When Vince Lombardi took over as head coach for the Green Bay Packers he started with this quote on the first day of summer camp:"Gentlemen, this a football." and from there, he proceeded reteach the game of football. He expected them to ignore everything they ever thought they knew about the game and relearn it from the ground up. It paid off quickly. The Packers went from being a team that lost all but two of its games the previous year to having a record of 7 and 5 the next. And of course, Lombardi went on to great success; his name is on the Superbowl trophy and even the most casual of sports fans recognizes his name. It was a good plan. He set out to build a winning team from the ground up and started by reintroducing everyone to the game at the most fundamental level. I think that's a good place to start. Gentlemen, this is a Bible! Forget everything you think you know about the Bible and reacquaint yourself this book.I think this a good place to start because I don't believe the men of the Body of Christ really know what's in here. The Bible has some amazing expectations for men in it and if word ever got out about what God wants from the men in Church, they would be very eager to be a part of it.
Throughout our Country's history, the Church has had a larger female population than a male population. I find it so interesting that in a world where there is so much change, where trends move so rapidly that there has NEVER been a time when the population of our churches has been more male than female. Trends have changed in almost every other area of American life with regards to gender. I'm tempted to suspect that this is no accident. I'm tempted to suspect that somebody doesn't want men to come to church or know what the Bible says about them. In fact, I don't suspect it, I know it. There is someone who is profoundly interested in keeping men out of our Churches and out of their Bibles because he knows what happens when men get mobilized for war. He knows that an army of men, committed to a common goal, operating in their full capacity can conquer any foe. He knows that if the men of our churches were to ever turn their sights on him and mobilize in his direction, he'd have a world of trouble on his hands. Gentlemen, the time has come. We have an enemy with an endless supply of hatred for us and our families who has successfully kept us out of the fight and it's time we did something about him. It's time the men of God lay hold of all that Jesus bought for us and start reclaiming enemy ground.
This enemy teaches our children that they are nothing special and suicide is the only real answer to their problems. This enemy tells us that marriages aren't worth fighting for and it's better to get divorced than force the children to watch us fight all the time. This enemy tells us that it doesn't matter what you do in life, God's gonna do what God's gonna do and you have no part to play in the matter. These are all lies.
This enemy hides in plain sight and speaks to us from pulpits. He's not just slithering around in seedy strip clubs and bars. He's spewing his filth from some of our pulpits. He's using religion to tell us that God in his mysterious wisdom is working everything out for some greater good that we can't fathom so just sit down and be quiet. He tells the men of our churches that there's nothing we can do to make a difference so it's best if we just sit calmly and wait for God to do his thing. Well, that's NOT what the Bible says.
Men, this message is for you. I am sent here today to make a call to arms. It is my great privilege to blow the trumpet and assemble the troops. I've got good news for you men, I'm about to unleash you. What I'm about to share with you, will exhilarate you and you might be hard to handle once that happens. Some of your wives might be a little miffed with me when I'm done because things might get out of hand. If I do my job here, some of you won't be satisfied to sit idly by and watch your kids get robbed of their spiritual gifts. You might get your big clumsy paws involved in the spiritual training of your kids. You might get your big muddy boots all over family prayer time. You might start hearing from God while you're out fixing the car and drag one of the kids under there with you to tell them about it. Now all of a sudden, there's two greasy shirts to clean. You might get a revelation about God and develop a sudden boldness to tell your kids about it as you drive them to school. Next thing you know, they are bringing their troubled friends from school over to your house because they know you can help them. And before you know it, your kids think your cool and the place is just crawling with kids who might otherwise be getting drunk or pregnant. I'm warning you, this could upset your routine.
Men, be prepared to rethink everything you think you know about what the Bible says about your role in the Church. Be prepared to rethink what you've been taught about the Church. Be prepared to have your own expectations of yourself changed and refitted for battle. I'm warning you, once you get a taste for winning spiritual battles, you will not be satisfied with anything less. This could be your last chance to turn back. Continue at your own risk.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
How to have more friends than you can count.
"Tell them that I love them." That's our assignment from God. For everyone who knows that God loves them, we are instructed to deliver this message to everyone we meet. In every conversation, at every opportunity tell the people that I love them. Do this and the blessings will flow through us and to us. Here's how it would work. Just imagine how different this world would be if everyone you knew believed that God actually loves them. Imagine if you were the person who reminded them of that every time they saw you. If every time your spouse looked at you, she was reminded of all the blessings in her life and glory that awaits her, she would be delighted to see you wouldn't she. If your boss was reminded of God's great provision and protection over his business whenever he looked in your direction, he'd be inclined to treat you a little better than his other employees wouldn't he?! If your co workers looked at you and thought about God's love for them, they'd be glad to see you wouldn't they. The bottom line is this, if people looked at you but saw the love of God, you'd be showered with favor everywhere you went.
You'd be the person that changes the mood in the room. You'd constantly be surrounded by people who are happy to be alive and happy to see you. Just imagine how different life would be for you if you didn't have to watch your own back. Just imagine how much less stress you'd have to deal with if you could trust everyone you know. This is without you actually doing anything for them. This is without you doing them favors, or finding their soft spots, or picking up on their insecurities and playing on their fears. You could stride confidently through this world like an emperor without resorting to office politics or palace intrigue. People would just be eager to do well by you because every time your name comes up their fears are assuaged, their hope is kindled, and their faith is restored. You will enjoy favor with everyone you know simply because they associate you with God.
Now the trick to this of course is they have to believe that God loves them. If they are still pulpit-bullied into believing that they are on thin ice with God, then they won't be glad to see you. To those who are perishing we are the smell of death but to them who are being saved we are a sweet fragrance to paraphrase the scriptures. So, it behooves us to be about our Father's business doesn't it?! It is in our best interest to be surrounded by people who know that God loves them. What better way to ensure that than to be the agent by which everyone knows about God's love for them?
See this is a different approach to personal evangelism for me. For the past 20 years, I saw personal evangelism as my duty, something I did out of obligation, to keep God happy and possibly curry some favor with Him so he'd give me what I pray for. It never occurred to me that God was really trying to reach into these people's lives through me. I saw it as just God's way of sending me out to chop wood or do some other chore. I was so focused on myself, I never stopped to consider the possibility that I was the answer to their prayer. I thought telling people about Jesus was my duty and the people were my chores for the day. So the sooner I got that out of the way, the sooner we could back to talking about what I want from God for doing His bidding. Well thanks be to God, I have seen the light. I see what I was doing wrong all those years. I was going about my Father's business with the wrong attitude. The proper way to be about our Father's business is to do it for the sake of people who need to know that God loves them. I already have my blessed assurance, and if the love of God is truly in me, I'll be eager to help others receive theirs.
So how does one do that exactly? Well, my Pastor would say "The answer to a thousand questions is: Be led." We can't accomplish the without the Holy Spirit guiding us. We can't just march up to people and out of nowhere tell' em "God loves you!" and then move on to the next person. That's us putting check marks on our evangelism assignment for the day. That's us taking care of ourselves. And if you want to see a room clear out in hurry whenever you show up, be the guy that starts quoting scripture out of nowhere. You will repel people like the smell of rotting fish! We need to pick our moments when they are ready to receive. We'll need to be ever vigilante for opportunities to speak into their lives. We'll need to on the lookout for an opening when their spirit is ready to hear about God's love for them, then we'll need to be ready to drop whatever it is that we're doing and focus on them. At those moments, we'll need to have a word FOR them. We'll need something that's going to sink deep into their hearts and address their concerns. This means we need to be fully armed at all times, we need to be filled to over flowing with God's word so when the time comes, we'll have something for them. And most importantly, we need to do it with love and faith in our hearts.
If we set out to do this with the goal of creating an atmosphere of favor for ourselves, we'll fail miserably. We need to do this with love for them in our hearts and faith that God will take care of us while we are about His business. I mentioned the benefits of living like this at the beginning but that can't be our motivation. And it doesn't need to be the reason we do this either. Those benefits will come, if we can set aside our own interests long enough to faithfully tend to our Father's business and just be the person in their life that gives them hope we will enjoy favor in every corner of our lives. Today, it's my goal to find a way to remind the people in my life that's there's a God in Heaven who loves them. When I am finished speaking with them, I want them to know that He wants to deliver them from all their fears, fill them with prosperity beyond their wildest imaginations, heal every sickness in their body and flood their soul with joy. That's my assignment today. It's going to be a really good day.
You'd be the person that changes the mood in the room. You'd constantly be surrounded by people who are happy to be alive and happy to see you. Just imagine how different life would be for you if you didn't have to watch your own back. Just imagine how much less stress you'd have to deal with if you could trust everyone you know. This is without you actually doing anything for them. This is without you doing them favors, or finding their soft spots, or picking up on their insecurities and playing on their fears. You could stride confidently through this world like an emperor without resorting to office politics or palace intrigue. People would just be eager to do well by you because every time your name comes up their fears are assuaged, their hope is kindled, and their faith is restored. You will enjoy favor with everyone you know simply because they associate you with God.
Now the trick to this of course is they have to believe that God loves them. If they are still pulpit-bullied into believing that they are on thin ice with God, then they won't be glad to see you. To those who are perishing we are the smell of death but to them who are being saved we are a sweet fragrance to paraphrase the scriptures. So, it behooves us to be about our Father's business doesn't it?! It is in our best interest to be surrounded by people who know that God loves them. What better way to ensure that than to be the agent by which everyone knows about God's love for them?
See this is a different approach to personal evangelism for me. For the past 20 years, I saw personal evangelism as my duty, something I did out of obligation, to keep God happy and possibly curry some favor with Him so he'd give me what I pray for. It never occurred to me that God was really trying to reach into these people's lives through me. I saw it as just God's way of sending me out to chop wood or do some other chore. I was so focused on myself, I never stopped to consider the possibility that I was the answer to their prayer. I thought telling people about Jesus was my duty and the people were my chores for the day. So the sooner I got that out of the way, the sooner we could back to talking about what I want from God for doing His bidding. Well thanks be to God, I have seen the light. I see what I was doing wrong all those years. I was going about my Father's business with the wrong attitude. The proper way to be about our Father's business is to do it for the sake of people who need to know that God loves them. I already have my blessed assurance, and if the love of God is truly in me, I'll be eager to help others receive theirs.
So how does one do that exactly? Well, my Pastor would say "The answer to a thousand questions is: Be led." We can't accomplish the without the Holy Spirit guiding us. We can't just march up to people and out of nowhere tell' em "God loves you!" and then move on to the next person. That's us putting check marks on our evangelism assignment for the day. That's us taking care of ourselves. And if you want to see a room clear out in hurry whenever you show up, be the guy that starts quoting scripture out of nowhere. You will repel people like the smell of rotting fish! We need to pick our moments when they are ready to receive. We'll need to be ever vigilante for opportunities to speak into their lives. We'll need to on the lookout for an opening when their spirit is ready to hear about God's love for them, then we'll need to be ready to drop whatever it is that we're doing and focus on them. At those moments, we'll need to have a word FOR them. We'll need something that's going to sink deep into their hearts and address their concerns. This means we need to be fully armed at all times, we need to be filled to over flowing with God's word so when the time comes, we'll have something for them. And most importantly, we need to do it with love and faith in our hearts.
If we set out to do this with the goal of creating an atmosphere of favor for ourselves, we'll fail miserably. We need to do this with love for them in our hearts and faith that God will take care of us while we are about His business. I mentioned the benefits of living like this at the beginning but that can't be our motivation. And it doesn't need to be the reason we do this either. Those benefits will come, if we can set aside our own interests long enough to faithfully tend to our Father's business and just be the person in their life that gives them hope we will enjoy favor in every corner of our lives. Today, it's my goal to find a way to remind the people in my life that's there's a God in Heaven who loves them. When I am finished speaking with them, I want them to know that He wants to deliver them from all their fears, fill them with prosperity beyond their wildest imaginations, heal every sickness in their body and flood their soul with joy. That's my assignment today. It's going to be a really good day.
No trifling...Day 3
Malachi 3:26-a scroll was written in the presence of the Lord concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name.
God writes down the important stuff. People honoring his name is important enough for God to take notice and make a record of it. I wonder when He plans to read those names on that scroll. What a day of rejoicing that will be huh?! Can you imagine if it was your name He put on that scroll? I bet the people from Malachi's day whose name are recorded on that scroll have no idea that their name is on that scroll. What a glorious surprise awaits them. God is so good to us.
So here we are again on Day 3 of my new life. Today started at 5:21 and because I stayed up later than usual, my flesh put up a fight when my Father called me this morning. But Thanks be to God who causes us to triumph, I managed to roll out of bed again and continue my pursuit. I'm actually glad my flesh still complains because my flesh complaining makes getting out of bed a victory. If my flesh didn't object to it, then there is no fight to be won by getting out of bed. So when I actually do make the very long trek from under the covers to the floor-it's astounding how far that is-I am actually making a victory march. Who knew there was so much God to be found in just getting out of bed!
As I was growing up, very little was asked of me. I was coddled for most of my life and I was also allowed to throw tantrums when I didn't get my way. I never learned the value of striving for something valuable. I heard other people say things like "Anything worth having is worth working for." and I'd scoff. In retrospect, I can see that my parents did make some efforts in that area but apparently I was hopeless. I picked up and quickly dropped cello, clarinet and tuba lessons and I never made it past Tenderfoot in the Boy Scouts. I can remember a conversation my parents had with me one time about not quitting the Boy Scouts and it's the closest they ever came to putting their foot down about sticking with something. But alas, I still quit the Boy Scouts. I wonder what lessons I failed to learn at that age that I'm trying to learn now. Some lessons in life are prerequisites to learning other things and I can't help but feel a little remorse at being my age and just now catching on to some things.
For instance, I never knew it could feel so rewarding to expect better from yourself. I never knew the glory of finding within myself, ME!-Max Miller, the capacity to grasp great achievement and actually execute with excellence. I've gotten along OK in life with "good enough" what's the point with all that extra effort? I was blessed with a great deal of talent and an above average intellect. Most things came easy to me and if it didn't, I couldn't be bothered. Well that can be damaging enough in the physical realm but believe the voice of experience when I tell you that the damage is absolutely devastating in the spiritual realm.
Failing to pursue God with fervency and excellence nearly destroyed me. I found myself hopping from church to church getting my ego bruised at the slightest infraction and my hunger for God was non-existent. I heard people shout and get excited about hearing something from God and it didn't impress me at all. I heard people talk about being led by the Spirit and it aggravated me as if I had better things to do than sit around in a trance waiting to hear some still soft voice. I've already discussed how ineffective I was in building the Kingdom during most of my life. I can lay nearly all the blame at the feet of my lazy, careless approach to the things of God. Glory Hallelujah I'm glad those days are behind me.
Now I'm eager to see what great exploits God has in store for me. Recently, I was at a meeting where Jerry Savelle was preaching. I'd never heard him speak before (can you tell I'm kinda new to this life) and he spoke a word to us. He said he heard from the Lord this message: "If my people will pursue me like never before, I will take them to places in the faith they've never been before." Now I've been around public speakers long enough to recognize an old-chestnut when I hear one and this is definitely an old-chestnut. This is the kind of thing that is true no matter when it's said or to whom. I don't know for sure but I suspect Brother Savelle said something quite similar in 2009 and 2008 and 2007 and every other year going all the way back to 1979 when he started in the ministry. That's OK. That doesn't make it any less true and more importantly, it doesn't make it any less specific to my situation. You see, it's time I, Max Miller, actually listen and take to heart this message. It IS time for me to pursue God like I've never done before therefore Brother Savelle did have a word just for me that night. It doesn't matter at all that he's probably delivered that same word to tens of thousands of others throughout his ministry, it's a still a word from the Lord for me. So here goes....
This is me pursuing the Lord like never before. I'm looking for trials and tribulations. I'm looking for opportunities to bless people. I'm rolling out of bed at 0 dark thirty and making a careful record of what the Lord reveals to me. I'm taking the time and making the effort to execute with excellence as I write this blog. I'm carefully weighing each sentence and word to make sure it is precisely what the Lord has said to me. And I'm being careful not to rush through this process. Instead I am being deliberate, I am being a faithful scribe, careful to handle the Word of God with respect. For the first time in my life, I am choosing excellence over expedience and I can hardly describe the riches I have found.
It has done wonders for my peace of mind and self-esteem. I mention these as more of a by-product than an actual goal. I've never seen myself as one who communes or acquaints himself with excellence and now I see that excellence is good for the soul. It does your soul good to know you care about yourself enough to demand excellence. It tells your soul that it's valuable. A soul that knows he is valued will actually dare to lay hold of the abundant life Jesus bought. A soul that feels it has no value would never dare to consider itself eligible for such things. This is not vanity or self-love, this benefits the whole Kingdom of God. Only the souls who are walking in faith and exercising their rights as Sons of the Most High God are building the Kingdom. The souls who are too weak in their faith to believe they have any right to God's abundance are not channeling God's love, provision and healing into this world. The Kingdom needs us all to recognize and use what God has given us through Christ to effectively reach this world. Today, choose and demand excellence for yourself and from yourself, God will take note of it.
God writes down the important stuff. People honoring his name is important enough for God to take notice and make a record of it. I wonder when He plans to read those names on that scroll. What a day of rejoicing that will be huh?! Can you imagine if it was your name He put on that scroll? I bet the people from Malachi's day whose name are recorded on that scroll have no idea that their name is on that scroll. What a glorious surprise awaits them. God is so good to us.
So here we are again on Day 3 of my new life. Today started at 5:21 and because I stayed up later than usual, my flesh put up a fight when my Father called me this morning. But Thanks be to God who causes us to triumph, I managed to roll out of bed again and continue my pursuit. I'm actually glad my flesh still complains because my flesh complaining makes getting out of bed a victory. If my flesh didn't object to it, then there is no fight to be won by getting out of bed. So when I actually do make the very long trek from under the covers to the floor-it's astounding how far that is-I am actually making a victory march. Who knew there was so much God to be found in just getting out of bed!
As I was growing up, very little was asked of me. I was coddled for most of my life and I was also allowed to throw tantrums when I didn't get my way. I never learned the value of striving for something valuable. I heard other people say things like "Anything worth having is worth working for." and I'd scoff. In retrospect, I can see that my parents did make some efforts in that area but apparently I was hopeless. I picked up and quickly dropped cello, clarinet and tuba lessons and I never made it past Tenderfoot in the Boy Scouts. I can remember a conversation my parents had with me one time about not quitting the Boy Scouts and it's the closest they ever came to putting their foot down about sticking with something. But alas, I still quit the Boy Scouts. I wonder what lessons I failed to learn at that age that I'm trying to learn now. Some lessons in life are prerequisites to learning other things and I can't help but feel a little remorse at being my age and just now catching on to some things.
For instance, I never knew it could feel so rewarding to expect better from yourself. I never knew the glory of finding within myself, ME!-Max Miller, the capacity to grasp great achievement and actually execute with excellence. I've gotten along OK in life with "good enough" what's the point with all that extra effort? I was blessed with a great deal of talent and an above average intellect. Most things came easy to me and if it didn't, I couldn't be bothered. Well that can be damaging enough in the physical realm but believe the voice of experience when I tell you that the damage is absolutely devastating in the spiritual realm.
Failing to pursue God with fervency and excellence nearly destroyed me. I found myself hopping from church to church getting my ego bruised at the slightest infraction and my hunger for God was non-existent. I heard people shout and get excited about hearing something from God and it didn't impress me at all. I heard people talk about being led by the Spirit and it aggravated me as if I had better things to do than sit around in a trance waiting to hear some still soft voice. I've already discussed how ineffective I was in building the Kingdom during most of my life. I can lay nearly all the blame at the feet of my lazy, careless approach to the things of God. Glory Hallelujah I'm glad those days are behind me.
Now I'm eager to see what great exploits God has in store for me. Recently, I was at a meeting where Jerry Savelle was preaching. I'd never heard him speak before (can you tell I'm kinda new to this life) and he spoke a word to us. He said he heard from the Lord this message: "If my people will pursue me like never before, I will take them to places in the faith they've never been before." Now I've been around public speakers long enough to recognize an old-chestnut when I hear one and this is definitely an old-chestnut. This is the kind of thing that is true no matter when it's said or to whom. I don't know for sure but I suspect Brother Savelle said something quite similar in 2009 and 2008 and 2007 and every other year going all the way back to 1979 when he started in the ministry. That's OK. That doesn't make it any less true and more importantly, it doesn't make it any less specific to my situation. You see, it's time I, Max Miller, actually listen and take to heart this message. It IS time for me to pursue God like I've never done before therefore Brother Savelle did have a word just for me that night. It doesn't matter at all that he's probably delivered that same word to tens of thousands of others throughout his ministry, it's a still a word from the Lord for me. So here goes....
This is me pursuing the Lord like never before. I'm looking for trials and tribulations. I'm looking for opportunities to bless people. I'm rolling out of bed at 0 dark thirty and making a careful record of what the Lord reveals to me. I'm taking the time and making the effort to execute with excellence as I write this blog. I'm carefully weighing each sentence and word to make sure it is precisely what the Lord has said to me. And I'm being careful not to rush through this process. Instead I am being deliberate, I am being a faithful scribe, careful to handle the Word of God with respect. For the first time in my life, I am choosing excellence over expedience and I can hardly describe the riches I have found.
It has done wonders for my peace of mind and self-esteem. I mention these as more of a by-product than an actual goal. I've never seen myself as one who communes or acquaints himself with excellence and now I see that excellence is good for the soul. It does your soul good to know you care about yourself enough to demand excellence. It tells your soul that it's valuable. A soul that knows he is valued will actually dare to lay hold of the abundant life Jesus bought. A soul that feels it has no value would never dare to consider itself eligible for such things. This is not vanity or self-love, this benefits the whole Kingdom of God. Only the souls who are walking in faith and exercising their rights as Sons of the Most High God are building the Kingdom. The souls who are too weak in their faith to believe they have any right to God's abundance are not channeling God's love, provision and healing into this world. The Kingdom needs us all to recognize and use what God has given us through Christ to effectively reach this world. Today, choose and demand excellence for yourself and from yourself, God will take note of it.
No trifling...Day 2
Hallelujah....I answered the call to arms again. This time it was 5:15...a half hour earlier than yesterday. No arguments and only a moments hesitation. My spirit had to rebuke my flesh again but my flesh put up a much weaker fight today than yesterday. Now onto today's assignment.
Malachi 2:5-"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
I think life would be so different for all of us if we understood reverence.
Yesterday I received my pulpit ministry and while my flesh wants to fantasize about how grand it will be to be at the head of a great pulpit ministry, God spoke to my heart about getting serious. God said it was time I stop thinking about myself and start focusing on what I'm going to ACTUALLY say from this pulpit he gives me. Yes sir, you're absolutely right. This ministry is for you, it belongs to you Lord. So let's get down to business. Of course I will yield to your instructions Lord but there are some things I'd like to tell people. There were some crucial and great moments in my life that changed everything. I'd like to tell them about those moments.
I'd like to tell them about the day my goals changed from winning the lottery to winning the fight. I'd also like to tell them about the day I discovered that I can take a punch and still stand my ground! I think people would benefit from knowing that the enemy is not as tough as we think he is and he punches like a little girl. That's something that changed my life dramatically and permanently. I also think people need to know that we are called to expect more of ourselves and there's great glory in meeting greater expectations. I think people need to know that God is God but they have him confused with Santa Claus. I think people would be surprised at how much better life is when you serve Him than when you expect Him to serve you. I know I wasted a lot of years reading Matthew 6:33 backwards and I've got nothing to show for it. I think people need to know that not only have they been lied to but they've also been bullied. The people also need to know that along with being bullied, they've been coddled. And the damage done by both is enormous.
Some churches told me not to expect great miracles from God today, all those are passed away. Just stand strong and wait for the rapture. And while you're waiting help us stack chairs because we don't dare ask God for a building of our own. Other churches have told me to do steps 1 through 8 and remember these three things and given me the 4 laws of that and until I can get my act together, God won't trust me with real riches or abundance or anything else I need. Even worse than all those churches were the ones that told me to just learn to be content and don't get caught up with all the "religion"-sounds okay on the surface but what they were calling religion was traditional churches. Churches that have printed millions of Bibles and sent millions of missionaries into the unsaved world for about 1000 years. They can't be all bad. Who knows how many souls will be dancing on streets of gold because of the works of John Wesley and Martin Luther. These are the churches that will encourage you to not get caught up in dressing up for church but eventually everyone starts showing up in the same brand of jeans and printed button down shirts with the cool tribal pattern. These are the churches that coddle. The ones that tell you that you are a victim and just let Christ love on ya until the rapture. They've all missed it. They've all promised that everything will work out for the best if you just read your bible once a day, and stop cussing and drinking. If you'll just live a life of denying yourself and be patient, everything will be over soon and you won't have to worry about it anymore. Enough is enough.
I do expect great miracles from God and I'm done with being afraid of them. I'm done with just waiting for the rapture, I want to start in on the enemy and get some licks in. I don't want to stack chairs, I want to stack corpses of dead demons! I want to start wielding this mighty weapon God placed in my mouth to beat back the attack of the enemy. I want people to know that the life of faith is exhilarating beyond their wildest dreams. I want people to feel for themselves the rush that comes with winning a fight. Once you've felt the enemies dead body slump against the hilt of your sword and seen the panicked shock in his eyes when you refuse to cower before him, you'll never be the same. Nothing else will captivate you like the sound of battle. The trials you use to hate and complain about will light up your eyes and send a thrill through your bones. This is the life of faith. Be done with lesser things. Leave the score keeping and budgeting and dieting and commentating for others to do. Grab a weapon and start winning. Your victory is guaranteed, join the battle and see how exciting life SHOULD be
Malachi 2:5-"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
I think life would be so different for all of us if we understood reverence.
Yesterday I received my pulpit ministry and while my flesh wants to fantasize about how grand it will be to be at the head of a great pulpit ministry, God spoke to my heart about getting serious. God said it was time I stop thinking about myself and start focusing on what I'm going to ACTUALLY say from this pulpit he gives me. Yes sir, you're absolutely right. This ministry is for you, it belongs to you Lord. So let's get down to business. Of course I will yield to your instructions Lord but there are some things I'd like to tell people. There were some crucial and great moments in my life that changed everything. I'd like to tell them about those moments.
I'd like to tell them about the day my goals changed from winning the lottery to winning the fight. I'd also like to tell them about the day I discovered that I can take a punch and still stand my ground! I think people would benefit from knowing that the enemy is not as tough as we think he is and he punches like a little girl. That's something that changed my life dramatically and permanently. I also think people need to know that we are called to expect more of ourselves and there's great glory in meeting greater expectations. I think people need to know that God is God but they have him confused with Santa Claus. I think people would be surprised at how much better life is when you serve Him than when you expect Him to serve you. I know I wasted a lot of years reading Matthew 6:33 backwards and I've got nothing to show for it. I think people need to know that not only have they been lied to but they've also been bullied. The people also need to know that along with being bullied, they've been coddled. And the damage done by both is enormous.
Some churches told me not to expect great miracles from God today, all those are passed away. Just stand strong and wait for the rapture. And while you're waiting help us stack chairs because we don't dare ask God for a building of our own. Other churches have told me to do steps 1 through 8 and remember these three things and given me the 4 laws of that and until I can get my act together, God won't trust me with real riches or abundance or anything else I need. Even worse than all those churches were the ones that told me to just learn to be content and don't get caught up with all the "religion"-sounds okay on the surface but what they were calling religion was traditional churches. Churches that have printed millions of Bibles and sent millions of missionaries into the unsaved world for about 1000 years. They can't be all bad. Who knows how many souls will be dancing on streets of gold because of the works of John Wesley and Martin Luther. These are the churches that will encourage you to not get caught up in dressing up for church but eventually everyone starts showing up in the same brand of jeans and printed button down shirts with the cool tribal pattern. These are the churches that coddle. The ones that tell you that you are a victim and just let Christ love on ya until the rapture. They've all missed it. They've all promised that everything will work out for the best if you just read your bible once a day, and stop cussing and drinking. If you'll just live a life of denying yourself and be patient, everything will be over soon and you won't have to worry about it anymore. Enough is enough.
I do expect great miracles from God and I'm done with being afraid of them. I'm done with just waiting for the rapture, I want to start in on the enemy and get some licks in. I don't want to stack chairs, I want to stack corpses of dead demons! I want to start wielding this mighty weapon God placed in my mouth to beat back the attack of the enemy. I want people to know that the life of faith is exhilarating beyond their wildest dreams. I want people to feel for themselves the rush that comes with winning a fight. Once you've felt the enemies dead body slump against the hilt of your sword and seen the panicked shock in his eyes when you refuse to cower before him, you'll never be the same. Nothing else will captivate you like the sound of battle. The trials you use to hate and complain about will light up your eyes and send a thrill through your bones. This is the life of faith. Be done with lesser things. Leave the score keeping and budgeting and dieting and commentating for others to do. Grab a weapon and start winning. Your victory is guaranteed, join the battle and see how exciting life SHOULD be
No trifling...Day 1
The Lord awoke me at 5:45 this morning and something remarkable happened. I actually rolled myself out from under the warm covers and reported for duty before His throne!! Praise be to God on High....did I actually just beat my body into submission and put the Kingdom of God first?? Me? That calls for a Hallelujah...not just a regular old one either, the kind of hallelujah when you pronounce the "juh" Hallelooo Juh!
Today is an important day. I have had these episodes before when I've looked in the mirror and have been repulsed into making changes. The big difference this time is I'm not keeping it to myself. I have several spiral bound notebooks with new resolutions. But they are conveniently hidden in a closet somewhere beyond anyone's reach. No one knows about those resolutions but myself and God. This time around though, I am putting my resolutions out into public view. Granted, it's not like I'm taking a full page ad in the NY Times to tell the world about my commitments but it's something.
Now onto what God and I discussed this morning. Today I reached into my inheritance and laid hold of my pulpit ministry. That's right MY pulpit ministry. Here's some background...I'm a great public speaker. I don't say that with any kind of ego, this is a statement of fact. This is a gift God graced me with as I entered this world. I didn't know I was any different than anyone until I was in my mid-twenties but now I know, I have been graced with a marvelous gift of being able to speak powerfully to an audience. You can tell it's in my heart to do this because I feel more excited to do it if the crowd is bigger. So there it is...I'm a public speaker...and a good one. So what?
Recognizing that I am a great public speaker and resolving to pursue God as He deserves to be pursued can only mean one thing. Pretty soon, Max Miller will be preaching at a church near you! I find that terribly exciting to think about...I wonder what I'll say? I'm glad I asked...it just so happens that I have several messages that I've written over the years stored in a few different places. I could probably start preaching this coming weekend and not have to write a new message for about 6 months without repeating a message.
Today, the Lord gave me the beginnings of a message from 2 verses in the Book of Malachi-1:5 You shall see that the Lord is great beyond the borders of Israel. AND Mal 1:12...for I am a great King says the Lord of Host and my Name is to be feared among the nations. The first chapter of Malachi is about how the Lord's chosen people have taken the Lord lightly and have stopped giving Him the honor due Him....hmmm sounds familiar. It sounds like the Lord is telling me "Don't forget who you are serving. I am not some ideal or philosophy. I AM the Great I AM."
Thank you Lord for setting my priorities in order today and setting me free from all the erosive trivia that comes with pursuing some lesser goal. Today, I serve you, the Most High and I thank you for the privilege.
Today is an important day. I have had these episodes before when I've looked in the mirror and have been repulsed into making changes. The big difference this time is I'm not keeping it to myself. I have several spiral bound notebooks with new resolutions. But they are conveniently hidden in a closet somewhere beyond anyone's reach. No one knows about those resolutions but myself and God. This time around though, I am putting my resolutions out into public view. Granted, it's not like I'm taking a full page ad in the NY Times to tell the world about my commitments but it's something.
Now onto what God and I discussed this morning. Today I reached into my inheritance and laid hold of my pulpit ministry. That's right MY pulpit ministry. Here's some background...I'm a great public speaker. I don't say that with any kind of ego, this is a statement of fact. This is a gift God graced me with as I entered this world. I didn't know I was any different than anyone until I was in my mid-twenties but now I know, I have been graced with a marvelous gift of being able to speak powerfully to an audience. You can tell it's in my heart to do this because I feel more excited to do it if the crowd is bigger. So there it is...I'm a public speaker...and a good one. So what?
Recognizing that I am a great public speaker and resolving to pursue God as He deserves to be pursued can only mean one thing. Pretty soon, Max Miller will be preaching at a church near you! I find that terribly exciting to think about...I wonder what I'll say? I'm glad I asked...it just so happens that I have several messages that I've written over the years stored in a few different places. I could probably start preaching this coming weekend and not have to write a new message for about 6 months without repeating a message.
Today, the Lord gave me the beginnings of a message from 2 verses in the Book of Malachi-1:5 You shall see that the Lord is great beyond the borders of Israel. AND Mal 1:12...for I am a great King says the Lord of Host and my Name is to be feared among the nations. The first chapter of Malachi is about how the Lord's chosen people have taken the Lord lightly and have stopped giving Him the honor due Him....hmmm sounds familiar. It sounds like the Lord is telling me "Don't forget who you are serving. I am not some ideal or philosophy. I AM the Great I AM."
Thank you Lord for setting my priorities in order today and setting me free from all the erosive trivia that comes with pursuing some lesser goal. Today, I serve you, the Most High and I thank you for the privilege.
Don't trifle with this.
It was in the backroom of a Domino's Pizza in 1990 that God captivated my heart and I surrendered my life to him. That was when I made my confession of faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior....well Savior anyway. So for 20 years now, I have been confident in my eternal reward...well eternal destination anyway. That means that for the last 20 years I have enjoyed the abundance and joy that comes from serving our merciful and benevolent father....well actually....not so much.
The sad truth is, I SHOULD have enjoyed those things. And even more sad is the fact that I COULD have enjoyed all those things for the last 20 years if only I hadn't trifled with it. If 20 years ago I actually started serving Him as my Lord, I would have had a much different testimony at this point. I know there's no place in a successful life for regrets. Life is short enough without us wasting time talking about "Wouldas and shouldas." But I'm going to do just that for a moment because I think I need to. I've wasted 20 years, what's another half hour or so.
I can't help but think about what miracles I might have seen in my life if I had taken my relationship with Christ more seriously. It nauseates me a little to think about how easy it was for Satan to neutralize me in the battle for men's souls. For the past 20 years, the Kingdom of God has been advancing and that is wonderful. However when I think about the explosion of new souls in China and Russia since 1990 and realize that I had absolutely no part in it (unless some of my sporadic giving happened to make its way into a ministry in that field without me knowing about it) I get a little sick to my stomach. When I think back on all the times I chose to operate in the flesh instead of faith. When I think about all the gifts He's lavished on me and my family that I've squandered over the years. When I think about all the thoughts I didn't take captive. When I think about all the great sermons I was privileged to hear that I received with a shoulder shrug. When I think about what kind of ministry God could have built THROUGH ME in that amount of time I get REALLY nauseated.Who knows how many people I could have seen God set free through my gifts in 20 years!!!! That's enough to bring a man to his knees in remorse.....
....OK enough wallowing in self-incrimination. Time to get over it and get on my feet! It's time to start slinging this weapon I have called "faith" in the enemies direction. It's time to start taking thoughts captive and cast things down. It's time to realize that the whole reason I have been given teachings and encouragements and financial gifts is NOT so I can sit comfortably on my couch while I wait for the rapture. It's high time I start giving God a return on His seed! God is looking to reap a harvest from my life...He's certainly sowed enough seed into it. I can't count the number of times He's come through for us with protection and provision. I pray He will bring many of those times to my remembrance so I can testify about them. The really great news is this....you can't stop the law of sowing and reaping.
If the law of sowing and reaping will work for us, how much more so for God who decreed it?! God has been sowing into my life since I was a twinkle in Dad's eye and since He has ordered the universe to operate on the principle of sowing and reaping, I know He will eventually reap a harvest through me. It embarrasses me to think about how many seasons He has had to patiently endure crop failure because of my slack. The good news is those days are over. No more crop failure! No more trifling with this.
No more toying with things like prayer time and quiet time. No more trifling with finances and this means way more than just tithing. In the coming days, I will spend time in prayer and writing about what it means to not trifle with the things of God. I'm excited about this new chapter in my life. I'm excited to see what challenges and moments of truth I will face as I keep this commitment not to trifle with the things of God. I look forward to the coming days because I know that as I draw near to Him, He'll draw near to me and perhaps some of these past 20 years can be redeemed. Keep an eye on this...you may witnessing the birth of something huge. God bless you richly and superabundantly.
The sad truth is, I SHOULD have enjoyed those things. And even more sad is the fact that I COULD have enjoyed all those things for the last 20 years if only I hadn't trifled with it. If 20 years ago I actually started serving Him as my Lord, I would have had a much different testimony at this point. I know there's no place in a successful life for regrets. Life is short enough without us wasting time talking about "Wouldas and shouldas." But I'm going to do just that for a moment because I think I need to. I've wasted 20 years, what's another half hour or so.
I can't help but think about what miracles I might have seen in my life if I had taken my relationship with Christ more seriously. It nauseates me a little to think about how easy it was for Satan to neutralize me in the battle for men's souls. For the past 20 years, the Kingdom of God has been advancing and that is wonderful. However when I think about the explosion of new souls in China and Russia since 1990 and realize that I had absolutely no part in it (unless some of my sporadic giving happened to make its way into a ministry in that field without me knowing about it) I get a little sick to my stomach. When I think back on all the times I chose to operate in the flesh instead of faith. When I think about all the gifts He's lavished on me and my family that I've squandered over the years. When I think about all the thoughts I didn't take captive. When I think about all the great sermons I was privileged to hear that I received with a shoulder shrug. When I think about what kind of ministry God could have built THROUGH ME in that amount of time I get REALLY nauseated.Who knows how many people I could have seen God set free through my gifts in 20 years!!!! That's enough to bring a man to his knees in remorse.....
....OK enough wallowing in self-incrimination. Time to get over it and get on my feet! It's time to start slinging this weapon I have called "faith" in the enemies direction. It's time to start taking thoughts captive and cast things down. It's time to realize that the whole reason I have been given teachings and encouragements and financial gifts is NOT so I can sit comfortably on my couch while I wait for the rapture. It's high time I start giving God a return on His seed! God is looking to reap a harvest from my life...He's certainly sowed enough seed into it. I can't count the number of times He's come through for us with protection and provision. I pray He will bring many of those times to my remembrance so I can testify about them. The really great news is this....you can't stop the law of sowing and reaping.
If the law of sowing and reaping will work for us, how much more so for God who decreed it?! God has been sowing into my life since I was a twinkle in Dad's eye and since He has ordered the universe to operate on the principle of sowing and reaping, I know He will eventually reap a harvest through me. It embarrasses me to think about how many seasons He has had to patiently endure crop failure because of my slack. The good news is those days are over. No more crop failure! No more trifling with this.
No more toying with things like prayer time and quiet time. No more trifling with finances and this means way more than just tithing. In the coming days, I will spend time in prayer and writing about what it means to not trifle with the things of God. I'm excited about this new chapter in my life. I'm excited to see what challenges and moments of truth I will face as I keep this commitment not to trifle with the things of God. I look forward to the coming days because I know that as I draw near to Him, He'll draw near to me and perhaps some of these past 20 years can be redeemed. Keep an eye on this...you may witnessing the birth of something huge. God bless you richly and superabundantly.
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