Guilt or...

I was doing that thing I do oh so often (THINKING) the other night and I asked myself what you have to do and what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I thought deeply on the questions and of course the "Repent of your sins! Fire and brimstone!" thoughts pressed on my mind. I knew this was not the right answer so I crushed those thoughts and simply said to myself asked the Lord for forgiveness, and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Funny how the simple answers are always the right course of action. I continued to ponder - once (filled with the Holy Spirit) you will feel conviction when you have done something wrong because the Holy spirit within you will grieve. Hmmm… how do I understand and recognize conviction from guilt?

Once on the “right” path, the proper question is not how much of the Spirit is in us, but rather how much of me is in the Spirit. In scripture Paul said that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us at the moment of belief (Ephesians 1:13-14), but in Ephesians 4:23 he said we’re to put off our old selves and be made new in the attitude of our minds. I would surmise this means we no longer run our life by ourselves but let the Holy Spirit guides us to act in ways that are pleasing to the Father. You see I’m a listener, this is how I learn. So when I listen His voice and His guidance (my conscience) will answer my questions, solve my concerns and squelch all quarrels. Galatians 5:22-23 lists some of the behavior the Spirit will guide us towards. As I continue to learn to follow His advice, the Holy Spirit will empower me to use the special gifts He’s grants to us all.

All to often I have noted when talking with friends and associates many are tempted to ignore the Holy Spirit’s advice. When we do this it grieves the Father as it does any parent. The great fact is this - Ignoring the Holy Spirit means following Satan. Agnoring results in this being the only alternative we have. Afterwards we’ll feel guilty. You see my THINKING has concluded that “Conviction” comes from the Holy Spirit, who wants us to be reconciled with God. Guilt comes from Satan who wants us to be estranged from the Father. Normally a person experiencing conviction will be drawn toward the Lord to receive His forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation, like Peter did after denying Him. A person feeling guilt will hide from Him in shame, like Adam did in the Garden. So the difference between conviction and guilt can be seen in the direction we’re facing. If we’re looking towards the cross, it’s conviction. If we’re running away and hiding, it’s guilt. Period! End of discussion.

Peter confessed and was restored. Adam blamed God and bore the earthly consequences of his sin. As believers we have the authority to reject Satan’s attempts to make us feel guilty and confess our sin to the Lord. When we do He will take away our guilt and restore us.

Peace be with you All.

Thanks for reading, thanks for visiting.

© Palmer Pinckney II

I had the honor of visiting Detroit, Michigan during holidays of 2012. It was both exciting and saddening, thrilling and depressing.  This magnificent city with it's rich and vibrant history; a story so-so American that America would not be what she is today without the Detroit narrative. This city will rise from the ash and when she does we will celebrate again the riches she has given us and continues to provide today and forever.  The Motown sound has changed but the heart of the city is the same. She will educate us and love us whether we listen or not.   
Ladies and Gentlemen a young man from Detroit City -

Nysa Terrian

Facebook, serious? No.

Inspired by conversations with Barbara A. Pinckney

In numerous ways, Facebook and other social media has paved the way for a lot of people to find each other. It has allowed them to reconnect with friends and family. Other social media endeavors such as LinkedIn has also allowed people to put together numerous good contacts that served them well in the world of business.

For every good thing that Facebook has brought us, there have been numerous bad things the social media platform has delivered. Granted it is not just Facebook that is the cause of many of these problems, but given that right now Facebook is perhaps the most prominent social media network, it is the face that can be put on many problems that is across the Internet and spilling into our personal lives. Note that almost 12 percent of the world’s population of plus 7 billion are using the social media juggernaut.

Facebook is Serious Business Apparently.

When Facebook started up, I doubt many could imagine what it would grow to. I for one was really annoyed by the complete saturation the social application made into every nook and cranny of our lives.  At the beginning it was a nice place to socialize online, to really hang out with friends, keep in touch despite being in separate states. Then after a while, Facebook started gaining steam and became mainstream. Some of largest corporations around the world realized the power of social media and thus they hopped right on Facebook. Even governments jump in the social vat. It was not just a geek thing to do any more, rather Facebook now comes across as a rather serious and essential thing to the general population.  If you were a company that was not on Facebook, you were missing out on a large amount of profits. If you were the average person on the street, you were simply not with it. Facebook was the most happening place. I recently witnessed a professional gentleman (not on Facebook) tactfully taunted for his lack of interest in the application.” Fascinating!”

The problem is when something becomes popular, it also attracts the worst of people. At another time the Internet was a far more innocent place. Granted, you’re always going to have people who are going to stir up trouble. At another time, the Internet was associated with a geek stereotype so to speak. I was most certainly in the crowd. Only the social outcasts like myself were on it, it was not the hip thing to be on… in the late 80’s!

These days the Internet rules the world and if you’re not on the Internet, you are pretty much disconnected with what’s current in the world today. And with the popularity comes the pain of more scam artists, more disruptive people trying to cause havoc with computer viruses, and just a lot of trolling in general.

That brings us back to Facebook. It became a huge haven for anyone, and I mean EVERYONE!. It brought out all sorts of characters. Lots of trolling, bullying, and also another platform for a fair share of scams has colored the experience of Facebook for many. This is one of the reasons why some decent people have left the social media empire. While some remain, the dregs of society have been left.

Facebook is Taken Way too Seriously.

Also another point is that people take what happens on Facebook a bit too seriously. It is something that affects real life a little too much. There have been broken friendships, broken families, and broken marriages because of Facebook. All it takes is one comment or people stirring the pot to really set off a storm.

It is rather sad when real life is disrupted due to social networking insanity on Facebook and other such websites. Of course one must wonder if this would happen if said people are spending a bit too much time on Facebook. That point however is beside the point.

Facebook is for fun, it should not dictate your life.

I think that people really can spend as much time as they want at a place, until the point where it causes the lines between real life and their life on the Internet to be blurred. To the point where it drastically affects their lives in the real world, it is going to become a problem at that point. That time could be longer for some of us and much shorter for others. It does depend on the responsibilities you have.

In reality, Facebook should not be something that interferes too greatly with your responsibilities. Whether those responsibilities are your children, marriage, friends, family, work, or school, there is a point where it can go too far with interfering with all of those. To the point where it drastically affects said responsibilities.

Facebook can be great but if you take it a bit too seriously, it can cause some damage to your real life. There are countless examples of this fact, just ask around.

Take care and surf safely. Thanks for reading!

© 2012 Palmer Pinckney II