows that people are excited about this partnership of joining Ken and me in reading through the Bible in a year chronologically. And it’s a great way to start the new year, so have a blessed one. Happy New Year, friend, from all of us at “Joni and Friends.”
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Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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