e-devotional

Tonight we went to help feed the homeless students (of Monarch school) and their families Thanksgiving dinner. There were about 300 people who were living in shelters, on the streets or in low-income apartments. I was assigned to a table with a mother, Judith and her four children. Her husband has been sent back to Mexico due to a visa mistake and they cannot afford to appeal it right now. She has no job and is struggling to make it each month.

As I got to talking to Judith, I started to ask about any needs she currently had. I could tell it was hard for her to talk about it, but she began to tell me about the apartment they live in and how they have no furniture. I could tell she felt ashamed.

I once heard that most people can relate to your failures more than your successes. Most of us don’t like sharing those because we are also ashamed. I knew in this moment that I had the opportunity to share with Judith a failure of mine. With tears in my eyes I looked at Judith and said, "I have lived in an empty apartment once too. As an adult, we can handle it and make it through. But as a mom, I know what it feels like to have your child look you in the eyes and ask "Mommy, is this our home? Why don’t we have any furniture?" (Granted we still had our stuff in Las Vegas, we just couldn’t afford to transport it to Oregon at the time. My husband still had a job--our situation was not nearly as dire as Judith’s, but for about 6 months time, we did experience a small dose of her current reality)

Judith broke down in tears and began to explain how they once had a home in Sacramento. They weren’t rich but their children were blessed with toys, beds and most things they could ask for. They have been through so much loss and transition that one of her children has had to see a counselor because he isn’t adjusting well.

In that moment of one mother speaking to another, I understood why I went through that difficult season of my life. So that I could relate to people like Judith. So that I could look her in the eyes and tell her that I know what it feels like to lose your home, have your husband lose his job, move in with family, live in an empty apartment or to feel like you’ve failed as a parent. Through that entire season, I asked God, "WHY?" and my time with Judith was a moment when I finally had an answer to that question. So I can help. So I can reach. So I can relate. Offering Judith a story of any success of mine would be useless, but it was my story of failure that gave her comfort and hope.

In this economy the face of homelessness and lack has changed. People in need are all around us, and they certainly can’t relate to our promotions at work, our amazing talents, or our latest splurge at Nordstroms. Be real. Be transparent. Talk more about your failures than your successes and you just might find yourself a lot more relevant when you do.

Thanks for reading,
Mel

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
　
　
Make a donation to Monarch School here. They provide education for about 100 homeless children from preschool through high school in the San Diego area. Contact me at millers.sd@gmail.com if you would like to donate directly to Judith and her family. 　

"Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap in mercy;
break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12
　
Before a farmer can successfully plant crops he has to first break up all the unplowed ground. If he doesn’t do this, planting seeds would be strenuous and unfruitful. Have you ever tried planting a seed in hard, stiff soil? It is nearly impossible. Did you know you have a choice whether or not you receive from God? God wants to plant something in your life but He is unable to if your ground is fallow (unplowed).

We can easily close ourselves off to hearing his voice or direction by hardening our hearts. Most of the time our hearts aren’t completely hardened...just hardened in some areas. We see fruit bearing in one area of our life, but then in another we remain hardened and therefore stagnant.

If we really want to produce fruit (ie, see RESULTS) we have to be willing to let God work on those hard spots. The plowing will not be comfortable, but you have to want to see the fruit more than you want to avoid the discomfort or pain.

I have had some hard spots in my heart in the past. Before God could plant a blessing in those spots I had to first allow him to break up my insecurity, fear, worry, and unforgiveness. There were painful moments of confession with God, but it felt liberating to trade my heart dirt for His abounding grace.

I love the last part of this verse; For it is time to seek the Lord. You have settled for unfruitfulness for far too long. Are you ready to seek the Lord and let Him break up that unplowed ground?

Thanks for reading,
Mel

　

I applied to 5 different colleges. I wasn’t one of those people who knew exactly where I wanted to go, so I decided to lay my options out on the table (adding up the application fees, it turned out to be a dumb idea!) I got accepted into four of those and laid all of the informational folders out in front of me. One was in Washington because that is where all my friends were going. Two were in San Diego, because...it’s San Diego! The last one was in a small town in Oregon and it would probably be the first one I would toss out of the mix.

It wasn’t the most rational way of choosing, but over the process of time I realized there was only one that felt right. I desperately wanted to be in sunny San Diego, or with my friends in a new place...but that little folder with the simple tree on it with the word "Linfield"written in purple kept my attention. There was something about that folder that felt right, and something about that campus that felt right. I couldn’t put my finger on it...but even as someone who wasn’t following Christ at the time, I still felt a divine leading.

Linfield College in rainy McMinnville, Oregon would capture four years of my life. Four of the most vital, life-changing and monumental years of my life. It was there that I came to truly know Christ and begin to follow him wholeheartedly. It was there that I met the most amazing man whom I married right after college. We now have two of the most precious kids and are still serving God and enjoying life more and more each day. I often wonder when I look back at how differently my life would have been if I had chosen another place.

Acts 17: 26-28 "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

The scripture says that there is a time and a place for our dwelling and it is so that we will come to seek him and find him. Linfield College in rainy McMinnville, Oregon was my time and place. It was in finding Him that I found life (and a super hot, Godly husband)...and ironically, God did eventually call me to San Diego...bummer! :)

I hope that you chose to follow the peace in your heart and that still small voice. It is amazing in that small obedience the large blessings that can come from simply being where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there. Trust that if you are following His plan, it is the right place at the right time.

Thanks for reading!
Mel Miller

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2: 42-47

My husband asked for the "Planet Earth" DVD set for Christmas a few years back. The images are all beautiful images from remote regions around the world including everything from rare animals to unique caves. When we put it on, we have to be watchful during many of the animal scenes (the predator-prey relationship is a little too graphic for my 3 year old!). The same thing seems to happen every time. The predator stays a distance away but keeps his eyes on the herd. Then when one wanders slightly away from the herd, it becomes lunch.

The predator doesn’t dare attack one that is staying snugly within the herd, of course he realizes that he would be the one in danger if that were the case. He only attacks the one that isolates itself. The one that decides he can do it on his own.

The scriptures about the early church in Acts remind me of the vital community we are called to have with one another as believers. They were a herd - All the believers were together, they had all things in common, they met daily and ate together regularly. The scripture doesn’t say any of them were related (although some of them may have been), but it describes a family. When someone was in need they started selling their possessions to provide for that person! Meeting together daily, eating together and meeting each other’s needs...that sounds like a family to me!

My husband and I have been praying a lot for God’s blessings and provision lately. The other day someone from our church offered to pay for Brandon’s shoes he had to get for work. We thanked them but said no. As I laid in bed that night the Holy Spirit convicted me and said, "Don’t pray for my blessings if you are going to refuse them when offered to you."

The root of the issue is pride. When we begin to have the attitude of, "I got this. I can do it on my own," we become like the animal who strays from it’s pack. A community is offered to us, a family, a support system, friends and confidants. Yet, for prideful reasons we can choose to isolate ourselves or simply reject the benefits within the community. We are all prone to wandering in one area or another. There is friendship within the herd, but those who still stray because of fear of rejection. There is spiritual strength within a herd, but those who still wander from reluctance of what they will have to give up or confess. There is confidants within the pack, but those who will stray because they have trust issues. Hopefully it doesn’t take us getting nipped in the butt by the enemy for us to realize how vulnerable we are in our isolation!
　
Some may not understand the importance of church, or why our family packed up and moved to San Diego to be a part of this community of believers, but we have learned the importance of staying in the herd. The only herd that me, myself and I form is one that looks like a tasty piece of lunch to the enemy!

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
　
Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

　
　

John 12: 49-50 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

I have once heard that if you want to be more like Jesus, read the gospels...and then read them again. We can learn a lot about how Jesus walked the earth, responded to situations and most of all how he interacted with people from reading what those closest to him wrote. The cliche saying "What would Jesus do?" is something we can easily answer if we study his word more and become more familiar with who He is. In this passage in John, we see Jesus explaining that he only says what the Father tells him to say. This is so powerful, because it means he could have always had the best comeback line, the most witty response or the most eloquent speech to impress those around him–-but he realized he was subject to say only what His Father told him to say!

Jesus was the most concise communicator. He often spoke only two or three powerful words to ignite action..."Woman be healed" or "Rise up and walk." He made his point without making a lofty speech. He said only what the father told him to say.

I don’t know about you, but I fail in this area sometimes. I respond out of emotion rather than taking the time to sit, pray, wait and then respond. I have learned some vital communication lessons along the way that have helped me to have less failure stories to add to my book. Here are a few:

Stay issue focused, not people focused
When we are upset, it is easy to point the finger and go on verbal diatribes. Only later do we realize we only meant half of what we said. We let the issue that frustrated us direct our frustrations towards the person. Issues can be resolved, but an individual cannot be changed by anyone but God. We can’t change who a person is, God made them that way for a reason. However we can help them change behaviors and habits if we bring it in the right way.

Be constructive, not condemning
Which is more fruitful; that I call my husband a lazy slob or that I ask him to improve on picking up his clothes off the bathroom floor? Why is it that after thousands of years of humans attacking each other through condemnation, that we still expect to see results from this? Have the "turn or burn" signs ever saved anyone? Have the picketers against gays or abortionists with hateful messages ever convinced anyone to change their beliefs? Prov. 18:21 says, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat of it’s fruit." Our words can bring life if they are backed with a spirit of love and not of judgement.

Speak only what is necessary
If Jesus only spoke the words that the Father told him to speak, how much more so should we start keeping our mouth shut until we know that we are supposed to open it? I am challenged on this every day, when I hear something from God, will I try to interpret it more or just be the courier and deliver it as it was packaged? As humans we always try to interpret, add to it or make it as elaborate and impressive as possible but if we follow Jesus example we will only speak what is necessary.
　
The pressure is off! You don’t have to have all the right answers or responses! Follow his lead and if the Father isn’t giving any instructions, perhaps some things are better left unsaid.

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

When I first got saved I had a lot of zeal. God had done a great work in my life and I was excited and eager to share it with my college campus. I was hungry for more of God and found myself involved in some nightly revival meetings at a nearby church. At first it wasn’t bad, but after a few times of going it started getting a little...strange. People were barking like dogs, convulsing and making me feel like I wasn’t quite spiritual enough because I hadn’t been taken up to heaven in visions.

Before I was saved, I had been to churches that left me bored and unchanged. They read scriptures but failed to deliver a practical application of those scriptures to help me apply them to my life. We sang hymns, but half of what I was singing I didn’t understand. There were a lot of rules and "don’ts" explained but not a lot of "do’s" to help me live with purpose.

Thankfully I had some Godly people in my life who could direct me to a church that had a wonderful balance of worshiping in spirit and in truth. Jesus talks about this balance when he meets the Samaritan woman in John 4: 4-26

"Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

We can’t have one or the other in our lives, it must be both. If we have spirit only, we live a Christian life that looks a lot like a yo-yo diet. It is feelings-based only and when hard times come and we don’t "feel" God, we can easily turn to something else that makes us "feel" good. Our faith cannot be based on experiences only, because whether we intend to or not, our relationship with God becomes less about Him and more about getting our next experience.
Yet we cannot veer to the side of truth only either. We then begin to become about rules, legalism and religion rather than relationship. This can lead to a life that is puffed up with knowledge but lacking a humble communion with God.

You may be going through a season where you don’t "feel" God, but could it be a time where your faith is being tested to make sure you have both spirit AND truth. When God seems distant, it helps to study the scriptures and know that "He will never leave us or forsake us." It adds another level of depth to your relationship with God when you are grounded in the word and in truth. It adds an element that is vital to your foundation, leaving you unshakable by the enemy, false doctrines and the storms of life.

On the other hand you may be going through a season where all that head knowledge is getting in the way of having a heartfelt communion with God. What a great opportunity to strive for humility and experience God. Many intellectuals have a hard time letting go of the "I’ll believe it when I see it" mentality, but as Christians we are called to walk by faith and not by sight. Worshiping in spirit is also vital to our relationship with God, without it we can become like the prideful pharisees who were convinced they knew God because of their knowledge of the scriptures.

What about you today? Are the scales tipped in one direction or are you worshiping in spirit and truth?

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller