Question: "How should a Christian respond to chain letters?"    

Answer: A chain letter is a form of correspondence in which the recipient is urged to forward the letter to a number of others on promise of reward or misfortune for breaking the chain. Chain letters have been around for nearly a century. The oldest known example comes from 1935—the “Prosperity Club” or “Send-a-Dime” letters. The recipients were to tape a dime to a dozen letters, including the sender of the original, and mail them. They would then supposedly receive a windfall of dimes in the mail as others followed suit.

With stamped mail rapidly becoming antiquated, chain letters through the postal system are not as prevalent as they once were. However, their first cousins have shown up on the internet through email and social media. Chain letters may appear in private messages, Facebook posts, tweets, or group emails. Many of them have a Christian slant, and believers may wonder, how should Christians respond to these chain messages?

The foundation for most chain letters is superstition. Social media is swamped with memes and little stories designed to elicit emotion, most ending with a challenge to “re-post if you love Jesus” or some such instruction. Some go further by promising “ten blessings in the next ten days” or “God will reward you” for sharing the post. Others are not so gracious and imply a lack of spiritual devotion in anyone who fails to forward it, type “Amen” in the comment box, or validate it in some other way. Unfortunately, thousands of otherwise solid, sincere people fall for these silly threats on a daily basis, which causes one to wonder why. Do some Christians truly believe God is typing these things and crossing His fingers in hopes we will all forward them? Do people believe they are “standing up for Jesus” by sitting behind a computer screen or an iphone and hitting “post”?

One danger in this type of Christian chain message is that it greatly trivializes the power and majesty of the Lord and makes Christians appear weak-minded and superstitious. Many of the fluffy, Christian-sounding sentiments expressed through these chain messages are not even scripturally accurate and are nothing more than wishful thinking or prosperity teaching. The ones that do include Scripture often take it out of context and apply it to anyone who happens to read the post. For example, Isaiah 54:17 (“no weapon forged against you will prevail . . .”) has become wildly popular, although it is truncated and taken completely out of context. Even unbelievers can post this on Facebook and get a hundred “likes” for their spirituality. But this is a blatant perversion of God’s promise to His people. This verse does not apply to everyone who happens to read a meme. God is promising vindication and protection for Jerusalem. But chain letters and chain messages rarely convey that truth.

There are different types of chain letters that elicit different responses:

1. The Hoax: Hoaxes float through cyberspace like dust particles, clouding the internet with lies. No one knows who starts these things, but millions of social media users leap at the possibilities they appear to offer. The hoax is often in the form of an official-looking letter, supposedly signed by a recognizable icon, which lends it legitimacy. For example, “Bill Gates has announced that he will be giving away $1,000 to the first fifty people who forward this email.” The unsuspecting don’t bother to validate this claim but propagate it on the outside chance that, perhaps, it might be true.

2. The Dare: Daring chain letters have a warning tone, implying negative consequences for not obeying their instructions. The warning may hint that you are “disappointing Jesus” by not forwarding, but some of the more aggressive ones escalate to the promise of “death and destruction within ten days.” Certain chain letters may qualify as fraud, and the instigators can face legal penalties for pushing pyramid schemes or lottery chances.

3. The Heart-breaker: Social media is awash with tender, emotional stories, usually involving a sick child or brave animal and always including a pitiful picture to tug at the heartstrings. It is rarely possible to validate the claims made by such chain messages, but, when people’s emotions are stirred, they tend to act before checking anyway. Pleas for money, get-well cards, or services can classify these heart-breaker stories as scams if they elicit gifts from the recipients.

Jesus warned His disciples to be as “wise as serpents and as gentle as doves” (Matthew 10:16). A proper response to any claim that seems too good to be true is to do some checking before participating. Fact-checking does not imply a hard heart or a lack of faith. In fact, Christians who are careful about what they believe are emulating the Bereans who heard Paul’s “too good to be true” gospel message and “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

If we ask ourselves a few simple questions first, we can make wiser decisions before passing on that chain letter:

1. Is it true? The question is not “Do I wish it was true?” If you cannot personally vouch for the accuracy of something you are about to send or re-post, then don’t re-post. You don’t want to be part of spreading a lie.

2. Is it coercion? Coercion is a form of lying, and God hates any form of it (Proverbs 12:22; 13:5; Revelation 21:8). When we coerce people to do something, we are manipulating their decisions through force or threats. To imply that someone “does not love Jesus” because he or she does not comply with the demand of an anonymous meme is wrong.

3. Is it superstition? Many times, the power behind chain letters is a superstitious fear that, if the chain is broken or the recipient does not obey its demands, something bad will happen. This superstition also promises supernatural blessing for obeying its instructions, as though God were selling cheap lottery tickets by mail or social media. Superstition is a form of witchcraft, as it attributes to inanimate objects or to the “Universe” a power and respect that belong to God alone (Micah 3:7; 5:12; Deuteronomy 18:10). Superstitious chain letters prey on the spiritually immature and uneducated. They also propagate a false view of God and His real blessings.

4. Is it a substitute for true spiritual devotion? In this day of digital connection, it has become easy to hide behind our devices, toss some Bible verses or cheery sayings into the public arena, and feel satisfied that we have “witnessed for Christ.” But what are our posts accomplishing? How many people have been led to repentance and salvation by a chain letter claiming to offer God’s blessings for passing it on? How many souls have been won to Christ from a meme with a drawing of Jesus and the challenge “I’m a believer in Jesus. If you’re not ashamed of Him, then re-post. I’ll bet only one in a thousand will”? Being obnoxious about our faith is rarely effective, and chain messages are one way we can offend rather than draw the world to faith in Christ.

Discerning Christians will think twice before hitting “post,” “share,” or “send” on chain messages that cannot pass the tests above. Living as “lights in the world” (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15) requires much more than being a willing link in a chain of superstition. When we pass on a message because it speaks truth and encouragement to our hearts, we are sharing our faith. But when we do it for superstitious reasons or because some anonymous meme-maker dared us to, we may be only hiding that light under a basket (Matthew 5:15).

Question: "Why are there so many fake Christians?"   

Answer: A Christian can be defined as a person who has, by faith, received and fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior from sin (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8–9). And in the heart of the Christian resides the Spirit of Christ (Ephesians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:11). Now, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9), and this person, then, is not a Christian. Thus, the term “fake Christian” is a misnomer. You are a Christian or you are not a Christian; one is either with God or against God (Matthew 12:30).

That being said, this question is certainly a legitimate one in the minds of many people. And this is likely due to the behavior of some Christians; however, it is also likely because of the behavior of many who think they are Christians or profess to be Christians, but who are not. The reasons many believe they are true Christians when they are not are many and varied. The false teaching that is so prevalent these days is certainly one reason. When churches eschew teaching sound doctrine, the end result will be congregants who do not know the truth of God’s Word. How can they keep in step with the Spirit, when the Truth is not in them?

Also, some believe their recitation of a prayer or responding to an “altar call” alone may have turned them into a Christian. Many believe their religious traditions, such as being baptized as an infant, secured a spot in heaven for them, or that their plentiful good works alone have put them in good standing with God. And, of course, some believe church attendance alone guarantees salvation. The point is that many who profess to be Christians are not Christians at all. Yet they complacently remain convinced that all is well with their soul. Sadly, many will live their entire lives believing they were Christians only to one day hear these words from Jesus Christ: “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23).

The clear teaching of the Bible is that when someone is saved his life will most definitely change as he is a “new creation, the old has gone and the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). A true, born-again Christian will strive to bring glory and honor to Christ by living a life that is pleasing to God (1 Peter 1:15–16; 4:1–4). True saving faith will indeed produce works or “fruit” in the life of the believer (James 2:17, 26). Thus, if there are no works of love in one’s life, a careful self-examination is certainly called for. The apostle Paul instructed those in Corinth to do this very thing: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Indeed, any profession of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false profession, and the professor is not a Christian.

Now, even though the lifestyle of true Christians does reflect the presence of Christ in their hearts, we know we are not perfect. Christians do sin, and the apostle John makes it clear that we deceive ourselves if we think otherwise (1 John 1:8). And when Christians do sin, rest assured there are multitudes just lying in wait to use their “slip-up” to further denigrate the true body of believers. That is why Paul admonished the church in Thessalonica to abstain from even the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) and to live in such a way as to “win the respect of outsiders” (1Thessalonians 4:12).

What Christians will not do, however, is engage in repeated or habitual sin (1 John 3:6). One who engages in deliberate and habitual sin is simply proving that he does not know Christ and therefore cannot be abiding in Him even though he may live his life under the vast umbrella of religion and is thought, therefore, by many to be a Christian.

As believers mature in their faith, they will exhibit more and more evidence of their true Christian nature, such as their love for God, repentance from sin, separation from the world, spiritual growth, and obedient living. As Paul told the Romans, the genuine child of God has been set free from sin and has become a slave to God, and the result is eternal life (Romans 6:22).

Use of Transgender pronouns?  

 those who dogmatically call God “her” or “she” are really referring to a different deity. In the same sense that a Muslim might use words like God or Allah but mean a being with a totally different nature, those who insist on using gender-neutral or female terms for God are effectively speaking of a completely different being from the biblical God. Human sin has resulted in a fallen world (Romans 5:12). That sin, by its nature, confuses and complicates issues that God has otherwise made clear (Romans 1:21–22).

Unfortunately, issues such as preferred pronouns create difficult choices for Christians. While followers of Christ want to be loving, caring, and peaceable (1 Corinthians 13), it is also important to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29), and that includes speaking truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) rather than shrinking from controversy for the sake of social comfort (Hebrews 10:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

That's How Much I Love You  
by Max Lucado    

Untethered by time, [God] sees us all. From the backwoods of Virginia to the business district of London; from the Vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings, from the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, he sees us. Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born.

And he loves what he sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, “You are my child. I love you dearly. I’m aware that someday you’ll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, I’ve already provided you a way back.”

And to prove it, he did something extraordinary.

Stepping from the throne, he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin: pigmented, human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. He who angels worship nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay.

Mary didn’t know whether to give him milk or give him praise, but she gave him both since he was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy.

Joseph didn’t know whether to call him Junior or Father. But in the end called him Jesus, since that’s what the angel said and since he didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms.

Neither Mary nor Joseph said it as bluntly as my Sara, but don’t you think their heads tilted and their minds wondered, “What in the world are you doing, God?” Or, better phrased, “God, what are you doing in the world?”

“Can anything make me stop loving you?” God asks. “Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Behold the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose. You wonder if I understand how you feel? Look into the dancing eyes of the kid in Nazareth; that’s God walking to school. Ponder the toddler at Mary’s table; that’s God spilling his milk.

“You wonder how long my love will last? Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. That’s me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. Covered in spit and sin-soaked. That’s your sin I’m feeling. That’s your death I’m dying. That’s your resurrection I’m living. That’s how much I love you.”

From In the Grip of Grace
Copyright 1996, Max Lucado

A Morning Prayer for Guidance from the Holy Spirit   

Lord, I pray you would move the Spirit more boldly in my life. I know that any sin can grieve and diminish the voice of the Spirit, and I pray against the temptation to sin. Help me crave your presence more than I crave sin. Help me grow in the fruit of the Spirit and so walk closer with Yourself. I pray for guidance from your Spirit- let your will and promises always be a meditation of my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. - Kenny Luck, Every Man Ministry Devotional

In the Midst of Life Struggles: Look Up  
by Debbie McDaniel    

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

There’s so much in this life we can start to feel anxious about, even when we know God’s truth and believe that He’s in control. It can still be a daily battle in our hearts, in our minds.

When we just keep looking all around us, we can easily get defeated. Drained. Impatient. Cynical.

We may find ourselves wrestling with worry. Fear might creep in. We lose our focus because we're so distracted on all the things that can never really give us strength and hope anyway.

People won’t ever be the answer for our every need. Money, possessions, or success can’t ever satisfy the void deep inside that only God can fill. This world will never be free of all conflict. The government won’t ever fix all of our problems. It can’t. Because no matter who is President, no matter what we face in this life, God’s still on the throne.

5 Reminders of Hope from Psalm 121:

- "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." v. 2  He's All-powerful. God is a mountain mover and Creator of heaven and earth. He's with us, always. He breathes help and strength into our souls, into our day.

- "He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber." v. 3  He won't allow us to fall. We may find ourselves on slippery slopes, or the path we're walking seems to be full of potholes and obstacles. But the God who knows all, knows our way. And even when we stumble, as our eyes are fixed on Him, He will keep our footsteps firm. For He watches over us and never sleeps or slumbers.

- "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand." v. 5  He keeps us, safe, in His care. He protects us like the shade protects from the heat of the day. Why the "right hand?" Because it is known as the hand that works, so we can be assured that whatever He's given us to do in this life, His covering of protection rests over all of our work and efforts.

- "The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul." v. 7  He protects us from "all evil," not some, but "all." It does not have the final say over our lives. Fear of death, disease, and hardship has lost its sting, for our lives are hidden with Christ in God. No matter who or what we're rubbing shoulders with each day, God's power is greater than whatever darkness we might face. For He is the soul-keeper and He holds all of our tomorrows.

- "The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever." v. 8  He watches over us, constantly, His eyes are towards us. He cannot look away from those He loves. He watches our coming and our going, and all in between. He watches over our family and children, even when we cannot see. We do not have to worry, for He strongly supports those whose hearts are His.