Since I decided to come back and visit AFF today, I decided, just for old times sake, to post a thread with a short piece I wrote some time back. Actually it is a sermon I have been preaching here and there shortened and adapted to this format.
Blessings to all my old compadres...
jc
Lam 3:27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Lam 3:28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.
It is a reality that our lives have been profoundly impacted by many emerging technologies.
I am thankful for the many advances and conveniences that have improved our quality of life.
However, there are some not-so-positive ramifications that have come along with the new wave of technology.
As a result of the proliferation of devices and gadgets that fill our lives, two valuable disciplines that are all but lost among many in my generation are the disciplines of solitude and silence.
It seems that young people today have an aversion to both.
Ipods, cell phones, text messaging, IM, etc.
There is a constant stream of noise and clamor and voices that many find difficult to do without.
It is impossible to learn the voice of God if one is not willing to embrace times of solitude and silence. God will not compete with a cacophonous constant clamor to communicate with us.
There are things Jesus wants to say to us that He won't say in the midst of the crowd; He wants us to be alone with Him.
The pressure of the Hand of God will often produce a certain loneliness.
Jeremiah said it like this:
Jer 15:17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I
sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
One reason some of us don't have any more desire for fellowship with God than we do is that the ease and convenience of communication has given us the ability to have our fellowship needs fullfilled by our peers, leaving us satisfied with the companionship we find in our friends alone.
This aversion to being alone has left a huge vulnerability in resisting peer pressure, because the herd instinct is so highly developed.
God help us cultivate the disciplines of solitude and silence, that we may learn His voice and become vessels of honor in His house.
My soul followeth hard after thee....Love one another with a pure heart fervently. 
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