Putting Him First

WELCOME to Salt today! Glad you decided to pop by!

I'm here to bring you your next challenge. My thoughts started with this quote from C.S. Lewis.

"Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things" (C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock)

Over and over again I find myself putting second things first. And then wonder why things are falling apart.

C.S. Lewis hits the nail on the head here. Put God first. Put time with God first. Put thoughts of God first. Put God ahead of our own personal agenda and desires.

But things seem to keep getting in the way of seeing Him and seeking Him through each moment of the day.

The verse I chose for this week's challenge is from Matthew 6:33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

As you think on this verse, and maybe find other scripture that expands on this thought, I'd also challenge you (as I'm challenging myself) to think of something that's keeping you from putting God first, and what exactly that means for us as Christians.

I'm leaving you with some lyrics to a song from a while back. Hope you have time to join in on the challenge this week!

SEEKERS OF YOUR HEART
Until we give You first place, until we let You begin
to fill us with Your Spirit, renew us from within,
nothing matters, nothing's gained.
Without Your Holy presence our lives would be in vain.

Lord, we want to know You, live our lives to show You
all the love we owe You, we're seekers of Your heart.

Ruth

Pauline

Hazel

Kim

Tanis

Julie

Lythan

Stacy

Wisdom

Today I'd like to share with you a reading from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening...one of my favorite devotionals.

"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and

whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he."—Proverbs 16:20.

Wisdom is man's true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild donkey's colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitably employed. Wisdom is the compass by which man is to steer across the trackless waste of life; without it he is a derelict vessel, the sport of winds and waves. A man must be prudent in such a world as this, or he will find no good, but be betrayed into unnumbered ills. The pilgrim will sorely wound his feet among the briers of the wood of life if he do not pick his steps with the utmost caution. He who is in a wilderness infested with robber bands must handle matters wisely if he would journey safely. If, trained by the Great Teacher, we follow where He leads, we shall find good, even while in this dark abode; there are celestial fruits to be gathered this side of Eden's bowers, and songs of paradise to be sung amid the groves of earth. But where shall this wisdom be found? Many have dreamed of it, but have not possessed it. Where shall we learn it? Let us listen to the voice of the Lord, for He hath declared the secret; He hath revealed to the sons of men wherein true wisdom lieth, and we have it in the text, "Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." The true way to handle a matter wisely is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life, follow it and find eternal bliss. He who trusts in the Lord has a diploma for wisdom granted by inspiration: happy is he now, and happier shall he be above. Lord, in this sweet eventide walk with me in the garden, and teach me the wisdom of faith.

Honor and Respect

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”- Romans 13:6-7

Honor-The courage to do what is right, no matter what. A belief that your actions represent more than just yourself, the recognition that what you do defines your entire generation.

Respect-To treat people in the manner in which you expect to be treated. To show consideration for another person's feelings and interests. An attitude demonstrating that you value another person.

Lately it seems that everyone is so busy being busy that we have forgotten the simple things in life to Honor and Respect. We teach our kids to honor their friends, honor their words, honor their property and honor each other. We also teach them to respect others the way they want to be respected. Not being snoopy, wrecking toys and cleaning up their messes.We also teach them to respect the house they live in by doing their chores that they have been assigned. We teach them to have respect for good work ethic and to help others. By doing this we are asking them to honor God, because no one worked harder then Jesus.............

Stacy


Pauline


Kim

Tanis

Lythan
Hazel

Such A Time As This

My children and I have been reading the book of Esther for the past 2 weeks in school.  Even though we all know the story well we have enjoyed hearing it again and it's funny how you notice things you'd forgotten.  For instance, (and this is a minor detail but interesting) how many times have you heard Mordecai referred to as Esther's uncle?  Did you know he was actually her cousin!  (Esther 2:7)  Also, did you know that God's name is not mentioned at all in this book of the Bible?  He is certainly present though!

One scene I find interesting is when Mordecai, through Esther's eunuch, relay's to her Haman's plan to kill all the Jews.  Mordecai asks Esther to go to the king and plead for the lives of their people. When Esther mildly objects stating that she has not been called by the king and could therefore be put to death, Mordecai tells her

"Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14, emphasis added)

I love Mordecai's absolute trust in God!  He is certain that the Jews will be saved by God and points out to Esther that this may be the reason God has elevated her to the position of queen.  He encourages her to use her position and, by his example, trust God for deliverance.  Esther's response is perfect, she prepares to do what Mordecai has asked and requests that the people fast and pray for her for 3 days.  Her faith evidenced by her statement "if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

Of course, we know the end, Esther was used by God to preserve His people.  She had the courage to be used by God in the place that He placed her.  What would God have us to do in the place/situation we are in?

What is home?

Hi everyone,

Ruth here bringing you this week's thought and challenge.

I have been pondering lately on HOME. What makes one and how does Jesus make mine different to other homes.

We all have different routines, rituals, habits, priorities etc that will shape how our home works. But in the Christian's home we have the addition of Jesus Christ himself. How does he make a difference to your home? Is he the 'unseen guest at every meal', is he consulted on decisions made, is your home a place where the stranger is welcome and hospitality is practiced?

Perhaps more importantly your home on earth is temporal. Do we truly recognise that our treasure is in heaven and that earth will fade and pass away? Although our homes are important for the nurture and training of children, a rest away from the world and and a tool for ministry, Christ is building our mansions in Glory.

I would like to leave you with this verse

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Please enjoy looking at the creations from the Salt team, be inspired to make a card, layout or other paper craft. Maybe something for your home to remind you of Jesus and how he wants your home to be.

Ruth



Pauline

Lythan

Stacy

Hazel



Tanis

Julie

Resurrection hope

Wasn't it good to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour on Easter Sunday, sharing again the thrill of those gospel passages where Jesus' friends and disciples discover that the tomb is empty and He has risen ... and then he appears to them.

Our Christian hope is based on the resurrection of Jesus, as Paul discusses in that difficult but marvellous passage in 1 Corinthians 15 (perhaps read it in 'the Message' for a clearer understanding of what Paul is saying).

In normal everyday conversation we often use the word 'hope' to indicate desire and expectation. Christian hope of eternal life here and now and for the future in eternity is something much more secure and sure because it is based on the certainty that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive now at the right hand of the Father.

In Hebrews 6:19, the writer says: 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' That hope is available to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour because of his tremendous sacrifice on the cross.

We not only celebrate the tremendous hope of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, but every Sunday of the year, indeed, every day of the year.

And every Christian can testify to the words of the old chorus:

He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

* * * * * * * * *

If you haven't done so yet, please scroll down to last week's challenge Gethsemane - if you create anything for this we would love you to leave us a comment so we can visit your blog and see your crafting.

Gethsemane

Since this challenge for SALT goes live a few days before Easter Sunday, I (Pauline) decided to reflect on the events in the garden of Gethsemane and used a reflection from Karen Rollins in my preparation which expands the theme I wanted to explore. Some of this reflection is included here.

In Matthew 26, Mark 14 and Luke 22, Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, goes to the garden of Gethsemane. He tells his disciples that he is upset "even to the point of death," asks them to wait for him as he goes on ahead and tells them to stay awake. Jesus goes on, then falls to the ground and prays to His father. He asks to be relieved from his suffering and yet makes clear that He will do what His Father demands. He returns to Peter, James and John and finds them asleep. He is disappointed that they are not able to stay awake even as he undergoes torments. This then happens another two times. Jesus declares that the "hour is near" and He has been betrayed and they start to leave.

As He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made a plea to God to deliver him from his suffering. He knows God has the power to do all things and asks God to use that power to save Him from the trials that are coming. He is agitated because He knows that while as a human He has a choice, He is being called to obedience.

Jesus doesn’t avoid life. In the scripture readings, Jesus is facing life head on and is paying the price for it. The Jesus we find in the garden of Gethsemane isn’t a Jesus we hear much about. This Jesus is distressed, agitated and deeply grieved. This is a very human Jesus in a very uncomfortable position.

A struggling Jesus, a human Jesus, a Jesus that teaches us to face life head on and not to avoid being uncomfortable.
I wanted the SALT team to have the freedom to choose an aspect from the story that spoke to them personally. The humanness of Jesus is where my layout came from, but you will see from the contributions that there are many aspects to the story and our layouts, cards and other creations reflect that. I hope you are inspired by the team’s creations and that if you decide to participate in the challenge that you will link back to us in the comments.
The SALT team wishes you all a very Happy and blessed Easter.

Pauline

Lythan
Hazel

Kim

Julie

Stacy