HALT

When I was in the tenth grade, my American History teacher was Mister Priebe (pronounced pree’ bee). As part of our coursework, we had to learn all of the presidents in order. Six of the presidents are Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan. To help us remember those six presidents, Mister Priebe gave us a simple word association technique. He told us to imagine Tyler poking Taylor, and Fillmore piercing Buchanan. He even made little hand gestures to indicate poking and piercing.

That was almost 25 years ago, and I remember very few of the presidents now, but I’ll never forget Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan. Word association can be a powerful memory aid. Mister Priebe knew that, and thanks to him, it’s a lesson I learned at an early age. I often try to come up with little word association gimmicks to help me remember things.

I wanted to share with you today, another word association that I learned recently. This one comes from Charles Stanley, who I frequently listen to on the radio. Doctor Stanley has been talking a lot lately about satan’s attacks against us: how and when these attacks come, and what we can do about it.

In one sermon, Stanley identified four moments in our lives when we are most vulnerable and susceptible to the wiles of our enemy. The four dangerous times for us are when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. During these moments of weakness, satan will invariably mount an attack against us, and this is when we have to HALT. Before doing or saying something we would not normally do or say, we have to stop and re-focus our attention on God.

As an example from scripture, Doctor Stanley presented the story of Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. After 40 days, we can be sure that Jesus was feeling hungry, lonely, and tired, and lo and behold, up pops the devil to tempt him.

I’ve been trying to implement this into my own life since I first heard about it, and have found that it really helps me. When I feel tempted by some particular sin, I try to pinpoint which of the four weaknesses I am suffering from, and then ask God to help me through it. I’ve even found that it can be done proactively, rather than waiting for the attack to come. On Wednesday I was very tired because I hadn’t slept very well the night before, and I was also a little angry over the bad news I had gotten from the Lion’s Club. I was just sitting on the sofa thinking about how tired I was, and I suddenly stopped and thought, “I better be careful today, or satan will get me.” And you know what happened? Nothing! No attacks, and no temptations. I walked into a potentially dangerous situation, but I had my armor on and God carried me through it.

Thank you Charles Stanley for passing this on, and thank you Jesus for showing me how to overcome our enemy!

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ”All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Inspirations - God's Filing Cabinet

This is something I heard on the radio the other day. It is part of a message that was delivered by Doctor Erwin Lutzer of the Moody Church in Chicago. I only tuned in about half-way through, but I was able to find the full message on their website.

Doctor Lutzer says:

A few years ago, a student gave me this story: In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in The Room, with walls covered with boxes of index files, stretched from floor to ceiling. One box was labeled, “People I have Liked.” I opened it, and to my surprise, each card had the name of a person I knew. Then I realized where I was; this was the catalogue file of my whole life. All the details, big and small were recorded.

Both curiosity and fear stirred within me as I began to randomly open the files. Some brought back wonderful memories, others triggered shame so intense that I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching.

Files included “Books I have Read”, and another, “Television Programs I have Watched.” And there was one, “Lies I Have Told”, and “Comfort I Have Given.” Then there was “Things Done in Anger”, and another file, “Times I have Cursed.” Also, there were files titled: “People I have Helped” and “Prayers I have Prayed.” I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of the cards—there were hundreds of boxes and each contained hundreds of cards. I timidly opened the “People I have Hurt” file, and was amazed at its depth. Yet each card had my name and signature.

I was drawn to the file, “People I Have Shared the Gospel With”…and was embarrassed that the box was almost empty. When I moved on to the file titled: “People I’ve Not Forgiven,” I was surprised that the box was almost full. I did not have to look at each card, because I knew intuitively that these files were accurate; no mistakes here.

I glanced up and the file I dreaded most, “Lustful Thoughts” was in front of me. A shameful chill ran through my body. I opened the file, but only for a moment, not willing to test its bulk and size. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another file, “Various Sexual Sins;” I pretended not to notice and turned away.

I was obsessed with destroying the cards, but found I could not; though they were thin, they were as strong as steel. In fact, I could not even dislodge them from the file cabinets they were in. By now only one thought dominated my mind! No one must ever see these cards; no one must ever enter this room! Tears came to my eyes. I sobbed so violently that I began to shake. I fell on my knees and cried, humiliated and afraid. I must lock the room and hide the key!

As I wiped my tears away and was about to stand up, I noticed that someone had entered the room. I glanced at his face and… and then…I saw Him! “No, not Him…anyone but Jesus!” I turned away, burning with shame.

Then He began to open the files and read the cards. He went from box to box and when I glanced up, I saw a sorrow on His face that was as deep as my own. Why did He have to look at them? Why Him?

After a few moments, He walked over and put his arm around me. He said nothing, but just cried with me. Then He began to systematically go through the files one by one, from beginning to end, signing His name on each card. “No, I sobbed…you can’t do that!”

I was amazed at how quickly He went through all the boxes, and when He was finished he showed me some cards up close, and I noticed that on each was His signature, signed with His own blood, covering my name.

I turned away, and cried. But now He was standing beside me. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “It Is Finished.” He waited in silence for me to dry my tears then led me out of the room. Suddenly a verse I memorized in Sunday School flashed into my mind: “There is therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.” Together we walked down the hallway, but the door was left unlocked. My life was not yet over and there were cards that still needed to be written.

Don’t need to add much there, it pretty much speaks for itself.

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more."