Just a question...and maybe a rant, too

Some thoughts:

1. If someone asks you to pray for them stop what you are doing and pray right then and there. It doesn't matter if you are talking to them in person, on the phone, online, or even via snail mail.  Pray with them if you can, but definitely pray for them immediately.  Then write yourself a note to remind you that you need to continue praying for them.

2. Keep a prayer journal. Include the person's name, when applicable, and a brief explanation of the issue. Assign different parts of the journal to different days, so you don't always pray for some portions and never others. Follow up with the folks you are praying for so you can keep the journal up to date, and when God answers a prayer in your journal move it to the praise section. And speaking of the praise section, don't forget to include that in your prayers as well.

3. When you ask someone how they are doing and they tell you "not so good," or you sense their "fine" is insincere, ask them for details and ask if you can pray for them.  Then refer to #1 above.

4. When someone asks how you are doing be honest and sincere, but not to the point of embarrassment for either of you. Usually we can determine how honest we can be and with whom; with some people it's obvious that a simple "fine" or "okay" is best, while with others you can truly say, "well, surviving, but really not so good." And still with others you can likely say, "pretty rough really."  Depending on the person, don't be afraid to ask for prayer, and if someone offers to pray for you right then and there say "yes" without hesitation. Never pass up an opportunity to seek the Lord's help.

5. Be better at numbers 1 through 4 than I am!    I'm great at recommendation but lousy at execution!   

messiaen77 wrote:

Totally on board with ya alldat, although sometimes I'm so dense that it really hasn't occurred to me to pray about things.  Related to the immediate subject that may have sparked this rant/question, it also bugs me when people encourage you to seek the Lord's guidance and purpose because your ideas and your plans don't fit their agenda.

Oh, it goes even deeper than that.  On the Facebook page, they will throw out their ideas and question your motives a little.  In private messages, they will rip you to shreds for not being Christ-like at all.  I have a couple of ticked off rappers who are attacking my character all because I removed their ads and asked them to refrain from posting rap on this page as it is a page geared for rock & metal.  Apparently, that makes me the anti-Christ!  OK, I went over the top with that part, but they did tell me that it was not very Christian to pick who hears the gospel.  They get mad when you point out that magazines do that, radio stations do that, podcasts do that, even some churches have aimed to reach a certain sub-culture (anyone recall Sanctuary).  Even Jesus went to the poor and downtrodden instead of the Pharisees and Sadducees and even the Son Of God has people walk away from Him in unbelief.  How naive of us is it to think that we can reach everyone?  How pathetic is it to have people question your character and integrity just because you want to run a Facebook page the way you want?

I'm telling you all:  I've had just about enough.  It would not take much to pull the plug on that page as it is becoming a thorn in my flesh.  If it were not for the fact that there are people that I would not talk to at all without Facebook, I'd pull out of there completely.  I just don't need this.  It's a virtual community that should not be stressing me out when I am not even there.

Maybe I should have followed my gut feeling and just pulled the plug on the page altogether and just left the board as is.

I've had a word about the page but I feel you haven't really prayed, you know, until you sweat blood over it, so I can't tell you.

  

 

If it was me (and it ain't) I'd alert those I communicate with that they can continue hooking up with me at my regular FB if they want, explain to them why I'm doing what I'm doing then set phasers to system shut down.

But that's just me. It was a great idea, but for some reason, it never worked the way it was intended (rather, it has caused you more frustration than anything)

I've had a mind to start a secret Facebook group for those who are already members here. Would that be ok?

alldatndensum wrote:

In private messages, they will rip you to shreds for not being Christ-like at all.  I have a couple of ticked off rappers who are attacking my character all because I removed their ads and asked them to refrain from posting rap on this page as it is a page geared for rock & metal.

You just need to block folks like that. The rules were plain. I wouldn't have even told them personally.

^I've got no disagreement with that!

I think two CHM one on Facebook and one on the forum is not a good idea.

topshot rhit wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

In private messages, they will rip you to shreds for not being Christ-like at all.  I have a couple of ticked off rappers who are attacking my character all because I removed their ads and asked them to refrain from posting rap on this page as it is a page geared for rock & metal.

You just need to block folks like that. The rules were plain. I wouldn't have even told them personally.

I did tell them personally, and that's when they exploded.  I also showed them the door permanently and blocked them from my personal account as well.