Jason and Becca Miller: May 2014

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Thursday Afternoon Photos From Guernsey

To view the pictures click the photo then when the next page loads click it again and you can see the story board.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Do I strengthen my brethren and sisters?

“We should ask ourselves, “Do I strengthen my brethren and sisters? do I lend them a helping hand when they are tried and afflicted and weak? When they are falling, do I seek to strengthen their hands in God?” Again, in the Epistle to the Thessalonians we read, “Edify one another even as also ye do.” Do we build up one another, and seek to encourage and lead on one another in the knowledge of Christ? How is it with us regarding these points? Is it true of us that we are not merely plants and trees, but fruit-bearing trees in the Lord’s Garden? Oh! beloved in Christ, is our life and walk day by day a sweet perfume to Christ? Just let us ask ourselves, and deal honestly with our souls this evening; and before we go away let us ask ourselves, as before God, the question, Is my life and my deportment a sweet savour unto Christ? Do I refresh the heart of my blessed Lord? Thus it might be,-—thus it ought to be, beloved in Christ.” http://ref.ly/o/jehvahmagnfd/249720 via the Logos Bible Android app.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Do I by my life and deportment and words minister the Spirit to others?

“Do I by my life and deportment and words minister the Spirit to others? How often has it been thus; or has it been so at all? And if in some degree, is it so habitually? What the Lord Jesus Christ looks for is this, That since He has graciously been pleased to give unto us the Holy Ghost, it should be true of us individually, “that out of us flow rivers of living water.” And I would say, that, if we more expected it, we should have more; and if our life and walk and deportment were more as it becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus, we should, by the grace of the Spirit, refresh others, and out of us would verily flow “rivers of living water”; as was the case in the days of the apostles.” http://ref.ly/o/jehvahmagnfd/252157 via the Logos Bible Android app.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

God interprets our requests

“Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon.” Joshua spoke the command of faith as he understood the matter, but the Divine hearing of the command was carried out as God understood it.

The desire of Joshua was, to see the light of day remain, and the darkness of night prevented, until he had secured his object in the pursuit of his enemy. And this desire he gained through his extraordinary faith. It was a matter of no moment to the faith of Joshua centuries ago, nor is it now, to the faith of the reader, by what natural means such a supernatural effect should be produced.

John Henry Kurtz, The Bible and Astronomy; An Exposition of the Biblical Cosmology, and Its Relations to Natural Science, trans. T. D. Simonton (Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1857), 24.

The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever

“I delight to speak about Him, because our holy faith is a reality. The God of the Bible is the same in the second part of the nineteenth century as He was at the beginning. There is no difference between the Living God four thousand years ago and now; no difference between what the blessed Jesus was when on earth and now. Only let us seek to acquaint ourselves with Him; only believe what the Scriptures say about Him; only in child-like simplicity come to the word and believe it, and lay hold on it. Oh how blessed—how blessed! Oh that some of my dear fellow-sinners might be attracted to Jesus this evening!”

http://ref.ly/o/jehvahmagnfd/121328 via the Logos Bible Android app.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Preaching like Tozer: 3 Ways He Broke the Mold

Whenever someone asked my uncle what pie he liked best, he always responded with whatever pie he was eating at the time. I feel the same about Tozer’s work. When anybody asks me which Tozer book I like best, I always respond with the one I’m working on at the time. Unlike works by any other writer I know, there’s something about a Tozer sermon or book that speaks straight to the heart.

People who know A. W. Tozer know him as a conference speaker, writer, and editor. At his heart, however, he was a true pastor. His best preaching was in his church, either Chicago or Toronto, and he truly had a pastor’s heart.

Here are three aspects of Tozer’s preaching that made him one of the greats: Read More

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Danger exists only where we avail not ourselves of this Divine strength or succor.

...faith is ever endowed with a divine energy; the bark, however weak it may appear, is possessed of an anchor capable of withstanding the most tempestuous surges, a compass which never varies, and there is besides One within the vessel who rebukes the wind and says unto the sea, “Peace, be still.” He also calls to us and says: “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? Danger exists only where we avail not ourselves of this Divine strength or succor. If we, like the unprofitable servant, lest we lose the talent committed to us, hide it in the earth, and then in the day of reckoning like him, boldly approach our Lord with the words: “Lo, there thou hast that is thine,” let us beware lest a like sentence be also pronounced upon us.

John Henry Kurtz, The Bible and Astronomy; An Exposition of the Biblical Cosmology, and Its Relations to Natural Science, trans. T. D. Simonton (Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1857), 35–36.

Monday, May 12, 2014

leaning upon the Beloved

“Are we leaning upon the Beloved? Just answer the question before God, What is your habit of soul? Trusting in yourself, your intellect, your physical strength, your money, your experience in business, your skilfulness in your profession, or even the experience you have had in the divine life, your knowledge of the Word of God,—do you trust in any of these things? If so, allow me affectionately to tell you, that you are not “leaning upon the Beloved.” And this will prove your weakness, and will make you feel that you are in a wrong state, and not doing as you should do.” http://ref.ly/o/jehvahmagnfd/261038 via the Logos Bible Android app.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Snow again?

Last week we had our services in the park in lawn chairs this week its snowing.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Is God On Our Side?

One of the most classic evidences of this is the slogan used by the Germans in their twentieth-century wars against the Allies. This phrase appeared in their speeches, and I’ve even seen it prominently attached to a soldier’s helmet: “GOTT MIT UNS”—“God with us.”

Germany is not the only modern nation that has justified its actions with this phrase. Study the inaugural addresses of most American presidents, and you will quickly see that frequent reference is made to the Divine Being functioning on our side. It is quite presumptuous to make God a German, an American, or a Britisher. It’s as if we give Him honorary citizenship.

In many ways, this kind of “sloganeering” can end up being the Achilles heel of the Christian. I can rationalize my doing what I want to do by deceiving myself into thinking that God is on my side. This is the ultimate idolatry. What a narrow perspective it brings to life. How self-centered and destructive this can be. When I say that God is on my side, I’m declaring that I am the center of the universe, a very important universe. The very Creator and Sustainer of that universe is mobilized by me to function at my whim. All too much of contemporary Christianity smacks of this provincial egocentricity.

I am told that Abraham Lincoln had another way of looking at this issue during the Civil War when both sides were claiming God’s help. Lincoln anguished, observing how divided his nation had become: “The key issue is not whether God is on my side but whether I am on God’s side.” Do you find yourself as fascinated as I by that very subtle distinction in the use of words which produces a massive difference in one’s self-understanding?

Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 154.