Nathan Miller

With every passing day I am amazed at the love that grows in my heart for my son. Fifteen months ago, God chose to bless us with the most amazing child. I’m sure that every parent thinks that of their children, but if you ever meet Josh you’ll agree with me. Since becoming a father the Lord has used Josh to teach me many lessons about His love for me.

I love Josh so much, and I only want the best for him. Because of that love I will set boundaries around his life. These boundaries are for his good and protection. I don’t want him to stick his hands in the fire because it will hurt, yet it amazes me that he still chooses to disobey me. The thing is, we do the same to God. He loves us so much, far more than I can ever love Josh. There are things that He told me not to do. Not because He doesn’t love me, but because He does. He wants the best for me just like I want the best for Josh. But His best comes with obedience! He wants me to live a victorious Christian life, but that can only happen if we live within those boundaries. Yesterday I took a much needed day off, and I spent the day with my family at the Georgia Aquarium. We had a wonderful time, but the thing that I enjoyed the most was seeing the joy on my son’s face. I also loved the fact the he didn’t want to be with anyone except daddy. He wouldn’t let anyone, even Pop Pop, hold him. Of course I didn’t mind holding him all day, but this got me thinking. How much more does my Heavenly Father receive joy when we are living rightly before Him and experiencing the fullness of His joy? How much more does God enjoy our delight in Him? How much more does He enjoy the time that we spend with Him?

Being a father makes me a better man! I love how my son adores me, but this also brings great responsibility. Josh wants to be like me. He makes faces like me. He dances like me (which is not very good). He wants to work on what I am working on. Last night before I went to bed, I slipped into his room to look at him as I often do. As I stood over his bed, I thought about how God might use him one day for His Kingdom work. But I also thought of the great responsibility that I have. Josh is my son, but more importantly he is God’s child. I am a just a steward of this little life. I pray that I will live a life worthy of honor so that my son might grow up to become a man of God. I pray that I will not be a stumbling block for my son to trip over. If I fail in my life before God, then my son will more than likely fail. That thought alone spurs me on to be a better man!

There is more that I can say, but I will defer until later. I did want to leave you with a few pictures of my little man! Enjoy!

As some of you might know, Church Planting has been a burning desire in our hearts the last few years. I won’t dump the whole story on you, but it all dates back to the Bonfire Conference held here at FBCW in October of 2006. At that conference I heard Vance Pitman speak about their church planting experience at Hope. During his session, he whet my appetite for Church Planting in the West. Yes, there is a need for churches in the East, but in the West there is an unbelievable need. The demographics show a much higher percentage of unchurched people in the West – in many places as high as 95%.

I say all of this to update you on our current endeavor. Since being at Woodstock, we have been looking at San Diego as a possible place to plant a church. I’m asking that you all please pray for us as we will be traveling out there April 3-10. Yes, there is a great need for churches, but we desire to be where the Lord wants us. Pray that if it would be His will for us to be in San Diego that He would make it clear to us. Thank you all for your prayers as they are greatly needed. If you would like some more details about our trip or our desire to do church planting, send me an e-mail ( natekmiller@gmail.com ).

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 recently finished reading the book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome. This is a must read for anyone in ministry. In our society “success” is a word we hear often. Society measures it in status, salary, and influence. However, in the Kingdom of God things are different. As ministers of the Gospel, we can get caught up in that kind of thinking. Kent and Barbara Hughes discuss our idea of success versus God’s idea of success. Success in God’s eyes is faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, and attitude. Most importantly they link success in the Christian life to obedience. “In evaluating success, we must all understand that Scripture consistently links success to obedience — our obedience to God’s Word.” (p. 37)

Kent and Barbara end the book with two chapters that speak about how the pastor’s wife and the congregation can help the pastor have a healthy view of success in ministry. With many pastors climbing the “ladder of success” in the ministry. This book is a refreshingly healthy view of how we are to view success according to God’s standards. I hope you enjoy it as must as I did!

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?

I have been extremely negligent as of late to inform all of you of what God has been doing in my life. This year has brought me many new expereinces and opporunities to enjoy. God has also been doing a tremendous work in my life. Last week I met with a local church planter who reminded me of how a blog can keep people informed about what is going on in your life. Therefore, I decided that I would launch a new blog. It is still a work in progress, but here is my attempt to keep you updated about my life and ministry. You’ll also enjoy hearing about my travels with Dr. Johnny Hunt! There are many of them! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by.