Re-Post Friday

A look back at how Jesus came before His humble arrival as a baby! Read it HERE!

An Unseen Witness II

Last week I had originally wanted to discuss Colossians 4:2-6. However, when I read through the passage I noticed that there was in fact two different subjects discussed. I am curious if you have noticed the two subjects as well.

“2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Colossians 4:2-6

The first subject is found in verses 2-4, which is what we discussed last week. This is that we can be an unseen witness to unbelievers. When we know of someone who is sharing the gospel to another, we don’t need to physically be there to have an impact. Our prayers are just as important; therefore we need to be praying for God to provide a door and the knowledge of scripture to witness effectively.

However, verses 5-6 hold another aspect that we need to take notice of. I ask that you read it again, “5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

While the verses 2-4 focus on the prayer life of the Christian, verses 5-6 focus on the conduct of the Christian. We need to be wise in the way that we act around “outsiders” in this sense, be wise in how we act around nonbelievers. Proverbs describes wisdom as the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10), these means that to have wisdom we recognize that we are sinners, and it is only through God’s grace and mercy can we be reconciled to Him. Our actions need to show this. We should not revile in sin because it not only brings harm to us, but tarnishes the name of the Lord for those who we are around. If our actions do not show that we belong to Jesus Christ, how can we convince others that they should have a relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings?

This does not mean that we become like the Pharisees who held tradition over everything else. We need to meet the sinner at their level, relate to them but not be complacent in the sins. Paul describes it in this way, “20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though not being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without the Law, I became as one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22. Paul became like those around him in order to win them to God. He never lost his salvation in the process and by meeting them at their level, Paul was able to win them over to God. He did as Colossians five states, he made the most of every opportunity to present the gospel.

Verse six also describes the conduct of the Christian. When we talk we need to do so with the knowledge of scripture. While it is true that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our conversations with nonbeliever, we need to have knowledge of the scripture ourselves so that we can answer questions that are posed to us. When I first became a Christian, my husband joked that my favorite question regarding anything Biblical was “Why”. He states that I forced him to look at things to examine if it was “Christianese” something based out of church tradition, or if it was actually something Biblical. I had a lot of bad Biblical ideas to work around and this meant a lot of questions. Thankfully my husband had studied the Word and was able to answer my questions, those that he couldn’t he was able to help me find the answers. We need to be able to defend our faith, if someone poses a question regarding why we believe what we do, we need an answer. We aren’t going to be able to answer every question simply because of our limited understanding of the Word of God, this is when the Holy Spirit steps in. However, we should know the scripture well enough that we can answer the majority of the questions we are confronted by.

I hope in the last two weeks this has shown you more about the power that prayer has, but also that we need to be spending time in the Word of God. When we do, our conversations will be well seasoned and our actions will be able to point everyone around us back to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Who Are We?

I thought it prudent today to write you an encouraging word of who we are as a ministry. Mill House Ministries is unique in that our reach is global with readers coming from all aspects of life. However, at times we need to take a step back and remember that many of our readers might be new to the blog.

Mill House Ministries was started during the pandemic to fulfill what Christ calls us to do in Titus 2:11-15.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you”

We want to help encourage believers to keep their eyes on the Lord. But also point non-believers to their only true salvation being Jesus Christ. This world is increasingly dark and God has called all born-again believers to step up and proclaim the gospel and help those searching come to know Jesus as their blessed hope and savior as well.

If you are wondering about the name “Mill House” the name came out of a discussion regarding what wheat goes through to be made into something unique like bread. A Mill House is a place where wheat goes and is transformed. We want this blog to be a place for those to find the word of God and be transformed. As Titus 2 states, we want to “speak and exhort and reprove.” We will never be a replacement for daily scripture readings, but we want to be an additional encouragement reminding you that you are not alone! God’s Church is alive and while the signs of the times is very much apparent, God has given us a voice to proclaim the truth which is what we at Mill House Ministries want to do.

Mill House Ministries has a resource page which will help direct you to wonderful books about the Bible. We also have a Monday, Wednesday, and Repost Friday, every week. We want to walk each step of your journey with you, encouraging and uplifting you through God’s Word.

Finally, we want to help answer your questions. We have a contact page and we are more than happy to help answer Bible questions (if we do not know the answer we will attempt to find the person who will).

Here at Mill House Ministries, we want to be a resource in your journey following the Lord. No matter where you are in this journey we want to help.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at Peter’s rejection of Jesus Christ. Read it HERE!

An Unseen Witness

We have all heard of the great commission given in Matthew 28:16-20, which born-again believers are called to go and make disciples of all nations and teaching the Word of God. When we are presented with the opportunity to witness to someone, that is exactly what we need to be doing. When I am reminded of Matthew 28, I am also reminded of Luke 12:11-12, “11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Matthew 28 talks of our duty as followers of Jesus Christ while Luke 12 encourages us not to be afraid that we won’t know what to saw when we are witnessing. However, I do believe there is another section that needs to be reviewed when we are considering witnessing. 

“2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way that I ought to proclaim it.”

Colossians 4:2-4

Often times when we are tasked with the idea of witnessing to someone we immediately believe that the only way to be effective is to have that one on one relationship with an individual to discuss Christ. All to often we feel that the only way to complete Matthew 28 is through teaching others of Christ. However, I do not believe that is the case and I believe that Colossians 4 shows this.

  We are all called to make disciples, there is no getting around that. We should not love someone to death and not teach them of Christ, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18. However, there will come times when we are not in the position to witness to someone. We could simply be made aware of the act of witnessing by someone who confides to us in situations such as life groups. This is where Colossians 4 comes in. If we are made aware that a fellow brother or sister in Christ is witnessing to someone, we need to approach the situation with prayer. If you are struggling on how to pray for that situation look again at Colossians 4. Pray that the door is open for the believer to witness and pray that God gives them the words to use to help lead someone away from their own eternal doom.

  Prayer is the artillery in a Christians life, it is why prayer is included in the armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-19. And I fully believe that Christians do not use prayer as much as they should when it comes to witnessing to others. I know this is true for myself; both in the sense that I need to pray more for those around me who are witnessing to non-believers, but I am also proof that praying for those who are witnessing is effective. Before I came to know Jesus, I had my soon to be husband witnessing to me. However, unknown to me, he also had the men’s group that he met with praying for me. I can assure you that those praying were living out Colossians 4 and I encourage you now to live it out as well. You don’t have to be the one teaching someone about Christ; you can be just as effective in using the armor given to us by praying for their salvation, and praying that the one who is teaching the nonbeliever is able to accurately portray the Scriptures.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (Part IV)

  As we have been looking at the Christian’s true practice and significance of meditation, we need to review one of the most well known and basic forms of meditation for the believer. Psalm chapter 1 helps us understand the holistic aspects of what God designed medication to do.

 Psalms 1:1-6 “1 Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. 4 The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

  Let us break this down.

  Right at the start we see that God is connecting a blessing to those who meditate on His Word, and a warning on what not to focus on. Psalms 1:1 “Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” To understand the blessing, we must first understand the warning. God’s warnings in verse one help identify the blessings.

  “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly”, this means there is ungodly people who are taking council together. This word “Council” in Hebrew means “ay-tsaw” which means to advice, implications, and plan. So God is telling us that we are not to seek advice from the ungodly.

  “Nor Stands in the path of sinners.” The word “stands” comes from the word “aw-mad” in Hebrew which means to stand in various relations, abide, appoint, arise, cease, confirm, continue to dwell, and be present with. Now you might quickly think, “How can we not be near those who are sinners in this world?” We know from scripture that Jesus Christ recognized that we would be in this sinful world, John 17:14-15 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” So what does this mean? Simply put, we are not to practice or stand with them in their sin. If someone was to say “All those who are drunkards please stand, we should not be accounted in that fellowship.” When they practice sin, we should not be a part of it.

  When we are not part of these two groups, we see that God immediately blesses the person.

  Yet, now we come to the aspect of which the heart of a Christian is revealed. “But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” There is a key part that we need to understand. Meditation does not make you a friend of God. You see that before meditation the Christian has already found their delight in the law of the Lord. This implies they know the Word, that they understand that they are sinners, and are in need of a savior: Jesus Christ. It is only here do we start to pursue meditation. This process is further backed up with Proverbs 9:10“The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One [is] understanding.” You see, meditation is something that will not bring about salvation of the person, it is something for those already saved to use as a building utensil for furthering their understanding of God. However, what does meditation do? For that we come to verse three.

  “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” Here we see that those who meditate day and night, continuously keeping focused on the Lord, and wanting to understand and apply God’s word in their daily lives are planted. This word “planted” comes from the Hebrew word, “Shaw-that” which means to be a root transplanted. This is the first time in the Bible this word is used, and God identifies that we were not naturally placed next to the source of life. This implies our history of not being saved, of not having the source of life with us. Yet, as a believer we are transplanted and are saved. This underscores the first rule of Christian meditation; that the individual must be saved prior to proper meditation. Meditation does not contribute in any way towards salvation.

  Mediation does bring forth fruit in its season. Fruit here is talking about the Hebrew word, “per-ee” which directly means fruit. The fact the description of “season” strengthens the argument the writer is describing fruit as the image the reader should understand. What does this mean to you and I? It means, that like different kinds of fruit; when we study God’s word and meditate on it, the fruit is diverse but practical for the season we are in. This is a promise that God’s word is practical in any time of our life. We can find something that will help us in any stage, environment, and/or event we are facing. God’s word is alive. When we come to understand this, we see why the second part of the blessing is so unique, “whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper.” When the fruit comes to blossom in its season, God will make sure it is adequate for you and I. It is why John 16:7, 12-13 states, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. 13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

  When we meditate on the word of God we find ourselves with fruit for the precise moment that we need it in life. God continues to encourage this practice by establishing a comparison between those who cannot meditate because they are not His.

Psalms 1:4-6 “The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

  The ungodly cannot stand in the presence of what life brings, and are blown away because of it. Now you might be wondering, “I see ungodly all the time and they look like they are doing just fine.” But remember the next part of this verse, “Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” This is also a promise of God. Judgement here is discussing the Bema Seat Judgement which Paul gives greater details throughout His epistles, but sinners will not be given this opportunity nor have the luxury of being with the righteous. God is promising that while it might appear they are doing well, and even though you can walk in their council or stand with them it is not recommended since their end result is already sealed. God cares for mediation, but not at the expense of salvation, it is why He ends the chapter with Psalms 1:6 “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Meditation if used inappropriately, can cause a self assurance of righteousness. God wants to make sure that we know meditation is for those who are already saved in Jesus Christ. Meditation helps us bring fruit in the right time of our life. So the next time you hear of meditation practices or hear about someone’s experience, take it back to the word of God and see if it connects to what we see here in Psalm 1.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back at Genesis 32. Read it HERE!

A Matter of the Heart

There are many different instances of Jesus performing healings all throughout the New Testament. When you sit and read through the gospels, it would be good to spend some time reflecting on the different occasions that Jesus either heals the blind, mute, or demon possessed. On the surface we are able to see the power of God to heal when others cannot. At another level, we can see Jesus’s authority over demons, but there are even deeper meanings that can be seen in these healings when we allow the Holy Spirit to show it to us. I believe that Luke 14:1-6 is one of those where there is more than what meets the eye.

“ One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.”

At first glance we see that Jesus was invited into the home of a Pharisee where He was closely watched. The reason for this is there was a man present who was ill; if you believed as the Pharisees did, you should not heal on the Sabbath. In short, this was a set up to accuse Jesus of not following the law. However, Jesus was aware of what the Pharisees were trying to do and so He presented to them a question, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Jesus also presented the question of if a child or an ox was stuck in a well, would they not help it? For both of these questions the Pharisees had no answer. If the Pharisees said no, they would show that they were inhumane religious leaders who valued tradition over human life. If they said yes, they would break their own traditions regarding the Sabbath; and so they simply did not answer.

  On the surface level, this passage shows Jesus’ authority not only over illness, but also shows Jesus’ authority over mankind by being able to know what it was the Pharisees were thinking. However, I believe there is more to this passage and a deeper meaning begins with one simple word. Dropsy.

  If you were to research what dropsy is, you would see that it is a disease that causes excessive swelling of the soft tissue due to excess water. However, if you were to look at what dropsy does to a person you would find that dropsy has been seen in people suffering from heart disease. What I find interesting about this is that when we place our faith in Jesus we receive a new heart. “7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7. The man who was suffered from dropsy was in short given a new heart, and I believe that this is because while the Pharisees meant to use him to trick Jesus, the man truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He had a heart that knew God and as a reward, he was made well!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (III)

I wonder if you and I are the same in this, but when my mind first hears the word meditate I think of sitting quietly controlling my breathing and attempting to clear my mind. I envision reciting a Mantra over and over, images of monks and other so called experts come to my mind. How tragic, since these images are contradictory to what the word “meditation” truly means and was designed for. We get a glimpse of the true meaning in Websters dictionary 1828 edition which states, “To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind; appropriately but not exclusively used of pious contemplation, or a consideration of the great truths of religion. His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  The word in Hebrew is Hagah which Strongs reveals more to the source, “to murmur, to ponder imagine, mourn, roar, speak, study, talk, utter.”

What is unique about this definition? It is an action that involves two people. Webster and Strong’s both point to a characteristic that is forgotten by many. Meditation is the act of two working through the subject together. It takes two people to talk, to utter, to bring forth something in conversation. The Greeks understood this, and it is why we see that the writing of Socrates and other philosophers was a discussion. For the born again child of God, we can see the intimacy of this with studying scripture. Jesus Christ is with us, His Spirit and the Father are with us as we study. The Holy Spirit guides and orchestrates the word for us.

John 16:7, 12-15 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear [them] now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority,] but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare [it] to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare [it] to you.”

Meditation is the act of us coming together with the Lord and studying His Words, talking to Him and having Him reveal more of who He is to us. Over the next couple weeks, I want to show you how this was exemplified by those in the Word. We will also see how we can, as fellow believers, meditate togther. God believes in fellowship and has orchestrated the most sacred aspects of learning more about Him in this manner. It is why meditation is so unique when used accurately. So let us shed the preconceptions of meditation and what the world says we should do, and let us go back to the source and see what God’s Word says.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back on one of the two choices we are all presented with. Read it HERE!

A Question of Unbelief

Not all that long ago, I wrote a post regarding how faith is hope in things that are unseen. However, what about the times when that hope must be faced with things that you can see? This was a question that was brought to Jesus’s attention by one man. How can we have faith in God when we are routinely faced with visible aspects that are out of our control? This is the scenario that we find in Mark 9:15-27.

“As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” Mark 9:15-18.

Here we see a father who had brought his son to Jesus’s disciples for help. His son had been possessed by a spirit that caused him physical pain as well as the inability to speak. The father had seen this happen to his son day in and day out with no help. I am sure this father sought out any way that he could to have his son helped and now he has come to the disciples, but even they are unable to help. There is no doubt in my mind that the father was probably thinking that the disciples were his last best chance to help his son. I can only imagine the pain and heartache that he was going through. Which makes the father’s response to Jesus in the next passage understandable even though it is misguided.

19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:19-21.

“If you can”, the father was in the presence of the Son of God Himself! And yet, because he had seen so many others fail, the father was unsure if even Jesus could help his son. While we do not know the age of the son, I do believe that he was at least in his teens to early adulthood based on the father stating that this has been occurring since his son was a child. So for years the father had been seeking out help for his son and was routinely disappointed. For years the father watched his son struggle and be in pain, and there was nothing that anyone was able to do for him. It is unsurprising that the father would expect another disappointment, and yet in the next passage you can see that the father was still holding out hope that his son could be healed.

  23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24. Jesus points out blankly to the father that everything is possible for those who believe. The father replies that he does believe. My impression of the father’s response in verse 24 is that he does believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but the father had been let down so many times that he was unsure if God would listen to him. I don’t believe that the father was doubting that God was able to heal his son, but perhaps doubting if God cared enough about him to do this.

  This is a scenario that I feel many face in their Christian walk. We have come to a point where we have been disappointed so many times by mankind that we doubt if God is able to help us. We become so disheartened that we forget that God is bigger than our problems that we are facing day to day without end. It is in these times that we must remember Jesus’s response that “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23. In these times we must ask just as the father did for help with our unbelief. We must pray that God gives us the strength to face the challenges we are in so that our hope is not diminished. When we do, we will see just as the father did, how God will work and bring a resolution to our situation. For the father, this meant a restored son (Mark 9:25-27). For us, it means that our faith grows stronger in God’s power to defeat the trials that we see and are experiencing. But do not forget, our faith is built on a trusted source, it is Jesus Christ who we have faith in, and it is Him who saved the boy and will also save you. Our faith might be in the unseen, but it is not blind, when Jesus is the center of such trust, our faith is secure.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation (II)

Shoppers and merchants consumed the crowded street on both sides. Mouth-watering smells of sweet ginger and beef lingered in the air. The clouds displayed dark hues of grayish charcoal, in contrast to the bright crimson red of the Chinese buildings. The buildings were all in unison; decoratively embroidered with golden tassels and trimming, with statues of dragons on corners, and architecturally important places. What started as an early walk in the cold crisp air had turned into a morning exploration wanting to see the new environment of where I had found myself. This was my first time to China and I was determined to spend every waking moment seeing the sights, culture, and people. What I did not realize I would find while I was there, was the very realistic understanding of difference in opinion with meditation. By coincidence or fate, I happened to cross a Buddhist temple. The fragrance of light smoke coming over the gateway through their courtyard cut through the merchant aroma as a knife through butter. The Buddhist monks dutifully about their responsibilities, traditions, and obligations. Ironically, the sight quickly brought my attention back to my days living on the reservation and being a eye witness to the practices of the medicine men. Like the Buddhist monks, the medicine men dutifully performed their traditions and obligations. The beat of the moose hide drums were almost in unison with the swirling Buddhist scent. Both experiences were almost a decade apart on two different continents, and yet I realized the same uneasy feeling had crept into my stomach, “This was man’s attempt to meditate.” Mistakenly, I assumed all meditation was wound up into one of these two distinct differences and yet to my shame I did not immediately search out God’s Word for what the true answer was.

  Years would pass by and not a thought towards the subject had come across my mind, until I was walking in a rather large church and I recognized the meditation smell coming out of a room. Now to my bewilderment I did not understand why I was smelling such an aroma in a church. Following the scent, I found myself next to a room dedicated to Yoga, and “Christian Meditation.” I quickly asked myself, “Why on earth was this being allowed in the Church?” To my utter amazement the church (which will be nameless) was encouraging and training Christians to meditate in this manner. They called it Christian Meditation. My question to the church leadership was, “If this is Christian, why did my mind immediately race to Buddhist and Native American Medicine Men practices?” The leadership attempted to persuade me this was well grounded in Biblical truth and supported by main stream Bible organizations. However, they could not provide any solid contextually supported Bible verses for the very thing they were endorsing and training Christians to do. It was here that I finally realized my need, desire, and recognition of duty to fully understand what true Biblical Christian Meditation (BCM) really is. My goal is to help warn my brothers and sisters of the encroachment that has been found in the Church and to help encourage real BCM in our daily walk. God has made meditation for a unique purpose so that we can learn and draw near to our Heavenly Father. However, Satan like in other topics, has taken what was designed to be good and manipulated, polluted, and poisoned it into something that now hurts and pushes us away from our God. A.W Tozer once said, “Christianity at any given time is strong or weak depending upon her concept of God. And I insist upon this and I have said it many times, that the basic trouble with the Church today is her unworthy concept of God.”[1]

  Many Christians are too afraid to utilize meditation due to the word and images that cross into our mind. We think immediately of the negative ideas and other religious practices that focus intensive energy into meditation practices. I respect your cautiousness and want to help you come to a better understanding of what God’s Word says about meditation. For others, they might already be put off due to their daily practice of Yoga or their church might also have adopted some of these religious practices. If you are in this group, I would encourage you to also stay around and see how God’s Word can help us understand what is right and what is wrong in practicing meditation. BCM can be something that helps enrich the soul for better understanding of Christ. It can lead us into visualizing a challenge of scripture that we are wrestling with and allow us to see it from a different perspective. BCM can calm the nerves, heighten the spiritual awareness, and bring focus to our lives that is desperately needed. What I ask for is patience and a spirit of the Berans, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.” Acts 17:11. Take everything I say back to the Word of God and examine it for yourself. As we continue on this journey together, let us come to the feet of Jesus and learn what it truly means to repeat what is found in Psalm 1:2, “but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Because as we will learn through scripture, when we meditate on God’s Word we can see His Word come to life in our lives  Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

[1] A.W Tozer The Attributes of God Volume 1 Pg. 41.

Re-Post Friday

Our second look at one of Jesus Christ’s arrivals before His birth. Read it HERE!

A Music Challenge

Have you ever been listening to a worship station, and it suddenly occurs to you that some of the songs being played you would find on secular stations? Have you realized that the stations that are meant to play songs that glorify God and remind the believer that He is our hope, are playing songs that either don’t mention God at all, mention Him as an afterthought, or are even heretical? I certainly have. In today’s world where more and more “Christian” musicians and even pastors are coming out and stating that they actually do not believe in God, I have a challenge for you. When you turn on the radio or whatever you use to listen to worship music, I ask that you really sit and reflect on the words of the songs. Which is what I am wanting to do today, I want to look at a song that is commonly played on the Christian station. The song that I want to discuss is the song “Breakup Song” by Francesca Battistelli.

In order to not have the song take up the majority of this post, I am only going to show the chorus of the song but ask that you look at the rest of the lyrics yourself to see that I am not pulling it out of context.

“Fear, you don't own me
There ain't no room in this story
And I ain't got time for you
Telling me what I'm not
Like you know me well guess what?
I know who I am
I know I'm strong
And I am free
Got my own identity
So fear, you will never be welcome here”

When you listen to this song, you see that the artist is stating that she is “breaking up” with fear. Now when you hear the song it is rather ambiguous about what is causing the fear. Is it an abusive relationship that they finally have the strength to leave? Is it just normal fears and doubts that are weighing the artist down? You don’t really know and so this song can be relatable to different people in different stages of life. This in and of itself is not a bad thing and I am not saying that this song is bad, however, when you look at the lyrics you see that the song is very “me” centered. The artist states that she has “her own identity” but does not specify what that is. For the born-again believer, our identity is not in ourselves, but in Jesus Christ the Son of God. This is a fact that the artist overlooks throughout the entire song. The born-again believer does not need to be worried because Jesus has overcome the world and everything in it, “33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33

Now my second issue with this song, the artist states over and over again that they are freed from fear. While this may sound like an encouraging thing, it is overlooking the fact that we are supposed to have fear of God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. Now this fear of God is not a bad thing and often our minds associate the word “fear” as to be afraid of something. The “fear of the Lord” is more so of an acknowledgment of the awe that born-again believers should have in regard to a God who has every right to judge us and yet He frees us from sin. Our fear of Him is knowing we should be condemned and so we surrender to God and His will.

Now as an act of comparison, I ask that you randomly open a chapter in the book of Psalm. This is exactly what I have done for this post and so I landed on Psalm 67.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

6 The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!”

Psalm 67

Can you see the difference? In some worship songs out there it is very “me” centric but true Biblical worship has the focus on God. In this very short psalm, the focus is on God and we can find so much encouragement in it. This is why I ask you all to look at the songs that are being played and sung; not just on the radio, but in our churches as well. If you find a song that is being ambiguous about if it is worshiping God, bring it up to your pastor. Take the Biblical references found in songs back to the word of God! This is why the Berean’s received such praise, “11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

Being a Berean is not just in regards to checking on Bible verses ourselves, but it is also in regards to knowing what we are singing. If we are setting aside time to worship God through music, the music needs to glorify Him. King David did this very well as we can see in the psalms that he wrote. The psalms were meant to be played to music and when you look through them, you see in every one there are verses dedicated to glorifying God, praising Him, and even psalms that are designed to ask God questions. We cannot simply assume that because a song is being played on a “Christian” station, that it is in fact a song that is honoring God. In fact many of today’s so called Christian worship leaders are wolves in sheep’s clothing, causing the true born again believer to sing songs that have no business being used in Church or any other time worshiping our God. I challenge you to not be passive in this area of your faith; sit and listen to the words and the meaning behind the songs, take them back to scripture to see if it would be similar to what is found in the book of Psalms or is it being played because the artist supposedly claims to be a Christian? I hope that if you do this challenge, you will find songs that truly worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Introduction to Biblical Meditation

Today I wanted to do a second recap on the Basics Course that we just finished and had been doing for over a year. However, for those who don’t know, the Basics Course was designed around a quick review of the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. This was a crash course, something designed to help someone who had virtually no clue come to see what each book was about and give them an idea of what to expect when reading. Moving forward, I thought it would be prudent to remind the readers that the Word of God is not a “scheduled read the Bible in a year” that should be done all the time. In fact, there are times in our life when God’s Word might need to reside for a period of our life. We need to have a basic understanding however, we should not stop there. God calls us to meditate. Over the next several weeks I would like to go on a journey with you and see what it means to truly meditate as God sees meditation. Remember that no matter the topic, we take everything back to the Word of God and see what God says. By doing this, we can see the richness and guidance that He has carefully crafted in our life. God’s Word is applicable and we should see how it can be placed in our life, 2 Timothy 3:16 states,
”All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness.” But how do we know when to apply and if we are applying the right aspects of God’s Word? For this reason, I want to go on this journey with you and find out.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

The first in our two part series on the choices that everyone faces. Read it HERE!

Today Is

Often times we at Millhouse Ministries write specifically to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the main goal of our website, to share what we have learned and encourage each other in our faith. However, today I want to take a little sidestep. Today I am writing to anyone who is not born-again but, through the Holy Spirit, have found themselves on our page. If you are someone who has felt the tug to trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want to share this with you.

“Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation””

2 Corinthians 6:2b

What I am asking you is this, if you are someone who feels as if they need to get themselves “cleaned up” before accepting Christ, you can’t.  We are only made righteous through Jesus Christ, “22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,” Romans 3:22. If you feel as if the act of accepting Jesus Christ into your life is something that can wait for another day, it can’t. We are not promised tomorrow, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Proverbs 27:1.

Now is the best time to place your faith in Jesus Christ, exactly as you are. Place your faith in Him and Jesus will straighten out your life, He will make all the sin go away.. There is no better time than now because this is the day that you have. Do not wait. If you are unsure how to accept Christ in your life, it is really a matter of a simple prayer said with a sincere heart. There is no special ritual or act that needs to be done. All you need do is “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ” Romans 10:9-10

Now for our brothers and sisters who have already accepted Jesus Christ. Do not think that the passage in 2 Corinthians 6:2 does not hold any truth for you. Today is the day of salvation, for us who have already believed and confessed Jesus Christ our work is not done. Today is the day of salvation, we all know of someone in our life who is not born-again. We must not sit idly by and love them to hell. “11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Proverbs 24:11. Today is the day of salvation, any opportunity we have we must share the gospel with them. Our inability to act does not prevent someone from becoming saved, for God will place someone in their path who will share the gospel with them. However, we should not sit and think that it is up to someone else to share the gospel. Every born-again believer has the same call, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” Matthew 28:18-20. I encourage you to reach out now to those who are on your mind as you read this post.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Concluding the Basics

When I first started The Basics Course discussing the Old Testament, I didn’t realize how instrumental it would be in my own life and those who would go on this journey with me. For those who are new, this was a journey going over each book of the Old Testament briefly. Allowing the audience to see what the book was about without going too deep. As I illustrated when I first started, imagine being on the highway and the exit signs giving what is at each exit such as gas, food, lodging and other unique aspects. This series we stayed on the highway not taking any of the exits. We set out to give the basics of who you needed to know about each book. My passion is to always go deeper into God’s Word, study His character, and learn more about Jesus Christ. However, at times I understand the importance of seeing things from the 1,000 foot view as we have been with this series. I hope you have enjoyed the Old Testament Basics Course. If there is one thing you should remember about this study, it is just how much God’s Word is true and how seriously we should be with it. From Genesis to Malachi, God is reveals His love and passion for humankind in ways humanity cannot fathom. But let me leave you with a few verses that have touched my heart as we have read through this series.  

God does not change, so we can count on His promises to be kept, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O son of Jacob.” Malachi 3:6.

God cares to know your suffering, thoughts, and desires “trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:6.

God does the work in our life, when He calls you and I to something it is He who wins the day for us, “For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them” Psalm 44:3.

God cares for Abraham and the promises that will come to pass, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” Genesis 12:3. 

The Promise of a Savior and a King, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his” Genesis 49:10.

Jesus’s reign will be forever, “When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” 2 Samuel 7:12–13.

There is a war between good and evil, and yet we know God has won. We who are saved through Jesus Christ are secure in knowing the war is already won because of what Jesus did on the cross.  “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15.

Gentiles like myself have a promise we can hold to knowing that we can too be blessed by Jesus Christ. “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” Isaiah 11:10.

And finally one of my favorite verses of the Old Testament, here I am reminded how no matter how bad it is, God is that much better. We have hope in Jesus Christ and His coming work. He cares for you and I enough to save us from ourselves and make for us a better place. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” Daniel 7:13–14. 

(Just to be clear, this in no way is a complete list of my favorite verses of the Old Testament.)

So as we come to this ending of the series, I want to take a brief moment and say thank you to you the reader. If anything in this series has stood out to you, I would love to hear about it. Remember the Old Testament has one purpose; and that is to point mankind and the individual to what they both need, which is Jesus Christ. You see many people think the New Testament is about Jesus, but in fact the Old Testament is equally pointing to the amazing news of who the man was, but also who He is as God. Jesus Christ being fully Man and fully God from before time, being part of the Trinity, came down and saved you and I. The Old Testament is only one part of the larger story being written. I hope your story is also written into Jesus’s, I pray that your story would have a chapter in it where you came to see just how important Jesus is and how He came to live in your life as your Lord and Savior. All you need to do is ask the Lord and He will reveal Himself to you. So as you read through the Old Testament, remember that Jesus can be found leaping off the page.

I can’t wait to see what series we do next with each other. Until then, I will see you next week.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

A Living Thing

Whenever I am unsure about what my next Biblical study should be, I like to read one of the smaller books in the New Testament. I think due to their size, books like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John or 1st and 2nd Timothy can be overlooked. This is definitely to the readers detriment as these smaller books pack as much of a punch as the gospels, Hebrews, or Ephesians. Recently I have spent some time in the book of 1st Peter and I was reminded once again how encouraging this book can be. This book hits on topics such as freedom in Christ, rejoicing in trials, and the knowledge that God is an impartial judge. However, there is one verse that I specifically love when I just need to be encouraged.

“23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

1 Peter 1:23

This world loves to drag us down and make us have our heads hanging. For many walking around, they seem to have no hope; and that is because they are focusing on things that are perishable. But this is not the case for those who have been born-again through Jesus Christ. Our hopes are not on those things that will one day perish, instead we can keep our heads up and act as lights to the world. The word of God is capable of regenerating individuals, “18 In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” James 1:18. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we not only become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) but we can no longer be dragged down by the weight of our sin. We have passed the world of perishable things and will one day, through death and resurrection or through the rapture, we will be with God where nothing will perish.

I also like this passage because it reminds me that the word of God is a living thing. It is as relevant now as when it was written. The authors of the 66 books of the Bible had no idea how long it would be until Christ returned, and yet even still their words provide encouragement for us living today. We can all be encouraged of the stories of those found in Hebrews 11 or the story of Ester who accepted that God placed her in her position for a reason, and we can still learn valuable financial guidance from books like Proverbs as well as understanding the times that we are in. The Bible is not just words on a page, but is a living document that offers so much strength and encouragement to those who would read it seriously. Matthew Henry describes the Bible this way, “It is a means of spiritual life, to begin it and preserve in it, animating and exciting us in our duty, till it brings us to eternal life: and it is abiding; it remains eternally true, and abides in the hearts of the regenerate for ever.”[1]

However, if you are simply reading only what is discussed in church service or life groups, you are missing out on so much more of what the Bible says. For those that treat their Bible studies in such a way, the Bible does not seem like the living and enduring word of God. Without the hope that is found within its pages, it is easy for the believer to begin to place their hope in perishable things and forget that their hope is in something greater. I encourage you now to ask God to open His word to you, pray that He helps you to see the nuggets of information and encouragement that you are missing. This way you can truly see how our hope does not reside in perishable but the unchanging God.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

[1] Commentary on 1 Peter 1 by Matthew Henry (blueletterbible.org)

The Basics: A Brief Overview of Malachi

The Basics course is designed to help brothers and sisters in Christ, who have a desire for a brief study over each of the books of the Bible. While being more than just a timeline, it is designed to give a person a more realistic overview of the entire Bible. As well as pointing out different highlights along the way. Imagine riding in a car and seeing exit signs for a town. Each sign gives a brief glimpse of what is inside, while if you wanted to thoroughly investigate the town you would have to take the exit. This series is a collected work of the books of the Bible while continuing to drive past each of the exits. I would encourage you to take any exit and allow the Lord God to direct your path to where He would guide.

The Bible is written in 66 different books. Each one is unique on its own but designed to be with its other collected works.

Cautionary Note: This work is not to argue for the authenticity of the Bible nor is it to argue over the mechanics of how God used man to write His Words. This is designed as an overview for someone to review the book in passing. Nevertheless, we here at Mill House Ministries believe that the Bible is without error and was written by God, through His divine attributes, through man.

These overviews are sequenced in the below fashion. Each overview is designed to flow in unison.

1.) Introduction

2.) Who wrote it

3.) When did they write it

4.) Key topics

5.) Key sections

6.) Books that interact with each other

7.) Analysis of the Book

As previously stated, if you find yourself drawn to one of these books, please take the time and see what God is wanting to show you in that book.

BASICS COURSE:

Malachi

INTRODUCTION:

Malachi, is a unique inside look at God’s reaction to Israel’s sin. Here we can see God disheartened by the faithlessness and wickedness of His people. But it is here we see a righteous answer and a revelation of God’s character.

WHO WROTE IT:

In his statement below, John MacArthur argues for the accuracy of who is the writer of the book of Malachi.

“Some have suggested that the book was written anonymously, noting that the name, meaning “my messenger” or “the LORD’s messenger,” could be a title rather than a proper name. It is pointed out that the name occurs nowhere else in the OT, nor is any background material provided about the author. However, since all other prophetic books have historically identified their author in the introductory heading, this suggests that Malachi was indeed the name of the last OT writing prophet in Israel. Jewish tradition identifies him as a member of the Great Synagogue that collected and preserved the Scriptures.”[1]

WHEN DID THEY WRITE IT:

The Blue Letter Bible site helps identify when the book of Malachi was written.

“Looking solely at internal evidence, the date of the prophecy points to the late fifth century B.C., most likely during Nehemiah’s return to Persia ca. 433–424 B.C. (Nehemiah 5:14; 13:6) Sacrifices were being made at the second temple (Malachi 1:7-10; 3:8) which was finished in 516 B.C. (Ezra 6:13-1). Many years had passed since then as the priests had increasingly become complacent and corrupt (Malachi 1:6-2:9). Malachi’s reference to “governor” (Malachi 1:8) speaks of the time of Persian dominance in Judah when Nehemiah was revisiting Persia (Nehemiah 13:6), while his emphasis on the law (Malachi 4:4) coincides with a similar focus by Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 7:14, 25, 26; Nehemiah 8:18). They shared other concerns as well, such as marriages to foreign wives (Malachi 2:11-15; Ezra 9, 10; Nehemiah 13:23-27), withholding of tithes (Malachi 3:8-10, Nehemiah 13:10-14), and social injustice (Malachi 3:5; Nehemiah 5:1-13). Nehemiah came to Jerusalem in 445 B.C. to rebuild the wall, and returned to Persia in 433 B.C. He later returned to Israel (ca. 424 B.C.) to deal with the sins Malachi described (Nehemiah 13:6). So it is likely that Malachi was written during the period of Nehemiah’s absence, almost a century after Haggai and Zechariah began to prophesy.[2]

KEY TOPICS:

The Temple is rebuilt but the people’s heart has drifted away. God reveals Israel’s unfaithfulness, but emphasizes His own faithfulness to continue to help.

KEY SECTIONS:

The book can easily be read in a sitting and is designed to be understood as one particular argument by the Lord against the people. While one argument God does reveal judgement and promises to the nation of His redemptive work, the book also promises Jesus Christ, first coming and second.  

BOOKS THAT INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER:

Malachi connects with the gospels, Revelation, and other minor prophets.

ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK:

While some might consider Malachi to be a simple book, it has deep meaning and revelation into the heart of God. This book shows His ever faithfulness to Israel, but also us when we fail and sin. God reveals His genuine nature to keep His promises and help sustain His receptive work for us. Malachi provides a detailed look at what was going on in Israel at the time, but also the necessary tools for us to self examine and see if we are living a life of religion or do we have a real and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. Malachi reveals the first coming and second coming of Jesus Christ. Malachi helps provide the necessary frame work to reveal how God will one day rule in Jerusalem for 1,000 years and the nations will come to worship Him. Malachi reveals that the Jewish people are not forgotten by the Lord but are in a state of momentary pause. God is a God that does not change, thus He will continue to keep His promises and restore us who do not deserve His work. Malachi is a wonderful book to help you and I understand how much God’s love continues when we are failing to be what we have been called to be. It is a perfect ending of the Old Testament; and foundation for the coming gospels, amazing miracles, and acts of Jesus Christ. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament because it shouts that God is going to have to do the work that we cannot do ourselves. If I could give an example, I would say Malachi is like being in a move theater and the lights are going dim, the movie is about to start; Malachi is the lights going dim for the coming New Testament. You can’t enjoy the movie without the simple act of the lights going dim, thus Malachi is a simple book preparing for the what is coming.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/malachi-intro.cfm

[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/macarthur_john/bible-introductions/malachi-intro.cfm