It’s time for a change. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not always good with change. I consider myself flexible, go with the flow, a whatever kind of person, but when push comes to shove, I’ve found myself slightly rigid, a little like Fleetwood Mac — Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’.
bethlemaster.com first came to mind in about July 2017. Have you ever felt that nudge, that push, that inclination, the Spirit’s call? You know how it starts, as just a fleeting thought, and then it grows, and everything in your life points to it, until you can’t stand the nudging any longer and you just have to take action and do what you’ve been called to do. When the action step starts, the excuses fall away and the relief overflows.
Anyway, since May 2018 this blog was just tooling along, no problems or hiccups (that is when I remembered to hit the word publish) until about November 2020. Since you received the emails, you know when my site woes started. So, I’ve been messing with it (wasting my time with it) since November. I’ve been blocked, locked and prohibited from using my website. Until this weekend, there have been no definitive reasons why. Each person I spoke with had a different answer to fix my problem that didn’t fix my problem. I had my own ideas why and just really needed to get to the bottom of it. With the help of Michael in Arizona, who couldn’t actually fix my site but referred me to “Escalated Support,” we have some answers. Escalated Support dug much deeper into my website woes and found that my website had been hacked – with 23 different instances of malware. I’ve been infected. I’m not sure how in the world this happened, WordPress (my host) is not either since I’m securitied up and supposedly they are too? The security didn’t stop it from getting in, though the shutdown of the site did stop it from getting out.
So, to round out this very long story (I’m sorry, can you see I’m processing as I go?), I’ve since received several emails from WordPress (now it’s a big emergency, when it’s been an emergency to me since November.) Sorry for the sarcasm, can you sense my frustration? But, the email told me I’ve been deactivated, my account nor my website will be accessible to me, you, or anyone else until I comply with the terms of service, which I have violated. I kept my end of the security bargain, WordPress did not, I’m not sure how I was the one who violated the terms of service, but there’s no need for me to be defensive, right? (More frustration, ok, I promise I’m done with that.) They can help me come into compliance, for a small fee. 😊
So get to the change already, right? The Persisting in the Presence of God nonblog ministry is going to go forward – drumroll please – just as it has the past few months when the site wouldn’t work, via email. That may seem like an anticlimactic announcement to you, but it’s exciting to me because a decision has finally been made, I’m ready to set the plan in motion.
Daily life has many obstacles, or opportunities, it’s all about perspective, isn’t it? Here’s some of my perspectives on this life obstacle:
1-First off, if I’m going to be “deactivated” for something, it might as well be while I’m working for the Lord, right? The ultimate honor. Does it get any better than that?
2-Second, I’m not in control – I can’t control the actions of those out there wreaking havoc with the malware. I know I should pray for folks that feel like their only way to succeed is to get other people canceled. Hurting people hurt other people.
3-Third, I didn’t know it at the time, but I had the opportunity to bring Jesus in to the spotlight for people I didn’t even know. Omir, Kashima, Michael, Teena, Jyothis, Customer Service, the Escalated Support Team, The Compliance Team, and maybe a few more folks I’ve forgotten. Each of these people could see the title of my website Persisting in the Presence of God. When asked what it was about, I gave them the only right answer – Jesus! Whether I or they knew it or not, they were watching and listening to me. I pray the frustrations I shared with you didn’t come across to them, that would be a witness killer. Ugh!
4-Fourth, time is precious – don’t let Satan sidetrack you. I’ve spent countless hours working on how to work my website. I honestly think I’ve spent more time trying to figure out how to publish than on what to publish. Satan is the master deceiver. He’s very good at leading us into the unimportant so we don’t get to the important. Be on guard!
5-Fifth, the website was canceled because of some malicious hackers. What a lesson! No matter what others do to us, the Lord will never cancel or forsake us. Isn’t that awesome to think about? No matter what happens in this world today, He is still the King and we are still His children. Hallelujah!
6- Sixth, bad behavior has consequences — Many times we experience consequences for someone else’s bad behavior, and they for ours. This lesson hurt the most. You see when I whine — I didn’t do anything, I don’t deserve this — the first image that comes to my mind is Jesus on the cross. I hang my head in shame. Jesus didn’t do anything, He didn’t deserve that. Amazing grace…my chains are gone, I’ve been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me!
I could go on with the lessons I’ve learned from my blog debacle, but I bet you can think of a few as well. We must look at our daily lives, the daily happenings, through the lens of the Lord. He is omnipresent, which means He is ever present, always present. He is with us, actually living within us, which should not just impact our days, but guide our days, direct our days, fulfill our days and complete them as well.
So, what’s the plan? Until the Lord says different, the plan is to continue through email. I’m not going to create another website, I’m getting the strong indication that that’s not what I’m supposed to do right now. God’s Word cannot be stopped!
Future nonblogs will only be sent via email. If you know someone else who would like to receive them, send me an email address. Likewise, if you want a break from the blog-nonblog, shoot me an email and I can take you off the list – no worries. You may also feel free to forward the emails to folks you think would be encouraged by them. There’s nothing proprietary, no copyright, no protected writings. I’m actually getting very excited about the email format. It was difficult for us to communicate without bouncing back and forth between email and the website. Now, we can communicate directly. We can more easily reason and work out our faith, together. I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts, to hearing what the Lord is saying to you in His Word. Peace.
PERSIST
Psalm 145
Hebrews 13