“What Are You Stuffing Yourself With?”
Our family was getting ready to leave for the lake just after lunch on the 4th of July but we got a little distracted because of the annual hot dog eating contest on ESPN. Some families might keep background Christian music playing while they are in their homes; we tend to have Sports Center on autopilot at 1707 Wentworth. Just a little confession to feel cleaner. Anyway, I was trying to put my makeup on but couldn’t help but get in on the drama of the moment. Rusty and Will, my husband and oldest son, were glued to the tube (the youngest son was watching in the privacy of the attic) as the two top contestants were neck and neck stuffing themselves with hotdogs. As they stuffed another dog into their mouths a person behind them would change the number on the marker they were holding like the men at football games changing the down marker after each play. The intensity grew as they approached the final tick of the ten-minute giant digital clock. A crowd of thousands at Nathan’s on Coney Island cheered wildly as they frantically crammed more dogs and buns in washing them down as needed with water. It was not a pleasant sight to say the least. I was thankful that we would be served Boston Butt and ribs at the Epperson’s lake house not hot dogs. The six-time champion Takera Kobayashi was two dogs up on the defending champion Joey Chesnut with about a minute to go. It really seemed almost over for the American. When I say he looked pitiful I mean it. It looked like he was about to throw up but fighting through the apparent discomfort he continued to cram those dogs in one after another. The Japanese fellow looked refreshed as he doubled over his dogs and shoved them down his throat. It looked like he would retain the mustard-colored champions belt when at the last second the American tied up the score-59 hotdogs and buns in a mere 10 minutes. Yes history was made that moment on Coney Island. Never before in the 93 year history of the contest had there ever been a tie. Sudden death was to follow. Whoever got 5 extra dogs in the fastest would be declared the 2008 winner. The crowd was obviously pulling for the American-after all; it was the 4th of July. With the unbridled enthusiasm of an SEC crowd the New Yorkers cheered Chesnut to victory. The American was literally stuffed like a prize trophy; he was the champion of the day. Headlines in papers all across the land declared him a great American. You have to laugh to keep from weeping. If we’ve ever needed for God to bless America it’s now. It pains me to even record this “historical” event but I see some powerful spiritual analogies. I pride myself in saying that I would NEVER participate in such a ridiculous contest. Before the contest started ESPN’s Sports Center broadcasted for at least an hour with more details than you could ever imagine. Like discussing competing horses in the Kentucky Derby the pedigree of each dog eater was discussed ad nauseum. Some of the contestants looked entirely normal. One fellow was a spinal surgeon by profession. All of them had gone through extensive training to get on the stage of Nathan’s that day. There had been preliminary eat-offs in various other locals during the year. They purposed to be right where they were that hot July day. But they didn’t purpose to be there after they ate their first dog ever. At some point between 1 and 59 things got terribly out-of-balance. What about you? What are you “stuffing” your life with? “Did you start with the Spirit and are now trying to attain things by human effort? “ (Galatians 1:10) Could you be putting in so many other things that there’s little room for Him? Is intimacy with your heavenly Father something for just a select few? Is the world crowding out the Word in your life? Are you in competition with others to “get ahead “ in the world by cramming in all it has to tempt and offer to you? Are you striving each day to do more and more in less and less time? As I remember those two dog eaters cramming in more and more in the shortest time possible I can only think of people trapped by the world. They are moving faster and faster minute after minute for zero eternal significance. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
As I got in on the suspenseful final minutes of that silly contest with those men literally stuffing animal by-products into their mouths the Holy Spirit highlighted a sentence I had read in John Piper’s book ‘Hunger for God’ and it is as follows: “Your soul is stuffed with small things.” I will end this “hotdog eating” story with paragraphs taken directly from that book. Be still and listen for the Holy Spirit as He will convict the majority of us who live in America. My prayer is that you will do what He says.
“Desires for other things (the enemy) enter in and choke the Word (Mark 4:19)-the only weapon is a deeper hunger for God. The weakness in our hunger is not because He is unsavory but because we have kept ourselves stuffed with “other things.” What we hunger for most we worship. The birthplace of Christian fasting is homesickness for God. The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies but His gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable. The “pleasures of this life” and the desires for other things –these are not evil in themselves, these are gifts from God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV watching and internet surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of these can become deadly substitutes for God. When you take your stand on the finished work of God in Christ, and begin to drink at the River of Life and eat the bread of heaven, and know that you have found the end of all your longings you only get hungrier for God. The more satisfaction you experience from God, while still in this world, the greater your desire for the next. C.S. Lewis said, ‘Our best havings are wantings.’ The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get for Christ… the more homesick you get for heaven. If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestations of the glory of God, it is not because you drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things.”
Ann Allen Salter
July 7, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Balancing Your Life - Lesson #5
“A Storm is Coming….What Will You Do?”
1. Storms are inevitable.
2. Storms vary in duration and intensity.
3. Storms are impossible to accurately predict. (Luke 8:22-24)
“There is nothing about a storm we are in control of except how we prepare for it and then how we choose to react to it.”
“We don’t have a clue!” verses:
Romans 11:33_____________________________________
1 Corinthians 13:12 _________________________________
Isaiah 55:8-8______________________________________
*2 Questions that are real faith-killers in a storm: WHY GOD WHY?/ WHEN GOD WHEN?
*You are whistling for the enemy if you choose to repeatedly engage and entertain these questions.
WHY DO STORMS EXIST?
1. To shape us : 2 Cor. 3: 18, Romans 5:3-5
2. To strengthen us : 2 Cor. 12:9-10, Habakkuk 3:17-19
3. To test our faith : James 1:2-4, 1 Cor. 10:13
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
1. Prepare ahead of time: Psalm 119:11,105 & 1 Peter 4:12-18
2. Seek shelter immediately: Psalm 32:7 & Psalm 91
“You can fellowship with the storm or God but not both.”
3. Wait for it to end: Psalm 37:7.34, John 14:27 & Psalm 107:28-30
“How you wait depends upon how much you trust your shelter?”
Ann Allen Salter
1. Storms are inevitable.
2. Storms vary in duration and intensity.
3. Storms are impossible to accurately predict. (Luke 8:22-24)
“There is nothing about a storm we are in control of except how we prepare for it and then how we choose to react to it.”
“We don’t have a clue!” verses:
Romans 11:33_____________________________________
1 Corinthians 13:12 _________________________________
Isaiah 55:8-8______________________________________
*2 Questions that are real faith-killers in a storm: WHY GOD WHY?/ WHEN GOD WHEN?
*You are whistling for the enemy if you choose to repeatedly engage and entertain these questions.
WHY DO STORMS EXIST?
1. To shape us : 2 Cor. 3: 18, Romans 5:3-5
2. To strengthen us : 2 Cor. 12:9-10, Habakkuk 3:17-19
3. To test our faith : James 1:2-4, 1 Cor. 10:13
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
1. Prepare ahead of time: Psalm 119:11,105 & 1 Peter 4:12-18
2. Seek shelter immediately: Psalm 32:7 & Psalm 91
“You can fellowship with the storm or God but not both.”
3. Wait for it to end: Psalm 37:7.34, John 14:27 & Psalm 107:28-30
“How you wait depends upon how much you trust your shelter?”
Ann Allen Salter
Thursday, September 11, 2008
"Balancing Your Life" Class Lesson #4
“James and the Demo Cell Phone…Listening for His Father’s Voice”
Although I never saw the movie I do remember a title of a movie from years ago called “James and the Giant Peach.” Sounds like a silly movie but the title obviously stuck in my mind and so with that memory the title for this story quickly came to mind . Let me explain. Last Wednesday night when leaving church I was standing outside of the children’s wing talking with friends and watching some of their children play. The funniest site was watching the intensity of the youngest Treadwell child. James Treadwell is only 18 months old and he was running back and forth in the grass with his head up looking straight ahead while the entire time keeping a cell phone held tightly up to his right ear with his right hand. It looked like the arm and phone were super glued up there. He was intently listening not saying a word as he went about his 18-month old business. Since his mom and two brothers were right there I suppose that James was listening for the voice of his Daddy. I mean this went on for the entire time we were out there. We were trying to decide who was going to eat and where while all the time James was running around obviously very attached to his new piece of technology. I was startled when I first saw him because I feared he had taken his mom’s phone. Kelly informed me that at Costco a few days before the salesman had given all three of her boys demo cell phones. Thomas and Samuel liked theirs as well but with James the demo cell phone had literally stuck. I realized at that moment as I talked to Kelly that another “story” was being written. Oh I want to be like young James Treadwell listening intently all the time for the voice of my Father. Not just during my priority time first thing in the morning but all throughout the day and night. Constant communication with the Father is crucial because it’s how we get to know Him more and the only way to know his perfect direction and will for our life. Without His direction we are destined for one problem after another; or we’ll settle for the good versus the best. His ways are so much higher than ours. Could hearing God’s voice be as simple as holding a cell phone up to your ear all day long like baby James? Listening for God’s voice is as simple as A, B, C- A) Ask Him to speak- “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know(Jeremiah 3:33) B) Be still and listen. You must stop what you are doing and thinking and focus on hearing God. God’s voice is still and quiet and gets crowded out by a hurried body or mind. C) Come unto Him. Learning to listen for His voice will be one of the most valuable lessons you will ever learn in life. Invest much time and discipline in learning to listen. A wonderful book on the subject is Dr. Charles Stanley’s “How to Listen to God.” He points out 5 ways He can speak to you and greatly simplified they are as follows: 1) The Word- this is His primary way to speak to you. Meditating on the Word is one of the best ways you can hear His voice for divine guidance. “Meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do everything in it.” (Joshua 1:8) 2) The Holy Spirit (Promptings…speaks to your Spirit) –alive in you, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth if you will choose to obey. 3) Prayer -this is your relationship to Jesus-your lifeline to the Father. We all need to practice more time listening in prayer than speaking. Remember that hurry is the death of prayer. 4) Praise- God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3); it silences the enemy therefore allowing you to hear the Father’s voice and 5) People and circumstances -we need to camp out on this one for a minute. Please be careful with category #5. You better know the Word, have a powerful prayer life, and be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit or you could be easily deceived. The voice of God will never include anything contrary to principles of scripture. Remember that the Holy Spirit is your #1 counselor not any person. A much used scheme of Satan is to masquerade as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy your ability to hear and obey God’s counsel. Be very careful who you choose to listen to. Having warned you about this, please don’t be so paranoid that you fail to take seriously when God does speak to you through His servants who bring you confirmation or a prophetic word from the heart of God. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8), and He will speak words of wisdom and knowledge through clean vessels as His Spirit leads.
Hearing God’s voice is as simple as A.B.C. Simply ask Him to speak, be still, and come unto Him continually just like baby James with the cell phone stuck to his ear. Your heavenly Father is madly in love with you. He created you for the primary purpose of relationship with Him. He is always whispering in His still small voice words of love, encouragement, healing, and deliverance. Shut out the world, keep your ears open to His voice and promptly obey when He speaks. Then and only then will you fall in love with Jesus, come to the end of every other longing, and fulfill your destiny. He is speaking….are you ready to listen? You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
June 2008
Although I never saw the movie I do remember a title of a movie from years ago called “James and the Giant Peach.” Sounds like a silly movie but the title obviously stuck in my mind and so with that memory the title for this story quickly came to mind . Let me explain. Last Wednesday night when leaving church I was standing outside of the children’s wing talking with friends and watching some of their children play. The funniest site was watching the intensity of the youngest Treadwell child. James Treadwell is only 18 months old and he was running back and forth in the grass with his head up looking straight ahead while the entire time keeping a cell phone held tightly up to his right ear with his right hand. It looked like the arm and phone were super glued up there. He was intently listening not saying a word as he went about his 18-month old business. Since his mom and two brothers were right there I suppose that James was listening for the voice of his Daddy. I mean this went on for the entire time we were out there. We were trying to decide who was going to eat and where while all the time James was running around obviously very attached to his new piece of technology. I was startled when I first saw him because I feared he had taken his mom’s phone. Kelly informed me that at Costco a few days before the salesman had given all three of her boys demo cell phones. Thomas and Samuel liked theirs as well but with James the demo cell phone had literally stuck. I realized at that moment as I talked to Kelly that another “story” was being written. Oh I want to be like young James Treadwell listening intently all the time for the voice of my Father. Not just during my priority time first thing in the morning but all throughout the day and night. Constant communication with the Father is crucial because it’s how we get to know Him more and the only way to know his perfect direction and will for our life. Without His direction we are destined for one problem after another; or we’ll settle for the good versus the best. His ways are so much higher than ours. Could hearing God’s voice be as simple as holding a cell phone up to your ear all day long like baby James? Listening for God’s voice is as simple as A, B, C- A) Ask Him to speak- “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know(Jeremiah 3:33) B) Be still and listen. You must stop what you are doing and thinking and focus on hearing God. God’s voice is still and quiet and gets crowded out by a hurried body or mind. C) Come unto Him. Learning to listen for His voice will be one of the most valuable lessons you will ever learn in life. Invest much time and discipline in learning to listen. A wonderful book on the subject is Dr. Charles Stanley’s “How to Listen to God.” He points out 5 ways He can speak to you and greatly simplified they are as follows: 1) The Word- this is His primary way to speak to you. Meditating on the Word is one of the best ways you can hear His voice for divine guidance. “Meditate on it day and night so that you will be careful to do everything in it.” (Joshua 1:8) 2) The Holy Spirit (Promptings…speaks to your Spirit) –alive in you, the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth if you will choose to obey. 3) Prayer -this is your relationship to Jesus-your lifeline to the Father. We all need to practice more time listening in prayer than speaking. Remember that hurry is the death of prayer. 4) Praise- God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3); it silences the enemy therefore allowing you to hear the Father’s voice and 5) People and circumstances -we need to camp out on this one for a minute. Please be careful with category #5. You better know the Word, have a powerful prayer life, and be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit or you could be easily deceived. The voice of God will never include anything contrary to principles of scripture. Remember that the Holy Spirit is your #1 counselor not any person. A much used scheme of Satan is to masquerade as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy your ability to hear and obey God’s counsel. Be very careful who you choose to listen to. Having warned you about this, please don’t be so paranoid that you fail to take seriously when God does speak to you through His servants who bring you confirmation or a prophetic word from the heart of God. Remember that the Holy Spirit is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8), and He will speak words of wisdom and knowledge through clean vessels as His Spirit leads.
Hearing God’s voice is as simple as A.B.C. Simply ask Him to speak, be still, and come unto Him continually just like baby James with the cell phone stuck to his ear. Your heavenly Father is madly in love with you. He created you for the primary purpose of relationship with Him. He is always whispering in His still small voice words of love, encouragement, healing, and deliverance. Shut out the world, keep your ears open to His voice and promptly obey when He speaks. Then and only then will you fall in love with Jesus, come to the end of every other longing, and fulfill your destiny. He is speaking….are you ready to listen? You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
June 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
"My Utmost for His Highest" Daily Devotional
We've added the link to the website for Oswald Chambers devotional "My Utmost for His Highest" to the links list on the right side of this blog site. (When I just re-read the title of this post, I had mis-typed "hightest" instead of "highest" - I bet Ann Allen could make a lesson out of that) The link will take you to the home page of the website where you can click on "Today's Reading" to get the devotion for that day. If you are looking for something to kick start your quiet times each day, this is one option. I hope you find it a blessing!
Melissa
Melissa
"Balancing Your Life" Class Lesson #3
“How Do You Greet Your Master?”
I still miss Sister. All 5 pounds of her have been gone for almost two years but she’s still missed. Only real dog lovers understand how you can miss the individual peculiarities of those special family members. If you’ve just had “dogs” you might not get it but if you’ve ever had a Sister you know what I mean. Her signature mark was that she could turn complete 360’s with her body multiple times in a row-I mean four to six at a time. She would do this when I first saw her each morning. She was crazy about me and she greeted me by spinning her little body around wildly in excitement. As she aged and her little knees became arthritic she flipped around with equal enthusiasm just less rotations. There is no way she could have been any more excited to greet me each morning. As her heart began to fail she couldn’t make even a 180 degree turn but her eyes never lost the excitement and thrill of meeting her master first thing in the morning. She was smarter than the average dog. Sister knew that I was going to turn on that coffee pot before feeding her so she sat on the kitchen floor waiting patiently for me to take that turn toward the hall where she knew her food was stored. While I filled up her little paw printed black and white ceramic bowl with tiny kibble she stared me down, every muscle of her body tensed with excitement. Now the show was about to start for me. As I stood up Sister would begin to turn 360’s as she ran down the hall, with me following behind with her food. As I placed it before her she always acted as if she had never seen food before. Enthusiasm doesn’t even describe was she was for her morning meal. Whatever I gave her she would eat it and be as happy as she could possibly be. This same routine happened again each morning and evening over and over and over for eleven years. If I left the house for a few hours or went to work for the day she would greet me with the enthusiastic 360’s. I never tired of her showing how excited she was to see me. Even when I wasn’t giving her something she was equally happy to see me. I would imagine that you caught on to the spiritual analogy, the pet parable so to speak, the moment I used the word master. Am I that excited to meet my Master each morning? Am I that thankful for His provisions day after day after day? Am I that excited even when He’s not “giving” me what I want? My praise to Him first thing in the morning and quite frankly all day long is put to shame by a 5 pound Boston Terrier. Listen to Zephaniah 3:17, “ The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy.He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” This speaks of how excited He is to be with us. At a concert I once heard the talented musician Dennis Jernigan speak of this verse. He said that while we are sleeping at night that the LORD dances wildly over us just waiting for us to wake in the morning and have communion with him. We are suppose to have Sister 360 enthusiasm and all too often I fear so many believers slap off the alarm and bemoan the dawning of His new day. If we really realized the raw power of praise, the penetrating power of getting in and staying in His presence I know we’d dance around like Sister spiritually and yes even physically. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it means to really praise Him but I’ll tell you that praise is life-changing because it puts you into His presence and that is where you are changed. Psalm 22:3 says that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” Have His children in today’s busy world forgotten this? Our spirits will literally soar with His Holy Spirit when we learn the lifestyle of praise. You are refreshed, you are healed, you are delivered, you are recharged, you fall in love with Him more and more…praise is the warfare…praise literally silences and drives the enemy out. Demons have to flee in the light of praise to our LORD. A friend recently told me that real worship is really “warship.” As we begin our day let us remember that it is a war out there. The enemy is prowling around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) so we better have our armor on (Ephesians 6:10-19) and be “praised up” and ready. Your Master is waiting to meet you in the morning, ready to give you everything you need to survive the day and oh so much more. I’m learning to turn 360’s. How about you?
Ann Allen Salter
July 30, 2008
I still miss Sister. All 5 pounds of her have been gone for almost two years but she’s still missed. Only real dog lovers understand how you can miss the individual peculiarities of those special family members. If you’ve just had “dogs” you might not get it but if you’ve ever had a Sister you know what I mean. Her signature mark was that she could turn complete 360’s with her body multiple times in a row-I mean four to six at a time. She would do this when I first saw her each morning. She was crazy about me and she greeted me by spinning her little body around wildly in excitement. As she aged and her little knees became arthritic she flipped around with equal enthusiasm just less rotations. There is no way she could have been any more excited to greet me each morning. As her heart began to fail she couldn’t make even a 180 degree turn but her eyes never lost the excitement and thrill of meeting her master first thing in the morning. She was smarter than the average dog. Sister knew that I was going to turn on that coffee pot before feeding her so she sat on the kitchen floor waiting patiently for me to take that turn toward the hall where she knew her food was stored. While I filled up her little paw printed black and white ceramic bowl with tiny kibble she stared me down, every muscle of her body tensed with excitement. Now the show was about to start for me. As I stood up Sister would begin to turn 360’s as she ran down the hall, with me following behind with her food. As I placed it before her she always acted as if she had never seen food before. Enthusiasm doesn’t even describe was she was for her morning meal. Whatever I gave her she would eat it and be as happy as she could possibly be. This same routine happened again each morning and evening over and over and over for eleven years. If I left the house for a few hours or went to work for the day she would greet me with the enthusiastic 360’s. I never tired of her showing how excited she was to see me. Even when I wasn’t giving her something she was equally happy to see me. I would imagine that you caught on to the spiritual analogy, the pet parable so to speak, the moment I used the word master. Am I that excited to meet my Master each morning? Am I that thankful for His provisions day after day after day? Am I that excited even when He’s not “giving” me what I want? My praise to Him first thing in the morning and quite frankly all day long is put to shame by a 5 pound Boston Terrier. Listen to Zephaniah 3:17, “ The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy.He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” This speaks of how excited He is to be with us. At a concert I once heard the talented musician Dennis Jernigan speak of this verse. He said that while we are sleeping at night that the LORD dances wildly over us just waiting for us to wake in the morning and have communion with him. We are suppose to have Sister 360 enthusiasm and all too often I fear so many believers slap off the alarm and bemoan the dawning of His new day. If we really realized the raw power of praise, the penetrating power of getting in and staying in His presence I know we’d dance around like Sister spiritually and yes even physically. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it means to really praise Him but I’ll tell you that praise is life-changing because it puts you into His presence and that is where you are changed. Psalm 22:3 says that “God inhabits the praises of His people.” Have His children in today’s busy world forgotten this? Our spirits will literally soar with His Holy Spirit when we learn the lifestyle of praise. You are refreshed, you are healed, you are delivered, you are recharged, you fall in love with Him more and more…praise is the warfare…praise literally silences and drives the enemy out. Demons have to flee in the light of praise to our LORD. A friend recently told me that real worship is really “warship.” As we begin our day let us remember that it is a war out there. The enemy is prowling around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) so we better have our armor on (Ephesians 6:10-19) and be “praised up” and ready. Your Master is waiting to meet you in the morning, ready to give you everything you need to survive the day and oh so much more. I’m learning to turn 360’s. How about you?
Ann Allen Salter
July 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
"Balancing Your Life" Class Lesson #2
“LORD, Will You Order My Steps?”
Have you ever been driving then suddenly realized you were going down the wrong way of a one-way street? If you’ve been driving long enough I bet it has happened to you at least once or twice. It’s a terrible feeling isn’t it? If you could push a button causing your car to suddenly reverse directions and simultaneously get a pair of eyes in the back of your head you would. When you aren’t paying a lot of attention to where you are going; when you don’t slow down long enough to read the road signs it’s almost easy to go in a wrong direction. Interestingly enough, the same thing can happen to you as you travel down the road of life. As I was attempting to organize lessons for an upcoming discipleship semester at church I was at a standstill on how to put them in order. I had no leading at all. I’ve learned after many years of messing up that when this happens it’s better to stop everything you are doing and just be still. I can’t say that I was consciously praying but I do remember lying down on the sofa and just being still-doing nothing. Within minutes as clear as anything across my mind came the following phrase in this exact order: “Slow ‘em down, clean ‘em up, fill ‘em up, and send ‘em out.” There was no effort on my part to receive this except that I got still and then wrote it down. As I looked at what I had written I realized just how crucial order and direction is to our every move. To do what He has called each of us to do requires all four steps in the exact order. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has hauled off driving down a road I thought I was being called to when suddenly I hear Him say “Reverse, reverse, reverse!” Let’s put some meat (scripture) on the four steps He calls each of us to follow.
1) Slow us down=Be still=Prayer
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
2) Clean us up=Confession/Repentance/Deliverance from evil
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
3) Fill us up= Holy Spirit’s power
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
4) Send us out=Service=Great Commission (Inside and outside our homes)
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Can you see clearly that #4 can’t be #1? The Father is saying “Reverse, reverse, reverse!” but oh so many of His children are just continuing to drive down a street the wrong way. This NEVER happens when you slow down and get still long enough to hear His voice. You must hear YOUR marching orders. If you don’t hear anything YOU STAY PUT. You learn to wait. Yes He has probably placed His vision in your heart but you must learn to wait on His timing before you start driving. What about the perfect formula for burn-out? That would be 1,2,4. That’s doing it in your own strength (flesh) not the power of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah summarizes #3 perfectly, “Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord.” You must acknowledge that “Apart from Him you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
It would be easier if we could go through these 4 steps just one time and then that was it for the rest of our lives but it doesn’t work that way. His manna is only for today. Our marching orders are often moment by moment vs. day to day. And then there’s the staying clean part to be able to hear. Because we get dirty so quickly we have to have that spiritual bath daily (or maybe hourly on many of my days!) Because of His great mercy and forgiveness we can fall back into His loving arms and start over again and again. Begin to think about the direction you are currently going, the steps you are taking moment by moment. Are they ordered by the LORD or are they “planned” by you? Psalm 119:133 tells us the perfect way to walk, “Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.” The LORD is in the foot business. He knows where to place them. He knows how to keep them moving forward. He knows how to stop them and yes, even reverse them. Psalm 37:23-24 says “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” I’ll close with George Mueller’s summary (and addition) to these verses, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…and the stops also!” Won’t you ask Him to order your steps today? You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
July 18, 2008
Have you ever been driving then suddenly realized you were going down the wrong way of a one-way street? If you’ve been driving long enough I bet it has happened to you at least once or twice. It’s a terrible feeling isn’t it? If you could push a button causing your car to suddenly reverse directions and simultaneously get a pair of eyes in the back of your head you would. When you aren’t paying a lot of attention to where you are going; when you don’t slow down long enough to read the road signs it’s almost easy to go in a wrong direction. Interestingly enough, the same thing can happen to you as you travel down the road of life. As I was attempting to organize lessons for an upcoming discipleship semester at church I was at a standstill on how to put them in order. I had no leading at all. I’ve learned after many years of messing up that when this happens it’s better to stop everything you are doing and just be still. I can’t say that I was consciously praying but I do remember lying down on the sofa and just being still-doing nothing. Within minutes as clear as anything across my mind came the following phrase in this exact order: “Slow ‘em down, clean ‘em up, fill ‘em up, and send ‘em out.” There was no effort on my part to receive this except that I got still and then wrote it down. As I looked at what I had written I realized just how crucial order and direction is to our every move. To do what He has called each of us to do requires all four steps in the exact order. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has hauled off driving down a road I thought I was being called to when suddenly I hear Him say “Reverse, reverse, reverse!” Let’s put some meat (scripture) on the four steps He calls each of us to follow.
1) Slow us down=Be still=Prayer
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
2) Clean us up=Confession/Repentance/Deliverance from evil
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
3) Fill us up= Holy Spirit’s power
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
4) Send us out=Service=Great Commission (Inside and outside our homes)
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Can you see clearly that #4 can’t be #1? The Father is saying “Reverse, reverse, reverse!” but oh so many of His children are just continuing to drive down a street the wrong way. This NEVER happens when you slow down and get still long enough to hear His voice. You must hear YOUR marching orders. If you don’t hear anything YOU STAY PUT. You learn to wait. Yes He has probably placed His vision in your heart but you must learn to wait on His timing before you start driving. What about the perfect formula for burn-out? That would be 1,2,4. That’s doing it in your own strength (flesh) not the power of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah summarizes #3 perfectly, “Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord.” You must acknowledge that “Apart from Him you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
It would be easier if we could go through these 4 steps just one time and then that was it for the rest of our lives but it doesn’t work that way. His manna is only for today. Our marching orders are often moment by moment vs. day to day. And then there’s the staying clean part to be able to hear. Because we get dirty so quickly we have to have that spiritual bath daily (or maybe hourly on many of my days!) Because of His great mercy and forgiveness we can fall back into His loving arms and start over again and again. Begin to think about the direction you are currently going, the steps you are taking moment by moment. Are they ordered by the LORD or are they “planned” by you? Psalm 119:133 tells us the perfect way to walk, “Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.” The LORD is in the foot business. He knows where to place them. He knows how to keep them moving forward. He knows how to stop them and yes, even reverse them. Psalm 37:23-24 says “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” I’ll close with George Mueller’s summary (and addition) to these verses, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…and the stops also!” Won’t you ask Him to order your steps today? You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
July 18, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
"Balancing Your Life" Class Lesson #1
“Very Busy Barbie, Chatty Cathy and Thumbelina…Are You a Doll or a Disciple?”
Did you grow you playing with a lot of different dolls? I wasn’t much of a “doll girl” as I preferred rougher outdoor activities but there are a few dolls I can still vividly remember. As I look back on these various dolls a flood of memories come back-some very pleasant but some painful. The good memories include the anticipation of the giant Barbie Doll house on Christmas Eve at my Mama’s house. Painful memories include the realization in Jr. High that your body resembles Ken more than Barbie!
As a middle-aged woman of two sons I am decades removed from playing with dolls but I can’t help but notice the “doll-like” tendencies that I and many women can fall prey to. My personal favorite is “Very Busy Barbie” who I introduced to our Wednesday night Bible study class a few months ago. I was in a local flea market when I ran across a ‘Little Golden Book’ entitled “Very Busy Barbie”. It made for a great lesson on the spiritually lethal effects of busyness. When our Father repeatedly in His Word warns us to “be still” (Psalm 46:10) you can bet that the enemy of our soul will repeatedly in his world urge us to “be busy.” Busyness kills a life of faith and it sucks the majority of well-meaning Christian women right in. It’s like a slow steady undertow and one is sucked out into the world before she ever notices it. The only remedy is the Word of truth but she’s too busy to get in it or too busy to really stay in it. Oh yes, it may be a legalistic 5-15 minute devotional to appease her conscience but it’s far from intimacy with the Almighty. Busyness is a drug, a charm, it demands more and more. She has even begun to brag about it to all her friends. She mistakenly thinks it makes her a better mom but nothing could be further from the truth. Very Busy Barbie is raising very busy children in a very busy family in a very busy world. Jesus stands ready to rescue those willing to get off the treadmill of busyness. “Come unto me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 26:28-30)
The next doll I remember from childhood belonged to Kittie, my older and only sister. “Chatty Cathy” was the coolest doll a girl could get for Christmas that year. She had a flesh-colored plastic ring coming out of the back of her neck. When you pulled it a 12-inch string extended and when released slowly recoiled back into Cathy’s neck causing her to of course chat one of several preprogrammed sentences. Yes, she was a chatty Cathy and that is just all that she could do to entertain. Her clothes weren’t changeable. Her limbs didn’t change positions. She didn’t have anything else going for her except that mouth. She was fun enough initially but by New Years Eve I’d heard about as much of her predictable chatting that I could stand. My weapon of choice was the sharpest kitchen knife and yes she never spoke in the New Year. I’m not sure that my sister and I have ever recovered. Spiritually “Chatty Cathy” is sister to “Very Busy Barbie.” You see they have the same demonic Daddy. Cathy might not be physically very busy but the effects are the same because she is always busy in her mind-busy talking out loud or busy talking to herself. Cathy’s mind is not “still”. Since her mind is not still there is no way she can “fix her thoughts on Jesus”(Hebrews 3:1). She doesn’t have a clue what her heavenly Father’s voice sounds like. She goes through life hanging out with Barbies or other Cathys and although she wouldn’t admit it because she’s not programmed for honesty and transparency, she actually is constantly comparing herself to the Barbies and other Cathys. Sadly she compares her spouse and children as well but moves right along chatting appropriate preprogrammed messages. Chatty Cathy looks and talks like a sweet Christian doll but her heart is not full of the only thing that will ever completely satisfy her-that still Spirit in perfect union with The Father. Her Father just wants her mind and mouth to be still so he can tell her how much He loves her. He sent His Son to die for her and to leave His parting gift, the person of the Holy Spirit to live in and through her (John 14:16). He wants to use her mind and her mouth for His glory alone but she won’t be still long enough to be in filled with His Spirit and presence. What He wants of Cathy is the same that He wants of Barbie-a totally surrendered heart. The perfect heart is a heart that is surrendered to His will not a heart with perfect actions. When Cathy gives Him her heart completely He will change her chatty behavior. Only He can open her up and totally transform her into His image. That’s His job. She just trusts Him and stays still before Him.
The last doll I ever remember having was actually my doll. This was the first and the last baby doll I ever received. Her name was Baby Thumbelina. She was a plump infant in appearance and you could take her thumb and stick it into the small hole in her mouth. She had a wind up knob on her back and when turned and then released her little head would move. She did nothing else. She didn’t cry. She didn’t talk. She was limp except for the head movement when wound up. She looked better with her thumb stuck in her mouth so the hole wouldn’t show. You couldn’t change her clothes either. She stayed the same. I would take the “magic milk bottle” and replace it for her thumb. I know you remember the “magic milk bottle”-turned upside down it would appear that the baby was really drinking the milk. I loved those bottles; the orange juice was my personal favorite. Baby Thumbelina arrived on Christmas morning one year and I was completely bored with her by the 28th. As you could predict I headed for the kitchen to retrieve the sharpest knife to start the exploratory surgery on Thumbelina’s back. She never moved again. The spiritual analogy with this baby must be apparent and understood as one of the greatest dangers facing many believers. Baby Christians must grow up and change. Milk is for a season only and then they must feed themselves meat to survive (Hebrews 5:13-14). When the baby was not drinking milk she was sucking her thumb. This represents us literally sucking, being preoccupied and pacified with self. A true believer and follower of Christ Jesus must drink in the milk of His forgiveness, love, and eternal life but then must eat the meat of the crucified life-the “John 3:30 life” – “He must increase; but I must decrease.” The thumb must be replaced with the meat of the Word and fullness of the Holy Spirit to empower one to live the sold out life, not a life consumed with pacifying self. We must be about the business of making disciples inside and outside of our homes not the busyness of a self-serving life.
The remembrance and analogies represented by these three dolls are a wakeup call for me. How quickly I can turn into one of them. If I miss eating my meat for even a day I’m at risk to become Very Busy Barbie or Chatty Cathy. If I miss eating the meat for days in a row I revert back to a Baby Thumbelina-wanting someone else to feed me my bottle or just content to suck on my thumb. Father God loves us and has called us all to be His disciples not His dolls. Are we willing to give up our childish doll ways and follow Him with our whole hearts? Ask Him to do an exploratory surgery on your heart. I promise that you won’t miss those dolls for a second. You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
May 4, 2008
Did you grow you playing with a lot of different dolls? I wasn’t much of a “doll girl” as I preferred rougher outdoor activities but there are a few dolls I can still vividly remember. As I look back on these various dolls a flood of memories come back-some very pleasant but some painful. The good memories include the anticipation of the giant Barbie Doll house on Christmas Eve at my Mama’s house. Painful memories include the realization in Jr. High that your body resembles Ken more than Barbie!
As a middle-aged woman of two sons I am decades removed from playing with dolls but I can’t help but notice the “doll-like” tendencies that I and many women can fall prey to. My personal favorite is “Very Busy Barbie” who I introduced to our Wednesday night Bible study class a few months ago. I was in a local flea market when I ran across a ‘Little Golden Book’ entitled “Very Busy Barbie”. It made for a great lesson on the spiritually lethal effects of busyness. When our Father repeatedly in His Word warns us to “be still” (Psalm 46:10) you can bet that the enemy of our soul will repeatedly in his world urge us to “be busy.” Busyness kills a life of faith and it sucks the majority of well-meaning Christian women right in. It’s like a slow steady undertow and one is sucked out into the world before she ever notices it. The only remedy is the Word of truth but she’s too busy to get in it or too busy to really stay in it. Oh yes, it may be a legalistic 5-15 minute devotional to appease her conscience but it’s far from intimacy with the Almighty. Busyness is a drug, a charm, it demands more and more. She has even begun to brag about it to all her friends. She mistakenly thinks it makes her a better mom but nothing could be further from the truth. Very Busy Barbie is raising very busy children in a very busy family in a very busy world. Jesus stands ready to rescue those willing to get off the treadmill of busyness. “Come unto me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 26:28-30)
The next doll I remember from childhood belonged to Kittie, my older and only sister. “Chatty Cathy” was the coolest doll a girl could get for Christmas that year. She had a flesh-colored plastic ring coming out of the back of her neck. When you pulled it a 12-inch string extended and when released slowly recoiled back into Cathy’s neck causing her to of course chat one of several preprogrammed sentences. Yes, she was a chatty Cathy and that is just all that she could do to entertain. Her clothes weren’t changeable. Her limbs didn’t change positions. She didn’t have anything else going for her except that mouth. She was fun enough initially but by New Years Eve I’d heard about as much of her predictable chatting that I could stand. My weapon of choice was the sharpest kitchen knife and yes she never spoke in the New Year. I’m not sure that my sister and I have ever recovered. Spiritually “Chatty Cathy” is sister to “Very Busy Barbie.” You see they have the same demonic Daddy. Cathy might not be physically very busy but the effects are the same because she is always busy in her mind-busy talking out loud or busy talking to herself. Cathy’s mind is not “still”. Since her mind is not still there is no way she can “fix her thoughts on Jesus”(Hebrews 3:1). She doesn’t have a clue what her heavenly Father’s voice sounds like. She goes through life hanging out with Barbies or other Cathys and although she wouldn’t admit it because she’s not programmed for honesty and transparency, she actually is constantly comparing herself to the Barbies and other Cathys. Sadly she compares her spouse and children as well but moves right along chatting appropriate preprogrammed messages. Chatty Cathy looks and talks like a sweet Christian doll but her heart is not full of the only thing that will ever completely satisfy her-that still Spirit in perfect union with The Father. Her Father just wants her mind and mouth to be still so he can tell her how much He loves her. He sent His Son to die for her and to leave His parting gift, the person of the Holy Spirit to live in and through her (John 14:16). He wants to use her mind and her mouth for His glory alone but she won’t be still long enough to be in filled with His Spirit and presence. What He wants of Cathy is the same that He wants of Barbie-a totally surrendered heart. The perfect heart is a heart that is surrendered to His will not a heart with perfect actions. When Cathy gives Him her heart completely He will change her chatty behavior. Only He can open her up and totally transform her into His image. That’s His job. She just trusts Him and stays still before Him.
The last doll I ever remember having was actually my doll. This was the first and the last baby doll I ever received. Her name was Baby Thumbelina. She was a plump infant in appearance and you could take her thumb and stick it into the small hole in her mouth. She had a wind up knob on her back and when turned and then released her little head would move. She did nothing else. She didn’t cry. She didn’t talk. She was limp except for the head movement when wound up. She looked better with her thumb stuck in her mouth so the hole wouldn’t show. You couldn’t change her clothes either. She stayed the same. I would take the “magic milk bottle” and replace it for her thumb. I know you remember the “magic milk bottle”-turned upside down it would appear that the baby was really drinking the milk. I loved those bottles; the orange juice was my personal favorite. Baby Thumbelina arrived on Christmas morning one year and I was completely bored with her by the 28th. As you could predict I headed for the kitchen to retrieve the sharpest knife to start the exploratory surgery on Thumbelina’s back. She never moved again. The spiritual analogy with this baby must be apparent and understood as one of the greatest dangers facing many believers. Baby Christians must grow up and change. Milk is for a season only and then they must feed themselves meat to survive (Hebrews 5:13-14). When the baby was not drinking milk she was sucking her thumb. This represents us literally sucking, being preoccupied and pacified with self. A true believer and follower of Christ Jesus must drink in the milk of His forgiveness, love, and eternal life but then must eat the meat of the crucified life-the “John 3:30 life” – “He must increase; but I must decrease.” The thumb must be replaced with the meat of the Word and fullness of the Holy Spirit to empower one to live the sold out life, not a life consumed with pacifying self. We must be about the business of making disciples inside and outside of our homes not the busyness of a self-serving life.
The remembrance and analogies represented by these three dolls are a wakeup call for me. How quickly I can turn into one of them. If I miss eating my meat for even a day I’m at risk to become Very Busy Barbie or Chatty Cathy. If I miss eating the meat for days in a row I revert back to a Baby Thumbelina-wanting someone else to feed me my bottle or just content to suck on my thumb. Father God loves us and has called us all to be His disciples not His dolls. Are we willing to give up our childish doll ways and follow Him with our whole hearts? Ask Him to do an exploratory surgery on your heart. I promise that you won’t miss those dolls for a second. You’re in for the time of your life.
Ann Allen Salter
May 4, 2008
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