Burn Through The Clouds

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Mark McMillion

You ever had a cloudy day? I’ve had a few in the last days. I felt “bottled up”, little nagging questions, fears, complaints or other kinds of nuisances just stacked up behind each other at the edge of my thoughts and mind. They seemed to come from the general direction of doubts.

So it’s all caused me to pray all the more. Victories are won in prayer almost more than any other way. Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, went out into the desert to pray for 40 days. He had to defeat the Devil first. And it sounds like it was quiet a battle. But He won. (See Luke 4:1-13)

Sometimes when you’re surrounded by clouds, the best thing is to pull over. Kind of like, “wait till the fog clears.” Sometimes that’s the thing to do. If you’re not sure what you should do and you can’t see the road ahead of you, then it could be time to pull over till you can see clearly again.

But I think at other times, that’s not really God’s highest and best. Like the old song says, “Up there, the sun is always shinning.” I’ve been beset by clouds for a few days. But I know where the sun is. I know pretty much what my vision is and what I believe the Lord wants me to be doing. Maybe it’s time to “walk by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7) I believe the Lord was wanting me to let His sunshine within me burn away the clouds of uncertainty and the many other things that have been assailing me the past few days.

Sometimes you just have to go on “automatic pilot”, like airplanes do. The pilots often just fly by their instruments, not looking out the window. It’s like Solomon said, “He that observes the wind shall not sow and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.” (Ecclesiastes 11:4) Like I wrote about Nehemiah in “Cannot Come Down”, sometimes we just have to say no to the folks who want to have us come down from the wall of God’s will into “the plain of Ono”. (Nehemiah 6:2) It’s actually says that, the plain of “Ono”.

It’s the Devil sometimes who brings the clouds, the temptations, the negative emotions, everything he can find in his bag of tricks to get us out of God’s Will. If he can’t dissuade us from doing God’s will, he tries to delay us, to get us tripped off on sidetracks and anything rather than using our precious time for God’s highest and best.

Paul on one of his missionary journeys seemed to be in a fog for a while. He and his helpers were out on the mission field in Acts 16, going from city to city and then it says “they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia.” (Acts 16:6). So they kept going forward and it says they were planning to go to Bithynia, the modern southeast coastal area of the Black Sea, “but the Spirit did not allow them.” (Acts 16:7)

I don’t know about you but I might have been tempted to get agitated around that time. “Well, Lord, here we are out serving you and you keep telling me “no” every time I turn around! I’m in a fog Lord!” It’s not recorded Paul said that but he might have been tempted. But I’m guessing it really got them in a stronger sense of prayer. And then came the answer, “A vision appeared in the night to Paul, a man of Macedonia saying, come over and help us!” (Acts 16:9) They were in a fog. But then it lifted and they got a clear answer from the Lord.

But if you look closely at the verses there, it doesn’t say they just stopped all activity. Sometimes you have to really read closely to see a hidden point. In Acts 16:8, even after they had been stopped twice by the Holy Ghost in going a direction they were thinking about, it says “Then passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.”

They didn’t let the clouds of uncertainty and what could have even been a temptation to doubt get to them. They kept the light of the sun inside of them keep them going when in some ways they didn’t know what they fully were to do. They went on the instructions they already had. They kept going by faith, even if everything was not totally clear.

And, like the men Jesus healed, “as they went, they were healed.” (Luke 17:14) Sometimes we have to do the “wenting”, the obeying. In this case, Paul and his companions kept the faith and kept obeying, even when they seemed to maybe be getting their signals wrong. Eventually the fog cleared and they went on to the light of a brighter day. In this case, it involved the first works of the evangelization of Europe when they went into Macedonia and established what became one of the strongest of the Early Church communities.

If you’re in a fog, it may be necessary to pull over for it to clear. On the other hand, don’t let any doubts of gloom or confusion cause you to be deterred in your journey of faith. “We don’t look at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. The things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:18)

Spiritual Habits: Hearing from God

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Mark McMillion

One of the most amazing and beneficial things to me in being a believer is how we can actually get answers from God. Probably for some that may sound almost boastful. But it’s not. Here’s one of the more famous quotes from King Solomon, from the book of Proverbs. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)

The Bible so often boils incredibly important truth down to something so brief and simple that you can actually memorize it. Each part there is so vital. First: “Trust in the Lord.” Believe. And believe to a degree that you trust God.

Then next? “Don’t rely on (or default) to your own understand.” What does that mean? We all have so many stray thoughts clanking around in our brain. “Maybe this?” “How about that?” “I remember one time…” Stray thoughts. Our own understand.

But what should we do instead? “Acknowledge Him.” What does that mean? Essentially it means to pray. The Bible is full of examples where folks just like you and me simply didn’t know what to do.

A famous and Godly king of Judah in old times was completed outnumbered by the enemies of God’s people who surrounded Jerusalem. He poured out his heart in prayer, saying to God in one place, “Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are turned towards You.” (II Chronicles 20:12)

That king didn’t “lean to his own understanding.” He not only acknowledged the Lord, he “poured out his heart before Him.” (Psalms 62:8) And God really came through for His people; it’s a wonderful account which you can read in II Chronicles 20.

This approach to life, this habit should be so natural and ingrained in us that it should almost be like breathing. Maybe for those who are new to the Lord and His ways, it takes some work to make this part of your life. But recognizing the vanity of our own thoughts and so turning to acknowledge Him and to look for God’s answers should be one of our most basic “survival instincts” we have as believers.

And the Lord loves to answer us. The Bible is just full of promises from God that He will answer and lead and guide us, personally, intimately and faithfully. One of my favorite promises from Jesus is this, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves Me will be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21) What a promise! He will manifest Himself to us. He will be there.

Like God told Isaiah, “You shall hear a voice behind you saying, ‘this is the way’, when you turn to the right hand or the left.” (Isiah 30:21) If there was anyone who really utterly depended on God to lead him and guide him and show him what to do, it was King David. You could read I Samuel 23 to hear of some of the amazing answers to prayer for direction which David received.

You may say, “I’m not anyone great, I’m not king David or Isaiah!” You don’t have to be. His eye is on the sparrow.

But maybe it would help to try to capsulize the idea. First, believe. And you could say, “But I don’t have enough faith!” One man said to Jesus, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Did the Lord say, “Sorry buddy, nothing but perfect faith will do for Me”? No, He didn’t. The Lord saw what the man had, not what he didn’t. So, believe. And you do.

Second. “Don’t lean on (or rely on) your own understanding“. Like King David said, “I hate vain thoughts.” (Psalm 119:113) Our part is to not be satisfied with our own personal thoughts and understanding of things.

But what are we to do? Third should be, “In all our ways acknowledge Him.” Turning our thoughts into prayers, even silent ones if need be. Look up in your mind and heart to the Lord. Expect God to answer in some way, since He’s said so emphatically and repeatedly for thousands of years that He will. And then, fourth, the rest of the promise says, “and He will direct your paths.”

It’s a promise from God. It’s not vain drivel. It’s one of the most important contracts and pledges that has ever been given. God wants to bring light and understanding into our lives. He has a better plan than you or I do. He sees what’s up ahead. He can do more for you than you can for yourself.

As Paul said to the Ephesians “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) If we’ll just turn away from our vain thoughts and our own understanding and instead seek His leading and ways, we’ll find He’s right there, sometimes almost instantaneously to give us ideas, truth and understanding that will lighten our loads and give us direction like we’ve never known. As king David said to God, “You will show me the path of life.” (Psalm 16:11)

What’s it to you?

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Jesus and Peter-1 flat Have you ever said that to someone, “What’s it to you?” Or maybe someone’s said that to you? It’s usually not considered a real warm, friendly way to talk to someone. But Jesus said that one time to Peter, one of His top disciples. Why would Jesus talk like that to someone? Let’s look at the context and see if we can find out.

This all happened after Jesus’ resurrection. In another blog article, I wrote about “He Said It Three Times” and this is part of the same conversation where Jesus said “What’s it to you?” (John 21:22) to Peter. He’d just told Peter three times to “Feed My sheep” (John 21:16), to teach and minister to the disciples and followers of Jesus.

And the very next thing the Lord said to Peter was, “When you were young, you fastened your belt and went where you wanted. But when you grow old, you’ll stretch forth your hands and another will carry you where you do not wish.” (John 21:18) And the Bible goes on to tell us that the Lord was signifying to Peter that, when he was old, he would “stretch forth his hands”; in other words, Peter would be crucified.

So this was a very important, significant conversation Jesus was having with Peter, all taking place after the Lord’s death on the cross and His resurrection. What was Peter’s reaction? The Bible says that the next thing was that Peter saw John, another of Jesus’ closest disciples, and so he asked Jesus, “What about him?” (John 21:21)

Sometimes you just wonder and marvel at all this. The love and patience of Jesus. The all-too-humanness of some of His disciples, perhaps especially Peter. Peter had just heard some precious, personal words from Jesus for himself. But it doesn’t come across that Peter really relished the moment and its significance. Instead he asked the Lord, “What about John?” In His mercy and longsuffering, the Lord even partially answered Peter’s question but then also added a chiding reproof.

Jesus answered Peter’s question about John this way: “If I will that he remains until I come back, what is that to you? Follow me.” (John 21:22) In that one sentence, Jesus left open the possibility that John the Beloved would remain alive till the return of Jesus at His Second Coming. History tells us that John lived perhaps another 60 years after this time, to extreme old age. And here Jesus was foretelling that John would remain long after the Lord had returned to heaven.

But then Jesus asks Peter directly, “What’s it to you?” “Why should that matter to you, Peter? Just follow Me.” Of course it should be said that there are different ways you can say that. You can say that phrase in a cocky, challenging way or you can say it in a kind but somewhat chiding way. I’m sure the Lord spoke that in a kind way. But why would the Lord talk to Peter like that, even if it was kindly said? Was Jesus finally getting fed up with all the boneheaded things Peter had done and said over the last 3 years? Patience was wearing thin? I think not.

which greatest flat Here are a couple of things that Jesus might have foreseen that He was trying to prevent happening to His disciples as He was about to leave them: comparing and jealousy. Even before His crucifixion, His disciples were coming to Him to ask Him which would be the greatest of them in heaven. (Matthew 18:1)

There’s just an inborn sinful nature of man to “compare ourselves among ourselves and measure ourselves by ourselves” (II Corinthians 10:12), as Paul later warned the Corinthians. Getting our eyes on each other, “which is the greatest?”, “who gets most?”, “do I get enough?”, “will someone get more than me?”, and “is that really fair?” It’s just so ingrained in us but is so contrary to God’s ways.

Basically Jesus was telling Peter to not look too much on how others were doing or what was happening or going to happen in their lives. “Just follow Me”, was Jesus’ bottom line to Peter. And perhaps this reproof hit home for Peter. It seems like Peter and John got along well and were never recorded in the later parts of the Bible as ever having any strife or competitiveness, although I’m certain that Satan would have loved to stir that up.

But what about us? There’s a message there for everyone, not to feel we have to measure everything against our own personal standards of what’s fair and “am I getting what I deserve?” Maybe you’re even in an “unfair” situation right now. Maybe people are treating you unjustly or you’re being taken advantage of. “What is that to you; follow Me.” The Lord said one time, “Vengeance is Mine saith the Lord, I will repay.” (Romans 12:19)

It doesn’t have to be fair right now. The Lord sees it all and we can be utterly sure, “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord.” (Romans 8:28)

To me one of the greatest samples of this in the Bible is Joseph. If ever anyone was mistreated and “it wasn’t fair”, it was Joseph. His brothers actually sold him as a slave! But years later, when he’d been shuffled and reshuffled by God to end up being “second in Egypt” (Genesis 41:43), he met up with his brothers again and they were certain Joseph would now pay them back for the evil they’d done.

But he didn’t. His heart was so right with God that he could say to them about what they’d done, “You meant it for evil. But God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) One of the most amazing examples in the Bible of keeping your eyes on the Lord and not on people and circumstances and conditions. Seems like Joseph had already learned that lesson that Jesus shared with Peter nearly 2000 years later, “What is that to you? Follow me.” Joseph did that. And he ended up saving his family and nation. Lord help us all to keep our eyes on Him and not on anything else.

Fascination for Evil

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Mark McMillion

I’ve realized that at times I have a fascination for evil. Not that I want to do evil but it’s like people say nowadays, “What were they thinking?” Like, “How could they think like that? How could someone be like that?”

I guess we all have an innate desire to understand. And for me, some things are just so weird, strange and crazy that it’s like I get tempted to wonder how someone could think like that? And I want to pursue it, I want to get into it and understand it. But I know from experience and also God’s Word that it’s not a great idea to really pursue that line of reasoning.

We want to relate to others, we want to understand the world around us, we don’t want to be judgmental, we really want to help others. But there are times where the best choice is just to step back and walk away, as difficult as that may seem to be. It’s a little like what I wrote about in the post about the old story called “The Tar Baby“. And this is taught a number of times in the Bible in verses that may not be really popular or politically correct.

How about this one. Jesus, in His most famous “Sermon on the Mount” said at one point, “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs. Neither cast your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6) And of course He wasn’t talking about pets and farm animals. He was referring to some individuals, saying they were like dogs and pigs. At other times He called some people snakes, foxes, and wolves. This was Jesus, the most loving and kind Man that ever walked the earth. But He wasn’t naive; He called a spade a spade.

“But Jesus, don’t you want us to love everyone?! How could you be so cold and cruel, Jesus!?”

Because there’s evil in the world and there are people who at this time embrace and choose evil and the works of darkness.

“I thought we were supposed to keep turning the other cheek, let people walk all over us and just be little feeble pushovers like everyone says you were, Lord!”

Nope. Here are a few verses that are unpopular or virtually unknown but are really important. Solomon said, “Go from the presence of a foolish man when you don’t perceive in him the lips of knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:7). In other words, don’t hang around wasting your time with folks who just want to take your time and are not hungering for the truth of God you have to offer. Or this one, one of my favorites, “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes; I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave unto me.” (Psalms 101:3).

Don’t set wicked things before your eyes, even the eyes of your mind. We need to hate the works of them that turn away from the Lord. Because those evil works will cleave to us if we don’t resist them. “Cleave” is an old word; think of what it’s like to have old ugly chewing gum stick to you or your clothes. That’s what “cleave” means. That’s what the sins and darkness want to do to your life and mind when you allow evil to fascinate you.

“Oh, Mark! Now you are preaching hate!”

King David said, “You who love the Lord, hate evil.” (Psalms 97:10) Paul said to the Ephesians “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”, (Ephesians 5:11). Same idea again: just don’t “give place to the devil” (James 4:7). Don’t give time for the darkness and the evil to fascinate you and make you wonder what it’s all about. Isn’t that what happened to Eve? She saw the fruit was “good to the taste” and one that “made her wise” (Genesis 3:6); so she went for it. Big, big mistake. But it probably all seemed so “reasonable”.

“How could it be wrong?” “Let me just think about this for a minute; let me make sense of it all and figure it out.”

Nope. Walk away. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Like I wrote about Nehemiah, in “Can’t Come Down”, it must have really seemed narrow-minded and extreme that Nehemiah wouldn’t just come down from the wall and have a chat with those interesting folks who’d come to talk to him. But he didn’t. He had the grace of God to recognize that “God had not sent them” (Nehemiah 6:12) and he didn’t even want to hear what they had to say. Don’t get trapped, lured or lulled into a fascination for evil. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19)

Redeeming the time

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Mark McMillion

There are so many fascinating, often obscure verses in the Bible that have had an effect on my life. Paul said that we should be “renewed in the spirit of our minds” (Ephesians 4:23). For me, it was reading, memorizing and embracing the words in the Bible that had so much to do with renewing my mind.

In one little known verse that Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he told them we should “redeem the time” (Ephesians 5:16), a fascinating idea. Does that mean we should stay real busy? You hear people say nowadays, “don’t waste time.” But why not? Why not just goof off as much as you can?

It comes back to what I wrote in “The Heavenly Vision” and “Is There Not A Cause?” For Christians and believers in God, our whole starting point for how we view life is different. If anyone should have a “purpose driven life”, it’s a Christian or believer in God. If Jesus was doing anything, He was giving us a vision for a life saturated with meaning, purpose, significance and even a sense of urgency to obey God and fulfill the calling and role that He communicates to us.

Besides our lives, our time is the next most important thing we have. Does that mean we should be rushing around all our lives, frantically trying to obey all that we know God wants us to do? No. In the story of Mary and Martha, Martha was busy doing housework and physical service while her sister was “just sitting there”, listening to Jesus. But when Martha complained to Jesus about it, He told her that “Mary has chosen the good part” (Luke 10:42), to sit at His feet and learn of Him. On the other hand, we can’t or shouldn’t just sit around all day in mediation and personal prayer.

So it comes back to our personal, living relationship with the Lord. Day by day, only God is way out there in front and knows what’s going to happen and is able to lead you and guide you and show you what to do. What did He show you to do today when you prayed about it? Should you take a day off to really pray about something? Did He show you to get busy and diligent with what He already showed you to do?

But in whatever you’re supposed to be doing, whatever He has showed you to do, we are to do it whole heartedly, with vigor and vision. That’s why all these things tie together so much. If you lose the vision, you probably can’t really “redeem the time” because you haven’t really found out what the Lord wants you to do.

And sadly that’s what so many believers succumb to: they loose the vision. “Where there is no vision the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18) and how many believers just end up “fainting in their minds” (Hebrews 12:3) and loosing the vision over the years. Jesus talked about the virgins who let their lights go out (Matthew 25); it’s pitiful how many people that happens to. They no longer have the ardor they originally felt for the Lord and have lost the desire to go forward in their walk with Him.

Some people I know think that means they lose their salvation, if they are in that condition. I don’t believe that. But Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). If we’re going to give an account for every idle word, will we have to give an account of idle time, wasted on frivolous, worldly vanity that most of us are surrounded with in these times?

At the end of the day, I try to weigh up the books with my soul and ask myself, “What have I done today that I won’t have to do tomorrow? What have I done with this wonderful life that He’s allowed me to have? Have I spent it for myself? Have I been a blessing to Him and others? Have I “laid up treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20) or “wasted my substance in riotous living” (Luke 15:13) ? Has my vision today been for the world to come and to preach His Word in whatever way He has made for me? Or have I turned back to Egypt and settled in Babylon, like so many of the ancient Jews did?”

There’s a time to just take some time off. Read a book, go for a walk, have a glass of wine, go to a movie. But for so many, redeeming the time by staying full of the vision and active in the Lord’s service daily is either something they’ve almost never really gotten on board with or it’s something that they remember they did for a while years ago.

Even Jesus redeemed the time. He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day” (John 9:4) and “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) God help all of us to keep the vision and to redeem the time daily for Him and others.

Have Daily Devotions

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Mark McMillion

One of the things that has stuck with me the most from the 36 years I spent abroad, serving God, was the need to maintain my relationship with the Lord. One of the mainstays in this, during those years, was having daily devotions.

There was virtually never a day where I didn’t meet with my fellow workers in the Lord to have a time of morning devotion. This would usually include singing songs, reading some devotional material for maybe 20 or 30 minutes, and then closing with united prayer. It was one of those good habits that helped the day to start off right, to really “acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:6) and to try to spend time in His presence, and in unity with the believers.

If you study the history of Christianity and the history of Israel, you can see that this daily time of prayer and devotions, often done unitedly with other believers, has been a constant for literally thousands of years.

Nowadays we don’t have time for that, right? Like some of the Jews said to each other in the time of the kings, “Every man to his tents!” (II Samuel 20:1) Besides, many of us go to church once a week. There we can sing some songs and hear a sermon, sort of have united prayer and then go home. That should do it, shouldn’t it?

For me, it really doesn’t. It’s been close to four years now since I returned from abroad to live here in the States and I’m just not in a situation anymore to have daily morning devotions with others. But I still do it on my own, virtually every day.

This is an essential in my life. I’ve just learned it so clearly over the years that we have to maintain our spiritual life and walk with the Lord. If we want to stay close to the Lord, to hear His voice, to please Him and to have His protection and leading and blessing, we just have to take time to cultivate that relationship with Him, daily.

For me, that means personal devotions every day. It’s not as long as it used to be when I had this time with others. But every day I take some time to read some devotional material. One of the things I read is “Daily Light”, complied by the Samuel Bagster family hundreds of years ago. I read other material like that and then I review my verses for the day. I usually review around 30 verses each day that I have memorized over the years. So many of these are like dear old friends because I can associate the times when I’ve used those verses in my personal life or I remember the event that brought that verse so clearly into my life. I wrote another post about all this in Memorizing God’s Word. This linking up with the Word I’ve memorized has helped to keep God’s Word fresh in my mind and conscious over the years and has been a real key in my life.

Then I go out and take a walk to a nearby park. This is not really for exercise but for me I find that I can pray better when I’m out in nature and sometimes even when I am walking. Also it seems that the Lord’s presence is sometimes closer during those times. Several of the blog posts I have written came from events that actually happened on these walks. “Hawks and Doves” was written from an experience that happened while I was walking down the sidewalk to the park. “Red lights and the Sabbath” was also something that came from walking down the same sidewalk. The idea for this post right here came while I was out for my walk this morning.

And also maybe that’s why I wrote that thing about “Was David a failure?” If there was anybody in the Bible who knew how to maintain, cultivate and grow in his relationship with the Lord, it was King David. That’s why the Psalms are about as good as it gets when it comes to learning how to “draw nigh to God” (James 4:8).

We’re all so busy. Probably none of you are sitting off on the hillside, tending sheep throughout each day. We’re on line, we’re wired, we’re working overtime, we’re up at 3 AM with the baby, and on and on. But it’s very much like what Jesus said to Martha who was so busy “tending tables” (Acts 6:2). She was upset that her sister, Mary, was not up and busy helping her but she was just idly sitting there listening to Jesus. But then Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you’re worried and troubled about many things. But Mary has chosen the good part that shall not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41 & 42) And it’s still true today, probably more than ever.

I hope, with all you do, that you have time—no, take time—for daily devotion. Without the presence and blessing of God on your life, you’re just going through the motions of faith and you surely won’t have the grace and fruits of the Spirit to survive and thrive as God wants you to do. Have daily devotions!

Reason? Or the Miraculous

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against reason. Isaiah 1:19 says, “Come, let us reason together” says the Lord. And it says that Paul “reasoned” with the Roman governor, Felix (Acts 24:25). But let’s face it, the devil has gotten in somewhere with the whole thing about “reason” in more modern times. Because it seems like 9 times out of 10, when people talk about reason, the implication is that we should forget about the miraculous. “We should depend on our own reasoning”, they say, “our minds and our intellect.” The idea is that there really isn’t anything other or better or higher than that.

That’s a serious mistake. It’s “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. Or letting the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. It’s like what Jesus said, “These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”(Matthew 23:23) In other words in this case, we ought to use our minds but not to where we reject the supernatural and miraculous intervention of God.

Our minds don’t have to be considered our enemies. (Of course the unbelievers would hoot and squawk immediately at that idea there, if we were to even think that our minds could be our enemy.) But in the same way that our bodies can be our enemies if we let our physical desires and impulses take us over, our minds can be our enemies if we let our “carnal mind” (Roman 8:6) take first place in our decisions.

It’s a big subject but really important. Many people have faith in God, but it’s like they say, “Let’s not take this thing too far!” “Let’s not think that God can do anything outside of the rational laws of science that we all believe in today.” This seems to be the often unspoken faith of multitudes. So they limit God by their minds. It ends up just being unbelief or a very limited form of faith.

But as God so succinctly spoke to Job around 4000 years ago, “Should it be according to your mind?” (Job 34:33) Things were going really bad for Job. He’d been so good, really, and he’d tried so hard, sincerely. But then it seemed all hell was breaking loose. It just didn’t make sense! It wasn’t fair! And he was right in many ways; it didn’t make sense and it wasn’t fair, according to the natural, normal way that most people in their natural reasoning would look at things. But in the end it all worked out, totally contrary to how Job saw things happening and he ended up being doubly blessed.

In Isaiah 55: 8 & 9 God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways. For as the heaven is higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Our natural reasoning and understanding might make it through some situations but those things totally fail at other times.

Thomas Paine, author of “The Age of Reason”

But “reason” came to virtually replace God long ago. “The Age of Reason”, as they called it. It looked pretty good and there were a lot of good points there. But what was the end result? In turning to exalt and embrace Reason, the miraculous, the supernatural, the living presence of God not only took a back seat, it was kicked out of the car and left by the side of the road.

It certainly was not through Reason that I came to faith in God. It was the miraculous. But how many people of faith, regardless of their religion, really are looking for the miraculous intervention of the God of Abraham in their lives in these times? For so many, their faith is subservient to their reason. And perhaps this is because they are partially ashamed of their faith and don’t want others to think of them as strange or out of line with modern times.

This is what I wrote about in “Will He find faith on the earth?” Jesus virtually predicted that at the time of His return, the level of faith in the world would be at a very low ebb. It was the utterly miraculous that turned me from an atheist to a believer, even before I became a Christian. And that wasn’t just something that happened long ago. You can read “God’s Little Miracles” to find a miraculous thing the Lord did in my life just a few months ago.

So I’m thinking about writing some articles on some of the things I’ve experienced personally, not stories from centuries ago but things that have happened to me personally, that hopefully will inspire faith in others to know that God is not dead or even sick. I think I’ll call them Angel Stories. Here’s one about an incredible experience I had where angels saved me from death when I pretty much deserved death at that time. It’s called “Lights on the Road”.

Faith in the miraculous should come first, before our reason. We need both to be well balanced. But the presence of God should have first place in our sight, not our own reasoning. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5 & 6

Dumbing down

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Mark McMillion

It’s one thing to be simple, but another to be ignorant and lacking understanding. It’s often so shocking, heartbreaking and infuriating for me to see in my home country the level of ignorance concerning the things of the Lord or especially the history of faith.

If I asked 100 Americans who Martin Luther was, I honestly believe over 90% would ask if I meant Dr. Martin Luther King. Here’s another example. I have some friends here with master’s degrees or doctor’s degrees and often I’ll hear from them that “Allah” is a moon god, an idol that the Arabs worship.

My reaction is exasperation and real sadness. Maybe it’s like when God spoke through Hosea to the nation of Israel some 2800 years ago, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you.” (Hosea 4:6)

And I’m not just talking about “taking God out of the schools”. I’m talking about a huge falling away from a knowledge of the significance of spirituality in the civilization of mankind. I was in my third year of university when I personally experienced that the God of Abraham was for real. Among my many emotions at that time was anger at how little I’d learned about anything having to do with the great changers of history who were not politicians, businessmen or scientist but were purely spiritual people.

I myself had no idea who Martin Luther was, the German priest who set in motion the Reformation in the 1500’s and changed the course of European history. Joan of Arc? Never heard of her. But an illiterate girl who herded swine “heard voices” in the 1400’s. And by obeying the voice of God, she ultimately led the armies of France to defeat their invaders at that time, the English.

And there’s so many more. Saint Patrick? “Ha, ha, ha! Let’s all wear green and get drunk”, most would say. But that man virtually alone changed the course of the history of Ireland, starting a wave of faith and devotion in what was a land beyond the edge of civilization at that time. Patrick’s influence continued in his followers for several hundred years, inspiring other missionaries in the next two centuries to go out to places like the darkest … no, not Africa but places like modern Holland, Germany and the rest of Europe to take the light and love of Jesus Christ and to turn those peoples to the Lord during the times called the Dark Ages.

Did you know that? I didn’t until I was way up into my adult years. But it was those spiritual people, people of faith who changed their generations, brought civilization and spiritual enlightenment to their times and neighbors and that’s why we have what has been called “Western Civilization”.

So there’s just this huge irony. We have smart phones, the latest apps, Google glass and every kind of advancement and technical innovation that our hearts could desire. But all the while, the gloom of ignorance and the lack of basic knowledge of the spiritual world increases like the armies of Mordor across the world. Even a knowledge that there is a God is less and less a part of the mentality of hundreds of millions of people in the “advanced” and “civilized” nations of the world.

It’s a sad, ominous, foreboding situation to observe. Hosea also said, “They have sown the wind and they will reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7) How can there not come a reaping and reward for society’s abandonment of God and our eternal foundations, for ignorance of the reality of the spiritual world?

I experienced it myself. I was brought up in a home that didn’t acknowledge a prayer-answering God. “Maybe there’s a God but He is way off somewhere. Don’t bother Him and He won’t bother you”, seemed to be the idea. So in my greatest time of trial and difficulty, I simply and truly didn’t know there was a God, didn’t know or understand virtually anything about sin, faith, repentance, submission, redemption or grace. These were all utterly unknown to me. It’s an absolute miracle of God that He somehow pulled me through that time.

How many hundreds of millions now are in just as much spiritual darkness and delusion, no matter how advanced the technical gadgets they have? May God help us to do all we can to share His light, spread His truth and to keep our candles burning in this time of billowing darkness that we live in, even though most are blissfully ignorant of their ignorance.

Certainty

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Mark McMillion

In our world, one of the most certain things seems to be uncertainty. Everything can seem elusive, a shadow or mirage that vanishes when we try to approach it. That’s why for me, the certainty that I have found in the life God has given me is one of the things I’m most thankful for.

Here are some incredible words of truth. If you’re a skeptic or atheist, this may be incomprehensible to you. But for those with a personal knowledge of the God of Abraham, they are glistening truths. It’s from King Solomon, from around 900 BC. He said,

“Have not I written to you excellent things in councils and knowledge? That I might make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you might answer the words of truth to them that send to you?” (Proverbs 22.20 & 21)

Like so many passages from the Word of God, this is like a cluster of jewels, set in an ornament. But the word that stands out to me is “certainty”. What a priceless thing that is.

Most people have heard of “believing in God”. You’re supposed to do that, right? But what about that? Have you ever met someone and they said they “believe” in God? But you just had the gut feeling that they were pretty weak in whatever they meant by “believe”. Actually, “believe” in our times can sometimes mean not much more than “think”. People can say “I believe so” when you asked them a question.

Well, sometimes people have that kind of faith. Jesus asked one man if he believed that Jesus could do the miracle he’d asked Him to do. The man said, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) And the Lord did, He healed the man’s son. Maybe that’s why it says of Jesus, “A bruised reed He shall not break or smoking flax He will not quench.” (Matthew 12:20) Jesus didn’t condemn and cast out that man because of his admitted wavering between faith and doubt.

But that’s not the condition the Lord wants us to remain in. More often the word “believe” is used in the Bible. But sometimes another word is used, “know”. In English this is a much stronger word and it’s what the Lord wants us to have. In I John 5:13 it says, “These things have I written to you that believe on the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the Son of God.”

At the beginning of Luke’s gospel, when he was explaining why he was writing it, he said, “It seemed good to me… to write to you… so that you might know the certainty of the things in which you have been instructed.” (Luke 1:3 & 4) Not just “believe” but “know”. That’s the kind of certainty He wants us to have and that we can come to have in Him.

What’s the difference between the belief of “believe” and the certainty of “know”? If you “know”, you’re no longer wavering. You might get tempted to doubt. The temptations of doubt might fly over your head like dark evil birds. But you shoo them away; they never make a nest in your hair. You don’t give place to the devil to entertain alternatives to the truth you’ve been given from God.

It doesn’t make you strident and dogmatic because you also have the fruits of the Spirit which are full of love, humility and kindness. But it’s like Peter said, you’ve been “stablished, strengthened, and settled”. ( I Peter 5:10) Like a marriage, you aren’t looking for anyone else. You’ve found what you were looking for and you’re “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10) because you are complete in His truth.

And it’s a wonderful thing. In a sense, you really aren’t searching anymore. At least you aren’t searching for the truth because you know you have found it and it’s found you. Maybe that’s why it says that we have “peace that passes understanding”.(Philippians 4:7)

Some things are just over. Paul said “I know whom I believe and am convinced that He is able to keep me against that day”, ( II Timothy 1:12) a day of temptation or confusion or seeming despair. But he didn’t say he believed in that verse; he said he knew.

In this world of confusion, a world without absolutes, a world where atrocities grow grosser and more prevalent every day, it’s wonderful that the certainty we have in the Lord is like that rock that Jesus said we could build our houses on. Not on the shifting sand of this world and its knowledge and values. But on the eternal truths of God and the certainty that we have in Him. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but My Words shall never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

Certainty. Absolutes. Steadfast eternal pillars and beacons that we have from God to guide us through the shadows of this life and into the boundless beauties of the eternal world to come.

Keep your heart

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Mark McMillion

King Solomon wrote, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) A more modern English version says “guard your heart”, rather than “keep”.

So I’m thinking, “What if someone told me that Bible verse back when I was 18 years old?” I was an atheist so I would have laughed and smirked. But even if I had listened, I think the problem was mostly just with the word “heart”. Because honestly, I really didn’t know what a heart was.

I probably would have made some sarcastic quip and asked what a “heart” is. I was that bad off. I knew I had a physical heart that pumped blood. But this other idea was pretty nebulous to me. And even if I believed in such a thing, I sure didn’t understand it very much.

And why should I? I got virtually all my information from school, television, newspapers and modern books. Are any of those going to tell me I have a heart? No way. What was really important was my mind. I needed to really work on my mind because that’s where it really was all happening. If I had a great mind, that was all that mattered. If I ever heard about the heart at all, it was through music. Those folks talked about that so I got some ideas through that.

But all the while, sure ‘nuf, I did have a heart. And a spirit and soul as well. And they were not doing very good. At all. I filled my heart with images of sports cars, beautiful women and cool clothes. I had a picture of a really cool foreign sports car on my wall from the time I was about 14. Functionally it was an idol I virtually worshiped. It was my goal in life and I finally got it when I was 20. Like it says in Psalms 106:15 “He gave them the desires of their heart, but sent leanness to their soul.” I got what I wanted, but it was utterly unfulfilling. My heart was full of the wrong things and I didn’t even have the most important thing in my heart, Jesus Christ.

In my case, the sins, foolishness and ignorance of my heart brought me face to face with Death and Satan. It took that and more to bring me to realize that there’s a spiritual world that I’d mocked and denied for so long. But from that experience of hell and its eternal terrors, I came to a knowledge of the God of Abraham and a few months later, of His Son Jesus.

I shockingly found out that I had a soul, a heart and a spirit. These were infinitely more important than my mind and its education. Maybe I couldn’t have learned this any other way. I wouldn’t really listen to anybody so I had to learn the hard way. But I did learn. I knew from experience, not church, that it all comes down to my heart. God had brought me to something I never dreamed or even wanted to happen to me. I’d had a “born again” (John 3:3) experience. I’d gone through a death of my old life and now I was a “new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17), truly and fully.

But what was I going to do with it? In Psalm 16:11 King David prayed to the Lord and said “You will show me the path of life”. Would I follow the path of life that He would show me? He wasn’t going to force me. It was my choice. It was up to me. It was my choice that mattered.

Jesus talked about a farmer who went to plant seeds by casting them in his field. Jesus said that some of the seeds fell on stony ground, some on ground with weeds and thorns and some fell on good ground. It was all about our hearts, our relationship to God and His Word. Jesus said that the seed that fell on good ground represented those who, “in an honest and good heart, having heard God’s Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15) An honest and good heart. Not a hardened heart full of stones. Not a worldly heart full of the weeds, cares and values of this evil world. A good heart, a heart that has been kept, guarded and preserved for the goodness of God that can spring up there.

There was a song by a famous American singer, Johnny Cash. It was a song I suppose for his girl friend or wife. But it really had some good words to it. He sang, “I keep a close watch on this heart of mine. I keep my eyes wide open all the time. Because you’re mine, I walk the line.” That could just as easily be a song we could sing or say to the Lord. That’s what it takes. To choose “the path of life”, you have to “keep your heart with all diligence”.

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: Basic Christianity