I CAN'T WAIT TO LOVE FACEBOOK AGAIN!

I love FB, I always have. For me, it is a vital part of "Go ye into all the world..." I'm able to preach and teach at the drop of a hat and be the one that drops it. I'm able to request prayer and immediately have a million people praying. I'm able to scan my newsfeed in order to make my prayer list fuller. I am often engaged in simultaneous conversations with half a dozen frustrated pastors from all over the country, sharing my opinion and experiences with them. I'm able to communicate with Pastor Heavens Kanduna about our churches in Malawi and Mozambique. I'm able to see what God is doing in other churches. I love that.

When I travel, I use it as a means of accountability, checking in at every state line. It allows my bride to know how close or far away her man is from home. It enables the saints of Revival Tabernacle to know when pastor will be back. LOL! I love that.

It gives me a chance to learn a little more about the people I love. It also gives me an opportunity to share my family and our life experiences with them, too. It helps me see life from another perspective. I get to visit places like Italy, India, Uganda, Spain, Nicaragua, etc through my friends. I love that.

I know it's weird, but I kind of like seeing brothers brag on their wives and children and proudly posting pictures of date nights and family outings. It gives me hope for America. I love that.

I like knowing when you kill a big buck or hook a 4 lb bass. I rejoice when you get a new truck or house. I like funny memes with witty sayings about things like us manly bearded men being superior to our smooth faced, effeminate peers. LOL. I like how you can make any picture or statement non-offensive by adding an LOL after it. You see how that works? LOL. I really love that.

I love Facebook, but not today or the past couple months; not since the election has gotten really nasty. I find myself not wanting to look at my newsfeed anymore. I know. I know. I need to toughen up. But actually ... I'm about as tough and thick skinned as can be. I can "not" care what you think in about .000000001 seconds flat (if I want to), but I typically don't want to. I actually like caring and feeling and do so deeply. The truth is very few things bother me and there's only a couple handfuls of people who's opinion of me really really really matters. The thing I love about FB is now the thing I hate about it. Oh, the irony. I'm learning too much about the inner workings of people's minds and hearts. It has made me want to withdraw from the Church world again, hiding out in my little corner of the Kingdom, doing my own thing, but I've already done that in times past and I found that to be a lonely place.

God is teaching me some very important things right now. And what's strange is He is using my little sister to illustrate these truths. She's beautiful, strong, funny, smart and make-blood-shoot-out-of-my-eyes liberal. She and I approach religion very differently which, to be transparent, sometimes hurts my heart. But ... I couldn't love and respect a person more than I love and respect her. She's the real deal. I overlook what I consider to be her flaws and, thankfully, she does the same for me. I love my sister's Facebook posts. Nearly everyday I get to hear about the hilarious antics of my amazing nieces. I get to walk along with her, struggle with her, fight with her. Sometimes she sumbits make-blood-shoot-out-of-my-eyes liberal comments that I roll my eyes and shake my head at. Sometimes she does the same thing at mine. Sometimes, when I make a really far right-winged, blazing, holier than thou comment, I intentionally remove her name from the recipients list. I don't want blood shooting out of her eyes when she's already having a bad day. My point is I'm invested in loving my sister. She's my heartbeat. We disagree on very important issues, but those issues are still secondary to our love, appreciation and respect we have for each other. We are invested in loving each other despite our individual flaws.

HERE'S MY LESSON: I think SOME of my friends' political statements are stupid, insensitive and, quite frankly, abusive. I've been disappointed at some of the things I've seen and heard. I get a little angry when my desire to maintain a pure conscience toward God and men is downplayed and mocked. I've wanted to put a rear naked choke on some of those that tell me they're tired of Christians fighting and calling each other names over this election, yet turn around and fight and call people names over the election. I weary with brothers whom I would never openly attack thinking that any political post I make is about them. 85% of the time I haven't had a chance to read what they've said. Folks are crazy right now. For reals! You can post John 3:16 and someone will say something about voting for Trumplestiltskin or Hillbilly Clinton. LOL. Yowsers.

But I love them. I confident them. I respect them. The people I'm referring to are great men/women of God. They love the Lord. And if I think what they're saying is stupid, they probably think what I'm saying is stupid, too.

And what else should I expect?

My closest friends are strong, masculine, annointed, extremely flawed, alpha-male, female chauvinists. ---> LOL.They thunder when they speak. They speak and write passionately. I love their zeal even when I can't stand the subject matter that zeal is annihilating. My closest friends aren't "yes" men.

We all have character flaws. We all need Jesus. We need each other.

Samson was tied up by his own brothers and delivered to the Philistines. He broke free from the ropes that held him. He still didn't turn on his brothers; there were too many Philistines to kill. I've been freed from many of the ropes (traditions, attitudes, etc) that my Christian brothers and sisters have tied me up with in the past.

BUT I'VE GOT REAL ENEMIES TO FIGHT!