Dave Miller

Stepping up for Lot

2011-02-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

The last time I posted I posted about Abram and Lot separating, read it here.

Now, I’ve also come to realize something. Even though Lot and Abram pitched their tents in two totally opposite directions, there were still some clear connections between the Abram and Lot.

In Genesis 14, we see another instance where we can learn from the character of Abram. Even though he’s settled in his place, when Abram hears of his nephew Lot’s capture, he jumps to immediate action.

While separations are a reality, our response to those whom we have withdrawn from, should still have a place in our hearts and minds and cause us to intercede (fill in the Gap) for them when they need it.

Parties Parting

2010-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Abraham’s separation with Lot is one that gives us a good example of how separations should happen.

Abraham was a rich guy; going to Egypt had made him quite wealthy. He even picked up a concubine who would later bear him a son. But it’s interesting how when you go somewhere with someone and you come back with your eye’s full, there always seems to be difficulties. When I say that Abraham and Lot’s eyes were full, I mean this; they both clearly understood what their values were. They had amassed many possessions. So much it caused division in the camp.

But look at Abraham’s proactive response. “Let there be no strife between you and me”. best way to avoid strife is to part ways. No fighting, just “you take that, and I’ll take this”. Looks like a good example to me. Abraham is magnanimous.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

2009-08-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that’s right; I guess I have no choice but to come out of the closet. Everybody else’s laundry is being aired out, why not mine?

I’ve been trying to hide it for so long. But this article from last Saturday just put me over the top. This is a monkey that I’ve had on my back for far too long. Yeah I tried to hide it but somehow people just found out. In a way I’m glad, no more acting, and no more charades. Now I get to live the way that God made me to be. Is there something wrong with that?

I’m sorry you had to find out this way Mom. The Toronto sun is a very popular news paper, but I just never wanted to hurt you. It’s not your fault, I mean with the exception of letting me buy “Dance mix 92”; you did the best you could. I always tried to be who I thought you wanted me to be, but enough is enough! In grade 10 when I got that 92% in Geography, I had to go against all of my natural tendencies or when I experimented with post secondary education, I did it without even thinking? I can’t help it if I like the smell of skunk cabbage, I can’t help it if I think Rachael Hunter looks like a man, I can’t help it if I think of Doritos when I hear the song “Macho man”. That’s just who I am.

Oh this feels so good. I don’t have to hide anymore, no more getting gas from the nearest reasonable gas station, I’m going to drive across town even if it is only point 2 cents difference in price, no more giving the right of way at a four way stop, no more having to stop myself from diving in the shallow end. Oh no, I’m an idiot and I’m proud of it. Can’t you just accept me for who I really am; can’t you just love me despite of all of this, besides, I’m not hurting anyone.

David J Miller

2009-07-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

The first half of this year has been much slower than normal. Not near as much reading. I am, however, in the process of thinking about what niche I should take up in my blogging. Some more adequate people pick up the book reviews, as well as spiritual matters and even other have taken on the topic of communication in today's world. Hummmmm? Where should I go?

2 Really Good Books

2009-01-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Well, now I’ve finished ‘Death by Love’ and ‘Let the Nations Be Glad’. Whoa. Both of these books were fantastic. Death by love is the more inferior book of the two but still a heart grabber. This book really got me to see more clearly about how I would speak to someone who had been raped or someone who was dealing with all of the horrific remains of their past life. It really spoke clearly of all of the beautiful aspects of the cross. I praise God that through the death of Jesus I can come boldly to Him and realize that he has done more for me than I can even think.
Let the Nations be Glad however is a far more superior read. I had to put it down just because I couldn’t take it all in. I use this phrase often but it surely applies once again, As I read ‘I felt like I was drinking water from a fire hydrant”. Every page was rich with a beckoning call to ‘Missions’. Here are a couple of lines from the book that I have soaked in these last 2 months;
“Missions exist because worship doesn’t”
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is”
“There are other sheep in my fold”
“Because of the coldness of the human heart I have to believe in predestination”
“Should we stay here or go over there in missions?”
“The goal of missions is to see the most people groups reached”
“You are not a mission’s church if it’s just a word on the back of your bulletin or a line on your budget”
These words haunt me. There is so much work to do. ‘Let the Nations Be Glad’ will give you a whole new perspective on world missions. I think you'll realize like I did that there is so much more to what we can do as churches. You really need to read this book but I will not lend it to you. You simply must buy it and keep it in your library. It is a must have.

The Books I Read Last Year

2009-01-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

I guess I don't read as much as some guys! A couple of these still need to be finished. I've got a couple of chapters in "Let the Nations be glad" (great, great book) as well one more chapter in "Respectable Sins" (kinda boring, not theologically thick like "let the nations be glad"). I think my favorite publishing company is "Crossway". They also published a book a few years ago call "diese Stien". Mennonite History, Who would have guessed.

My Son Mason

2009-01-01T20:18:00.001-08:00

Totally Oblivious to things going on around him.

Raskolnikov

2008-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

I’m reading what I understand to be a Russian literary ‘classic’. It’s called ‘Crime and Punishment’ by a guy named Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In the first chapter I read a couple of lines that I just had to highlight (and I don’t normally highlight in novels). Here’s the quote;

“It's because I chatter that I do nothing. Or perhaps it is that I chatter because I do nothing."

This is an interesting thought to me in my life right now.

Maybe this is what Solomon meant when he said “that there would be no end to the writing of books”. We can spend all sorts of time batting topics around yet never get anything done. Ta ta for now, I’m going to go do something.

Tough Times-Missional Times

2008-11-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

It’s too late for me to be the ‘Shicken Little’ of our countries economic state. It’s no news for me to tell you that our economy is suffering some major casualties in our ‘Global’ economic downturn. I’ve read articles that speak of the economic state from across our country, so when I say that things are looking grim for our Ontario region, I’m sure the same can be said for other regions in our church’s conference as well.
I read a Star article on June 11 that stated that Ontario was to suffer 45,500 full time jobs. This seams realistic seeing as our small community of Elgin and Oxford County in southwestern Ontario has suffered 3000 (probably more by the time your reading this ) jobs since the beginning of the summer. Further to this I heard just the other day that Ontario received its first equalization payment, officially making the province a ‘have not province’.
To give you an idea of what that looks like, “if all these people went to church in St Thomas on Sunday morning, there wouldn’t be enough pews in the entire town to fit them all in”. Economic downturns do not discriminate. In my church alone the ratio of job losses are at least 1 in 10 and growing very quickly. The president of the company that I work for; recently gave a ‘state of the Union address’ and stated that “American Housing starts have gone from 2 million in ’05 to 800,000 this year”. This cost my company 40 full time jobs. It seems as though the morning radio shows are announcing plant closures every third day, one of which is the Sterling Truck plant. The closure of the ‘Sterling Truck’ plant will cost St Thomas approximately 1100 full time jobs not including the spin off jobs that are attached to that in the service sector.
The question I ask myself is…”what impact is this going to have on our Church’s?’ I believe the road map to that answer leads us through this thought; “yes, this is an economic problem, but we as the Church have to first recognize this as a Theological problem”. This is primarily a theological problem at its core and here’s why. “Human beings are created in the image of God and are endowed with traits of their Creator that fit them for creative, useful, joyful, God-exalting work. Therefore, extensive idleness (when you have the ability to work) brings down the oppression of guilt and futility.” 1
Simpler; people were made to work (Adam and Eve worked in the Garden before the fall). If they aren’t working, people will get depressed, anxious and frustrated because they aren’t doing what they were created to do. Knowing this, I think that the Church and it’s leaders need to get ready right now. Here’s why;
1. ‘Senders’ will become ‘SENDERS’
a. In all of our congregations there are 2 groups, goers and senders. Goers are those people who rely on the funds of people who have ‘secular’ vocations (Senders) to operate ministries such as pastors, church staff, missionaries and para-church organizations. These people make it possible for the word of God to reach beyond their own sphere of influence. If portions of our congregations are living on reduced incomes then those people will proportionately have less to give. At the same time there may be instances where people may not be as motivated to even come to church. This means that those people who still have ‘secular’ vocations will bear a greater financial burden in the congregations. Like I said earlier ‘senders’ will become ‘SENDERS’.
b. The other aspect to this is that there will be a greater need for Goers. In difficult times people also move to a greater dependency of the Lord. My prayer has 2 directions. First is that this will produce a hunger for God that will reach the far corners of the country and when the Lord answers that prayer, my second prayer is that there would be more people moving to Vocational Ministries to meet the need.
2. Mennonite Migration….again?
a. History proves itself that people go to where they perceive the work is. With the western and eastern provinces being perceived as Job hotbeds right now, there is going to be an exodus to these places. After their moves, will people be saying to themselves, ‘There’s no church for us to go to here’. Is there a way for us to know where it is that they are going so that we can meet them with a church so they won’t have to say that!
3. Tim Horton Community Church
a. I found it so interesting, even though Imperial Leaf tobacco plant in Aylmer, closed down a number of years ago the demand for Tim Horton’s was never stifled, in fact I think the demand went up. I think the thinking for most of the people getting laid off was “Why wouldn’t I go there when the guys I used to work with are there, they can’t find jobs either”. Tim Horton’s will continue, and increase to be a gathering place for those that are displaced from their jobs. The “total” church will recognize this as a great place for bridge building. I see Tim Horton’s the same way open air preachers saw the town square.

Are we ready for what’s to come? Are we ready to help those that are in need? Are our ministries prepared to send and plant where the needs arise? Individually, are we ready to present Jesus to the guy standing in line with us as he waits for his Sesame seed bagel toasted with butter? As these days progress I’m scanning the sidewalks and halls to see where the needs are. On Sunday morning, I’m scanning the pews to see who it will be to reach the people on those sidewalks and halls. Unfortunately, the possibility could be that the best time to be missional will be during the worst of economic times.

1John Piper, Don’t waste your life, Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5

Polemacy-A Birthplace of Dissention

2008-11-26T05:24:00.000-08:00

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy….” Matt 5:7

I realize I made up a new word in my title but I like words that get you places quickly (I started with the word; Polemic). Let me start off by asserting my position. Systems are great. We need systems. Systems are used to put structure to form (I don’t know if that makes sense, I just thought of it). I use systems all day long in every facet of my life. From how I wake up to how I brush my teeth. I hit snooze no more than 3 times and no less than once, depending on how the roads are, do I need gas or is my lunch made. I brush my teach in a slightly angled, back and for manner, not circular, because I saw a picture of someone who had to have all of their teeth removed due to gingivitis and I do not want that.

I even use systems for biblical interpretation. I use hermanuetics to arrange scripture in a logical fashion so that I can understand my creator. I do this so that I can articulate, in a logical way, the perfect finished work of my Lord Jesus Christ. People call me a Calvinist. I don’t mind, they need to slot me so that they can have a perspective on how to relate to me. I personally don’t think I am a full fledged Calvinist only because I haven’t read any of His work except the first 2 articles of the ‘Institutes’. I have His commentaries at home (that’s only because I got them for free) and have only referenced them a couple of times.

Really, I think I would have been kicked out of Geneva and maybe burned at the stake because I believe that Drums and Guitars are Ok to use in Church. I also don’t agree with Him on the whole son’s of God thing in Job 1&2 and Genesis 5. So call me a Calvinist for my Soteriology, that’s cool, I can handle it. That’s a system that I guess I employ to some degree.
2 points about this though, Systems without form are ineffective. You won’t see many of these lately because of the decline in new housing starts, but it’s kinda like a house with the foundation poured, the framing up, the trusses are on but there is no sheathing, windows or doors to actually make this house effective.

My second, and most relevant, point for me about this is; Systems are not more important than individuals. Imagine this; you make a comment in Bible Study, and the minute Bible Study is over, the guy in the corner comes over to disagree with what you said. Just then the awesome 83 year old lady that’s just begun coming to Bible study walks by and you really want to say hello and tell her how she brightens the place up. Whoa, this is tough! Do I;
A; step away from this discussion to shake her hand
B; Clarify my point made earlier using example and context
C; drop kick the disagreeing dude and give him a ‘nuggie’
Call me a Mennonite but I opted for A.

This experience, among others, are leading me to embark on a transition in my life. I want my systems to take a backseat to individuals. I know that there are times where this isn’t going to be possible because I know that there are going to be times where I need release a flurry of punches to the solar-plex of a wolf, say for instance when someone comes to Church and yells at the top of his lungs that if you don’t use a King James Bible your going to hell (even though I kinda agree, maybe another post). Maybe I’ll need to shoot the wolf when he says ‘Jesus didn’t actually come back to the disciples in human form, He came as spirit’. It’s in those times that I’ll put system before form, but only then. I won’t get my nightee in a knot if someone says ‘Jesus is gonna come back then leave and then judge’. I won’t loose any sleep if someone says ‘Man has free will’. Yes, there are going to be times where someone backs this porcupine in a corner, that’s when the quills will fly, but that’s the exception and not the rule.

What this means for me is a couple of things. It means that I’ll need to be merciful and give individuals the benefit of the doubt. If they say such and such, I might need to wait some time and see if what they said is actually what I thought they said. It also means I’ll need to cover more topics in my thinking. If you know me, you’ll know that I am the product of the video game age and you know my ADD, you’ll know that this will be difficult to do so please pray for me!
You may read this and think to yourself, ‘How does Dave contend for the Faith once delivered for the Saints’. For me contending for the faith is defined as this; “passionately preaching the cross of Christ and living that conviction”. Contending for the faith does not mean that we should be polemic. There is a big difference there. I’ve learned that the by-product of a polemic is more polemics. As Driscoll says, "We're all fundementalists, just on different topics", it won’t take a lot of time until fundamentalists show what they are fundamentalist about. I mean, if I’m going to be a polemic about something, they will too. It’s only a matter of time before we’re on different sides talking about the same issue. It’s not a bad thing to do this, but if one of us leaves limping and crying over an issue where we could have easily left running and laughing, there is something wrong.

I’m wanna start being more merciful to others, so that others are merciful to me.

Amen

Where I work

2008-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

My Hometown

2008-11-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is a quick study by me just to know the town that the Lord has lead me to.

Total Population; 36,110
Church Capacity; Approximately 5000

Caucasian; 34485
Aborigional; 433
Visible Minorities; 1192

Protestant; 18813
Catholic; 7583
No Affiliation; 7980
Other; 1733

Protestant churches; 26
Catholic churhes; 5

Continuation of what I am for

2008-10-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

I'm for the Bible as our standard
I'm for sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, soli Deo gloria
I'm for TULIP
I'm for Bible studies, alone, assembled, free, formed, explosive and extended
I'm for discipling and being discipled
I'm for Leaders
I'm for Mentors
I'm for Prayer
I'm for pouring out my soul to God
I'm for fasting
I'm for Home School, Home schoolers and pretty much anyone that teach their Kids life lessons and character instead of letting their peers or people they don't know do it
I'm for having my kids hang out with people that are much older than them
I'm for stretching my kids, spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally
I'm for massage therapists like my cousin James
I'm for tools, usefull ones
I'm for small simple homes even if they are too small
I'm for wood, any kind of wood
I'm for minimalism
I'm for the Learning, history and discovery channel
I'm for the news
I'm for talk radio about the latest issues on peoples minds
I'm for downloading sermons onto my MP3
I'm for mortgages

What I am for!

2008-10-17T17:30:00.001-07:00

It's so easy to say the things that we are often against. Over the next couple of blogs I'm going to tell some of the things that I am for;

I'm for Loving Jesus with my whole heart, mind and soul
I'm for showing that by loving my wife.
I'm for sending the kids to bed early
I'm for being a dad to a bunch of kids, bunches
I'm for systematic theology that actually makes sense
I'm for spreading the gospel to all men, rich, poor black white even when other people tell me I'm casting my pearls before swine.
I'm for eating my wife's awesome food
I'm for watching my boys wrestle
I'm for celebrating, and celebrating hard
I'm for talking politics
I'm for watching, hearing or reading about things that have already happened and learning from them
Oh yeah, I'm for LEARNING
I'm for reading books, lots of books, commentaries, encyclopedias, novels, biographies and non-fiction.
I'm for Microsoft Excel
I'm for Ford trucks, especially Rangers
I'm for Calvinists and Arminians
I'm for Mennonites, Baptists, Methodists, Fundementalists, Reformers and anything Orthodox.
I'm for John Piper, Mark Driscoll, George Krahn, Jake Klassen, Neil Siemens, John Klassen Sr and Albert N Martin.
I'm for beef....Steak, Hamburger and Ribs
I'm for Fish, Chicken, pork and Bacon
I'm for Jeans and being a hatless Cowboy
I'm for songs that don't make me think I'm being punished or lost in a forbidden jungle
I'm for communion...weekly, daily and even at every moment
I'm for real wine cause I don't think I'm holier than Jesus.
I'm for homemade buns, right out of the oven

That's my first list...I still think I missed some things.

Manure

2008-10-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that alot of the things that we go through in our lives-you know the stuff we think is too difficult to handle, the things that make us cry, the things that make us look to heaven and say curse you God-can be traced back to the Gospel of Luke and be called "Manure"

Luk 13:6-9 (esv) And he (Jesus) told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. (7) And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' (8) And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. (9) Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

I look back now and I see all those circumstances that I shed so many tears for, those things that I hated with the intesity of white nuckles, Were manure. Those circumstances stunk so much it stung my eyes. They stunk so much I wanted to roll up the windows and hit the gas. Now I look back and I see that big pile of "Dung", and say "wow, what a beautiful, wonderful amazing thing". That gooey gold that I hated so much is now something that was the rich nutrients that I so desparately needed to make me who I am right now.

The servant dug out all of the soil and replaced it with twice as much manure. If it had not been for that manure the fruit that I am feeling right now would not be so tender, zesty, juicy and lusterous as it is to me right now.

I pray that the servant loads manure on you like he did to me. Maybe your trying to roll up the window, and hit the gas at this very moment. I am praying that you will come out of this circumstance and bear much fruit and are not cut down.

Amen