Steven Miller

  All scripture is from NKJV Scripture:   Colossians 2:11-23 11   In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,  12  buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.  13  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  14  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  15  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16   So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new m...

  All scripture is from the New Living Translation. Acts of the Apostles 2:42 - 'All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.’ In this passage of scripture, we find ourselves at what is technically the beginning of church, the body of Christ.  Now, it was not anything like we know it to be now, n ot having buildings called churches.  There were temples that the Jews met in, but they were not used by the body of Christ, as far as we know. They met in the members’ houses. At this point in time, new believers in Jesus were not even called Christians yet. In fact, the majority of the first believers in Jesus were Jews. The service was brand new.   It no doubt had occurred to them at some point, “Hey, we’ve never done church like this before!” And you know what?   They hadn’t done church like this before.   If they had ever been to synagogue before...

     In a podcast that I was listening to earlier today, the host said to his guest that "We really need more shock and awe these days." I found that a curious thing, because this particular podcast had been recorded last summer in June.      The reason I found it curious is that the host is not a Christian in any sense of the word and yet, can we deny that comment was a bit foretelling in what we are currently experiencing. After all, what is more shocking and perhaps a bit awing  than how the world is responding to the pandemic that we are currently dealing with. Shocking for certain. Perhaps we are waiting to see the awe part. I don't know.      What I was thinking about in this, however, is what can be a more shocking and awing thing than our lives in Jesus? Keeping our eyes set upon Him, we will see so many things that will shock us about His love and grace, and cause a great deal of awe at how He handles us in His love. ...

1 John 4:18 - "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."      For many years, I have been thinking about the complete meaning of this verse. I have not been able to completely understand what "perfect love" truly was. And trying to figure out how it cast out fear was something I did not understand even more.      I thought I understood what love was; after all, I had been married to a wonderful woman for almost 25 years and those were some pretty awesome years, even with all the problems she had with her illness. But I apparently did not have a complete idea of what God's love really was. I understood things like, "for God so loved the world" (John 3:16), but I still did not understand the reality of God's love.      I haven't thought of this for verse for quite awhile, but as he so often does, recently God gave me a complete revelat...

If you have never been canoeing, one thing you need to know is that it is an exercise in teamwork. It takes a lot of cooperation to keep a canoe going straight in the water. It also takes a lot of cooperation between the two rowers to negotiate a tight turn or narrow passage or rapid waters. In addition to good teamwork, it takes a lot of commitment. If either rower gives up and does not do his/her part, the rowing effort becomes more difficult  for the one who is left doing the rowing. The canoe is harder to turn; harder to get moving again from a standstill and also harder to keep going straight. Teamwork in canoeing is not unlike the teamwork it takes to keep a good marriage moving ahead. Each spouse must take up his/her part of the teamwork and do what's necessary to keep the marriage going straight. If either slacks off or refuses to do his/her part, the couple will veer off course. They will not be able to navigate the tight twisting turns that life has and the marria...

So many churches these days are under the mistaken idea that because they have switched to singing choruses and contemporary songs for their services, that they are now worshiping God more fully. But apart from our hearts being set upon seeking God and worshiping him "in spirit and in truth" they are no more truly worshiping God than they were when they were only singing hymns.  It's not the type of songs being used for the worship that matters. It's where your heart is focused  during the worship time that makes it true worship. Just as we are to love the Lord "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' we are to worship Him in the same way. Mindlessly "worshiping" Him with no heart in it, is not worship at all. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8, quoting Isaiah ""'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;" So it seems to me that our hearts directed toward...

I LOVE a good story!  So much so, I get involved in a movie or TV series very deeply.  I will talk to the screen, saying something in response to something that was said in the movie. In TV series that I have loved, I start to feel as if I'm a part of the show. I can readily identify with the characters and even come to care about them.  And when a series comes to an end and I watch the final episode that will ever be made, I have often experienced a sense of loss, as if I have a good friend who left or passed away. Oh sure, I know that they aren't real, but to me, that is a sign of a "good" story.  One that pulls you into it; makes you readily identify with the characters and makes you feel that you are a part of the story.  THAT is a good story! The Gospel has been called "The Greatest Story Ever Told", but it is not just a story.  It is not a fictional account of something.  It is the actual telling of what Jesus came to the earth to do... to s...