Treadmill Ministry

First guest writer!  I'm excited to share what God has continued to teach me through the guest speaker from Women's Conference, Janet Denison.  This blog comes from her book, Content to be Good, Called to be Godly.  Satan desires us to strive to be "good"...God has called us to something much higher, more filling and less stressful.  I am going to let His words through her book do the talking...

     "We, as Christians, are often busy doing good things for God, taking satisfaction when other people seem pleased or, even better, impressed.  But in the quiet moments, do you wonder why the joy and peace that God has promised is absent from your life?  It is easy to assume that if the church or other Christians are pleased, then God must be pleased as well.
     When these beliefs become ingrained in our minds, we grow perilously close to developing what I have described as a 'treadmill ministry.'  Do you feel like you are running hard but never really seeing the eternal value of your efforts?  Once we get on that treadmill, our service becomes routine and predictable.  We get in that familiar habit of serving a church or a group of people instead of serving the Lord.  It's the same, over and over again-uninspired but conventional.  A Christian can spend untold hours working for others, serving the needs of others time after time.  Usually those requests are well intentioned, for a program that appears to be a good idea.  How do you know if you have been asked to do a good thing or called by God to a service for him?
     For many years I worried that the church would be disappointed or would gossip about me if I didn't show up to almost everything on the schedule.  I was the pastor's wife, and I cared what the congregation thought and said of me.  I wanted their praise and honor.  I wanted what Satan had tempted me to want, and I knew how to get it.  I accepted almost any opportunity for ministry that looked like a good idea.  I was quick to volunteer to teach a class, make a casserole, or decorate a table for a program.  I was consistently reading the Bible to prepare a lesson, rather than spending time with God.  I prayed the opening and closing prayers at programs, but I wasn't having very many conversations with my heavenly Father.  I raced through life, filling it with good things and hoping I would impress God and others.  All the while, Satan was devouring my time and my soul, one bite at a time.  I spend so much time at the church, working with other Christians, that I rarely came in contact with someone outside the faith.  I was running on the spiritual treadmill, and Satan was pleased because I was in the church, running in place.
     Meanwhile God was saying, 'Humble yourself.  You only think you know what you should do.  Let me fill you with my mighty power because you are not strong enough on your own.  Work for my honor, not other people's opinions.  Trust me to handle the worries and concerns.  Don't you realize how much I care about you?  Watch out! Satan wants to devour your time and your soul.  Stand with me against the temptation to do what you or others think will be good.  I will call you to your ministries, and your strength and guidance will come from trusting me.  Stand firm in your faith, and I will fight the roaring lion for you.'
     You can be sure that Satan is hard at work, tempting God's children to be content with a life and ministry consisting of the good things that we design for ourselves.  We are only a threat to him when we answer God's call to service, dedicated to the advancement of God's Kingdom and glory.  Satan doesn't mind if people think you are good.  He doesn't mind if you fill your time doing good things.  In fact, the devil will try to tempt you to do exactly that.  The 'good person' is not the one who annoys the devil-the godly Christian poses the threat.  Satan will tempt you to be good because he fears you will be godly.
     Have you been tempted, as I was, to be content with a good Christian life?  Are you spending your time trying to please others, or do you seek the blessing of God's approval?  Do you grasp that God has called you to a higher standard?  Oswald Chambers wrote, 'It is not lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but a lack of working to keep our eyes focused and on the right goal....Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?'  (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, March 17).
     Treadmill ministry will force you to run until you are tired and can go no further.  Treadmill ministry will keep you in one place, secluded from the larger world.  Treadmill ministry is our programmed effort, not a Spirit-led journey.  The most dangerous consequence of a treadmill ministry is that the only person affected is the one doing the running.  Is your primary goal to please God or is it to complete programs of service designed by others?  There is a higher call...
     Take a moment and consider the week before you.  What does your schedule look like?  How will God be glorified and the Kingdom affected by your plans?  Is your week full of good things or God things?  Do you need to step off the treadmill in order to walk with God?  Here are some things to think about:

     What usually motivates you to accept a ministry opportunity?

     In what ways might the devil be tempting you to serve God for the wrong reasons?"

                                                 -Janet Denison, Content to be Good, Called to be Godly, pgs. 11-14, 18

Janet Denison is a speaker and teacher at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.  She writes and blogs weekly.  Here is a link to her blog as well as her book if you are interested:

http://www.janetdenison.com/blog

http://www.amazon.com/CONTENT-BE-GOOD-CALLED-GODLY/dp/1414316151
   

From The Dirt's Perspective

    

 So the other day my mop head broke.  I kept thinking I would buy a new one but whenever I was out shopping I would forget.  Been there?  Anyway, my floor became so terrible, I couldn't take it anymore.  I got out the 'ole mop bucket and a rag, and began scrubbing the floor Cinderella style.  Yep.  Fun times.
     As I was "mopping" the floor, I began to look around me.  I was now on a lower level with the cabinets and doors.  I knew they needed to be wiped down, but being down on that level with the advantage of a closer look, I saw more dirt than I had while standing.  I began to wipe down the doors and cabinets as I cleaned the floor as well.  Took me a while, but wow what a difference.  The kitchen as a whole just looked cleaner...because I had reached those seemingly out of sight spots and smears that I hadn't really taken notice of until I was down on my hands and knees.
    I began to really ponder this in my own life.  How many times have I "looked down" on someone, thinking I see the whole picture, when in truth if I would just humble myself and meet them at their level, not only would my vision be much clearer, I am more available to help them with those spots and smears life can hand us all.  Haven't we all been there?
     What a beautiful example Christ set for us on this very topic:

"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."   -Philippians 2:6-7 NIV

   What a beautiful picture.  Christ left his comfy, wonderful, beautiful eternity to meet us at our level.  And not only that, he took on our spots and smears:  "He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!" -Philippians 2:8

     So what does this look like for us?  We are given the answer in Philippians 2:5, the verse that directly precedes the above description of what Christ did for us:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: "

     Ladies, did you know that the #1 disease in women is depression because of lonliness?  LONLINESS!  What a simple fix...and yet, so difficult.  Could it be that we are not getting down on each other's levels enough?  I think it could be a good possibility.  We are so quick to judge each other, our decisions, our walks of life, our interests, clothes, diets, children, husbands, denominations, and personal challenges that instead of choosing understanding and compassion, we choose to "stand above".  WE have something to TEACH the one who doesn't know as much as we do, right?!
     No ladies!!!  CHRIST has someone to REACH through us.  If we can get our "know it all" selves out of the way, Christ can use us to lead someone ever closer to HIM, HIS comfort, HIS wisdom, HIS compassion and forgiveness.  Just as Christ gave up His rights and became a servant of all, likewise we should also give up our perceived rights to be "right" and, just maybe, try loving instead.  Let us "carry one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).
     A challenge this week:   Get down on your hands and knees with someone this week.  Fervently pray for compassion, wisdom, discernment, understanding and love to guide us and our relationships.  And maybe be willing to throw the mop bucket of dirty water filled with judgment and criticism down the drain.