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.