Steven Miller

  The Door of the Ark A Picture of Salvation Through Jesus “Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.” Genesis 6:16 When God instructed Noah to build the ark, He gave specific directions. The dimensions were prescribed, the materials were prescribed, the decks were arranged according to His command, and even the placement of the door was determined by God. There was to be a door in the side of the ark. That detail becomes especially meaningful when we view the flood account alongside the gospel. The ark was God’s appointed means of rescue from coming judgment, and there was one entrance into that place of safety. Centuries later, Jesus declared, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). The ark had a door; Jesus identified Himself as the Door of salvation. One Ark, One Door, One Way of Escape God did not instruct Noah to build several d...

                       What We Do Reveals Whether We Know Him John 16:2–3 “And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.” — John 16:3 Jesus spoke these words while preparing His disciples for persecution. He warned them that people would put them out of the synagogues and even kill them while believing they were offering service to God. Then He explained the reason behind such actions: “They have not known the Father, nor me.” That statement should arrest our attention. These were not necessarily people who claimed to reject God. Some of them believed they were defending Him. They knew religious customs, traditions, laws, ceremonies, and theological arguments. Yet Jesus said that beneath all their religious activity lay a devastating reality: they did not actually know God. There is a profound difference between knowing about God and knowing God. A person can possess information about God while h...

“You Shall Love the Lord Your God”? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV Few commandments are more familiar than Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus later identified this command as the greatest commandment, placing it at the center of faithful life with God. Yet familiarity can soften the force of Scripture. We hear, “Love God with all your heart,” and may interpret it primarily as an emotional statement: feel deeply about God, worship sincerely, pray passionately, and maintain affectionate thoughts toward Him. But God was saying far more than that. Deuteronomy 6:5 is not merely a command to feel love for God. It is a call to give Him the total allegiance of the whole person. God is not asking for a portion of us. He is claiming the whole person. The Command Begins With Relationship Before God commands Israel to love Him, He reminds them who He is: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy...

 When Your Adult Children No Longer Want You in Their Life A Biblical Response to Estrangement Few wounds cut as deeply as rejection by an adult son or daughter. A parent may endure disappointment in many areas of life, but estrangement from a child reaches into memories, hopes, identity, and love itself. You remember holding them when they were small, caring for them when they were sick, praying for them, and imagining a future in which the relationship would continue to grow. Then, whether suddenly or gradually, you discover that they no longer want you to be part of their life. For the Christian parent, the pain is joined by difficult spiritual questions: What does God expect me to do? How many times should I reach out? Does forgiveness require me to keep accepting rejection or mistreatment? What if I have apologized, attempted reconciliation, and nothing has changed? Scripture does not give us one passage devoted specifically to estrangement between parents and adult children. ...