Nathan Miller

For several months now I’ve been reading a devotional by Boyd Bailey called Seeking Daily the Heart of God. It has been incredible! He’s like a modern day Oswald Chambers! This morning’s section was no different. It’s entitled “God Chosen.”

Bailey begins by stating, “God uses whom He chooses, and He equips whom He calls.” That one statement is packed with so much truth. If you look at my mentor, Dr Johnny Hunt, this truth is screaming. He was a high school drop out living in the projects. He managed a pool room, and made his living hustling pool. He was an alcoholic living with no direction and purpose in life. Then on a snowy Sunday night in January he met Jesus. God radically changed His life! Now the high school drop out went back to school, became a pastor, and is now the Southern Baptist President. That’s the abbreviated story, but if you want to read more I’ll send you a copy of his testimony just contact me. Trust me it’s incredible. If you would have seen Johnny in those days you would have written him off, but God had other plans. God called and Johnny obey!

I think about it often in my own life. Why would God choose me to become a pastor/church planter? Am I qualified? Is there something in me that He saw? No! God called me on no merit of my own, and now He is equipping me to become the man He wants me to be. There is nothing to note in my life other than God. It’s only by God’s Grace I am where I am today. I know the propensity of my evil heart. I know where that evil could take me, but God’s grace keeps me from it.

Bailey continues his devotion by stating that God chose us first and foremost to be obedient. Through that obedience He will make you into the leader He desires for you to be. You must stay submitted, surrendered, and obedient, and He will fill you with His Spirit. “It’s a heart hungry for wisdom that He chooses. It is a ‘want of wisdom’ that opens up the windows of heaven’s resources.” (Bailey) Remember John 15:16, God chose me and I must spend my life doing His work!

ATTENTION ALL SOUTHERN BAPTIST! Go to www.greatcommissionresurgence.com to read and sign the statement from our President Dr. Johnny Hunt. In the past we fought for the Inerrancy of Scripture. That battle has been won! The time has come for a new rally cry. This document contains that cry, The Great Commission Resurgence. May we put our differences aside and join together to bring the gospel to the nations.

In brief, here are the 10 points of the document:

I. A Commitment to Christ’s Lordship.

II. A Commitment to Gospel-Centeredness.

III. A Commitment to the Great Commandments.

IV. A Commitment to Biblical Inerrancy and Sufficiency.

V. A Commitment to a Healthy Confessional Center.

VI. A Commitment to Biblically Healthy Churches.

VII. A Commitment to Sound Biblical Preaching.

VIII. A Commitment to a Methodological Diversity that is Biblically Informed.

IX. A Commitment to a More Effective Convention Structure.

X. A Commitment to Distinctively Christian Families.

This morning , as I do every morning, I read My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers. If you are looking for a good devotional to read, I highly recommend this one. I have been reading it for years, and it continues to minister to my life and challenges my walk with the Lord. This morning’s section challenged me in regards to my prayer life and I wanted to share it with you.

This morning Chambers opens with the statement: “The reason many of us stop praying and become hard towards God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer.” How true is this in my life? I have to admit that far too often. I come before God looking for some magical, emotional experience where I can “feel” closer to God. However, is that Biblical? No where in the Bible do you find that teaching. Maybe some of that thinking comes from our “American mentality.” We are so emotionally driven!

Chambers continues his challenge:

“Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to getting the mind of Christ about the one for whom we are praying for. Too often instead of worshiping God, we construct statements as to how prayer works. Are we worshiping or are we in dispute with God— ‘I don’t see how You are going to do it.’ This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God we become hard and dogmatic. We hurl our own petitions at God’s throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to form the mind of Christ. If we are hard towards God, we will become hard towards other people.”

“Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray?”

Prayer is not about us, it’s about God. Prayer is not for us to change God’s mind about a matter, but rather to get our thoughts in line with His plan. Prayer is an act of worship! It is an amazing thought that we can come before the throne of God to speak to Him. May we not abuse the privilege, but rather let it touch our hearts. May we walk away from our prayer time more like Christ than when we entered. May our prayer time change our outlook on the world, and may we see people the way our Lord sees people. I hope that you apply these truths to your prayer life today!

Today I bought a new devotional from Charles Spurgeon called Look Unto Me. Pastor Johnny has been reading it and talking about it, so naturally it peaked my interest. After reading today’s installment, I know that it is going to be a great read.

The title of the book comes from Isaiah 45:22. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” This is the verse that Spurgeon heard preached at the age of 15 showing him the way to salvation.

Today’s reading is centered around Luke 22:48 where Judas is betraying Jesus in the garden. Before you jump on the band wagon of criticism, Spurgeon warns us about our actions. We betray our Lord every day with our actions. Spurgeon asks, “Do I live as carelessly and worldly as unbelievers while professing to be a follower of Jesus?” I have to confess that I have to answer yes to this question far more than I would like to admit. For those who are willing to admit their betrayal of their Lord, Spurgeon offers this wonderful prayer:

Then, dear Lord, keep me pure. Make me sincere and true and protect me from every false action. Never allow me to betray my Savior. Dear Jesus, I do love You, and although I often grieve You, my heart’s desire is to be faithful “to the point of death” (Matt. 26:38). O God, may You keep from being a smooth-talking hypocrite, simply professing Christ, but ultimately falling into “the firey lake” (Rev. 19:20) because I betray my Master “with a kiss.”

This is my prayer, and I pray that you would make it yours!

Our Pastor Dr. Johnny Hunt has been preaching through the DNA of our church for the month of March. He is half way through his series, but he has spent the last two weeks on Worship. Before he started the series, he asked me to research some definitions or statements on worship. Here are some of the best of my findings. I hope they are as challenging to you as they were to me!

“Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does.” (Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship, p. 26)

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44), wrote: “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration.”

In the process of being worshiped… God communicates his presence to men. – C. S. Lewis

God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship. – A. W. Tozer

Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped. – Jack Hayford

Worship does not satisfy our hunger for God – it whets our appetite. – Eugene Peterson

A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. – Oswald Chambers

“Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth.”  “Worship is not simply a mood; it is a response.  Worship is not just a feeling; it is a declaration.” – Ronald Allen

“Worship ‘is something we do, not just something we attend.  It is not merely an issue for the pastor and other ministers, nor for the musicians and those who plan the service.  Worship is an issue for the entire congregation, for worship is something we do together.” – Albert Mohler

I’ve had on my heart the last two days Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” This verse is an incredible testament to what the Lord has been doing in my own walk. Many times in my life I can tend to rely on my own strength and wisdom rather that God’s. This always leads me into trouble. Since surrendering my life to God’s plan I have had to make some sacrifices. I have had to trust God more in recent days than every before.

I want to stand here as a testament that God is faithful. I have tasted and seen that God is good. If you are wavering in your faith, if you are wondering if God cares for you, or if He is trustworthy, taste and see! He is good! He will prove Himself to you in ways that you never imagined. Remember the last part of that verse, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” You don’t have to have all the answers in life, but you can know the One who does. He wants to meet you today, and He so desires to show you Himself. Won’t you trust in Him today?