e-devotional

What is it about the love of God?

2011-12-19T09:48:00.001-08:00

My husband had the opportunity to speak at The City youth ministry over the weekend. As time lead up to the service he kept asking me, “Honey, what should I speak about?” Every time he would ask me this I would jokingly say; “Just talk about the love of God. Every time someone talks about the love of God there isn’t a dry eye in the place. It’s always powerful and everyone cries.” We laughed thinking back on all the messages we have heard about God’s love and how truly impacting that topic always seems to be.

Brandon didn’t use the entire message to speak on God’s love but he did end up talking about it in his third point. He began to explain that God’s love for us is so great that he gave to us the best gift he could possibly think of: his one and only son. We all have heard the scripture many times, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Sure enough, it was that moment that the message shifted from a humorous message to one that brought tears into peoples eyes (even his, although he probably will blame it on allergies or something). I hate to say I told you so, my love.

So what is it about the Love of God, anyway? Why is it that when the Love of God is spoken about, something powerful happens in the atmosphere?

I think most of us could think of a time when someone told us they loved us but their actions proved otherwise. We see examples of “love” that are only examples of relationships centered around money, power or what one person can do for another. It is because of these experiences that we develop a false perception of love, and often times have a hard time receiving it ourselves.

When I was fourteen, I was taken in by an amazing family. They loved me but I couldn’t understand why. They hung stockings up for me for Christmas each year, and called me their sister and daughter. In the back of my mind I thought to myself that maybe one day I would be rich and repay them. I thought that one day I could help alleviate the burden they carried by financial compensation. I didn’t think they could actually just love me because (gulp) I was me. Funny thing is, they still love me and consider me family in spite of the fact I can’t really “give them anything in return.”

It wasn’t until I became a parent that I understood a fraction of this rare unconditional love that our God has for us. Each time I hold my child in my arms, I am filled with an uncontrollable love. I know that even one day if they spit in my face and walk away from everything I have taught them, (although my heart will break) my love for them will still remain. Of course there is consequences for disobedience but even discipline is an act of love (Hebrews 12:6).

This is the kind of love we all desire. A love that bears with us through our faults, failures and mistakes. A love that will pursue us even when we don’t deserve it and we haven’t earned it. A love that helps us be better, strive for more and remind us that we have value and worth (even when we don’t feel like we are valuable or worthy). A love that gives us the freedom to be ourselves, quirks, flaws and all. One that doesn’t give up on us when things get hard.

This is the kind of love God has for us, the love that many of us ignore as we continue to strive for the counterfeit approval of man. We have nothing to offer God that could possibly earn or deserve the kind of love he has offered to us. This is why it brings tears to people’s eyes; it’s an outrageous, relentless, unfathomable, hard-to-receive kind of love!

Don't Settle,
Mel Miller

Dirty Feet

2011-10-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever shared your faith and experienced rejection? Or perhaps encountered the unrelenting debater or cynical mocker? Times like this can be frustrating and if we allow them to, they can discourage us from continuing to share our faith again.

^{Matthew 10: 5-14}⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag foryour journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
¹¹ “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ¹³ If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

This scripture tells us that if our message isn't received or heard that we are to "shake the dust from our feet."

Back in Jesus' time, when leaving Gentiles cities, pious Jews often shook the dust from their separation from Jewish practices. If the disciples shook the dust of a Jewish town from their feet, it would show their separation from the Jews who rejected their Messiah. Obviously if we went around literally shaking the dust off our feet, it would be nonsense to those in this generation since that practice is no longer common. So rather than taking it literally, we must look at the heart of what Jesus was saying: move forward. Don't keep knocking on someone's door who doesn't want to answer.

Just by reading this passage, there are two things that are clear: some will accept the message of the Gospel and some will reject it.

Some WILL reject it.

It wasn't you, you didn't smell bad, you aren't doing something wrong necessarily. Some people just wont hear or receive, but we can't let us detract us from the original purpose: Preach the Gospel...and keep on preaching (among all the other things noted in verse 7).

Perhaps you shared your faith, invited someone to church or told them about the Sexual Revolution but didn't get the response you were hoping for...

Figuratively, I encourage you today to shake the dust from your feet. Don't drag around the dust and dirt of past rejections. Shake off all that discouragement and move forward with the great purpose God has given you. Don't ever let a hard-hearted person stop you from moving forward with what God has called you to do.

Besides, who wants to listen to someone with dirty feet anyway?

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

If

2011-08-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

There are certain words that hold a lot of weight and IF is one of them.

Yes, I will marry you, IF…
I will love you forever, IF…
I am going to give you a huge inheritance, IF…
You will attain the career of your dreams, IF…

If someone were giving you one of these statements, you would want to know the IF. You would want to know what it takes to obtain the promise.

Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 lists out some amazing promises;

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Those are the kind of blessings I want over my life, but they come with that little weighty word. The first verse declares, “IF you fully obey the Lord your God…” IF is a big word, and so is FULLY.

Have you ever disobeyed God? Or only partially obeyed? Even though partial obedience doesn’t seem as “bad” in our eyes , it is still part of the IF that God requires for the incredible blessings he lays out for us.

Joyce Meyer says, “If you want to be radically and outrageously blessed by God, you must be radically and outrageously obedient.”

Are you disobeying God, partially obeying or fully obeying? If we want God’s full blessings, it requires our full obedience.

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

Reflections from 7 years of Marriage

2011-07-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 7 year wedding Anniversary! Each year that goes by, I thank God for his amazing Grace that has blessed us with a strong marriage, but I also use it as a time to reflect on the previous years. I think back to the mistakes we have made, things we have learned, areas we have grown, and memories we have shared. It saddens me to hear others who aren’t enjoying their marriages.

We haven’t done everything right, and our marriage is by no means perfect, but I do recall a few ground rules we set in our first year of marriage that (looking back) made all the difference.

1. No comparisons

Our pastor from Las Vegas always used to say, “The grass is not greener on the other side, the grass is greener where you water the grass.” This imagery stuck out to us and we agreed we would refuse to fall into the trap of comparisons. I cannot compare my husbands weaknesses with some other man’s strengths - and I certainly wouldn’t want him comparing me to other women either. Comparisons will ALWAYS lead to dissatisfaction in a relationship because there will always be someone better in one area or another. From the beginning of creation there was the temptation to fall into comparisons. Why were Adam and Eve kicked out of the garden of Eden? They chose to focus on the one thing they couldn't have, rather than focusing on the paradise that surrounded them. What would marriages across the globe look like if they refused to gaze at the grass somewhere else, but decided to cultivate, water and admire the grass that God gave them?

2. No “D” word

We agreed, early on, that the “D” word would not be used in our home. Divorce was not an option. You wouldn’t try to open a door that you knew was locked, right? In the same way, we shut that door in our minds and agreed to not entertain thoughts that would lead to division. When you know division isn’t an option, what is the only other option? Unity.

We understand there are many circumstances where Divorce is understandable and Biblical (Adultery, abuse, ect), but assuming those things never take place, the D word will gladly be forbidden in our home.

3. God first

Lastly, but most important, we agreed to put God first in our marriage. Human love and commitment can only go so far on it’s own strength. It runs out. It gets frustrated. It is impatient. It is based only on emotions and feelings (which come and go) and not enough on action. It was Christ’s love for us that compelled him to die on the cross, and I know he certainly didn’t feel like it! He demonstrated his love through an action - the most selfless action imaginable.

1 Corinthians tells us what love is. There isn’t any amount of human willpower that can achieve this perfect love, this love can only be achieved by putting God first.

(verses 13:4-8) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

What Matters to God

2011-07-19T07:41:00.001-07:00

The other day, my daughter brought me a present. I have gotten cute pictures, crafts or even little wrapped toys, but I wasn’t expecting a cup full of potato bugs. “Oh, wow,” I said with a smile. “Thank you very much!” She was so proud of herself for catching me these new little pets. She had big plans of where we they could sleep, eat and play. All of her plans involved the bugs being inside the house.

Even though I had to redirect this gift to keep the bugs outside (and it certainly wasn’t my idea of a perfect gift), I still loved her heart that desire to bless mine.

In reading 1 Chronicles 17, David decided he was going to build God a house. David’s heart was so overwhelmed with a love to please God that he felt it would be a great idea to build a special place to put the ark of the convenant.

Guess what? The mighty David got it wrong! It wasn’t the perfect will of God for Him to build God a house, the Lord had it in mind for David’s son Solomon to do build it in the future.

God didn’t mock him, get angry with him, despise him or call him a fool. God looked at his heart -- his heart that desired to please Him -- and he blessed David.

1 Chronicles 17: 7-14 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. ⁹ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹⁰ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.

“‘I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”

The passage is encouraging to me and it should encourage you as well. Even if we start to take a step in a direction that isn’t the perfect will of God, if our hearts intent is to please and honor God, he will bless us. He will redirect us if we aren’t headed in the right direction, but he will still bless us for having the right heart!

If you have been seeking direction from the Lord, ask yourself first about the WHY not the what. If what you are setting your heart to do is out of a pure desire to please and serve God, you can’t go wrong! God sees the why, he sees your motives and your heart. He may redirect you into a better plan, but he will not withhold his blessings from his child trying to please him!

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

Just Enough

2011-07-11T08:13:00.000-07:00

The feeling of having “just enough.”

Ugh. Just the thought of that makes me reflect on times in the past when I was running late to an appointment. The whole appointment became stressful because I was rushing to make it on time…I had just enough time.

Or how about having “just enough” financially? It is a dreadful feeling when you encounter someone in need but feel you only have enough for your own needs. Or the church is raising money for something you really believe in, but you look at the checkbook and realize you are unable to give towards it. You had just enough finances.

The Bible addresses this concept of having ‘just enough.’

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22

The heart of this passage is telling the owners of the fields not to take all of their harvest for themselves. The Lord didn’t want them to hoard the harvest but to make sure they left room for others in need. This is such a powerful concept that can relate to our everyday lives. It leaves a question we should ask ourselves as believers; “Have I left room for others?”

The answer to always feeling like you have just enough, is to leave room. Have (deliberate) margin in your time and your finances. Have some spiritual reserves so you are prepared for every divine appointment the Lord places in your path. Leave yourself some moral margin rather than putting yourself in tempting situations. There are many ways we could apply this scripture to our lives, but the point is simple: It’s not all about you.

You can live your life on ‘just enough’ but don’t expect to make much of an impact on those around you. Those that live on just enough are like a person who drives their car on empty. It becomes a self-centered and stressful way to live, that blinking “E” signal is the only thing they can focus on.

A few weeks ago, my husband had a day off and we had absolutely nothing on the schedule for that day. It turned out that a married couple we know hadn’t had a break from their kids in such a long time, it was beginning to become tense in the home. We were able to watch their kids that day so they could have a date. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that we didn’t jam pack our schedules to the point where we weren’t able to meet a need when one was presented.

Matthew 25 tells the parable of the virgins who came to meet the bridegroom and brought their lamps. Five of them brought oil for their lamps, five of them didn’t. It was the ones who were prepared with more than enough who were ready when the bridegroom arrived. This parable is what the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to - those who didn’t plan or think ahead weren’t ready when the time came.

What about you? Are you living life on ‘just enough’ or have you left room for others?

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

Right action, wrong heart

2011-06-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

As we have been in the Man Up series at church, it has caused me to read the gospels in a new light. I have seen many paintings and pictures of Jesus in books where Jesus is holding a butterfly for a child or has a fluffy lamb hanging over his shoulder. Although our God was absolutely compassionate and he loved children, this imagery can sometimes make people forget that Jesus was a man - and a man that got angry!

In reading Matthew 23 today, Jesus was indignant against the Pharisees. He called them blind guides, hypocrites, full of greed, self-indulgent, wicked, snakes and brood of vipers in front of his disciples and the crowds! Well…that wasn’t very politically correct, was it?!

What angered Jesus so much that he would choose such harsh words? After all, these were people who were teachers of the law, tithing faithfully, attending church regularly and memorizing scripture. What could be so bad about that?

He summed up the totality of the problem in verses 25-26 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

What made the man -- the protective, firm, and indignant man -- rise up inside of Jesus?

Right actions with wrong motives.
People who put on the façade of holiness but were filthy on the inside.
Insincerity.

And most especially, all of these attitudes inside the place that is called the House of God.

They could fool other people into thinking they were righteous, but the one person they couldn’t fool was God. He knows the hearts of all men.

I would encourage you to read this article about church politics: http://www.michaelkreynolds.com/?p=1026

It is humorous, but also a good reminder of the pitfall of doing things inside the church with the wrong motives. As Christ followers, let’s make sure we are checking our hearts. The right thing with the wrong heart might please man, but it doesn’t please the Lord.

--
Don't settle,
Mel Miller

Offerings

2011-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have the privileged of working with Urban kids ministry once a month. One of the things we love about the ministry is the offering time. As a church, we teach children about tithes and offerings and encourage them that if they don’t have anything to give, they can give their hearts. It is adorable to watch the little offering cup be passed around and see some children tug at their heart and pretend they are placing their hearts into the cup (the first time my daughter did this she started crying…"I want my heart back!” They take it very seriously!)

In Exodus 25, The Lord is building His tabernacle and he wanted it to begin with offerings. “The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Isrealites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breast piece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

The Lord was building a place where he could be worshiped and he wanted it to start out with offerings. He wanted to see willing hearts step up in various ways (it wasn’t the same offering for each person) so that he could dwell among them.

Our offerings to the Lord might look different. I can imagine it would have been easy for the Israelites to compare gifts. I could see the person who only had goats hair comparing his offering to the one who was able to bring silver and gold. Nevertheless, God needed all of it to build his tabernacle.

Perhaps you find yourself at times like the little child who has no money to give. God isn’t interested in what you don’t have to give, he is interested in what you DO have to give. Do you have time to serve in an area of ministry? Do you have a talent or skill you can offer to help build the church? Do you have a hug, smile, homecooked meal or encouraging word? You can use the simple things to be a blessing to those around you. Don’t compare what you have to give to what someone else does, simple give what God prompts your heart to give.

2 Corinthians 9:7 says “Each of you should give what you have decided in your hearts to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

Favor

2011-06-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

Recently my husband and I have been more intentional in praying for God’s favor, and our prayer has been answered in many ways. Yesterday as we were blessed with a date we would have never paid for ourselves. All I could think to myself was how much I love having a Father in heaven who doesn’t just want to meet my needs - he wants to bless me!

Matthew 7:11 says “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

Many times we neglect to pray prayers above provision because we feel greedy, but the scripture compares God’s desire to bless us like our desire is to bless our children. We don’t just want to meet their needs, we want to surprise them, bless them, reward them, and give them new experiences we know they will love. And the scripture says our love is evil compared to God’s love for us!

Psalms 5:12 says, “For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor you will surround him as with a shield.

The Hebrew word favor is translated “Ratsown” which means acceptance, delight, pleasure, and desire. The Psalmist, David, describes God’s favor as surrounding us like a shield. Shields in David’s era were not like they are today. The shields warriors carried were so large and heavy that they literally had the ability to surround the person on every side. They were considered armor over armor! What an amazing picture of Gods delight in the righteous - we are surrounded by it on every side.

I challenge you to pray for and receive God’s favor over your life today. Ask for above and beyond blessings! Your Father in Heaven wants to bless you!

Faithfulness

2011-05-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

There are times and seasons when God will call you to do something new. He will prompt your heart to start a new adventure or take on a new challenge. However, there are also times when I believe God doesn’t want us to add anything else to our plates at all. He wants us to prove our faithfulness right where we are at. He wants to see what you will do with what you have already been given.

At times, the tasks we are given will seem menial. There will be times you will look at your seemingly insignificant task and think, “Does this really matter? Does God really care?”

When you read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, we see an example of a poor steward, an average steward and a faithful one. The faithful one was commended in verse 23 “Well done good an faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few things I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your masters happiness!”

I am sure the other servants would be tempted to think, “Well, that servant was given more than we were!” But it wasn’t about how much the faithful steward was given, it was about what he did with what he was given. We can’t compare what we have been called to do with what others have been called to do. We simply must be faithful with what God has given us. It is then that we prove that we will be faithful enough to handle more.

Matthew Barnett says "Ordinary faithfulness produces powerful change that longevity will verify.”

Be faithful where you are at and with what you have been given, God is a rewarder!

Mel Miller

Sexual Revolution

2011-05-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Why is Urban church starting it’s new series “A Sexual Revolution” in the fall? After all, it’s taboo…it’s controversial…we can’t talk about sex in church, right?

Well, the world is talking about it. People are talking about it at work, the bars and with their friends…and the advice they are getting is disturbing.

One woman whom my husband spoke with explained that she didn’t believe monogamy was possible. Her father is a polytheist sex therapist who raised her to believe that all men cheat. She explained she has never been in a relationship where the man didn’t cheat on her. My husband told her that he waited to have sex until marriage, refuses to look at pornography, and when he thinks of sex - he only things about his wife. That’s the way God intended it! She was astonished, had never heard of anything like it and admitted that even though she was always raised to believe it was okay, there was something inside of her that knew it was wrong.

When we first got married someone told us, “Just wait three years, you won’t be having sex anymore.”

We heard from another person, “Just give it a year, then you’ll be cheating on her. Every man cheats.”

One girl told me, “I let my husband look at pornography. It bothers me, but that’s just the way guys are.”

Those comments are just as shocking today as they were then. They don’t know our amazing God. His Grace has enabled us to have a strong, healthy, marriage and sex life. It grieves me to see others who have settled and believed the lie of the enemy that it is not possible. I am excited for our church to talk about what the Bible says about sex (The Bible talks about sex? It sure does!). People are deeply hurting over issues relating to sex and relationships, but the good news is John 8:32 declares: “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.”

People have believed a lot of lies, and those lies have caused them pain. It’s time for God’s people to start speaking up about the truth. People need to know there is another option - a better plan that leads to joy, life and freedom!

Stay tuned! I will be posting a link to the messages when the time comes!

Extreme Measures

2011-05-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

I recently saw an advertisement for a new show on television, “Extreme Makeover, Weight Loss Edition.” Many of these shows are very popular in our culture because people love watching other people take extreme measures to succeed. We like watching someone beat the odds through hard work, discipline and sacrifice because it gives us hope and inspiration for our own lives.

In order for each person to embrace the new challenge, the pain of staying the same has to become greater than the pain of change. This is why God allows us to experience the weight of our sin. We must come to a place where we recognize that the pain of staying in the same old habits and sins is far worse than the pain of changing.

Matthew 5:29-30 tells us about taking extreme measures when necessary:

29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

I have the privilege of praying for people at the alter at church on Sundays. That role comes with both rejoicing and disappointment. I get to rejoice with people as they give their lives to Jesus, rededicate their lives or confess sins. The disappointment comes when someone confesses their sin, but refuses to be proactive in taking measures to avoid the same sin again. They want someone to pray for them at the alter to have a ‘quick fix’ or an instant miracle but they are unwilling to create boundaries. They leave the door open for the enemy to come in and tempt them again and find themselves in the same spot.

The truth is, this life is a fleeting moment compared to eternity. It’s a test. Although at times it feels long, there will be a day when we will look back at our time on earth as merely a blink of an eye. That is why the scripture in Matthew 5 is so graphic in regards to the extreme measures one should take to get rid of sin. God knows that our hearts will one day wish that we would have taken more extreme measures to change.

Is God telling you to take extreme measures in any area?

Does it take a Snake?

2011-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

In my last devotional, I mentioned how we should trust that God will take care of the attitudes of other people (rather than take it into our own hands, like Moses did). So, in case you didn't believe me, here is a story from the next chapter where God deals with the continual complaining of the Israelites.

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Have you ever heard a parent say, "Stop complaining or I'll give you something to complain about!"? Essentially this is what God did! The Israelites were so consumed with impatience, complaining, comparing and negativity that God got fed up. It was clear that these people lacked a trust in God and in their leader.

God had given them plenty of opportunity to repent and change their attitudes, unfortunately, they were those type of people (you know the type...maybe you're one of them...I am sometimes!) who must learn things the hard way. God sent snakes to show them how bad things really could be. Gasp! God can send a trial to redirect you or your attitude? Yes! Just look a the life of Jonah!

The Israelites repented swiftly, they recognized their sin against God and against Moses and their hearts changed.

We have much to be thankful for, but if we spend our time focused on the things we don't have or that aren't perfect we can become like the Israelites; complaining, whining, grumbling, negative, impatient, and tearing others down. I don't want God to have to say to me, "Stop complaining or I'll give you something to complain about!" Perhaps in order for your prayers to be aswered, God needs to teach you contentment first. If you complain about the things you already have, why would God give you more to complain about?

What about you? Does it take some snakes in your life for God to get your attention?

Reflection

2011-04-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

It is easy to see that the Israelites weren’t the easiest people to lead. Moses had his work cut out for him; they mumbled, complained, turned against him and were ungrateful. For forty years Moses faithful led them through the wilderness with the hope of entering the promise land.

However, after all that work, we read in Numbers 20 that there was one thing that Moses did that kept him from entering the promise land. The people were thirsty so God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would come forth. Moses, in anger, referred to the Israelites as “rebels” and struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it.

12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

Although God’s punishment seems strict, it serves as a good reminder to us how much he cares about being properly represented. Our calling on this earth is to glorify God and to be his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 Corinthians 6:20). To glorify means to reflect. As a Christ follower, have you been doing your job? Have you been reflecting Christ to those around you? When they see your life, your attitude and your responses, do they see a proper representation of our God?

Perhaps Moses’ response caused the Israelites to believe that God was mad at them, when he wasn’t. It saddens me to see Christians on television responding out of anger to issues such as homosexuality or abortion. The reflection they are giving is misrepresenting God - causing people to believe that God hates them, when it’s exactly the opposite.

God’s rebuke to Moses was “because you didn’t trust me enough…” Moses’ demonstration to the people was done out of a desire to change them himself. God is the only one who can change people. Trust him enough to deal with the attitudes of others, you deal with your own.

Don't Settle,
Mel Miller

Ready or Not!

2011-04-11T15:02:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had God call you to take a step of faith? I can look back on every major decision or transition in my life and every one of them came at a time when it took faith for me to accomplish it.

When God called us to be married, we were ready (maybe a little too ready for that one!) What we weren’t ready for was that the Lord called us to pack up all of our stuff and move to Las Vegas to help start a church right after our honeymoon. Gulp! Step of faith!

When we got pregnant with our daughter, we were shocked! In our minds, we planned on waiting longer…maybe when the finances were a little better or felt like we knew what we were doing! No! God called us to be parents despite our feelings of nervousness. Sure enough, in both of those things, (and many others in our lives) His wonderful and amazing Grace came upon us to do what we could never do on our own. In every instance, not only were we able to fulfill what he called us to do, but it came with an overflow of joy that we were not expecting!

Many people will wait until they see their circumstances line up perfectly in order for them to say yes to God. God honors that we plan, prepare and get training…but at some point, he just might call you to do it whether you feel ready or not!

One of the things I have learned about God is that He likes to get the glory for everything that happens in our lives. If everything always came at the perfect time, with perfect provision and full-readiness, it wouldn’t require faith. Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

God loves people of faith because people of faith will give him all the glory! If you have ever prayed, “Lord, I want to glorify you with my life” - be ready! It might just require you to lay aside your own plans and take a step of faith.

What is your 'ready or not' testimony?

Dig Deeper

2011-03-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am one of those crazy people who likes change. Every time I have moved to a new city it has been an exciting adventure. I like doing something different to my hair or trying a new hobby or restaurant. Although this can be a strength to my personality, it can also become a weakness if I am not careful.

The Lord is not opposed to change, but there are certain things that he has called to be stable in our lives. I cannot leave my marriage because I like change. I cannot take a break from my kids and move onto something new. I cannot pick up and move to a new city anytime I want, change churches when I get offended or switch religions when I don’t get the results I want. The Lord knows that although some change can be fun and exciting, there is change that can become damaging to our faith, our relationships and our destiny.

Colossians 2:6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

The scripture reminds us to let our roots grow deep with Christ and to let our lives be built upon Him. You can’t uproot a plant all the time and expect it to thrive, it needs to find good soil and stay in good soil! The deeper the roots dig, the stronger the plant will be. Then the scripture goes on to warn us not to be swayed by empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense (in other words, an idea that sounds really good but is from human origin and has nothing to do with God’s teachings). If we are planted in Christ and His word, this won’t be a temptation. However, if we keep uprooting ourselves (from church, other believers, His word, prayer, ect) it will be a lot easier to be swayed by “good ideas.”

If you are like me and find yourself looking for the next exciting change, remember to consult the Lord first and like the scripture says, let your lives be built upon him. Does the change your thinking of still involve you staying planted in Christ and His word? Or is it just a “good idea?” Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do, isn’t some major life change, but rather digging your roots down a little deeper in the places he has called you to stay planted.

Don't Settle,

Mel Miller

Created to Help

2011-03-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

Marriage is a blast, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. In the first years of marriage, you get to know the weaknesses and strengths of both yourself and your spouse really well. Like any relationship, you will naturally get frustrated with each others weaknesses. For some peculiar and illogical reason, we seem to think that criticism will change the other person (criticism hasn’t worked for years, why would it now?)

As a wife, I have found myself becoming critical. I may have the prudence at times to keep it in my head, but nevertheless those thoughts still hit me…

Why is he always running late to x,y and z?

Why can’t he drive ____________ (slower, faster, more cautiously…)?

Why has he procrastinated ________________?

Why is he loosing things all the time?

Okay, I am totally not trying to throw my husband under the bus…I’m simply giving examples.

This morning I was folding laundry and I thought about how my husband hasn’t had any clean socks lately (my fault, I am behind on laundry). One of the things I have criticized my husband for (at least, mentally…sorry, sweetheart) is always running late to work. He isn’t always running late, but criticism has a tendency to enlarge and exaggerate.

Then a thought dropped into my heart (if it’s loving but convicting, it’s probably the Holy Spirit!)…if I am created to be his helper or helpmate (Genesis 2) then everything doesn’t fall on his shoulders. If there is an area that needs improvement (even if it falls under “his” category of responsibility), could it be that I could do a better job of being his helper? Could it be that my husband wouldn’t be running late as often if I would help fix his lunch or make sure he has a pair of matching, clean socks?

Think about the areas you have criticized your spouse or others…is there a way you could help them become better? I don’t want to stand before the Lord at the end of my life pointing my critical finger at all the areas other people around me didn’t measure up. I have a feeling the Lord will ask me what I did to help make them better.

Don't Settle,
Mel Miller

Dealing with difficult people

2011-03-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

I had a great conversation this morning with a woman who is struggling with a difficult family member. I think we can all relate to someone in our lives who is hard to be around and makes it a struggle to respond in a Christ-like way.

One of the scriptures I reminded her of (and I remind myself when I am faced with difficult people) is Ephesians 6:12
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

It is not any one person that is our enemy, the devil and his forces are the ones we are called to battle! Remind yourself, that person is not your enemy. They may be under the influence of some of those “principalities and powers” that the scripture talks about, but the good news is: we have authority over those things!

Do you dread being around that individual? Do you struggle to have a gracious and loving response to their attitudes? It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few things my husband and I have learned to do that have helped us tremendously in dealing with difficult people.

1. Take authority in the spirit over the atmosphere, words and negativity beforehand.

My husband and I have learned through experience that the more we battle in the spiritual, the less we will have to battle in the natural. The more we recognize the real enemy involved, the more we can battle him beforehand. We have noticed much less opposition when we do this. God didn’t give us authority for no reason, use it!

2. Pray for yourself.

God wants to make you more like Him! However, he is a gentlemen. He doesn’t force himself upon you. Have you asked him for his grace, peace and gentleness? Ask him to help you to love the individual the way he does. Ask him to help you to respond to any negativity in a way that would glorify him.

3. Pray for them.

It sure becomes hard to have a bad attitude towards someone you are praying for on a regular basis. One thing I have noticed, is that the more I pray for someone, the more my heart grows for them. I begin to feel God’s love and compassion for them. I also begin to earnestly desire God’s best for them (rather than vengeance). Hurting people, hurt people. The more we pray for that person, the more we can sense their hurt and show mercy.

4. Don’t react, respond.

Reacting is immediate and emotional. Responding is thought-out and gracious. Don’t say the first thing that comes to your mind, be prudent. Your words have power. The last thing you want to do is ruin your testimony or your witness to that person over a heat-of-the-moment reaction. There isn’t anything wrong with finishing a conversation at a later time if you are too emotional to handle it in the moment

Hope that helps!
Mel Miller

Qualified

2011-03-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Recently a friend told me that she knew God was calling her to go deeper, but that she was scared that she would fail. I can relate to her feelings. There have been times when God called me to do something out of my comfort zone - lead a small group, teach a lesson, write my testimony or take a step of faith into an unknown situation. It is human nature when we face the situations to think to ourselves, “Wait a minute. I can’t do that. I have never done that before. I don’t possess that gift, talent, ability or faith…and I can think of many others who would be more well suited for the job!”

We immediately begin to take inventory of all the things in our lives we feel we can or can’t do. If the new thing God calls us to doesn’t fall into the right category, we feel like volunteering someone else for the job!

Moses did this very thing! When God called him to lead the Israelites and approach pharaoh on behalf of the people,

Exodus 4:10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Moses didn’t feel qualified for the job. He knew he wasn’t the best communicator and he wanted God to send someone else! Moses was having the same mentality that many of us have when called by God to do something. He was looking to what he could do without God, not what he could do with God. When God calls you to do something, it is usually something you won’t be able to do on your own. If you could do it all on your own, God wouldn’t get any of the credit or glory.

Paul knew what it was like to rest in Christ’s power and not his own:

2 Corinthians 12:8 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When you don’t feel qualified is when you learn to rely on God. Relying on God is exactly where he wanted you all along. His power is made perfect in your weakness! You are qualified because of Him, He has everything you need! Rely on Him and it is then you will be able to give God all the glory for everything he does through you!

Don’t Settle,
Mel Miller

Compelled by Christ's Love

2011-02-28T10:56:00.000-08:00

I visited my friend around Christmas time, while I was there I noticed the neighbor was also visiting. He is a young boy, in his early teens, a bit awkward (not uncommon for a tween) but very sweet. I noticed he would often hang around their place. He would eat there, spend time with the family and play games. This particular visit, my friend gave him his Christmas gifts, one of them was a very special book about the Navy and the inscription encouraged him to follow his dreams of getting there. The boy gave her a hug with tears in his eyes. I heard later that he told her she had become to him the mother he never had.

What inspires me about my friend is her unconditional love for people. This boy cannot offer my friend anything. She doesn’t love him for the reasons the world loves people. The world loves people for what they can do for them or offer them. The world loves people if the dress right, act right, look right, have money or can benefit them in some way.

Paul gives an example in 2 Corinthians 5 of what our love should look like:
14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

Does Christ’s love compel you? Are you loving people for what they can do for you or because they are people- and GOD loves people? The scripture says that Christ died for ALL people and that we should no longer regard people from a worldly point of view. In other words, don’t look on the exterior or be thinking about how they could benefit you. Love them because Christ died for them!

Look around you today and ask God to open your eyes to the harvest that is all around you. They may or may not be people who could benefit you in any way, but that shouldn’t matter. My prayer today is that Christ’s love would compel us to love and reach all people, simply because they are people, people that Christ died for because he loved them so much.

Mel Miller

Insecurity

2011-02-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

I went to a function this weekend and I was underdressed (come on, don‘t you hate it when you are under or over dressed?!). I assumed the typical San Diego culture would apply to this event so I sported jeans and a casual top. The more I looked around the room at people in heels, nice dress pants and dresses, the more inadequate I felt.

The thought began with me laughing at myself for being the oddball. Then it developed into full-blown inadequacy. It was no longer about my outfit, it was about the fact that I wasn’t good enough, rich enough, smart enough or impressive enough.

I haven’t felt an attack that strong of insecurity in many years, but it was a good reminder of how awful it feels. God has done a great work in my heart in that area, but it was a reminder to me that many people still face these thoughts on a daily basis. For them, they can’t just wear a better outfit to the next event. They feel insecure about many things they can’t change as easily as an outfit.

I knew that I was being lied to by the enemy. Once I recognized the lie, I began to tell myself the truth: “My identity and value does not come from the people in this room. My identity and value come from the Lord.”

There are many things I learned through my journey of overcoming insecurity, but that bit of truth is the biggest. When I am living to please God, and only God, my value and significance is no longer defined by the opinions of others. I am set free from the need to compare myself to others or measure up to the world’s standard of success, beauty or significance.

Paul, and the apostles of Jesus, lived this truth:

1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.

Paul makes bold statements of truth in this scripture:

1. They are APPROVED by God (verse 4).

2. They are not trying to please people, but GOD (verse 4)

3. They are not trying to put on any MASKS for people (verse 5).

4. They are not looking for PRAISE from people (verse 6). 　

The world is insecure. We can see all around us, people trying to impress one another, putting on a mask or façade of success or confidence, and people who are desperately looking for the accolades and praise of other people for their security. It was the same in Paul’s day in age. People were settling for a false display of confidence rather than the real thing.

The goal of the enemy is to get this venom of the world to seep into the hearts of Christ followers. If he can get a Christian to look to other people for their significance rather than the Lord, it will be easy to rob them of their God given destiny. They will rarely make decisions based on God’s opinion alone, they care too much about what others think of them. Eventually, the direction of their lives had been driven by what pleases the most people or gets them the most pats on the back, not what pleases the Lord.

If you have struggled with insecurity, know this simple truth: Your value and significance does not come from man, it comes from the Lord. He sees you as beautiful, well-equipped, chosen, significant, valuable and irreplaceable.

He has a great plan for your life. Chose to live to please Him and not others and you will soon find yourself walking confidently in that great plan.

Mel Miller

The Balance between Contentment and Faith

2011-02-17T14:08:00.001-08:00

I’ll be honest. Patience isn’t one of my strongest virtues. In fact, it seems as I have looked back at different seasons of my life, I actually missed out on some of them because I was so anxious for the next. When I was in school, I couldn’t wait to be out of school. When I was engaged, I couldn’t wait to be married. When I was married, I couldn’t wait to have kids. Looking back on many of those seasons of life, they were wonderful times of my life! Yet, I wasn’t enjoying them to the fullest because I was always looking for the next best thing.

I have read scriptures about contentment such as:

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Although we are called to be content, we are also called to have faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God”

I have always wondered how to balance these two things. I can honestly say, until this year, I failed at this. I would pray, in faith, for what I was believing God for - but if I didn’t get it I felt discontent! I would start to get frustrated that things weren’t happening in my timeline. (It’s the occupational hazard of a type-A, goal setting personality like mine).

This year, I took a big step of faith. I wrote a book about my life, which is something I have always wanted to do. I didn’t think that I would have the strength or emotional energy to do it, so this dream of mine sat on a figurative shelf for years! But because it was God who was calling me to do it, he put his grace on me to make it happen! I spent about three months, during naptimes and late at night, writing out my testimony from start to finish. I entered it into the Women of Faith writing contest and found out recently that I am a finalist! Woo hoo!

The crazy/wonderful part about it, is that through this process I have found myself nestled peacefully in this balance between faith and contentment. My prayers are believing for BIG things, my faith is being stretched as I pray for God to open doors through this opportunity. However, I feel such a peace and trust in God’s sovereignty, that I am TOTALLY at peace if I don’t win!

Here is the conclusion I have come to (and to be honest, I feel LIGHTER in spirit than ever before): Ultimately we are called to pray for God’s will to be done, because we understand that whatever His will is will bring him the most glory. If I truly believe this, then I will be at peace even when my prayers aren’t answered the way I wanted them to be. If someone else wins the contest and gets published, then it must mean that their book will bring God the most glory. Praise God! That’s what I want! If it is my story, then Praise God! Either way, I have never been more confident that God is in control. His aim is the same as mine: to lead people into a relationship with Him.

I am not anxious for promotion, for the next season of life or for something “bigger or better.” I will keep stretching my faith, praying big prayers and believing that I serve a big God. But just because He is big, doesn’t mean He has to answer my prayers in the way I want him to, or in my timeframe. I know He has a plan for my life, His word makes that clear. It is a part of God’s character: He is a loving father who wants to bless his children. When we are confident in the character of God, we have nothing to worry about when our prayers aren’t answered the way we want them to be!

I want His will to be done and in the depths of my heart I want Him to have the most glory -- even if it means I don’t get what I want when I want it. I hope that you can find this balance between contentment and faith. Anxiousness will weigh you, trust in God’s sovereignty!

Mel Miller

All you need is LOVE

2011-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Valentines day was yesterday, and it was obvious everyone was thinking about love! My husband and I rode the coaster to Carlsbad and it seemed every few minutes we saw someone pass by with flowers in hand, heart balloons hanging in random places and couples strolling down the street holding hands. Although the world seems to primarily have love on the brain on this one day out of the year, Christians should have love on the brain every day!

Paul, in one of his letters to Corinth, addresses the issue of eating food being offered up to idols. It seems believers had no problem with eating food that had been sacrificed to idols, others could not eat it with a clear conscience. His conclusion is that, those people who felt free to eat it, should be sensitive to believers who do not (in other words, our friendship and unity with each other means much more than a piece of meat!) Before he addresses the behavior, he first addresses the heart:

1 Corinthans 8:1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

The challenge happening in the Corinthian believers is the same problem that happens amongst Christians today. Our pride is more concerned with being right than it is with maintaining unity in the body of Christ. Paul makes a declaration: if our hearts are not set on knowledge--but on LOVE, then we wont have a problem!

The Message translations puts it this way: (verse 2) “but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds.”

The first and most important commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. If we do this, we don’t live out his requirements out of obligation, but out of a love relationship. If we neglect the priority of our love relationship with God, it can become easy to neglect it with others as well. Paul brings it back to the simplicity of loving God and loving people -- the very foundation of our Christian faith!

If you have struggled with pride or disunity, get back to the basics. Love God, love people -- and know that those things come above everything else.

Mel Miller

Obedience, good, and evil.

2011-02-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

“Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Romans 16:19

Let’s break this scripture down into it’s three main points:

1. Obedience

Many times when we think of obedience, we think of saying no to something or resisting temptation. We are infant Christians if our faith is reduced down to how many things we have said NO to. Obedience is not always about what we can’t do. When we focus on this, we lose sight of the adventure of walking with the Lord.

After a while, saying no to things isn’t that hard anymore. You are no longer tempted by the things you used to be tempted by when you were a baby Christian. You don’t struggle with the same things or have a hard time resisting or saying no to old ways of life.

Their comes a point in your walk with God where you have gotten pretty good at saying no. However, if you only say no and you never say yes, you have become a Christian - but quite possibly a mediocre, complacent, boring one! The excitement and adventure in our walk with God is learning to say YES to Him when he calls us to do something. This is when obedience no longer becomes a dreadful word, but an exciting one!

2. Being wise about what is good

Phil. 4:8 8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

How do you become wise about what is good? In order to become wise about anything, you must learn about it, think about it, study it and focus your attention on it. We should want to learn, continually, what pleases God. A family I know makes a list of the character traits of God and hangs them on their fridge. As a family they study those traits and learn how they can model them in their own lives. This is a family that is striving to be wise about what is good!

3. Being innocent about what is evil

For me, many times, I don’t understand dirty jokes. People have laughed at my “innocence” or lack of understanding, and it doesn’t bother me. I don’t care to focus on things that are impure, I have no desire to learn about what the dirty joke means.

Being innocent about evil doesn’t mean ignorant. We should be aware of the evil that goes on in our world so it drives us to prayer and action. Being innocent about it is different. It means your focus, attention and thoughts don’t stay there.

Many times people will click on obviously impure links on the internet, listen to foul conversations or watch vulgar shows out of pure CURIOSITY. They justify their behavior because it wasn’t done out of “temptation” it was done out of “curiosity.” Curiosity is not an excuse to meditate on evil things. Satan can use our fleshly curiosity to take us much further into evil than we wanted to go.

Are you only saying NO, or have you begun the adventure of saying YES? Is your focus and attention on what is evil or on what is good?

Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, what pleases Him, and on how we can say YES to the next adventure he calls us to.
Mel Miller

Get filled up

2011-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

I’ll be the first to admit: I am not a morning person. When I wake up, it takes me a good thirty minutes to want to talk to anyone. My husband wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a chipper conversation. All I have to do is look at him with my tired scowl, and he knows to give me some time.

Even though I don’t feel alert in the mornings, over time I have felt prompted to give the first part of my day to God. Yesterday at church, we talked about the tangible way of putting God first in our tithe. I believe another tangible way we can put God first is in our time. My aim each day is to wake up before my family to spend time with God. There is an enormous difference in my attitude and readiness to serve my family if I have been filled up with the spirit first.

In Romans 8, Paul spends time contrasting the flesh and the spirit life.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

When we are in the flesh, we are ruled by the flesh. We are controlled by emotions, moods, hormones, circumstances and thoughts (this is how I feel when I wake up in the morning!). Being in the spirit means you are ruled by Christ’s spirit, living inside of you. All the fleshly things you were once ruled by seem menial when you are walking with the Almighty God inside of you. When you spend time with Him and meditate on His word, it is a quick reminder of all the things He has done for us and all that we have to be joyful about!

How do you live according to the Spirit? You have to spend time with Him. We can’t get filled up once and expect it to last a lifetime. We are like the tires on a bike; we leak, we get holes and we deflate. We can get filled back up easily if we make spending time with God a priority.

Don’t be flippant about your time with God. If you say you’ll get around to it, most of the time you won’t. Set at appointment, just like you would with a friend. It is not a commandment to spend your time with God in the mornings, but we do see in the scriptures that it is something Jesus modeled:

Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
For me, the sooner I can get my leaky tire filled back up again, the better it is for everyone!

Have you made your appointment with God today? Spend time praying, reading his word and worshiping and you will find yourself living in the Spirit rather than the flesh.

Mel Miller

Enjoy life!

2011-01-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46 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,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

As we look at the scripture of the believers who met together as the early church, I get a picture of a group of people I would want to hang out with. These people were enjoying life together. Verse 46 says they were meeting together with GLAD and SINCERE hearts and verse 47 says they were ENJOYING the favor of all the people and PRAISING God. This was not a group of believers who were gossiping, complaining, negative, bitter or critical. This was a group of people whose attitudes pleased God so much that he added to their number daily those who were being saved.

There are many things we are trying to accomplish in life, we all have hopes, dreams and goals, but my questions is: If we are not enjoying the journey, what is the point?

Many times we can become so focused on the end result of things that we grow frustrated in the process of trying to make it happen. Yet, if we lose our joy, will we even be able to appreciate the end result? We have nothing to lose if we are enjoying the journey God has us on, because even if we don’t meet our goals - at least we had fun trying!

I believe God poured out his blessings on the early church because they kept glad and sincere hearts. God wants more believers who are enjoying life, staying lighthearted and having fun in the process. Not only does it please God, it attracts people!

Don’t let your circumstances rob your joy or a condition of your heart block the flow of joy in your life. Chose to forgive, let go, trust God and enjoy life!

Mel Miller

Tests

2010-12-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

Tests. We have all taken them, felt the dread and the nerves kick in when we have an important one the next day. We study as much as possible the night before, hoping that we will get the grade that will allow us pass the class. Then, when it’s over, we wipe the sweat from our brow and hope for the best.

Many people think that the tests are over after we graduate from school; I tend to think the tests are just getting started after graduation. Most people don’t realized they are being tested all the time. God wants to take his people to a new level, but he has to make sure they are ready for it first. The misconception among Christians is that God doesn’t test his people. It is true that God doesn’t tempt his people, but he does test them.

In 2 Chronicles 32:31 it speaks of Hezekiah being tested:

“But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.”

Hezekiah had some pride issues in the past. He failed many times, but God was giving him one more chance to pass the pride test. Would he give God glory for the miracles or would he take credit himself?

Proverbs 17:3 says “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.”

God gives us the same opportunities to pass tests. Obedience, faithfulness, stewardship, patience, etc. He wants to see what is in our hearts so we can become more like him and fulfill the purpose and dream he has for us. How do you prepare for the tests that God will bring? Pray and stay in the word! God can change your heart, surface the impurities and refine you. He will prepare you for the next test so that you can respond to each situation with integrity, Godliness and humility.

Let’s get to studying!
Mel Miller

Unity

2010-12-20T18:27:00.001-08:00

At the age of two, my son already has learned a sneaky tactic: If one parent says no, try the other! The other day our son wanted a piece of candy and asked Daddy if he could have a treat. He said no, and even though I knew he had eaten a good dinner and it wasn't a big deal, when he came over and asked me the same question my response was, "No honey, Daddy said no."

Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”

It is important to understand that unity does not mean we have to agree but rather we react in a way that reflects that we are one. It means we support, speak well of, and make known that we are on the same team. "Daddy said no," means that because Daddy said no, I support him in his decision. The kids have learned that we will both respect and support each other in our decisions, we will stay in unity. If we do disagree, we will talk about it - just not in front of the kids!

God delights in unity in our relationships. Many times our disunity comes when we don't understand how to disagree but still live in peace. If we are mature enough, we can learn to rise above what we think is right and respond in a way that reflects the love of Christ.

Sometimes, unity isn’t corrupted by disagreements it’s corrupted by a lack of communication. The more you communicate, the more you close to the door to the enemy. One thing that we can’t be ignorant of, is the enemies devices. He will uses whatever means necessary to divide marriages, churches and relationships. Don’t leave your thoughts or your heart unchecked, the smallest thing can be used by the enemy to disrupt the good and pleasant unity God desires for your relationships.

Mel Miller

Video devo: He will bring the rain

2010-12-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

The Simplehearted

2010-12-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

It seems to be a common theme in my life lately that God has been bringing me women who struggle with the same thing; overanalyzing. God probably surrounded me with these women because I know first hand the dangers of overanalyzing.

A few months ago I got some packages in the mail for my kids. The packages were mostly for my daughter, with a few things for my son. Over time, I built up this idea in my head that the package sender loved my daughter more than my son. After a while, I realized my feelings had become hurt over something I wasn’t even sure was true. I decided the best thing to do was communicate. After talking to them and hearing their heart, I realized I had created something completely false in my head - but the emotions that followed were very real.

Psalm 116:6 says “The Lord protects the simplehearted.” The best example of someone who is simple in heart is a child. They don’t overanalyze, overcomplicate, read into things or have hidden agendas. They don’t drop subtle hints or cause drama. They are simple in their motives and their communication. When they want a cookie, they will let you know they want a cookie! When their feelings are hurt, they show it!

These are the type of people that God says he will protect. He will protect your mind if you choose not to overanalyze. He will protect your heart if you choose not to get easily offended. He will protect your friendships if you chose not to take things personally. He will protect your character if you choose to get rid of hidden agendas and false motives.

Remember that the devil is a liar. There will be opportunities when the enemy tries to get you to believe a lie, just like he did with me and the packages. Once I chose the simple route; direct and gracious communication, it completely closed the door to the enemy and the lie was exposed. All of those unnecessary emotions could have been prevented if I would have been simplehearted from the beginning. You can reject the lie or communicate about it, but accepting it will cause a lot of unnecessary emotion.

Do you take it personally when someone cancels plans with you or do you take their reason for canceling at face value? Do you find yourself reading into things? Do you respond by dropping hints or do you communicate with openness and honesty?

Chose to be simplehearted like a child, it takes a lot less energy!
Mel Miller

Video Devo: Pruning

2010-12-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

No Room for Comparisons

2010-11-29T15:10:00.000-08:00

Six and a half years ago and newly married, my husband and I packed up all of our belongings to embark on a journey to help plant a church in Las Vegas. We thought we wanted to be youth pastors (and quickly realized it was not our calling!). We still wanted to be in ministry but trusted God he would show us exactly where we were called.

Nine months after we said our vows, we found out we were pregnant. We were completely shocked! Of course, it was a blessing from God and Hannah is a perfect gift from Him! Being put on bed rest during my pregnancy required that I give up my job working for the church. We fell into the trap of believing that if we have a baby, we must have a house and SUV also! We accumulated too much debt and learned our financial lessons the hard way!

Over time, we have seen many couples do it all “the right way.” They waited to have kids, bought a house at the perfect time, were financial able to do a church internship or go to seminary. They reach their dreams of being in ministry and we rejoiced with them. However, if we contrast it to our circumstances, our once blazing flame of hope to be in ministry starts to look more like a faint flicker.

Whether through mistakes, character flaws, the timing of God or God having other plans, comparing our journey to someone else’s is a trap we could all fall into. There are single people pleading with God for a spouse while they watch many of their other friends get married. There are couples who haven’t been able to get pregnant, and they watch as those around them have babies with ease. There are people who simply want a job in this economy while someone else near them seems to get hired right away.

The other day, God began to speak to my husband and I out of his word. It was a moment when we read the scriptures and we knew God was giving us a promise for our life. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “There is no room for comparisons when you believe in the promise I give you.”

After getting our promise from God, there wasn’t a question in our minds whether or not our dream would come true someday in His perfect timing. It might not look like what we thought it would , but every time we start to compare we have our own promise to hold onto. It is unique and specific for us, and he has one unique and specific for you!

In Psalm 105, it repeats that God remembered his holy promise and his servant Abraham. Then the Psalm addresses us as the seed of Abraham, the children of Jacob, his chosen ones. It continues to reiterate that God remembered his holy promise he made to Abraham and celebrates God’s victory.

It all started with a promise. It started with Abraham and his wife Sarah, being old in age and barren. God took Abraham out of a tent to show him the sky and promised him that his descendents would be as numerous as those stars he saw. Even though in the natural it seemed unlikely, he had faith that God would do what he promised--and He did! You are the seed of Abraham, you are here because of a promise that was spoken and believed. Abraham chose not to compare himself to all the young fertile people, but he focused on the specific promise God gave him and chose to believe that.

What are you hoping for today? I encourage you to get in God’s word and grab hold of a promise from Him. There is no room for comparisons when you believe in His promise for your life,
Mel Miller

Vacation Mode

2010-11-22T07:31:00.001-08:00

We recently took a one week vacation and took another week as a staycation to enjoy our beautiful city. After a few days, I noticed we were acting different. We were in “vacation mode.” Have you ever been on a vacation and noticed how happy people are and how happy you are? When we got back a few people commented that we looked so refreshed. It got me wondering, why doesn’t everyone get into “vacation mode” all the time? Why do we return from our vacations and after a few days back, pick up our usual anxiety?

I have heard that anxiety is like a rocking chair. You are moving but not going anywhere. Worry or anxiety doesn’t change anything, it just makes you feel like you are doing something about a situation you can do nothing about. Worry is like the counterfeit for prayer. A situation is in need of change but instead of giving it over to God we keep it in our hands. We play the ‘what if’s’ in our mind and fret about worst case scenarios.

Sometimes I think that we convince ourselves that worry is like a badge of honor we wear. We think that if we can worry the hardest, we somehow care the most. The idea of giving something over to God and letting our soul rest in Him, often doesn’t compute.

Here is what the scriptures tell us about anxiety.

Psalm 94:19 says “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

It doesn’t please God for his people to be walking around tense, worried or anxious. It pleases Him to see his people walking with that peace that transcends understanding. It is a sign that they trust in Him and not themselves.

You can be in the middle of one of the most difficult situations in your life, but you can send your soul on a vacation. You can choose to get into “vacation mode” each day of your life. You can be at rest and peace on the inside even if things are bleak on the outside. Take everything to God in prayer and leave it there. When you finish your prayer time, be determined to walk away without your worry. Make your soul drop the dead weight of worry. Then, make the choice to get into “vacation-mode” today and let your attitude refresh those around you.

Mel Miller

Behavior change or heart change?

2010-11-15T09:04:00.001-08:00

When I first decided I was going to give my life to Christ, I thought that if I stopped sleeping with my boyfriend and getting drunk that I would be free from sin in my life. Boy, was I wrong! I raised my hand and eventually stood up to receive Christ, not knowing the extent of how much he wanted my life.

I thought it would be easy, modify a few behaviors and go to church every Sunday. I was only used to my old way of doing things, if I wanted something to change in my life I had to change it myself. So I went through the motions of mustering up all the willpower I could to stop doing the things that were “impure” in my own eyes.

The more I read the Bible and learned from the Godly people around me, the sooner I realized that becoming more holy was not about who could “white-knuckle it” the most. God’s grace was so much greater than our willpower and his desire for us is not that we would have behavior changes but rather heart changes.

Hebrews 9:13-14 says, 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

When Jesus sent his son to die on the cross, he did away with the old religious way of doing things. People were becoming too caught up in the list of do’s and don’ts and not allowing Christ to penetrate their hearts. God wanted the people to know he is not in the business of changing behaviors, he is in the business of changing hearts. The scriptures says that although the old religious rituals were able to cleanse us outwardly, the blood of Christ is able to cleanse our consciences. He is able to dig so deep that he can cleanse our thoughts, intents, motives, attitudes, and our own ideas of wrong and right. He is able to make us truly holy and pure, not just have the appearance of it.

God is not in the business of changing behaviors, he is in the business of changing hearts!
Mel Miller

My first video devo: Keep it Real!

2010-11-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

I recorded this video yesterday but didn't have time to upload it until today. I was talking to my pastor today and she told me that tomorrow at Urban she is speaking on a very similar topic, I got a sneak preview of her message and it is going to be GOOD! If you want to watch it will livestream tomorrow at 10:30am at

http://www.lifeaturban.com/general/livefeed.html

Next Level

2010-11-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

With anything in life, it is natural for us to want to go to a new level. It would be ridiculous to join the track team but not want to improve your time, or to work diligently in school and not desire to graduate. Even in a video game, your goal is often to get to the next level.

As Christians, we also desire to go to a new level. This is why we join Bible studies or community groups, so we can grow in our knowledge and in our relationship with God. We come to church each week expecting to learn something new and become stronger in our faith. We search out a mentor to help aid us in becoming more Christlike. All of these things are for the goal of going deeper, of getting to that next level in the Lord.

God wants us to go to a new level, but he doesn’t tell us upfront how much it will require to get there. If he told you when you first got saved how much self sacrifice it was going to require you probably wouldn’t sign up! He takes us by the hand, slowly and gently demanding a little more of us each day and giving us the grace and strength to give up things we never thought we could.

Going to the next level always requires sacrifice. If you want to improve your time as a runner, you need to practice more and work harder. You may even need to change your diet. Yet, you would do all this with the knowledge that you are replacing all the things you are giving up with something more desirable.

To go the next level in the Lord, it requires us to be sacrificially obedient to his leadings. Anytime he tells us to give up something, it is because he wants to replace it with more of Him. He wants to take your pride and replace it with joy. He wants to take your addiction and replace it with true life. He wants to take the thing you don’t have the strength to give up and turn it into a testimony of HIS grace and strength working through you.

Most of the time, we know what he is telling us to do, we just don’t want to do it. How do you know that it is God speaking? There is a battle within you. Your flesh doesn’t want to do it.

This Isrealites had many opportunities to go to the next level and reach their promise land. God was speaking to them, but their was a battle within them. Rather than yielding to God, they hardened their hearts. Hebrews 3 reminds us to learn from their mistakes:

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,

8 do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,

Don’t circle around the same mountain all your life like the Israelites did. Go to the next level through sacrificial obedience to God. Trust that He will replace your sacrifice with something far greater.

What is God telling you to sacrifice today?

I would love to hear your thoughts,

Mel Miller

SIGN UP!!!

2010-11-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Kay Warren is doing a fantastic 30 day challenge called "Say Yes to God." I really admire and respect Rick and Kay Warren and thier ministries, and I highly reccomend it! A video devotional will be sent to your e-mail for 30 days, challenging you to go deeper with God. Sign up here:

http://kaywarrenapp.com/signup

The B word

2010-10-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the intense training that men are put through in the military. He enlightened me as to how incredibly hard it is to go through boot camp or basic training. Their tactic is to break men down as much as possible. He told me stories of grown men crying because they couldn't remember their own names and other men who died drowning only to be brought back to life by their squad members as part of their life-saving training. After they have been broken down to a certain point, the officials will begin to build the men back up again. After being broken, they somehow grow stronger, more resilient and ready for battle.

The stories were fascinating, and the amount of brokenness required reminded me a lot of being a Christ follower. It isn't a pleasant experience, but if you choose to follow after God he will break you. Not in a cruel way, but it is in a way that will get you to be completely dependant on him and his strength. Sometimes he uses circumstances to drive us to our knees, other times he prunes things out of our hearts or brings them to light. Even though it doesn't feel like it at the time, it is all for our good.

Just like the men in the military, when He gets you to a place of complete brokenness, he will build you back up again. When you are built up again, you will no longer be dependant on your own abilities, strength, resources, talents or giftings...you will be dependent on Him and Him alone. You will give honor, credit and glory to Him and Him alone. He will work through you to produce more fruit through your life than you could have ever produced in your own efforts. Areas that were once barren will begin to flourish and things you couldn't quite conquer before will seem like menial temptations.

Before he can work through you in a powerful way, he first needs to empty you. I know it sounds painful, and it is. Trust me, it is all a part of God's refining process that ultimately will lead you to a greater level than you ever thought possible.

Are you willing to be broken for God?

Mel Miller

Open Your Eyes

2010-10-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

In reading 2 Kings 6, the King of Aram sent a powerful force to overtake Israel. The servant got up and saw the coming attack and asked Elijah “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” Elijah told him not to be afraid and said “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He then prayed that the servant’s eyes would be opened, the Lord opened the servants eyes and he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Then Elijah prayed the Lord would strike them with blindness, and the attack the enemy planned was redirected and unsuccessful!

My pastor has been in the middle of a series, “The Ghost” and Sunday’s message encouraged us that we can have more of the power of the Holy Spirit in operation in our lives. We can often see people and think they are more “powerful” than us or read stories like the one about Elijah and think that it is completely out of reach for us to have that much power. Yet, the same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead and that was working in Elijah to overcome the enemy - LIVES IN US!

The servant asked in fear, “what shall we do?” Since they were surrounded he probably thought he only had two options: Run for their lives and hope somehow they could sneak by and escape, or simply give up, surrender and accept defeat. It might be tempting to think the servant was faithless next to the powerful Prophet Elijah, but how often do we face a difficult situation and respond the same way?

The relationship is getting tough: RUN!
The marriage is out of the honeymoon phase: GIVE UP!
The finances aren’t coming in: THROW IN THE TOWEL!
Health is being attacked: ACCEPT DEFEAT!

It took a man of God like Elijah to ask God to open up the servants eyes to what could not be seen with natural eyes: Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. The servant had no idea the victory that surrounded them. He had no idea that God already saw the battle coming, lined up the heavenly angels for battle and already had a game plan for victory!!!

If you are looking at your circumstances through natural eyes today, you may feel that the only answer is to give up or run. If you look at your situation through the eyes of faith, you will see a great victory that God is working on your behalf. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!

Don’t surrender, don’t give up and don’t be blinded to the victory that surrounds you. Ask God to open your eyes today,
Mel Miller

Don't worry, be happy!

2010-10-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, early in the morning I would wake up and get ready for school. My mother was not a morning person and I took after her! I would still be wiping the sleep crusties out of my eyes and I could hear my mother grumbling on her way to the coffee machine. We had an unspoken understanding of our needed silence in the morning. My Dad would be in the living room putting on his shoes for work signing at the top of his lungs, “Do do do do da do, do da do da do da do, DON’T WORRY! Do da do da do da do, BE HAPPY! Do da do da do, DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY NOW!” Over and over and over again he would sing until we both had begrudging smiles on our faces.

I have never forgotten the way he sang that song, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Looking back, he probably had a lot to worry about. He was a small business owner, father, husband, provider - he had a lot on his plate. I loved the way he let it all roll off his back and chose to sing instead.

I have found as I get older there are a lot of things I could choose to worry about, but God really has given us the ability to choose a 'don't worry, be happy' attitude. Whatever we choose to focus on is where our minds will go. If we choose to think about all the possible negative outcomes our minds will go there. Like a rocking chair, we rock back in forth in our worry--moving but not going anywhere. Matthew 6:27 says, "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" In other words, worry doesn't change anything!

If you feel trapped in your worry, there is another option! Force your mind to think of best case scenerios - usually when you do this your thoughts are aligning with God's thoughts because he wants the best for you! One easy way to do this is to look up some of the promises in the Word of God. There are amazing promises of healing, prosperity, promotion, favor, protection and blessing!

I would rather meditate on the promises of God than on worst case scenerios.

Don't worry, be happy!
Mel Miller

Little Actions, Big Impact

2010-10-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

1 Kings 14: 7-9: Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and made you a leader over my people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back.

1 Kings 14 gives us an example of someone who influenced people for the good and someone who influenced people for the bad. The prophecy that was told to King Jeroboam was a reminder to him that although King David had served the Lord faithfully and kept his commands, Jeroboam had done the opposite.

Our actions, decisions, sins, acts of kindness, integrity or lacktherof, our attitudes and our words---all make a difference. Even if we do not carry the title of King, like David and Jeroboam, we influence those around us and generations below us.

There is a leadership principle that says, “Whatever the leader does in moderation, the people will do in excess.” Jeroboam’s disobedience was used as an example to the people and became the downfall of the commitment to God in the Northern Kingdom.

The enemy would love for us to believe that our actions are insignificant. He would love for us to believe the lie that our actions are small and will not affect those around us. He wants you to sin and will try to convince you that it is “no big deal.” He doesn’t want you to act with kindness or goodness and will try to convince you that your efforts “won’t really make a difference.” The devil is a liar. Your life matters. Your actions matter. You are influencing people whether you realize it or not.

Some of the most monumental times in life are created by seemingly small and insignificant interactions with other people. My (now) husband would have never known just by treating others with kindness and respect on campus that it would have led me to want the same faith that he had. Pastor Ben is a pastor today because of a short conversation and a handshake from a man at church one day. A family I know was handed a water bottle with a church’s information written on it a few years ago. Little did they know, going to that church would radically transform their entire family.

Your seemingly small efforts and decisions can make a huge impact! Choose wisely!

Mel Miller

Show up and keep showing up!

2010-10-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

If you had one thing to ask God, what would it be? I can think of a few very important things on my list, but my first thought wouldn’t be to ask God to keep me in church all the days of my life. David, however, prayed this prayer.

Psalm 27
4 One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

The house of the Lord is the church, it is where his presence abides and dwells and community is brought together. Although David’s prayer wasn’t my first inclination, it was a very wise prayer. David understood the power there is in the house of the Lord…and not just visiting every now and then, but the power there is in dwelling.

Many people have issues in their lives and our culture has trained us that you have to “make a change” in order for those issues to be fixed. Although sometimes there is absolutely a need to make a change, we have undervalued the power there is in no change at all! Sometimes staying where you are at and being consistent and faithful is exactly what you need. Don’t underestimate the power there is in just showing up!

Ed Young wrote, “Our commitments must outlast our emotions.” When my husband and I got together he made sure I understood that church was a priority every week. We were not going to miss church unless it was absolutely necessary. There were times when I was tired, not in the mood or wanted to do something else but my husband understood that our commitment to dwell in the house of the Lord must outlast our temporary emotions. Sure, I was saved, but maturing, growth and flourishing didn’t happen until I planted myself in the church (and stayed planted)!

I don’t just want people to visit our church, I want them to keep coming back. Not because I want Urban to grow (although I do!) but because I know that if they STAY their lives will be changed. Someone going up to the alter and giving their life to Christ is exciting, but what is even more exciting is seeing that person a year later--life completely transformed--because they just kept showing up!

Psalm 92:13 says “Those who are planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.”

You will only be as strong as how deep your roots will dig down. You will only flourish if you decide to dig a little deeper. Will you commit to digging your roots down deep at your home church? Will you commit not just to visiting but to dwelling? Will you join with David’s powerful prayer to ask God to help you dwell in his house?

For those of you who are already planted, would you make the commitment to help others stay planted?

Show up, keep showing up and don’t underestimate the power there is in simply showing up!
Mel Miller

Apples to Applesauce

2010-09-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my daughter was watching an educational show in which kids were learning how to make applesauce. I watched with her because I have never made homemade applesauce so I decided to take notes. The show wasn’t primarily about making applesauce, but about irreversible actions. They sang a cute melody that rhymed about all the things you can’t un-do, like un-burn your toast or turn your apples back into applesauce.

As I was watching the show, I realized that our words are an irreversible action.
Once we speak something we can’t un-speak it. God does heal hopeless situations, forgive us and bring reconciliation between those wounded by words but he does not push rewind and let us un-speak our words.

Psalm 17:3 says, “I have resolved that I will not sin with my mouth.”

I have stuck my foot in my mouth many times and I have learned the hard way that my words have power. What if we woke up every morning and declared this Psalm, and resolved that we will not sin with our mouth? What if we saw our words as they are; apples in our hands in which we have the power to change into applesauce but we simply can’t change them back into apples. We may say things in the most lighthearted manner, it may come only out of a tiny fleeting moment of frustration. Yet, we cannot take those words back.

Luke 6:45 says, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

This scripture tells me we either have good apples stored up in our hearts or bad apples. We are going to make good or bad applesauce with our words, but nonetheless it is applesauce and it is irreversible.

Check your apples, make sure they aren’t rotten and choose carefully the ones you choose to use when you make applesauce.
Your words hold power,
Mel Miller

The Greatest Love

2010-09-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

Why is it that we always want to get the last word? Usually the last word is the most powerful word because it is fresh in your memory. At the end of the final prayer of Jesus Christ, his last words were telling God the Father that he will continue to declare His name that he might share the love that is in him.

John 17:25-26 “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

When we have tasted and seen the love of God in our own lives for so long, sometimes it can become easy to forget how empty we were without it. We forget that there are so many people out there who haven’t yet experienced that overwhelming, unending, grace-filled love of the Father. The love that Jesus felt in his heart was an overflowing love, he couldn’t help but to want to proclaim the Father’s name to others so they could get a taste.

How do we ensure that our love doesn’t become stagnant? How do we keep from taking this love for granted and keep the passion to share it with others?

Psalm 119: 32 “I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.”

As we live according to his word, God has the ability to enlarge our hearts. He can enlarge our hearts for our unsaved family, church, community, nation and world.

When I had my first child, I never thought I would love another child as much as I loved my beautiful daughter. When my son came, the best way I can describe it is that I felt like I grew another heart! My love for my daughter was not subtracted or dimmed, I felt a whole separate love for my son.

Rick Warren says “You cannot love people the way God loves you without God's power in your life because human love runs out.”

Our love runs out. Our compassion for the lost runs out. Our energy, strength and patience with people will always run out! It is only when we “run the course of his commandments” that we can give out a much greater love.

Read his commandments, live his commandments and you truly can’t go wrong. The first two commandments are to LOVE! That doesn’t sound so bad…
Mel Miller

Good thing or God thing?

2010-09-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to kill, and to steal, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

I have heard that if the devil can’t get you to live in sin, he will try to make you busy. Busy with work, busy with school, busy with over commitment, he will even make you busy with GOOD THINGS! Yes, you read that right! Good things that aren’t God things are actually bad things! There are many things that we can do that are good but aren’t God’s will. They end up taking the place of things that should be in top priority, such as God, family, church or fruitful relationships. Good works don’t earn God’s favor or love, you already have his favor and love by his grace! If the enemy can get you to be so busy that you neglect God then he has been successful in his efforts to steal, kill and destroy. Don’t let him rob you of your relationship with God. The number one and most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength! If the enemy would want you to neglect one thing it would be your relationship with God. Don’t let him win!

One of my husband’s favorite quotes is “It is the good things in life that rob you from the great.” There are a lot of good things that we could choose but wouldn’t be God’s absolute best.

The scripture above in John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came that we may live an abundant life. The Greek word for abundant is Perissos. Below are some definitions of this powerful word. Try using some of the words to fill in the blanks of this sentence:

He came so that my life could be _______________.

over and above

more than is necessary

exceeding

abundantly

Supremely

something further

much more than all

superior

extraordinary

surpassing

uncommon

advantage

more eminent

more remarkable

more excellent

Are the good things in life robbing you from the best? Are you living life ordinary, busy or distracted from God’s best?

Put first things first and step into the abundant life God has prepared for you,

Mel Miller

Successful or Faithful?

2010-08-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are in your late twenties like I am, we all recently had our ten year high school reunions. Although I wasn’t able to make mine, I still had a chance to catch up with a few friends about how people from high school are doing. The buzz seemed to be centered around who was “successful” and who wasn’t. Who is balding? Who is overweight? Who became a lawyer? Who drives the nicest car? It would have been easy to fall into the trap of where I fit in according to their standards. A stay at home mom is not exactly prestigious in the world’s eyes today. I had one friend tell me that “she needed much more intellectual stimulation than that!” No comment.

However, I realize that being successful is subjective - it’s all relative to what our culture considers “success.” When we follow culture’s definition of success, we fall into the trap of trying to have all “together” on the outside in order to impress people. We end up seeking the affirmation of man rather than the affirmation of God and it is an empty pit.

If God does not care about whether or not we are a success in the world’s eyes, what does He care about?

1 Corinthians 4 “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”

1 Samuel 12:24 “But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

My husband had the opportunity to speak a great message at our church over the weekend. He did an amazing job and I am so proud of him. My favorite point that he made was that as Christians we are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful.

Faithfulness is defined as: Adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea; loyal. Worthy of trust or belief; reliable.

Culture might be pleased with the brand new car, the fabulous occupation, the designer clothes or our net worth. God is pleased with our faithfulness. Are we faithful with what he has given us? Are we faithful to our commitments? Are we faithful to his precepts? Are we faithful mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, employees or students? Are we faithful (adhering firmly and devotedly) to Him?

God cares much more about WHO we become that WHAT we become. He cares much more about our character than he does about our occupation. We may or may not ever become successful in the eyes of other people, but the opinions of men won’t matter if our aim is to be faithful to Jesus.

Are you trying to be successful or faithful today?
Mel Miller

Fear Him, not them.

2010-08-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Read: 1 Samuel 15

God gave Saul specific instructions to destroy the Amelikites completely. Instead of obeying the Lord wholeheartedly, he disobeyed by sparing the best of the cattle and everything that was good in the land. He may have thought he got away with it, but God began to speak to the prophet Samuel about it and Samuel confronted Saul on his disobedience. At first, Saul justified his behavior but later he admits, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them."

It was the fear of man that caused Saul to sin, and his kingdom to be eventually divided and given over to another.

I will be the first to admit, I don't like ruffling feathers, offending people or confrontation. Yet, as a Christian I realize that it is not an option. Jesus offended people with the truth. The gospel is offensive because the gospel rejects many sinful behaviors that man accepts and many beliefs that contradict God's absolute truth.

First, we must obey God. Craig Groeschel says "The easiest way to forget what God thinks about you is to become obsessed with what others think about you." How often do we find ourselves caring more about what other people think than we do about what God thinks? How often are we afraid to tell people the truth or confront their sin because we are more afraid of ruffling their feathers than we are in pleasing God? How many times have we made a decision to please the majority rather than the decision we knew was right and would honor God?

I have been to churches where the congregation admits that "the spirit of God used to flow" but that the Pastor no longer felt liberty to do anything out of the ordinary because of the sway of the people. Many people describe these types of churches as "dead" and "boring." I believe our lives will look a lot like those people-pleasing churches if we chose to fear man rather than God. I am so grateful to be in a church who fears God more than man and grateful to be around people who are not afraid to stand out from the crowd to please God.

Proverbs 29:25 "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe."

Chose to honor God today by seeking HIS approval and not mans,
Mel Miller

Hungry for more Devotionals?

2010-08-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

If you love devotionals, I would highly recommend signing up for Rick Warren's. It is e-mailed to you each day in your inbox, and many times the devotionals speak right into my situation.

http://profile.purposedriven.com/dailyhope/

Also, we have a great one through my church that includes different authors. It follows a daily Bible reading plan. It is an easy way to read the Bible in a year and have the devotionals help explain the scriptures.

http://www.lifeaturban.com/blog.html

Enjoy!
Mel Miller

A new creation with an empowering grace!

2010-08-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

Before I gave my life to Christ, I was a completely different person. The power of God to transform lives is incredible. I was recently telling a friend some things about my past and explaining to her that even though I know it was still me that did those things, the memories feel like I am looking into the life of another person. Not only did God forgive me but his grace covered that old life so those memories don’t have to vividly haunt or torment me!

Romans 6:4 tells us that because of what Jesus did on the cross we may have a new life!

There are many self-help books out there that promote a “fresh start” or a “new you.” All of these concepts are only the biblical principle with Christ removed from it. People can try to have a fresh start or a new life without Christ, but it won’t bring the transforming power that only He can bring. I know many Christians who remember the exact date of when the gave their life to Christ. To some, they deem it as important as their actual birthday because it was when they were born again.

For me, it was an instant transformation and for some it is more gradual. Wherever you are at with God today, and with the sins you are trying to overcome, know that you can’t do it on your own! It is only through the power and the grace of God that true strength and change comes.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

If you have been a Christian all your life, don’t let the enemy lie to you and tell you that you don’t have a testimony. Your testimony is that the grace of God saved and spared you all the days of your life! If you have been born again in your later years, know that you have a new life in Christ. You are a new person who has been washed clean and given authority! The lie of the devil is that he has only given you grace to forgive your sins! Wrong! He has also given you an empowering grace! This empowers you to do everything he has called you to do and to give up everything he calls you to give up.

You are a new creation with an empowering grace!
Mel Miller

Pick up your sword!

2010-08-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

I can understand why Jesus felt the need to withdraw often to pray. Many times throughout our day we can be bombarded with negativity. Whether it be from media, people, or the devil throwing thoughts our way--I know at least for me, I need a recharge! I need to be reminded of God’s goodness, his promises and his opinion of me.

When I was a new Christian, I thought that quoting scripture during times of discouragement was like the “self-talk” you hear about at motivational meetings or in self-help/inspiration books. To be honest, I didn’t buy it. Once I began to learn about the power--supernatural power--there is in the word of God, it changed my perspective drastically.

Did you know that the word of God is God? Did you know that when you read scripture you are filling yourself up with God? Did you know that when you speak scripture you are replacing lies with truth? John 1:1 tells us,“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In Luke 2:34-35, Simeon came to visit the newborn Jesus: “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The prophecy he spoke about Jesus was parallel to the scripture about the word of God in Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Throughout the Bible, the word of God is often referred to as a sword. The scriptures are not just words on a page, they are not self-help talk, they are a weapon! The word is a sword against negativity, discouragement, deception and lies! We are not reading something inactive, purposeless and void but we are reading something that brings life, truth and clarity.

Pick up your sword today and read with expectation!
Mel Miller

Dependence

2010-08-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

In Judges 16, Delilah had pestered Samson to divulge where his strength came from. After trying to lie to her a few times, he finally grew weary and gave in, telling her that if his head was shaved his strength would be gone since it was a part of his consecration to the Lord as a Nazarite.

Then Delilah said (vs. 20) “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.”

God had put a special grace on Sampson’s life, anointing him with incredible strength. Sampson had become so accustom to having this grace on his life that he took it for granted. Even after his hair was cut he assumed that he would be able to shake himself free, not even realizing that the Lord was no longer with him. If you continue to read the story, Sampson was captured by the Philistines and they gouged his eyes out. At the end, he realizes his dependence on God and ends up defeating them.

I will never forget a time in college when I was asked to speak to another college ministry. There was an amazing message by a conference speaker that I thought was eloquent, funny and impressive. Instead of truly seeking the Lord for a revelation straight from him, I basically reproduced this message (looking back, it’s quite embarrassing!) God has placed a grace on my life to communicate, but that night--it was absent! I felt what it was like to do something in my own strength, and without his grace and revelation there was no power to my words! My roommates at the time gave me a hug and a sympathetic pat on the back but said nothing about the message. I knew it was the Lord giving me a glimpse of what it was like to operate outside of his grace. That day serves as a remembrance to me to never loose the desperation for his presence and his grace in my life.

What about you? Has God ever given you a reminder to be dependant on Him? Has He ever lifted his grace in your life for a moment to show you how desperately you need Him?

I would love to hear your stories!

Mel Miller

A wolf in sheeps clothing

2010-07-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

A few women recommended a very popular book to me, saying it was written by a Christian woman and it was fantastic. After hearing about it continually, I finally checked it out from the library. As I began reading, I noticed a few red flags but I decided to keep an open mind and continue reading. It got worse.

Although this woman claims to be a Christian, I wondered if she was reading the same Bible I was. A righteous anger began stirring in me as I thought about all the people who think that is Christianity.

1 Timothy 4:6 tells us to “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

The Bible refers to this as “a wolf in sheeps clothing.” Not everything that claims to be Christian, really is. We must be very careful to line everything up with the word of God, this is how we watch our doctrine closely.

When I first got saved, I went out to the bookstore and bought a book about God. My aunt and (now) husband both asked me the same question right away, “Is it a Christian book?” I didn’t understand why that was important, God is God, right? They knew that I needed to watch my doctrine, because if I didn’t I could be led astray by lies or half-truths. Even then, not everything that claims to be Christian is trustworthy and because they cared about me, they wanted to make sure what I was reading was truth.

There are even churches who claim to be Christian that are not following sound doctrine. A woman told me she was checking out another Christian church. Just the name of the Church was a red flag to me, so I told her to make sure and research it first. When she did, she was so relieved. That research spared her from a church that was worshipping people rather than God.

Mark 8: 27-29 “Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

Jesus wanted to know who people were saying that he was. Some say he is a prophet, some have other theories, but Peter declared that Jesus was the Christ. Right answer, Peter.

When the Bible warns us about false prophets in the end times, I had a very distinct image in my mind of what I thought that would look like. A powerful preacher who claimed to be Christ or a prominent politician that began leading people into false doctrine. I never thought about false prophets or “wolves in sheeps clothing” coming in the form of books, movies and television shows, yet this is exactly what is happening in our generation.

It might be packaged nicely, written masterfully or have incredible cinematography but who does it say that Jesus is? Does that Jesus line up with the one you read about in the Bible? Or does that Jesus glamorize the acceptance of sin or point to other paths outside of the word of God?

A wolf in sheeps clothing looks nice, warm and gentle from the outside--but on the inside it is vicious and it’s only aim is to lead those other sheep away from the pack to devour them. (Matthew 7:15)

Watch your doctrine!
Mel Miller

A spokesman for the devil or a spokesman for the Lord?

2010-07-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah was a prophet--a spokesman for the Lord, but his job was not easy or glamorous. For forty years he spoke to the nation of Judah and no one listened. In Chapter 15 we see a conversation between Jeremiah and the Lord. Jeremiah is discouraged and feeling sorry for himself for the affliction he faces in the task God gave him.

17 I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?
Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?

Jeremiah reminds God that bad things are happening to him, a good person (the question that each one of us faces at one time or another “why do bad things happen to good people?”) Then he takes it a step further and curses God telling him that he is like a deceptive brook (another translation calls him a mirage or a unreliable stream).

God didn’t get angry with Jeremiah for feeling this way, but he reminds him of his purpose:

19 Therefore this is what the LORD says:
"If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.

God told Jeremiah to repent for the words he spoke and turn back to him. He tells him to utter worthy words, not worthless ones. If he chooses to do this he will be a spokesman for the Lord. He also reminds Jeremiah that he is the one who is to influence the wicked people, not the other way around.

When we chose to let discouragement win, we become a spokesman for the devil. We are doing his job for him! When we chose worthy words and not worthless ones, we can be a spokesman for the Lord. Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

I have seen people so discouraged by their circumstances that they become a spokesman for the devil: they speak words of death, hopelessness and discouragement. God doesn’t command us never to question, get frustrated or have a bad day - but he does hold us accountable for the words that we speak. We must be very careful to determine the mouthpiece we will be today. Will you be a spokesman for the devil or a spokesman for the Lord?

Enjoy the journey,
Mel Miller

Live a better story.

2010-07-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Donald Miller’s new book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.” As a writer, he studies what it takes to make a good story. In studying what makes a good story, he realizes he wasn’t living a very good story himself and he sets out to change that.

Many of us are so consumed with how we can make our lives more comfortable that we are living in a very boring story. God is the author and the finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2) and he has written out a great story for each of us (Psalm 139:16). Many times we resist the path he lays out for it because there is too much risk, too much conflict or it’s simply too hard.

A main character is simply someone who wants something and is willing to overcome any obstacle to get it. Some of us don’t even know what we want out of life, therefore we never face any obstacles -- and we live in a story no one would ever want to read. We leave no legacy for future generations because we weren’t willing to get up off the couch and live a better story.

Psalm 148:5-6 begins to tell creation to praise the Lord because he created it; the sun, moon, stars, heavens and earth. Then it declares:

(NIV)
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.

He set them in place for ever and ever;
he gave a decree that will never pass away.

(The Message translation)
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
he spoke the word, and there they were!

He set them in place
from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
and that's it!

God is the first writer and the best writer. He created something out of nothing, and he wrote out your story and mine amidst it all. He gave the order, said the word and it came to pass.

Pastor Katie spoke an amazing message yesterday about destiny and reminded us that God already wrote out your days and he has a great plan for your life. I can guarantee his story for you is not a boring one. It might involve some risks, some trials and some setbacks but it is one that will leave a great legacy.

Don’t settle for a life of comfort when God has called you to live out the great story he’s written for you. Make some memorable scenes in your story; jump into the pool with all of your clothes on, try something new, conquer a fear, or bring out the fine china! Be determined to live a better story today.

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

The weakest link

2010-07-05T09:58:00.001-07:00

We recently watched the movie "The Blind Side." I learned a lot about the importance of every position in football. When the main character, a left tackle, was not performing well, it left a very easy opening for the enemy to break through and defeat them. There is a saying "You are only as strong as your weakest link." It is often used to help sports teams understand the value of each player, and was evident in this movie that the whole team was affected by a single players performance. What many people don't realize is that it is actually a Biblical principle.

In Joshua 7, Joshua sent some of his men to spy on the land of Ai. They reported back that this land would be very easy to defeat and that there was no need to send all of the men up to conquer it. Joshua sent 3,000 men but was astonished to hear that they were defeated. When he cried out to the Lord, God told him that it was because of the sin of one of his people. They discovered that Achan had stolen some goods and buried them underneath his tent.

The Israelites discovered their weakest link, a player who wasn't doing his part. It left a gap wide open for their enemies to defeat them. It should have been a piece of cake. It should have been a very easy win. Instead they lost 3,000 of their men. They had the strength, the manpower and the strategy but this time they did not have the Lord's favor.

It may be tempting to bury our sin in our tents and think that no one will ever know about it or that it surely won't affect anyone around us. I wonder how often a family is unable to prosper because of a buried sin in on of it's members or a church unable to grow because one of the leaders or pastors was harboring sin.

It should put the fear of God in us; the issues we bury and refuse to deal with will not just affect us, they will affect the loved ones we have around us as well.

Lord, make us stonger links in our families, teams, churches and communities.

Thanks for reading,

Mel Miller

The other side of the gate

2010-06-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner together. We don't go out to eat often but we splurged on our date went to a nice Thai restaurant and sat outside. On one side of the gate there were beautiful flowers, trendy plates, amazing food and white linens. Although my dinner was heavenly and the conversations with my husband were full of laughter and joy, I couldn't help but watch as occasionally a man would walk by on the other side of the gate pushing a shopping cart full of all his belongings. As I made eye contact with him, my heart broke. It felt wrong for us to be on one side of the gate in blessing while another was on the other side in suffering.

In Matthew Chapter 8, Jesus was at a place in his life where things were going pretty good for him. He wasn't yet at a point where he was being persecuted or beaten. His ministry is growing rapidly, he is casting out demons and gathering faithful disciples. In verse 5 another individual who has experienced success as a centurion approaches Jesus. He pleads with Jesus to heal his suffering servant. He tells Jesus that he isn't worthy for Jesus to even come to his house, but to simply say the word and his servant will be healed. Jesus is amazed at his faith and proclaims it to be the greatest he had found in Israel. Jesus responds (vs 13), "
“Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.”

Jesus modeled something powerful for us in this passage. Although things were going well for him, he knew his life wasn't meant to be lived only to bask in his pleasure. Jesus took time to reach out to those on the other side of the gate. His heart broke for the suffering but he modeled a life of tangible compassion. A compassion that was compelled to respond not just emotionally, but also actively.

We are not called only to bask in our own comfort or blessings, we are called to reach out a hand of compassion to those who are suffering. This doesn't mean we need to feel guilty for being blessed, but rather to be reminded that we are blessed to be a blessing. We have the truth inside of it to share it with the blind, the hurting and the oppressed.

I once heard that if you want to be more like Jesus, to read the gospels again and again. The more I read the gospels, the more I see Jesus stopping for those who were in need or in pain. He lived a lifestyle of active compassion.

Many times I pray that Jesus would make me more like him...perhaps he is giving me an opportunity to be more like him each time I see a passerby on the other side of the gate.

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Thoughts on giving

2010-06-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 11:24-25 (New International Version)

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Giving goes against our selfish sinful nature. It is in our make-up to want to gain for ourselves. Eve wasn't satisfied with the paradise that God had given her, she was enticed by the enemy to desire more.

Our earthly inclination is to believe that we will have more if we hoard more. However, in the spiritual realm (HIS kingdom) it is only those who give freely that gain more. It is those that withhold and hoard that end up coming to poverty.

Giving is actually the only time we are able to TEST GOD (Malachi 3). We can give and test the principle in His word - we have the power to see if it returns void.

In the stress of having children and wanting to provide the very best for them, I can loose sight of the value in generosity. Everytime I draw back to this principle and decide to give, I always stand in amazement at both God's blessings and at the power there is in giving.

Mark Driscoll said, "God will not always increase your income to increase your standard of living, but rather to increase your standard of GIVING." What a powerful thought! When God blesses us with more, our first inclination might be to think of a bigger house or that wishlist of things you have written somewhere. What if the reason he has blessed you with more is because he wants you to give more to the poor, towards fighting injustice, to your church or to a friend in need?

I hope you are as encouraged and challenged as I am today. Instead of a personal wishlist, I want to create a giving wishlist. I want to dream more about other people and organizations I can give to.

We can never out-give God, he is always going to bless you more than you give. The wonderful part is, that everytime you give it changes and softens your heart. When God does turn around and bless you back, you just want to keep on giving!

Tell me about your giving wishlists and your stories of giving...

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Just a few things God is teaching me...

2010-06-16T10:28:00.001-07:00

*Running from circumstances or from people when things get hard is the easy way out. It builds character and strengthens relationships to show commitment during difficult times. We serve a God who models commitment--he never gave up on us and never will (Duet. 31:6 - He will never leave you or forsake you).

*We cannot learn humility by trying to be humble. We learn humility by taking the focus off of our self and onto God and others (Thanks Rick Warren).

*There are two kinds of people, those who learn from wise council and those who choose to learn from their own mistakes.

*There is a right course of action before every dilemma, we need to find it before we act.

*Hebrews 12: 5-11 in The Message translation is so powerful:

"My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God's training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God."

I have so much growing to do...

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Discretion

2010-06-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Bible reading: Isaiah 39

What was so bad about Hezekiah showing all of the possessions in his house to the visitors from Babylon?

Let's think about that in modern day terms...

Imagine that I just recovered being terminally sick. Some people from Canada heard about my recovery and wanted to come visit me to deliver gifts (I am a famous ruler, so people bringing me gifts is not uncommon...I could get used to that!) When they arrived, I started showing them around and they were very impressed. I liked impressing my guests so I kept showing them more. My cars, my swimming pool, my office...pretty soon I showed them my safe, my combination, my bank account and all my investments. It felt pretty good to awe my visitors with my abundant wealth.

This is what Hezekiah did for the envoys from Babylon...we don't know where his heart was at but we can only assume the reason he gave the extensive tour was because he wanted to show off his affluence. After they left, the prophet told him that because of his actions his wealth would one day be carried off by the Babylonians...and even some of his sons. It seems a harsh punishment for boasting, but this is an example of the danger of a lack of discretion.

Proverbs 2:11 tells us that "Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."

Discretion is defined as:
1. The quality of being discreet, or careful about one says or does; prudence.
2. Ability or power to decide responsibly.

Hezekiah's actions may not have been a deliberate or intentional sin against God, but they severely lacked discretion. He did not know these people or whether or not he could trust them. He acted out of pride rather than prudence.

I was carrying a pot of boiling water from the stove to the sink yesterday and my son was standing in the kitchen. I am not usually prone to dropping pots of boiling water, but I made him move away from the kitchen anyway. Why? It's discretion, and it protects me from that one-in-a-million chance that my hands could slip and I could hurt my son.

I don't go to nightclubs. I trust myself and I trust that I wouldn't do anything that would compromise my walk with the Lord or my marriage. However, it is discretion that protects me from even the smallest possibility that I could do something regretful.

We must not become like Hezekiah and remove a healthy dose of discretion from our lives. Discretion is like a seat belt that protects us from those rare but dangerous crashes. We must never think that we are strong enough to handle tempting situations. Use discretion and you'll find yourself living life with no regrets.

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

I recently met a woman on an airplane who was from another country. She explained to me that her husband, and father of her children was shot and killed a few years ago right out side of her home and that she was coming to America for a new life. I protested, “Did they catch the man who killed him? Is he in jail?!” She shook her head sadly and said, “We don’t have that kind of government. There are no laws. There is no safety. There is no justice. It is chaos.”

When I hear stories like this woman’s, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the country we live in. Many people complain about our government or our laws, but I can’t imagine living in a nation without the protection of our troops and our laws.

I am also grateful today for the freedom we have to worship our God. There are many other countries where it is against the law to own a Bible or pray to Jesus.

This scripture in Deuteronomy 4: 5-9 was making note that other nations would be in awe of Israel for their intimate God and also for their laws and decrees:

“See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”

I am grateful today for many reasons. For the safety and freedom we have in our country but also the freedom we have to worship our God who is near to us when we pray. I laid in bed with my family this morning and we began to teach our four year old daughter about Memorial Day. We explained to her how grateful we are for the men and women who have given their lives for our country and for those currently risking their lives. We explained to her that these people are heroes and that we should pray for them. We don’t live in a perfect nation with perfect leaders, but we will get a lot more accomplished through prayer and involvement than through criticism. I want my children to grow up grateful for their freedom and prayerful for their nation and it‘s leaders.

Would you take a moment today to thank God for our troops, our freedom and for the wonderful intimacy with Christ that we have been given?

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Sudoku and Sin.

2010-05-24T16:25:00.001-07:00

My husband was a math major, I was an art major. Complete opposites. When I first started playing Sudoku, he would laugh at my strategy. My right-brained artist's mind would fill in numbers wherever they looked good and then change things later. The changing things later ended up being hours of unnecessary work that I could have spared myself if I would have taken my time to do it right the first time. My husband graciously showed me a better strategy. One that takes a concerted effort in the beginning, but less frustration and work in the end.

In Numbers 33:55 God gives a command to the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites, a nation that was full of idolatry, witchcraft and paganism: "'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.' "

God commanded His people to destroy them completely and immediately because of their great corruption and wickedness. He warned them that if they did not obey, the Canaanites would later become a source of great frustration. The Israelites were moving into their promise land and they had a choice to make: they could either destroy the wickedness or settle down and live with it. Unfortunately, they chose the latter.

I believe God is like the gracious husband showing us an easier strategy for life. We can get rid of the sin in our lives now, or we can become comfortable with the growing compromise. If we don't do the job right the first time, it can become much more difficult to accomplish. It becomes like the Sudoku puzzle with numbers in all the wrong places, a confusing and frustrating maze. God speaks of nations who choose this path in Psalm 9:15 "They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread. They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known."

Now is our opportunity make a concerted effort to drive out any compromise in our lives, so that we don't have to do it the hard way later. I'm so glad we serve a God who shows us the Canaanites in our lives that could potentially ruin our promise land!

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Not how bad you are, but how great HE IS!

2010-05-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Psalm 69:30-31 “I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.”

This verse tells us that praise and thanksgiving will please God more than sacrifice. In the Old Testament the sacrificing of animals was the form of repentance and atonement of sin. Thankfully, our repentance no longer requires sacrificing animals in our place, because Jesus took our place when He died on the cross. So, in modern day terms this passage is saying that God is more pleased with our praise than he is with our repentance.

The problem with many religions is that they focus so much on the confession of sin and not enough on glorifying God. There are some religions that even feel they need to inflict physical pain on themselves if they sin against God. They fail to realize that the more we glorify God in our lives the less we will need to confess, and that “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

We may not inflict physical pain but perhaps we fall into the trap of dwelling on past sins, failures or mistakes thinking that we deserve to live in the bondage of shame. If God thought we deserved to live in condemnation, He wouldn’t have sent His only son to die for us! Sometimes the guilt and condemnation we carry around with us becomes our badge of honor, and instead of living in freedom we are walking around with our heads hung low. It isn't true humility or true repentance, it's just flat out unforgiveness.

We may believe that God has forgiven us, but when we don't let it go - we are harboring unforgiveness! That's right -- we haven't forgiven ourselves! Forgiveness goes beyond forgiving others, it also requires you to forgive yourself by accepting God’s amazing mercy.

If we don't forgive ourselves, we are making what Jesus did on the cross a travesty. Christ didn't die so we could live in shame! We should follow the advice of this Psalm and be reminded that He is much more pleased with our rejoicing than our sacrifice. We should be praising God for his mercy, forgiveness and grace in our lives rather than negating what He did by pinning ourselves to the mat with condemnation.

There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction is that healthy reminder from the Holy Spirit that pricks your heart. It prompts you when you have done (or are about to do) something that you shouldn't be doing. Condemnation is from the enemy, and all it does is tell you that you have failed, you are worthless and that you can never do anything right. This can be one of the most cunning and deceptive tools of the enemy. Don't accept his lies. You haven't failed, you are not worthless, God loves you and not only extends His forgiveness but wants you to forgive yourself as well! Condemnation only pushes you towards sin because we feel hopeless. The devil would love to heap enough condemnation on us that we decide to give up. Conviction stings but it still brings hope, condemnation brings only hopelessness.

Repent of your sins and walk away from them, but don’t forget that it pleases God more when you chose to focus on how great He is rather than on how bad you are.

Whether confident or trembling...

2010-05-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

We see throughout the Bible that God did not always call the most qualified people. The Lord called the orphan, Esther to become Queen of the nation. He called the rough-around-the-edges fishermen to become his disciples. He chose David, the ruddy little shepherd boy to become King. He called Moses, the man who had a studder, to lead a nation.

The world chooses people based on education, gifting, looks, work-experience, or association. God does not call the equipped but He equips the called. The one barrier that stands in the way of grasping hold of our God-given purpose, is exposing the lie that we are not qualified. When Moses was called by the Lord, he responded:

Exodus 4:10 "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

Moses took it upon himself to remind God of the reason he was disqualified for this task. Does that sound familiar to anyone else? God calls us to do something and our first response is to remind him of our inadequacies. We try to convince God that He surely chose the wrong person.

Isaiah 8:11-13 “The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.”

This passage reminds us to live for an audience of one. We are not called to fear what the world fears, the greater fear we should have is a fear of the Lord. Our fear of not fulfilling our destiny should be a greater fear than our own inadequacy.

Rick Warren says, “Don't wait to feel powerful or confident. Move ahead in your weakness, doing the right thing in spite of your fears and feelings.”

I have realized that I don’t have time to question my qualifications anymore. The enemy would love for us all to dwell on the reasons we can’t do it. We do not have enough education, we are not as talented as others, we lack the finances, we don’t have the right connections, we are too young, too old…the list goes on. The enemy knows the longer he can get us to focus on what we don’t have the longer he can keep us from what we could have. If God chose you, that is the only qualification you need to fulfill your God-given dream.

Move forward anyway! Stop wasting time focusing on your shortcomings. God has a purpose for you to fulfill and whether confident or trembling, there is only one option: Leap!

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Teething

2010-04-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Thankfully both my babies have their teeth in already, but I could always tell when a tooth was about to break through the gums because there were certain signs that gave indication. They got fussy, feverish, couldn’t sleep well and of course there was drool.

My husband and I have been through many rough times. One of the hardest times was when we felt as if the rug was being swept out from under us. The economy hit rock bottom in Las Vegas and we could no longer afford our home. He lost his job and we were stuck in a position where we had to move back to Oregon suddenly. It was hard not to feel like we failed, but through it all God taught us a lot of great lessons.

The Lord began to show my husband that life was a lot like teething, that when things start getting uncomfortable and frustrating, it is only a sign that something in your life is about to BREAK-THROUGH. We believed that those hard times were just an indication that God was about to bring a breakthrough in our finances, a breakthrough in our spirits, and a breakthrough in our circumstances. We trusted that although it was a painful season, God had it all in control.

Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may endure for the night, joy comes in the morning.”

You might feel like the fussy child weeping through the night in pain, but trust that God is faithful to bring that Joy in the morning. Something is about to BREAK-THROUGH in your life. That tooth is right at the surface, and before you know it, the pain will be forgotten and you will be in a new season of joy, life and abundance. God is faithful, don’t loose hope.

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

Inside and Out.

2010-04-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

A woman once said to me “I am so holy that sometimes I go days--or even weeks without sinning!” In my head I prayed to God, “Lord, please never let me become that prideful.” I prayed that because I have read Psalm 19, and I understand that there are times we sin and we don’t even realize we sin!

12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Verse 12 says, “Lord forgive my hidden faults.” There are times our thought life or our motives are wrong and we aren’t even aware of it! Then verse 13 speaks of willful sins. There are sins that we willfully commit that we need to pray don’t rule over us.

There are times when I ask God for forgiveness and then I ask a second time for forgiveness for those things I am not even aware of! I want to give God every opportunity to purify my heart and make me holy as He is holy.

Many times we look back on our day and try to pinpoint times where we committed those willful sins. Let’s not become so focused on those willful sins that we forget that we also have hidden faults. Just because we haven’t done X, Y and Z this week doesn’t mean that we are super-holy and have it all figured out!

I love the end of this Psalm “May the words of my mouth AND the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight…” It is not just about me avoiding sin with my words, but it is about my hearts meditation pleasing God.

Matthew 23:25-26 says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Let’s not be like the Pharisees who were focused on cleaning the outside of the cup, but neglected the inside. I thank God today for his amazing Grace and transforming power to cleanse us inside and out!

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Space Makeovers!

2010-04-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to all of you who helped or contributed! Judith was sharing one bed (in a one bedroom apartment) with four children! With your help they all have their own beds to sleep in and told me they slept better than they ever had before! It was truly one of the most rewarding, FUN and fulfilling things I have ever been a part of.

Thanks again!
Mel

Don't let the sour taste turn bitter.

2010-03-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

John 19: 28-30 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

This weekend I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with Urban. I also was able to share on the death of Jesus and his last words “It is finished” from John 19. The Holy Spirit would not let me escape these words or this scripture passage and today it is in my Bible reading plan!

One thing I didn’t get the chance to touch on in my message was the significance of the sour wine. One of the hardest things about many “It is finished” moments in our lives is the sour taste that hardship can leave. The sour turns to bitter when we choose to let unforgiveness fester in our hearts. There is a reason it is called BITTERNESS! Whether we are tempted to be bitter at those who have hurt us, to be bitter at God or bitter at ourselves we must always look to the example that Jesus set for us.

I love Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”

Jesus was tempted in EVERY way just as we are. Tempted to choose unforgiveness over forgiveness. Tempted to choose hatred over love. Tempted to choose bitterness over mercy.

Luke 23:24 reminds us of what He chose that day as He was being beaten and tortured; “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Don’t let the sour taste turn bitter. Choose forgiveness, choose love and choose to believe that ‘IT is finished’ does not mean that ‘YOU are finished!’

Mel Miller

An Empty Promise.

2010-03-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to San Diego, I had the opportunity to be a host for a pilot show that involved touring the most luxurious homes in the area. There were homes that had underground caves that led to secret wine rooms, homes with built in movie-theaters, private tennis courts and pieces of artwork dating back before Christ. The extravagance of these homes was indescribable. Even the tiniest light fixture would be made from hand crafted Abalone shell imported from Italy or China.

My thought going into the job was, “Am I going to come back to my small 2 bedroom apartment and feel discontent?” I wondered how it would affect me coming home to a space that doesn’t even compare to these amazing homes.

Walking into the homes I couldn’t help but notice that one thing was missing: the presence of God. I would walk into the room of my dreams over looking the ocean but I still felt as though it didn’t compare to my life. None of the splendor or extravagance came close to the feeling of knowing God. It reminds me of Exodus 33:1-3 in which the Lord tells the Israelites to go ahead and enter the promise land but that He will not go with them.

“The LORD said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.' I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Moses was not satisfied with this answer and petitioned to God to go with them.

(verse 12-17) Moses said to the LORD, "See, you say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?" And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."

In the journey of knowing the Lord, Moses had learned that the promise is empty without The Promiser. He would rather stay wandering in the desert but have God’s presence with him than live in an abundant land without God.

I would rather live in a small apartment with God than any mansion without Him. His presence is what fills me with joy when I walk into my home. His presence is what keeps my marriage strong and full of love. His presence is what fills my children with something that will taste better than any worldly temptation. His presence is what makes life so beautiful and fills my family with peace.

Whatever it is that you are searching for in life, without God it is an empty promise.

Matthew 26:16 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

[I also want to add that if you have not ever accepted Christ but you would like to, Romans 10:10 says that if you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that Jesus is Lord that you will be saved. If you are ready to make that commitment, all it takes is a sincere and heartfelt prayer: "Jesus, I ask that you would come into my heart. I believe that you are Lord, the son of God that died for me to save me from my sins. Take my life and make me new. In Jesus name, Amen."]

Treasure Hunter.

2010-03-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Proverbs is my favorite book of the Bible, I love the practical and concentrated scriptures that never fail to convict or direct. Reading Proverbs 2 today (as well as hearing stories throughout my week) gave me a greater sense of value for wisdom and discretion.

There are many myths about wisdom. One myth is that wisdom is somehow coincides with age. Although there are plenty of people we could all think of who are advanced in years and yet still making poor choices. Another myth is that wisdom coincides with education or intellect, yet there are also people who have PhD’s and still have no common sense in life or relational decisions. I think another myth would be that you are either born with wisdom or you aren’t, as if it is hereditary. Yet, if we were born with wisdom then why would the scriptures be so adamant that we seek after wisdom?

"1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."

Verse 4 correlates the way we should search for wisdom as a miner searches for silver or treasure. That gives me a picture of someone who works, digs, seeks out and strives for that tiny piece of valuable wisdom. I heard a story of a man who always carries a notebook around with him everywhere he goes. He does this so that if he runs across anyone who has wisdom or knowledge, he can learn from them and write down their words. If he encounters a realtor, he will ask them questions and write down what he learned. The same goes for personal trainers, doctors, investors, pastors or anyone whom he feels has some wisdom or life experience he can learn from. This is truly someone who is seeking after wisdom.

Another way of seeking wisdom is through the word of God. There are times that I will read the a passage of scripture and nothing stands out to me. I believe God allows this at times so that we will dig a little deeper. Like the miner, we will not be content with one stroke of the pick axe, but we will keep swinging until we hit gold. Look at another translation, view a concordance or commentary or listen to a sermon on the passage. The Holy Spirit will speak to you and you will receive revelation from the very scripture that was almost overlooked. Why? Because you diligently sought wisdom.

Proverbs 16:16 says, "How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver."

Be a treasure hunter today and seek after that which is more valuable than gold!How will you find wisdom today?

Mel Miller

Contamination.

2010-03-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

I recently made a commitment to get rid of some things in my life. They weren’t sinful things, just things that I felt could be replaced with something more fruitful. I decided to replace a little TV with things that would edify my soul, like a good podcast or extra Bible reading time. Or replace some sleep in the morning with more time in prayer. I began telling my husband that I began to notice wrong attitudes, thoughts and motivations inside myself more than ever before. They were sticking out like a sore thumb!

I prayed about it and asked God, "Why if I am drawing closer to you, do I notice MORE wrong thoughts and attitudes than before?" I felt Him gently teach me that those things were always there before but I was comfortable with them. As I begin to seek Him more, the contrast between His holiness and my wrong attitudes or thoughts are much more apparent.

2 Corinthians 7:1
"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

There are things that can contaminate our body and spirit! The word contaminate means:
1. To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
2. To make inferior or impure by admixture.
3. To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.

The things we contact or associate with can contaminate our spirits! They can make our spirits inferior, impure and unfit for use! The thoughts we entertain rather than take captive can begin to infect our spirits. James 4:8 says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." God is Holy and Holiness cannot mix with Sin, it is like trying to mix oil and water. If we want to become closer to God we can expect to become uncomfortable with things we were once comfortable with.

Many times we pray or sing "I want more of you, Lord" but we fail to make room for more of Him to abide in us. We expect more water but still leave our cup full of oil! If we could grasp this scripture and purify ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit, imagine the intimacy, power and presence of God that would be available to us! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to allow God to take every contaminate out of me and replace it with more of Him!

Thanks for reading,
Mel

He reached out for me.

2010-03-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

One Friday afternoon about a week before my 17th birthday I received a call saying that my mother had disappeared. My parents were divorced and I lived with my Dad at the time. I wasn’t worried because I assumed that she must have gotten tired of her boyfriend and decided to get away for the weekend. Monday rolled around and my grandmother had finally heard from her. There was a message on her answering machine saying that she had been kidnaped and the man had her in a hotel and was burning her with acid.

The police caught up with them and at that point he had her in a stolen Jeep. The man who had her decided to flee from the cops, driving at speeds of 80-90mph. To this day, we do not know if she was pushed, she fell or she jumped out of the moving vehicle, but she died in surgery that day. This month it will have been 11 years since she passed.

The first time I ever prayed was seated at kitchen table wondering if God was real, hysterically crying and confused about where my mother was at that moment. I prayed a simple but heartfelt prayer asking that if God was real if he would show himself to me and show me that everything was going to be okay. At the very moment that I prayed, my Dad walked in with a pink card. He tossed it in front of me at the table and apologized that he had forgotten to bring it to me sooner. It had no return address on it, but when I opened it I quickly realized it was from my mother. It was a Valentines card that had been sitting in his office for over a month. It read, "I know we don’t always see things eye to eye, but we always see them heart to heart. I will always love you and I am so proud of you. You’re my little lamb. Love, Mom."

From that moment on I knew that God was real and that he loved me enough to show up when I needed him the most. I was lost, confused, broken and desperate and God’s presence touched me in a tangible way. People can argue with me about the Bible or apologetics, but one thing they can never argue with me about is that special moment when He reached into my life and heart.

Luke 15 is full of stories that remind us of the love and passion that God has for reaching the lost. The Shepherd leaves his 99 other sheep to go save the one, the woman with the lost coin searches high and low to find her coin and rejoices greatly when she finds it. Last but not least, the amazing story of the Prodigal son who squandered his inheritance and came home in shame only to be embraced by his forgiving father. I would encourage you to read this chapter to be reminded of the loving God we serve and the heart he has for people like me who were looking for answers and desperate for Him.

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Red Zone Recap.

2010-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

I once watched a short documentary about professional athletes and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the amount of sacrifice that is required for that level of dedication to the game. It used to think that they just simple trained and exercised a lot. I now understand that it effects every aspect of their lives. Their diets are tailored, their schedules are strict and they are under contract to abstain from many other recreational sports to ensure they don’t get injured and disqualified. You can tell how much they love the game, by how much they are willing to sacrifice for it.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This scripture is a reminder of the strict training that is required for those who aim to be victorious. We have been doing a series at my church called "living life in the Red Zone" and it is all about how to live your life in victory. The Red Zone is the ten yards before the goal line - a place that is optimal for scoring. This series has made me consider that if there are those who are "Red Zone Christians" then there are also those who are "Defense Christians." There are Christians who are making progress and about to score, but there are also those who always seems to be living on Defense. Here are a few examples of the difference between the two:

1. A Defense Christian is one who is always a victim to their circumstances. It’s always someone else’s fault.
2. A Red Zone Christian understands that although they can’t control everything that happens in the game, they can control their reaction to those circumstances.

1. A Defense Christian focuses on the "Dont’s" and the sacrifices.
2. A Red Zone Christian focuses on the "Do’s" and privileges.

1. A Defensive Christian lives with the pain of self-regret.
2. A Red Zone Christian only lives with the pain of self-discipline.

My daughter often sees me doing calf raises or lunges at home because I don’t have a gym membership. She often copies me and the other day she asked me, "Mommy, how do I know if it is exercise?" I responded to her, "You know it’s exercise if it hurts a little bit."

We know we are Red Zone Christians if our sacrifices for God hurt a little bit. Exercise stings but it also strengthens. Sacrifice a little sleep to spend more time with Him or time away from media to read the word. Shed a little flesh out of your diet and strengthen that spirit! Although it might not be easy, your discipline will turn into delight as you find yourself living victoriously in the Red Zone.

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Exercise your faith through obedience.

2010-02-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

It’s hard for one with a western mindset to absorb the fact that simple faith is one of the surest way to please God. Hebrews 11:6 states, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

In Luke chapter 1 Mary had an encounter with the Angel of the Lord who had told her she would birth the Son of God. Mary runs to Elizabeth’s house and as soon as Elizabeth sees her, the baby Elizabeth was carrying leaped in her womb and she began to prophesy blessings upon Mary. She exclaims: (verse 45) "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Before Mary could even tell Elizabeth the story, God began to speak through Elizabeth to deliver Mary a message. He wanted Mary to know that she was surely blessed because of her faith.

There was a blessing that rested on Mary because she believed what God spoke to her was going to come to pass. We have the same opportunity as Mary did to be blessed by God and to please Him with our faith. The promises of His word are incredible but always require an attitude of faith. For example; tithing is an act of faith. As I watch a check for 10% of our income go in the offering bucket, it requires faith to know that God is going to honor the promises of His word. His word says that if I tithe, He will open up the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that I can’t even contain it. So I choose to have more faith in God than I do in my finances.

I recently have felt that God was telling me to give up coffee (hopefully this is only for a season). When I asked Him why, I felt Him convict me that many times I have more faith and confidence in that cup of coffee in the morning (to bring me energy or lift me up) than I do in Him. It is not a matter of coffee being sinful or bad, but it is His jealousy for my FAITH.

Mary exercised her faith by declaring to the Angel of the Lord (verse 38) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Mary’s heart was yielded to the plans of God. Her heart responded with faith through the willingness to obey; and therefore she was used by God.

For our western mindset that wants to know what to DO: exercise your faith through obedience. Every time you obey what God has told you to do, you are confessing that your faith remains more in Him and His word than anything of this world.

Please Him with your FAITH today!
Mel

Please help!

2010-02-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I am working on a project that is very dear to my heart and I would be absolutely thrilled if my friends and family could support me, even in the smallest way!

Back in November of 2009, I was helping serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless families of Monarch School. I sat with a woman named Judith who inspired me with her story and strength. Due to some tragic circumstances she now finds herself living in a one bedroom low-income apartment with her 4 children and little-to-no furniture. I have been to her place and I can't imagine sharing one bed with four children!

With my pastor's support at Urban Church I am heading up a project called "Space Makeovers" that will help provide some basic essentials and atmosphere help to Judith and her family. We are also sponsoring one other single mother in a shelter as well. So far, we have had a lot of donations and support from within our church and community. We have had furniture donated and painted from boutiques and thrift shops, financial donations and many purchasing items off of our wishlist and having them shipped here. We also have had an esthetician, hairstylist, and make-up artist donating their services so that these ladies can feel special that day! It has been such a fun project, we plan on making Space Makeovers an ongoing ministry to help others in similar circumstances in our community.

I am blown away by the response and support I have received, but there are still items left on our Wishlist that are essential. Would you consider supporting in one of the following ways:

1) Purchase an item from our Wishlist.
2) Mail a donation to Urban or donate to Urban online.

3) Simply pray for these families and for us; that we can bring them restored hope and the love of Christ!
4) Spread the word! Tell anyone you know who might be interested in helping!

The Makeovers will take place on March 6th, so be checking back on the website for the before and after pictures! Exciting!!!!

Thank you for your support!

Love,
Melissa Miller

Before and After.

2010-02-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

As we are putting together our Space Makeovers for the single mothers in our church, I find myself envisioning what we want the rooms to look like. Last night I decided to glance at the "before" pictures that we took so that I could get a little extra inspiration.

As I was looking at the pictures, I was taken by surprise. The room that I imagined in my head was not the room I was looking at. I forgot what the room currently looks like because in my heart it had already transformed into the "after" picture that I imagine it will look like.

As I looked at those pictures, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me that He too sees the final product in us. As we allow Him to shower us with his amazing grace and forgiveness, He no longer sees something that needs work - He sees an image of his son Jesus. He sees the great destiny that we will fulfill for His glory and the child of God we are created to be.

Listen to Romans 4:17-18 in the Message translation:

"We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do."
　
God already called Abraham a father before he actually became a father. God didn’t see Abraham as old and barren, even when that is how he saw himself. He looked at Abraham and saw a father of many nations. Abraham may have been a "nobody" in the world’s eyes or even in his own eyes, but God looked at his faith and knew that he was able to use him to do great things.

Abraham trusted that with a word, God could make something out of nothing. God could look at a childless old man and call him father, and it became so. You might look at your life and see the "before" pictures, but God sees the "after." Do you have enough faith to believe that with a word, God can make your nothing into something?

Enjoy the journey!
Mel

A Faithful Steward.

2010-01-25T13:50:00.001-08:00

The other day I came to church and overheard one of the leaders say, "You can always count on two people coming to church looking adorable - Hannah and Bishop." (Those are my children)The leader proceeded to compliment how they are well dressed, put together and always have their hair done so nicely. It may have been a small compliment to them, but to me it meant a lot. The small statement meant so much not because I am prideful about my children looking the best, but because I strive to be faithful in even the small things God has given me.

What this leader doesn't know, is that I consider my children to be my ministry. Although they don't always look or act perfect and the investment I make in them is not glamorous, I realize that God has given them to me as an opportunity to be faithful.

I used to think of faithfulness within the four walls of the church or being "faithful" in one's marriage. When I read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, I am reminded that we have opportunities to bless God as we are faithful with each and every little thing He entrusts us with.

Verse 16 gives us an example of how to be faithful: "The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more." The master responded: (Verse 21) "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"

There was an urgency is the man's desire to increase what he has been given. Being a faithful steward or manager means you don't let any gift go to waste. You put it to work. You multiply it, increase it, polish it, perfect it, and use it to bring God glory! What have you done with what God has given you? Have you gone at once to put it to work?

Joyce Meyer says, "Don't pray for God to give you a new car if the one you currently have is filled with McDonalds wrappers!" This statement is a reminder to me to be a faithful steward with what God has given me before I start petitioning for an upgrade!

To the man who took the talent he was given and buried it, the master took that talent back and gave it to the one who had been the most faithful. That is the power of faithfulness, that when you are faithful with even the smallest things God gives you, He will bless you with even more.

Enjoy the journey,
Mel Miller

Adjust your swing.

2010-01-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

Golf is one of those sports that is more about form than anything else. You can swing harder, try harder, or grip firmer but if your form is off then your efforts are in vain. I have had a few golf lessons in the past (zero post-kids) and one instructor in particular who adjusted my swing in such a way that it felt effortless. Although it felt effortless, the ball was going further and straighter than it ever had been with my previous tiring swing.

When I first came to know Christ I could feel when I was out of his grace for the major decisions in life. I could feel when I was putting a lot of effort into something and not achieving a lot of results (much like the tireless golf swing). As I have matured in the Lord I feel when I am out of His grace in the big and the small areas. From the smallest purchase to time-management (or lack thereof) I can feel when I have stepped out of Gods perfect plan. I don't mean to sound super-spiritual but I believe that his direction and voice are there for all of us if we are willing to pay attention to it.

Joyce Meyer defines God's grace as the ability to do with little or no effort what we could not do on our own with any amount of strength. That is the power of His amazing grace - that when HE calls you to do something, there is an EASE. It might not be EASY but there will be an EASE. Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you 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."

It is still a burden, but it is a light burden (we think of burden in a negative connotation, but in the Greek it literally means the load you have been given). Staying at home with two small children is a great responsibility - it is the load I have been given. However, because God has called me to do it I have His grace on my life. I wouldn't have it any other way. I could go into the workplace, but it would feel forced, stressful and heavy -- not because it's wrong but because it's not the load God has given me.

Is there an area of your life that has left you tireless, anxious, stressed, overworked or lacking peace? Do you feel like the exhausted golfer swinging hard, gripping tight but lacking any results? Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding; but in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Adjust your swing in life and do things HIS way. Trust that His way is better, easier and will produce greater results.

Enjoy the journey,
Melissa Miller

The Joy of the Lord is your Strength

2010-01-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

Bible Reading: Nehemiah Chapter 8

I can picture all of the people gathered around Ezra as he stands on his wooden platform and reads the book of the Law of Moses. Ezra read the book from early morning until mid-day. The book of Nehemiah does not reference that they took breaks to stretch or eat but it only mentions that the people were so touched that they were crying and worshiping the Lord with their faces to the ground.

We are so accustomed to hearing God’s word on a regular basis, an all-day long sermon may sound...well, long! Yet, I wonder how long it had been since the people had heard God’s word? Perhaps some of them were hearing it for the first time?! Ezra, Nehemiah and all the other leaders with them all announced this day as sacred to the Lord. Something special was taking place in Jerusalem and the leaders felt led to give one simple instruction: Nehemiah 8:10 “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” They went on to encourage a celebration with a feast and to give gifts to those in need.

There are times when God touches you - you may cry, feel convicted, repent or even feel grieved like the Isrealites did. God wants us to experience those emotions, but then rise up and rejoice! Celebrate God’s victory in your life!

It is interesting that Ezra connected celebrating with giving. Many times when the Lord is working on our hearts it is tempting to focus on all of our issues that need fixing. I think Ezra understood that the most fulfilling joy is a selfless joy. The most wonderful part about our testimony is getting to share that joyfully with those around us!

We can often overlook joy as a weapon against the enemy. We might immediately consider the scriptures or prayer, but overlook the power that Joy has in our spiritual lives! Joy brings refreshment and new perspective. Joy is a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22) - an evidence of God’s spirit being active in your life! Don’t underestimate the power of JOY!

Don't feel guilty - go have fun! Laugh with your loved ones! Know that in doing so, you are actually being strengthened!

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Passion

2010-01-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t care much where,” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“–so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat.

–Lewis Carrol’s “Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland”

Nehemiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible. When I struggle with which direction I should go in life, Nehemiah reminds me to follow the passion God has put in my heart. Without passion we are like Alice in Wonderland, knowing that we need to go somewhere but lacking a passionate direction. We will end up somewhere, that is definite. Without following passion we could end up everywhere except God’s best. When Nehemiah heard about the walls of Jeruselum he responded with passion:
(Vs. 4) “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

I am concerned when someone is in a relationship but they lack passion. I am concerned when someone chooses a career path but lacks passion. I am concerned when someone claims to be a Christian but they lack passion. One can write it off as a personality difference, but I have seen even the most introverted of people come alive when you finally find out what it is they are passionate about and begin to talk about that.

There are times and seasons when we will unavoidably have to do things we aren’t passionate about but when we are faced with the major life decisions we must factor in that burning desire that God has put in our hearts. Nehemiah was shaken about Jereselum and it drove him into his destiny: what shakes you? What makes you cry, weep, pray, fast, laugh, overjoyed, excited or on the edge of your seat?

Don’t just settle for somewhere, follow your God given passion and you’ll wind up in God’s best.

Thanks for reading,
Mel

WHY?

2009-12-28T22:06:00.000-08:00

My Daughter just turned Four and she is at that wonderful age where she asks one question over and over again: WHY? Pick up your toys. WHY? Eat the rest of your dinner. WHY? Caterpillars turn into butterflies. WHY?

I’ll admit at times I have been that parent who just simply replies “because I said so.” I usually prefer to answer her “whys”, but my reasoning for resorting to the default-parent-answer is because A) She is too young and immature to understand the complicated explanation. B) I have already told them the answer and I am tired of repeating myself, or C) It’s about teaching her trust and obedience and it really is because I said so.

I have been reading through the book of Job and in Chapter 31, (vs 5) Job wanted some answers from God. I don’t blame him. At this point, he is experience great suffering and is asking God to answer that question we have all asked him during points of our suffering, “WHY?”

Fast-forward to Chapter 38, God finally answers him...sort of. God never directly answers his question but He reminds Job of his amazing sovereignty, divine power and complete wisdom. He replies to Job through rhetorical questions such as, “ (vs 4) Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?...( Vs 12) Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn it’s place?... (vs 35) Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you ‘Here we are’?...(vs 36) Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?”

Sometimes when we are going through a difficult time, we don’t really need an answer. We don’t need to know or understand why, but we simply need to be reminded that God is God and He has it all in control. Maybe we aren’t mature enough spiritually to understand the complicated explanation, maybe He already explained it to us and we just aren’t listening or maybe it’s just simply about learning to trust and obey. We may or may not find out why we go through some of the things we do, but the most important thing is that we trusted him whether we understood or not!

Thanks for reading!
Mel

Small beginnings

2009-12-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

A ten-year old girl went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas light displays at various locations throughout the city. At one church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautifully done nativity scene. "Isn't that beautiful?" said the little girl's grandmother. "Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus." "Yes, Grandma," replied the granddaughter. "It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn't baby Jesus ever going to grow up... he's the same size he was last year!"

I have been looking forward to Christmas this year more than most. We have nothing special planned, but it is the first year in a while where it will just be our family. Although we love spending the holidays with Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and friends, sometimes it is just nice to stay at home in your PJ’s and make some of your own traditions and memories. The best part of it just being our own little family this year, is that we can focus on what Christmas means to us. Although gift giving and turkey feasts are wonderful–those things are certainly not the reason for the season. Christmas has become so grandiose, that we are looking forward to focusing on the very small thing that started it all. A little tiny baby born in a very humble manger. We are going to gather around and read that Christmas story and maybe even make my husband play baby Jesus just for the fun of it (shhh...don’t tell).

When Christ was born there wasn’t any Christmas lights, consumerism, Black Friday fiasco’s or huge Turkey Dinner. Aside from the Angels in heaven celebrating his birth, it was just a tiny baby laying in a manger. He would save the world someday. One day would be about something grandiose, but this day was about something tiny.

In Zecheriah chapter 4, many of the older Jews became disheartened that the new temple would not match the size and splendor of the one that was built in King Soloman’s reign. God’s response to this was: (4:10) “Do not despise the day of small beginnings.”

There may be something big that you want to see happen in your life and the time will come for that, but don’t despise the small thing that God is doing today–that small thing will keep growing and will fulfill the purpose that God has intended for it! You blessing is not like the baby Jesus from the manger scene - it will not be the same size next year! If it is of God it will thrive, grow, and flourish!

I look forward to reading that Christmas story and thanking God for that tiny little gift he gave. It was that day of small beginnings that brought the biggest gift of all, the salvation of our souls!

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Promises, promises.

2009-12-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

I am the type of person who would rather under-commit and over-deliver than over-commit and under-deliver. I have realized that even the smallest promise broken can bring a big disappointment. We have all faced broken promises in one way or another - which is why sometimes it can be hard to fathom the promises that God provides through His word.

The amazing thing about God is that He does not make little promises. His promises (although at times contingent upon our obedience or faith) are always trustworthy and never return void. Our friends can promise a phone call and forget, our parents could promise they will be at our sporting event and something else could come up...but God promises BIG, HUGE, UNFATHOMABLE promises that He fully intends on keeping! HEALING. FORGIVENESS. ETERNAL LIFE. SALVATION! On top of the major things he promises, he always seems to catch me off guard with promises like the one in John: 3:21-24:

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

He could have just promised that some of the things we ask for we will receive from Him and that would have still been a pretty cool promise. Yet, he promises that if we are keeping His commandments we will receive whatever we ask from Him. He makes this promise again in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Do we have the faith, obedience and persistence it takes to claim this amazing promise? Maybe I am not at the level of receive whatever I ask for yet, but I will keep striving for this promise knowing that my God doesn’t not make promises lightly.

One of my sister’s called me last night to tell me that her son was in the ER having seizures. He had over 25 seizures yesterday, and it was a very scary situation for everyone. At that time, a faith rose up inside of me to believe that God doesn’t just want to give the doctor’s wisdom, but he wants me to claim a promise of healing over my 5 year old nephew. I got a text in the morning letting me know that since I had prayed over the phone for him, he hadn’t had a seizure all night or that morning. It was a huge breakthrough! Although he has had a couple today, I am keeping obedience, persistence and faith in God. He does not over-commit and under-deliver, and I remind myself of Numbers 23:19

“God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?”

What promise are you believing God for today? Thanks for reading,
Mel

Make an investment in yourself.

2009-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

My favorite role on this earth that God has given me is being a mommy. I stay at home with my kids not because I have to, but because I want to. I love spending time with them and being there for each milestone. Although I delight in this role, it is very demanding! My kids are high energy and taking care of them is not an easy responsibility. Yesterday I decided to leave the kids with Daddy so I could go shopping with a friend. (Yes, shopping is relaxing to me. I know I am strange). I realize that if I don’t take time out to rest and step away from that role, I start to lose my ability to be effective in that role. I lose patience, gentleness and I get weary. Yet if I have even a small break, I am renewed. I start to miss them and can’t wait to get back to play with them again.

Hebrews 4 talks about the importance of entering His rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 " There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."

It is interesting that the scripture notes that His rest is vital lest we don’t fall! I will never forget when John Bevere came and spoke at one of our conferences a few years back. It was right around the time when a great man of God had fallen into sin. John mentioned that there was one thing he noticed about great men that fall, and that is that they seem to lack rest. The lack that time of refreshment and renewal. Time where they take a step back from their roles and responsibilities to do something they enjoy...a date with their wife, golfing, surfing, a day at the spa (the spa is wonderful rest!). How underrated rest is for our growth and sustainment in the grace of God!

The scripture also mentions that we should be diligent to enter his rest. Doesn’t that seem like a contradiction? Usually when I think of diligence I think of someone who is working hard! The NIV translation says to "make every effort..." It is as if he is saying, "set it on your calander, make it a priority, make a concerted effort to make sure you enter this rest!" One thing I have had to remind myself is that rest is an investment in myself. Rest is like the oil change for my car, I can run without it for a while but pretty soon it will just lead to a breakdown.

Just as we are called to rest physically we are also called to rest our souls. We rest our souls by resisting that urge to worry, but instead taking those burdens to Him.

Matthew 11:27-29 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

I know I need to be more diligent in seeking rest, what about you? Are you resting physically? Are you resting your soul? Are you functioning at your best or is it time for that oil change? Make an investment in yourself today and enter His rest.

Thanks for reading,
Mel

Fleshly Selfishness or Fulfilling Selflessness?

2009-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought to yourself "If one rich person gave me $10,000 - think of all that I could accomplish with that money!" Whenever I think a thought like that I am reminded that I pass by homeless individuals every day who probably think to themselves, "If one of those people passing by gave me $10 - think of all that I could do with that money." I am quickly reminded of all the times I have failed to give to someone in more need than myself.

One thing I know that is contrary to our flesh is to give. Selfishness is in our human nature, you can see it in children at a very young age. My daughter quickly learned the words "It’s mine!" before she learned many other things! Teaching children about sharing is always a battle because it is contrary to our flesh to give up something that we want ourselves.

As I have grown, I have realized that the more I give the more joy I experience. That it is truly more blessed to give than to receive! As a parent who has experienced the freedom and fulfillment there is in giving, it is my responsibility not to teach her that she "has to" give but teach her that she WANTS TO! It is a pleasure, delight and a blessing to give and leads to a journey of fulfillment.

The first year of my marriage the economy was thriving and we made more money that year than we have since. That year we had the time of our lives giving. Giving was an adventure, it was exciting and we also watched God bless us in awesome ways that year. After we had our first child and the economy slowed down, we began to slowly loose our fervor in giving. We allowed fear to creep into our hearts and every time we thought about giving, another thought of bills, mortgage payments and hospital payments quickly overruled.

My husband and I have been challenged lately to restore our joy in giving. It wasn’t getting back to a certain amount or percentage of our income that needed to change, it was our hearts. As we asked God to change our hearts, the giving came naturally. It was never about an amount to God, but it was about our hearts thinking of others before ourselves. Writing a bigger check was not the solution. The solution was a heart change that resulted in thinking about a single mother who might need a ride somewhere, bringing a pair of shoes to a child with holes in her own or taking out our disabled neighbor’s garbage. Sometimes it may be a check that needs to be written, but many times it was gestures of love that came from our changed hearts.

God has been blessing us in unexpected ways. The funny thing is, it has become hard to keep those blessings. The adventure of giving is so much fun that we can’t help but let those blessings pass through our hands.

1 Timothy 6:17-18 says, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that the be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

I always thought this scripture was for millionaires, but not for little old me. I read an article that said if you make $45k per year you are in the top 3% of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Even if you make half that amount, you are still most likely in the top 5%. This scripture applies to us! We are to be rich in good works...ready to give....willing to share...and most of all trusting not in riches, but in the living God! Those things come from a heart that is yielded to the Holy Spirit. A heart that desires to hand over fleshly selfishness for fulfilling selflessness.

Thanks for reading,
Mel Miller

My Failure.

2009-11-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

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. 　

Break it up.

2009-11-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

"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

　

The right place at the right time.

2009-11-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

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

Bless the Lord and His people.

2009-11-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had First Sunday at Urban. It is an event we plan on doing the First Sunday of every month that collects the donations and resources from our church members and distributes them to anyone in need in our church and community. We fed 80 people and gave away a ton of furniture, household items and clothing. We started setting up at 9am and when we got there, an abundance of donations just kept coming in. We had heaps to sort through!

It was an honor to be placed in charge of the event, but I had one concern. I am great at planning events, but my weakness is that I can get focused on productivity and not on people. I prayed that morning that I would remain at peace, have fun and not allow myself to get stressed out or focused to much on the details. As I was in the car with my husband, I sounded a little crazy. After we got done praying, I made a declaration out loud. It was not really to anyone in particular, but more so to make my choice, my decision solidified. I said something like, "I will not get stressed today. I will have fun, have a smile on my face and focus on people and not on productivity. If something slips through the cracks I will still keep my peace and keep my smile. I will be the type of person that is a pleasure to be around and not reproduce stress to those around me." I am not one to "look in the mirror and tell myself I am beautiful" or any of those self-help methods, but I recognized that I can pray all I want but ultimately it is a choice. I can choose peace. I can choose joy. I can choose to have my focus on the right things and to have an attitude that I would be proud to have become contagious!

The Israelites in 2 Chronicles 31 had a lot more heaps than I did to deal with, but the leaders had an attitude of gladness throughout the celebration and after. The leaders attitude (in Ch. 30) caused the community to want to continue the Passover feast for an extra 7 days! It also (in Ch. 31) caused them (while following a newly established commandment - which are not always followed with popularity) to give in excess to the leadership to support them! Verse 8 describes the true heart of the leadership, "In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel."

As Christ-followers we are leaders and people are looking to us watching our responses. In situations where we "should" be stressed, will we still keep our peace? In situations where we "should" be focused on productivity, will we still take the time to focus on people? In situations where we "should" be running around like a chicken with our head cut off, will we still keep a smile on our face and an attitude of joy? These are the types of differences that we have that make people stop and wonder, "what is different about that person?" In an economy where everyone is stressed about money, safety, security or an uncertain future we can choose to lead the way with an attitude that blesses the Lord and his people.

Jesus said in Matthew 12 that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as our self. Whether in church or in the workplace it is God's desire that our focus be on these two things. The details may or may not all work out as planned, but the important things is we kept our focus on the truly important things. Our whole team had a great time at First Sunday and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. There is always room for improvement, but those things didn’t matter. What mattered is that through First Sunday and our service yesterday that we blessed the Lord and we blessed people.

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

　

Don't become lunch.

2009-10-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

"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

　
　

Some things are better left unsaid.

2009-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

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
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Are the scales tipped?

2009-10-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

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

　
　
　

The third member of my marriage.

2009-10-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

When my husband and I did our premarital counseling it was recommended that we make a habit of praying and reading the Bible together for our first year of marriage. The wonderful part about that habit, is that you are inviting the Lord into your home, family and decisions. You invite him into your conversations, your movie selections, your time management and your attitude towards one another. When I am mad at my husband, I don’t call my girlfriend who will always choose my side! I call on Jesus, who is on both sides and his aim is to make our marriage as harmonious as possible. I know that he will convict and challenge me just as much as he will my husband, and when we come together we both usually have things to apologize for that God convicted us about. We quickly realized that Jesus was the third member of our marriage and we could not make any major decisions without his leading.

When reading much of the Old Testament, the relationship between God and his people can become confusing. What most people forget is that God wanted a marriage with his people. He was so passionate about being in a relationship with his people, that it grieved his heart when they turned their backs on him. Every moment of wrath was intended to restore the marriage and turn them to repentance and every moment of restoration was to prove his love and faithfulness.

In Ezekiel 36, the Lord is declaring his wrath on all the nations that have mistreated his bride, Israel. He doesn’t do it for their sake or because they deserved it (vs. 22), he did it because he had a point to prove: That he was holy and faithful. No one was going to trample over his people! He not only was going to punish the guilty nations, but he was going to bless the Israelites more than he ever had! He was going to gather them back to their land, cleanse them, forgive them, bless them with and abundance of crops, rebuild their ruins, give them a new heart that will enable them to follow his decrees, and bless them with numerous descendants. What a beautiful love story of complete forgiveness, redemption and blessing! To me, it is a story of a protective, merciful and loving husband who is taking his bride back!

Last night my husband and I were sitting on the couch and God showed up! (He didn’t show up in the flesh but we felt His presence come right in the middle of a conversation we were having.) We were talking about how grateful we are, and all of a sudden we sat with tears in our eyes knowing that the third member of our marriage was near. We may not be able to tangibly see him, but he is the glue that holds our marriage and family together. Our love story was written by him, and we will continue to allow him to be the author.

When we are making a decision we usually call the person who will agree with what we already want to do. Many times we intentionally don’t go to God because we already know what He will say, and we don’t want to hear it! But that is not a marriage! God is not as concerned with the martial status box you check as he is with your marital status with Him. What about your life? Is he the third member, the other member or have you left him waiting at the alter?

Thanks for reading and responding,

Melissa Miller

Let God do His Job.

2009-10-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

I’ll admit that every now and then I get a little paranoid about the swine flu. The media has hyped it so much that my maternal mind can easily wander into worst-case scenarios. First I start over-analyzing every cough, sneeze, and sniffle that comes from my little ones. Strange dreams lately? Must be the swine flu! Unusual bowel movement? Swine flu! My husband now has a facebook account?! He must not be feeling well! Swine flu! I begin to think of the end times, the mark of the beast and how I can plan to go hide in the mountains to protect my children! (Okay before you turn me into the local psychiatric ward, please know I am exhaggerating!) I realize that my train of thought is silly, but if we let a thought of fear run wild, it can run us right into a pitfall!

In 1 Chronicles 21, David takes a Census of all the land. It was a sin, and many scholars have often debated why this was wrong in God’s eyes. I believe for a moment, David needed assurance of victory. He felt overwhelmed, fearful and uncertain but instead of looking to God has his source of victory he began to look at himself and his abilities and resources. He told Joab to go and count the Isrealites so that he would know the capacity of his troops. Although Joab advised against it, David overruled him and sinned against the Lord.

In Ezekiel 31 God is dealing with Pharaoh for the same reason. He looked to his own strength, became prideful, and God said he was going to bring down the nation because of it. Sure, Egypt was majestic and flourishing and David had a great number of troops but in both situations God was there to remind him that their trust should not be in those things, but rather in HIM.There are many uncertainties we face in life that if we focus on them for too long we can easily take our eyes off of God as our protector and provider and we begin to put ourselves in that role. We can have all the resources, abilities, support and strength in the world, but if our trust is in those things we will be disappointed.

When you hear news about troubling times, don’t run to the hills in fear, check your bank account for security, or go buy loads of protective swine flu gear. Of course use natural wisdom and have things in order, but don't put your hope and trust in those things. There is a saying, "prayerlessness is pride." When we don’t run to God about our concerns and fears, we are essentially saying "I can do this on my own." Let God do his job as your providor, protector, comfort, healer, peace, and strength. It is a heavy load to bear trying to figure it out on your own, but He will gladly take his place as Lord of All if you let him.

The Promise or the Process?

2009-09-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

One of the books I love to read to my daughter is called "The Best Neighbor Contest." It is a book about Mickey Mouse and his friends who all come together to see who can come up with the best idea to bless the neighborhood. All the friends come up with elaborate and creative ideas, it is Goofy (who lacks any idea) who goes around and just serves everyone else’s. As you can guess, once everyone realizes that it was Goofy behind the scenes who made it all happen with out any recognition– he wins the "Best Neighbor Award." I love reading this story to my daughter to impart into her the importance of servitude.

In 1 Chronicles 11, we see David anointed as king over Israel. The testimony of this story is not that he was anointed, but that he was finally anointed. It was 20 years prior to that official anointing, that God has anointed him through Samuel. God had given David a promise and it took 20 years for it to come to pass. After years of serving he get’s his "Best Neighbor Award!"
What did David do during that 20 years of waiting? Verse 2 tells us that even while Saul was king, David was the one who lead Israel on their military campaigns. Before those years he spent his time as a shepherd. God had called him a leader and he did not wait for an official title to put that into practice! If he was not yet released to lead people, he got some practice leading sheep! If he was not yet recognized as king, he still got great experience by leading Israel’s army. He did what he was called by GOD to do, whether MAN recognized it or not.

God knows that it is the process is more valuable than the promotion. It is the learning, growing and flourishing in the Lord that will hold our most valuable memories and experiences. What is more important: that we be called Pastor or that people are getting pastored? That we be called teacher or that people are getting taught? That we be called actor, coach, doctor, leader, mother, father (fill in the blank), or that we are helping people with our gift no matter what the level we are at?

I think we can learn a lot from David (and Goofy!), the promise or the reward will come – but if our eyes are focused on that we are missing the joy of the process. The point is that in everything we do, it is unto the Lord. We do not wait for someone to recognize our talent before we start using that talent for some good! There is such an incredible joy that comes in knowing what God has called you to do, and doing it unto Him no matter what!

If God has given you a promise, what are you doing in the process?

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

Laughing in the Dark.

2009-09-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

My adorable son Bishop!

Last night my husband and I laid our 1 year old son down to sleep in his crib. A few moments later we were in the kitchen and we heard what we thought was crying. We approached his door to find out what the noise was all about and realized what we heard was laughter. It is pitch black in his bedroom and he was laying in his crib laughing hysterically for about 15 minutes. We still do not understand what he was laughing about. Angels? The brush of his blanket against his foot? Was he spilling milk all over his face from his bottle? I do not know, but I do know that as an adult I don’t often find myself laughing in the dark.

In the dark, there isn’t much that looks funny or makes you joyful. Usually the dark promotes only the desire to go to sleep or be afraid. It seems to be the same with a dark season of life. We want to escape from our hardship or fear it...but we know as Christians, God wants us to take his hand and trust that he is leading us somewhere even when we can’t see it.

Isn’t this the essence of what distinguishes us from the world? That although we walk through the shadow of the valley of death we fear no evil because He is with us. Although we go through hardships and trials we still have the peace that surpasses understanding to guard our hearts and minds. That although we sit in pitch black not being able to see what is ahead of us, we can have a smile on our face and laughter in our belly knowing that God has it all in control.
　
Luke 13:10-12 "Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God."

There was no way this woman could raise herself up. During dark and difficult times, our pride would like us to continue to try and work it out on our own. We convince ourselves that we are strong enough to handle it and we don’t need God’s help or other people’s. Even though the woman didn’t ask to be healed, Jesus still called to her and laid his healing hands on her. It was then that she stood up and began to glorify God.

When you can’t raise yourself up in dark times, will you allow God to touch you and heal you? When doing it on your own doesn’t seem to be working, will you allow God to take your hand and lead you through the darkness? Will you experience the peace and joy that comes with his spirit that causes even a grown up to wonder why he finds himself laughing in the dark?

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

Who's patting your back?

2009-09-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article about a generous priest. He dresses in his full garb and is known for walking through the poor neighborhoods handing out money. There were many photos of him handing out money, standing in front of large donation checks and receiving recognition and honor for his generosity. My first thought was, "Wow that is wonderful. What a generous man!" My second thought was, "Wait a second! Is that even Biblical?" I read through Matthew 6:1-18, where it talks about giving, praying and fasting. In giving we are not to announce it, to the point where we don’t even let our left hand know what our right hand is giving! In praying we are not to pray to receive the attention of man, but rather go behind closed doors to make our petitions. In fasting, we are to intentionally make sure we don’t look like we are fasting...Do you see a theme here?

The priest may have been trying to remain anonymous and it was others that started to put it on display...I will not judge where his heart is at in the matter, but it did spark something in me that caused me to reflect on how God would like our faith to be demonstrated. God knows that if our acts of kindness are seen by the public eye we can start to feel pretty good about ourselves! Giving to the poor is never a bad thing, but God knows when we begin to receive the praise from man for our giving our focus can easily shift from a generous act, to an act of attention and pride. God gives us these scriptures as an exercise in remaining humble. Do we desire to receive the credit for our demonstration of kindness, or are we satisfied with knowing that God sees everything that is done in secret and will reward us accordingly? (Verse 4)

In 2 Kings 20:12-20, King Hezekiah was visited by envoys from Babylon and he showed them every treasure in his kingdom. The Lord was displeased with Hezekiah’s act because it was done to impress man rather than to glorify God. The prophet told Hezekiah that because of this act, there would come a time when everything in his palace, and even some of his descendants would be carried off to Babylon. King Hezekiah had done many wonderful things for the Lord and God had blessed him greatly. In this instant, he allowed those things to become about him rather than about God. Before we go casting a stone at Hezekiah, how many times have we done the same thing in our own lives? How many times have we told someone we were fasting with the motivation to appear holy? How many times have we given something and made sure that it was noticed or recognized? What about simply accomplishing something, and making sure we receive the credit for that accomplishment or idea? I know I am guilty!

The reality is, that it feels pretty good when we receive the credit for something...but it feels even better when we receive our reward from the Lord! I realize at times I am tempted to make it known that I am giving, fasting or praying. It is in those moments that I realize that is all-the-more a reason to exercise my humility and not say anything at all. For the people that make it a point to receive the praise from men, God says that they have received their reward in full (vs. 3). How many blessings from God have we traded for a little recognition from man?

I challenge you today to live for an audience of One. The only words that truly matter when it is all said and done are His words to you, "Well done good and faithful servant." Pleasing and honoring Him in our actions should be our hearts desire, and receiving God’s pat on the back will be much more rewarding than any man’s.

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Follow the Leader

2009-09-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

John 2:1-10
"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!"

When you ask the average American how they are doing, they often answer "tired!" or "busy!" We have said yes to so many things in our lives, that we often find ourselves overwhelmed, overworked, busy and tired! Most of the things we are doing are probably good things...but are they things that God has called us to do? God only has to give us enough grace and anointing to do what he has called us to do, not everything we think is a good idea.

Jesus’ mother says something powerful in this passage, "Whatever he says to you, do it." In other words - follow the leader! It was at Jesus’ command - at HIS leading that they followed and a miracle took place. I believe that if we applied this simple principle to our lives, we would also begin to see miracles take place.

The tricky part is waiting for his instructions. We may be anxious for something to take place in our lives, but rushing into decisions and commitments can often become like the person who races to the red light. Have you ever wondered why people do that? What is the point? Why would you spend all the effort to speed and swerve through cars, only to have to slam on the breaks when you get to the existing red light? When you take a step in a direction you were not called to take, you end up like the frustrated driver sitting at the stop light wondering why you can’t make any progress.

I believe we would experience a lot less frustration and a lot more miracles if we would learn to follow his lead. There are many people who are burnt-out, exhausted and running races they were never called to run. They become uptight with those around them and wonder why they can’t seem to produce any fruit. Is it that they are trying so hard to "do good" that they forget to follow the leader? I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend all my time and energy climbing to the top of a ladder only to discover I have been climbing the wrong ladder all along!

This is why I love my church so much. Urban (http://www.lifeaturban.com/) has decided not to have certain ministries, not because they think they are bad, but because God hasn't said to do it yet! Our pastors have commited not to do something because it is they way churches have traditionally done it in the past, but to follow His lead. I believe Urban will be spared from fruitless ministries and frustrations because we are committed to waiting for God to speak before we act.

The disciples may have not understood why they needed to follow his instructions, but nevertheless they obeyed. They filled the pots with water, and took them over to the master of the feast. After the water was turned into wine (not just any wine, but the best wine!), I am sure the disciples were amazed at this miracle and thankful they chose to follow his instructions. Nothing beats His amazing grace that enables you to do almost effortlessly what you could never do on your own with all the strength and effort you have. This is the kind of grace that rests on our lives when we are in His perfect will.

Pray. Wait. Pray some more. Follow the leader, and he will show you exactly what he wants you to do. It is a simple formula for miracles: "Whatever He tells you to do, do it."

Thanks for reading and responding,

Melissa Miller

It was my idea!

2009-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

2 Kings 13:15-19 Elisha said, "Get a bow and some arrows," and he did so. "Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek." Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times."

I was bewildered by Elisha’s request for the King to shoot arrows to the ground. Somehow that, along with shooting one out the window, related to him having victory over the Arameans. I still don’t completely understand how the one thing relates to the other...but I also don’t understand why Jesus had to mix spit with dirt and rub it on the blind man’s eyes for his sight to be restored! God works in mysterious ways!

My theory is perhaps the king needed to learn how to submit to God (through the prophet’s commands), even when he didn’t understand it. There have been many times when I felt that still small voice or a check in my spirit leading me in a certain direction. The test isn’t when the small voice or the check makes sense...the test is when I don’t understand. Will I obey anyway, or will I wait to find out the hard way? When everything seems perfect in the natural, but in the spiritual I feel uneasy, will I still trust that God knows best?

I have learned that true submission, is obeying as if it was your own idea! We can get pretty excited about something that is our own idea, but sometimes when we have to follow through with someone else’s (especially when we don’t agree) we can sometimes do so with a poor attitude. I can imagine the king thought the prophets commands were silly. He may have laxly shot an arrow out the window, and a few at the ground...but he didn’t submit as if it was his own idea. He lacked a passionate follow-through. The king didn’t put his whole heart into it, and therefore didn’t get the full and complete blessing.
　
Col. 3:23-24 says "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."

Heartily means with all of your heart. Even when God’s requests don’t make sense, will you still obey with all of your heart? Will you still submit heartily as if it were your own idea? Will you do it with a spirit of excellence as unto the Lord?

Joyce Meyer says, "If you want to be radically and outrageously blessed you have to be radically and outrageously obedient!" The next time God whispers something into your heart, I pray that instead of a spirit of reluctance you would respond with radical obedience, as if it was your own idea. You may be only a couple more arrows away from your full victory!

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

　
　
　
　

Microwaved Miracles

2009-09-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

2 Kings 5:8-14 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, "Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, "My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, 'Wash, and be clean'? "So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman wanted an easy fix and was angry when he was told he wouldn’t get it. He wanted Elisha to come wave his hand over him and for the leprosy to instantly disappear. He became angry when he was told he would actually have to go work for his breakthrough.

Why is it that we walk into church and get frustrated when we don’t see immediate results? We become focused on ourselves at times thinking that the service was somehow about us getting our microwaved miracle. Some people do get radical and instant breakthroughs - and that is awesome! But the reality is most of us have to work out our struggles in the process of continual and habitual obedience. God does instantly transform situations, and I have seen it happen, but He doesn't do it every time! Sometimes He is cooking up a testimony in our lives that can only be made in a crock pot! If I have a choice between a crock pot meal and a microwaved meal, I know the slow cooked meal tastes better but sometimes I am just impatient. Are we willing to wait for something that God is creating in our life that will take time, but taste better?

What if our breakthrough lies in simply obeying what the man of God says? Elisha's words of wisdom may have not been the answer Naaman was looking for, but they still provided a solution to his issue if he was willing to give it some effort. The practical and Biblical teachings that we receive on a weekly basis may not instantly change our lives, but through daily application we will begin to see some amazing progress! A financial breakthrough may not fall from the sky or magically appear in my bank account, but through application of wise financial principles--the same results can be achieved. I have seen in my own life relationships that seemed irreconcilable become completely restored. It wasn't instantaneous, but through prayer, time and forgiveness a miracle did happen. Does it make it any less of a miracle because it took time? No! In fact, it made us appreciate the value of those miracles even more because they took time and appropriation.

I love that Naaman didn’t give up. He had a Godly servant nearby who could remind him that although it might not come instantly, the report is still a good report! Don't be discouraged, even though it might take more time and effort than you thought it would -- it is still a good report from the Lord.

Don’t give up on church or God because the change you desire isn’t coming as quick as you wanted or the way that you wanted. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! (Phil. 1:6) It may not be a microwave miracle, but through the process of your obedience and God's faithfulness, your breakthrough will certainly come!

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

Church

2009-08-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

Church. Some have stuck it out, some have found another church and some have just plain given up on church all together! Sam Chand says "The difference between reality and expectation is conflict."

The expectation is that the pastors are perfect or that the church is perfect. The reality is the minute any one person walks into a church, it becomes imperfect. The difference: Conflict!

I will never forget years ago, when I was smacked in the face with this reality. I held my pastors up on a pedestal, until I got close enough to them to realize they had faults and failures just like me. Not only were they not perfect, the ministries of the church were not perfect! I had ideas of what could be improved, and found myself standing on the sidelines complaining and finger-pointing.

I listened to a message that week by TD Jakes. He said "The very thing that bugs you, is the very thing you are called to." What a thought...you mean the thing that I am vehement about is the role I was meant to fill? You mean I actually have to be the change I want to see?! What a concept! Ghandi says "Be the change you want to see in the world." I say, do that...and include the church!

My husband and I had a decision to make. We could stick it out, find another church or give up on church altogether. I suppose the other option would be to start our own church...but you better have a strong desire and calling for that one! We have neither! As you can imagine we stuck it out. Our years of choosing to "be the change" turned into the most fruitful years of our lives. Not only did we grow, but we were helping others grow and experiencing great joy and fulfillment in the process. While so many can look back on their church experiences with a bad taste in their mouth, we have nothing bad to say. It was not perfect and it was full of imperfect people, but we decided to become too busy helping people to notice.

Is the church missing so many vital elements because the gap-fillers became angry spectators? Do we have holes in the ministry because passionate and gifted people have simply allowed bitterness and offense to creep into their hearts? What would the church look like if those who had a passion for the poor didn’t get mad a the church for not reaching the poor, but instead started to lead by example? I have seen successful ministries started from one person just trying to be the change within the four walls of an imperfect church!

I hear many stories from offended and hurt people. I am not saying some of those stories weren’t justified...there are certain situations when such serious immorality and injustice is taking place that it is much better that the person find another church! There are certian churches that are not leading people in the right direction and even Jesus became indignant with these (Matthew 21:12-14).

For those that have given up on church all-together, does that mean your salvation is in question? No! The church doesn’t save you, Jesus does. My pastor, Ben Brinkman says "Going to church doesn’t save you, but it sure helps keep you saved." He compared it to going on dates with his wife. Was going on dates what got him married? It helped, but no. However, going on dates with his wife will sure help keep him married! For those that are against "organized religion" I pray that it doesn’t hinder your relationship with Him, but I do believe that finding the right community of believers provides great support and strength.

What is church supposed to look like? Acts 2: 42-47 gives us a great model:

"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."

Hopefully you can find a church that follows this Biblical model, and if you are already in one then just remember to be the change!

Thanks for reading and responding!
Melissa Miller
　
　
　
　
　
　