Sally and I were recently invited by some missionaries to use our WhatsApp Status as a tool to share the Gospel.
I have made some Lekach to celebrate, Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year (not calendar year, but the start of a new period after Easter), and Pesach (Passover), to symbolise a sweet new year. Sweet because of what Easter signifies - spiritual rebirth through the forgiveness of sins and physical rebirth because we will all be resurrected. All this is because of the atonement wrought by Jesus Christ in Gethsemane, on Golgotha, and emerging from the tomb in the Garden.
Well, I must admit that I had not often looked at Status - it is so often just time-consuming but not necessarily the best use of that time...
I considered the challenge and I started to experiment. I cannot recall all that I have shared since receiving the challenge. It is evident that my Status is only visible for about 24 hours, then disappears. It evidently cannot be forwarded by me or anyone else, and once posted it cannot be reused or altered - I can only delete it because of a typo or error, and then I need to recreate it.
Another thing that I try to do is to rarely simply post what someone else has posted - to me that is simply being a consumer rather than rising to the challenge of being a producer. Heavenly Father challenged us to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the Earth, subdue it and have dominion over it. I think that He would rather that I be a primary producer rather than simply using or comsuming what someone else produced - especially if not giving credit to whoever created it! That could be called plagiarism...
So, I have tried, and tried, and am coming to learn some tricks of the trade. A post must not be longer than 700 characters, or something like that. That includes a link to the original source. Simply sharing something from YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, or other such sources might give no hint as to what is being shared, so I try to share it in a way that will help someone to see if it is worth clicking on the link.
The most important thing is that I am sharing things that demonstrates how the Spirit has touched me - what the Spirit has taught me.
I find that sometimes it is good to highlight something and then click Share, and copy the link. At times I share what is highlighted, and that includes a link. I prefer it when there is a link so that someone can read the scripture or source. At least I try to include a reference to a scripture or a citation, even if not a clickable or tappable link.
I see that it is also easy to send my WhatsApp Status as my Story in Facebook, and it sends an image of my WhatsApp Status and shares in to Facebook.
This one is shared in a way that a preview shows what the link is, and I hope it encourages someone to actually click on the link.
I find that sometimes it is best to share something with myself - Les Powrie (You) - as the WhatsApp recipient. I then can estimate the length of the post to see if it will fit in a single post. I can also preview what I am sharing. I then forward what I formulate to my Status, and sometimes to family and others.
I find that if I want to send it to a Broadcast List, I need to copy the post (tap and hold, then click Copy) and then paste it in the Broadcast. I cannot use Broadcast Lists on the laptop, only on the phone, and it is evident that WhatsApp makes it difficult to simply broadcast things and thus become a nuisance. I hope that I am not a nuisance. Some people have blocked my number, so I guess that I have been a nuisance at times...😔
Here is a scripture reference, and a comment that I copied from my Notes in the Gospel Library app. This note was just too long for the link to appear below it, but at least the scripture reference is given.
Here is a similar thing that I copied from my Notes in the Gospel Library app. This note is short enough for the link to appear below it, and a reader can click on the link and it will open in Gospel Library if installed, or in a web browser.
Here is a preview, scripture reference, my comment, and clickable or tappable link.
Here is an italicised scripture, scripture reference, my comment, and clickable or tappable link.
See below for italicising text or making it bold.
To italicise, or make bold in WhatsApp, use Underscore _ or Asterisk * before and after the text to italicise, without spaces at start or finish and without line breaks. _italicise_, not _italicise _ or *bold* not * bold*, or
*Mary, Mary, quite contrary*
*How does your garden grow?*
Play around to get the hang of it 😀
Here is a scripture, reference, and clickable or tappable link.
Here is a scripture and reference. The quote is too long for a link to appear.
I am sowing seeds, or casting a net. I hope that some seeds will fall on good ground and yield thirty-, sixty-, or one hundred-fold, or that some fish will be gathered in the net. I may never know the outcome of my efforts, but Heavenly Father will know. I love to think of myself simply as one of the branches on the true vine, producing fruit, and that fruit adding glory to the Father as we read in the
fifteenth chapter of John. Branches that bear fruit will also be purged or pruned, so that they will bear fruit more abundantly - sometimes an uncomfortable thing...
Play around - find what works for you. Try to be a light to tohers, as leaven in the loaf, or as salt of the Earth, helping to gather souls to the feet of the Saviour, the true source of all that is right and true.
