Is it possible to make Social Media Whine-Free Zone?

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"Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan and sigh, and He will hear my voice." (Psalm 55:17, Amplified Version)

One of the great mixed blessings of this era in which we are living is the connection available through social media. I love the ability to connect with folks through the various connection points I have established. The "mixed blessing" part is that the way some people use social media drives me crazy. I hate social media whining. It it is important to note that I said "whining" not "whiners". It is the whining that drives me nuts. I love the people and realize that the act often comes out of a lot of frustration, disappointment, disillusionment, and pain.




In reading Psalm 55:17 this morning I noticed the words "complaint", "moan", and "sigh". 

So, am I giving up on my hope for a "whine-free zone" on social media since it is right there in the Bible?

In a word, no.

Here is the verse immediately preceding: "As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me." (55:16) And just a few verses after, we read: "Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail)." (55:22)

The issue is not that complaining, moaning, sighing, whining (and other words) are taboo. The issue is that we sometimes send them the wrong direction. We can send them straight to God. He is not checking Facebook to get insight into our lives. And while our social media circles can certainly pray for us (my topic today is NOT referring to sharing needs for prayer), they cannot answer our prayers. Nor can they alter our circumstances. So, what usually happens is the law of "misery loves company" and the conversation turns into a whine-fest at best or an argument at worst. And when Christ-followers engage that way, it casts a distorted image of Jesus to a world that needs to know Him.

Question: How do you determine how much of your personal discomfort to share publicly?

Please leave a comment below.  Your insight could be a great help for our online community.

The cattle on a thousand hills and the dog in my backyard

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"For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are. I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind.If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine." (Psalm 50:10-12, Amplified Bible)

Probably the most well-known and often quoted portion of that passage is the part about the cattle on a thousand hills.

I remember a few years back when one of my dogs would not stop barking during one particular night. I had tapped on the window several times, had gone outside and looked around, had gone outside and scolded her; nothing worked. Just as soon as I got back into bed the barking started again. I was frustrated, exhausted, and already dreading the next day when I would be forced to go about my business with little sleep. Finally, in desperation I prayed, "Lord, if the cattle on a thousand hills belong to you, surely you can handle one barking dog!"

It worked! She stopped barking.

I'd like to report that this became my "go to" prayer that took care of every barking dog night, but God doesn't work on formulas. But that particular night, He reminded me that He really is in control and that He really is listening. He also reminded me that it is not only grazing cattle and barking dogs that belong to Him. 

He is also the king of me.

Question: how do you respond to the idea that everything belongs to God?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

How much will you leave?

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"So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave. In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success. But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day." (Psalm 49:16-19, New Living Translation)

A story is told about a wealthy man who died. People in the community began to speculate on just how much his estate was worth. One person finally got up the courage to ask, "How much did he leave?" A wise man answered, "All of it."

It is easy to imagine that life would be so much better if we had more money or more stuff. If we are not careful, the stuff begins to take control. Before long we are, as one person said, "Spending money we don't have to buy things we don't need so that we can impress people we don't even like."

There's nothing inherently wrong with money or stuff. The problem comes when we focus our lives on acquisition rather than stewardship. If we are investing our lives in eternal things for the glory of God, we may not leave an estate, but we will leave a legacy.

Another verse from the same Psalm: "But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave." (49:15, NLT)

Death has no power over those whose lives have been redeemed by God. If death has no power over us, neither should our stuff.

Question: What can you do to keep "stuff" in perspective?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

All Aboard!

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"Your name, God, evokes a train of Hallelujahs wherever It is spoken, near and far; your arms are heaped with goodness- in- action." (Psalm 48:10, The Message)

I love the imagery this translation evokes: a train of Hallelujahs that extends to every place the name of God is spoken.

Imagine with me: as we rise and greet the day with the name of Jesus on our lips, someone on the other side of the world is speaking that name as they drift off to sleep comforted by His presence. And though we have never met (and likely never will), we are connected in this train of praise.

All aboard!

Question: How will you intentionally participate in the worldwide train of Hallelujahs today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Listening through the noise of Competing Voices

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"And Samuel replied, 'Speak, your servant is listening.'" (1 Samuel 3:10, New Living Translation)

“The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me (see John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey God’s message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

I spent about 24 hours at the beginning of this week at a "Hearing God" retreat. There was some group process time, but the majority of the time was spent praying, listening to God, and resting in His presence. 

Listening g to God does not come naturally. Samuel had to be taught to prepare himself to hear God. We have to learn how to intentionally quiet all the other "voices" so that we are able to hear God's gentle whisper.  One way to begin is to pray Samuel's prayer: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Question: What "voices" are competing for your attention today?

Question 2: How have you learned to quiet those other voices so that you can hear God?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Are you listening?

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"When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.  And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!” As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was." (Exodus 20:18-21, New Living Translation)

If you were to read this passage in its context, you would find the giving of the 10 commandments in the verses preceding. What I want you to notice this morning is the preference of the people to hear from God through Moses, rather than directly.

Oswald Chambers writes, "We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, 'Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God's truth.'" (My Utmost for His Highest)

I love sharing with you each morning what God has said to me, but my voice (in print) is never a substitute for God's (neither is anyone else's, by the way). My prayer is that my words might provide a little kindling for you to start the fire of your own conversation with God.

Question: What is God saying to YOU this morning?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Take a long hard look

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"Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They'll lose interest in all the stuff they've made-- altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion-- however impressive it is." (Isaiah 17:7-8, The Message)

I read this story this morning: "I don't say anything," said an old Irish peasant about his quiet, solitary visits to the church. "I just look at God, and God looks at me." (From The Spiritual Formation Bible)

Have we become so "task" oriented in our lives that we cannot simply be still and encounter the presence of God? Are we so busy seeking blessings or answers that we cannot seek Him?

“One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

In a couple of hours, I will be leaving for a 24 hour "Hearing God" retreat with some of my ministry partners. I'm going to "unplug" entirely during this time, so I won't be posting tomorrow. I am requesting your prayers as I put myself deliberately before God and take a long hard look at Him.

Question: what do you need to do to take a long hard look at God?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.