Author Archives: Steve

God’s Merit Badges – Job 36:15

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“God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment” (Job 36:15, HCSB).

In the story of Job, Elihu was the fourth and last to speak from among Job’s friends. Elihu was younger than the others and waited to speak, giving deference to the older men.

Though younger, Elihu believed he was speaking God’s truth in confronting Job, but he claimed neither human superiority nor inferiority to Job.

Elihu had listened carefully to Job’s claims of being pure and innocent and being unjustly oppressed by God.

And Elihu reminded Job that as a human being, he was not in a position to bring accusations against God, his Creator.

Elihu declared to Job that instead of being a sign of God’s unconcern as Job had supposed, affliction was a mark of God’s mercy, keeping one from the path of iniquity.

In other words, the very thing that afflicts you may also be what saves you.

God can use your affliction to rescue and restore you to Him and His will. Your affliction can spiritually develop you into a human being that is prepared for spending eternity with God!

Admittedly, affliction is not my first choice for spiritual growth. In fact, I like to avoid affliction as much as possible. So, I often recite from the Lord’s prayer the supplication that Jesus teaches us to pray for protection from affliction: “And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13, HCSB).

Indeed, our affliction may sometimes be one way that God deals with issues in our lives that could potentially cause us to be unfaithful. But this verse does not say that God afflicts us, but that He rescues and restores us through our affliction. (Remember, it was Satan that afflicted Job; it was Satan that tested Job, not God.)

Because affliction causes us to throw ourselves on God’s mercy!

That which causes my pain and suffering is also that which can restore me to intimacy with God.
     That which causes me to give up and quit is also that which empowers me to endure and persevere.

So what we perceive to be our problem is actually the solution to our problem!

In fact, our affliction may even prevent evil or temptation from overtaking or overcoming us: “Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction” (vs. 21).

When I was a boy, I joined the boy scouts. In scouting you earn merit badges for demonstrating a useful skill or a good behavior. By earning merit badges, a scout may advance in rank. Advancement in rank acknowledges the scout’s growing ability to serve others better.

Our afflictions are God’s merit badges. They are designed to empower us to become more obedient and productive as Jesus’s disciples.

“Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons.” (Hebrews 12:7, HCSB)

In Sync – Romans 8:28

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“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, HCSB).

This familiar verse is probably one of the most often quoted, yet, often misunderstood verses in the Bible!

We generally quote the verse and its promise to someone who has suffered tragedy or misfortune or we claim its promise for ourselves when we personally encounter tragedy or misfortune.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is some very powerful theology embedded in this verse. It’s just that we sometimes misapply or misappropriate it to our lives!

On one hand, we interpret Romans 8:28 to mean that God does bad things to us (or allows bad things to happen to us) to drive us back into line with His will.

We were bad so God caused something bad to happen to us so we’ll start being good!

On the other hand, we interpret Romans 8:28 to mean that God will take the bad things that happen to us and turn them into good things.

The problem with these interpretations is that both views cause you to miss out on the powerful promise that’s contained in Romans 8:28.

The promise of restoration!

Both views impede what God actually wants to do in your life when you encounter adversity.

God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us to make us obey Him nor does He change the bad things that happen to us into good things!

Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world.

When I have encountered tragedy in my life, I find that I wake up each day and the tragic event has still occurred and its residual grief, stress, frustration, or sadness is still felt deeply and the havoc that it has reaped in my life and others is still evident.

So am I being cynical and sterilizing this potent promise, this powerful theology, with cynicism?

Not at all. I’m not being cynical, I’m being a realist.

I want to show you how the wonderful promise contained in Romans 8:28 can have a transformative effect on your life when you understand God’s reality as it is explained in this verse.

After all, God really, really wants you to experience His reality. His reality, not our version of it.

The fundamental basis for forming a relationship with God is restoration. God created a perfect world. That perfect world has become imperfect; it has fallen from its original splendor because of rebellion, specifically, humanity’s rebellion against God’s plans.

God wants to restore this world and humanity from its fallen state to a perfect state. God wants to restore this world so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to live and die as a human being for it, for us.

So restoration is God’s purpose. And our redemption has always been God’s plan since before the creation of the world, and will always be His plan even to eternity.

And God not only wants to redeem and restore this world, He wants to redeem and restore you!

He redeemed you from your fallen state when you first believed in Jesus. Now, God wants to restore you everyday of your life as you struggle in this fallen world to live for Him. And He especially wants to restore you when you encounter hardship and suffering.

That’s how a relationship with God works–restoration!

But God does not restore you by removing the problem. If you think that, then you are missing the blessing of the Romans 8:28 promise.

God wants to apply the healing balm of restoration to your problems as you seek refuge from your difficulties under the protection of His love and grace.

He wants to draw you into His lovingkindness, His mercy, His redeeming love!

And He’s so mighty, so powerful, that evil and the consequences of evil are inconsequential to God.

Nothing, not even evil and the bad that it produces, can thwart God’s good purposes or prevent God’s love. So much so, that God even uses evil to accomplish His redemptive plans and purposes.

The bad of this world can never stand in the way of God’s good: “Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39, NLT).

Wow! God’s love is incredible, amazing, incredibly amazing!

God is almighty and, therefore, makes all things, even evil, even tragedy or misfortune, work together for His good purposes!

When bad things happen to you, God puts your life back in sync! He realigns your life for you. He restores you to His will!

So the marvelous promise of Romans 8:28 should not be stored away to be grabbed off the shelf when tragedy strikes. It’s a way of life. It’s the way we maintain a relationship with God!

God restores you. God continuously synchronizes your life with His plans and purposes when you love Him and seek His will as the way for your life.

“Whatever has been born of God conquers the world” (1 John 5:4, HCSB).

Filling Empty Pockets – Matthew 14:19-21

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“Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers”  (Matthew 14:19-21, NLT).

We sometimes think the way God provides for His people is to give us what we don’t have or more of what don’t have enough of.

Our pockets are empty and we expect God to fill them.

For example, if we are experiencing financial difficulties, we pray for a miracle to increase our income; if our car is broken down, we pray for a new one.

However, God’s care over our lives is more often provided by extending the resources we already have as they are offered totally and willingly to the Lord than by giving us what we don’t have or more of what we already have.

God’s provision is demonstrated by the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels (cf. Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13) and is recorded with substantial narration in each of the gospels, which may suggest its importance among the supernatural events of Jesus’ ministry.

Undoubtedly, the miracle itself was significant based solely on its scale–feeding an estimated 15-20 thousand men, women, and children from five loaves of bread and two fish and then having 12 baskets of leftovers!

Jesus had been preaching to the large crowd for an extended period of time in a remote location and the people needed to eat. When the disciples indicated the unavailability of food at the location, Jesus suggested how He might intervene: “Bring them here,” he said (vs. 18) referring to the loaves of bread and fish.

In these three words—BRING THEM HERE—we see the practical application for receiving God’s provision:
Bring everything you have to Jesus and when you offer any and all of yourself and your possessions totally and willingly to God, His care is provided by extending or expanding your possessions and capabilities even to an abundance.

Trading Up – Matthew 13:44-46

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“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!” (Matthew 13:44-46, NLT)

In order to obtain the treasure field and valuable pearl, the field worker and the merchant first had to liquidate everything they had to raise enough capital to purchase their respective treasures.

In following Jesus we must divest our lives of all self-interest with the same totality of purpose as the man finding the treasure in the field and the merchant finding the pearl of great value.

The moral ground on which we form a relationship with God is to give up, surrender, relinquish, or abandon our own self-interests and self-will in favor of God’s will through faith in Jesus.

In other words, eliminate competing priorities.

The reason for this required sacrifice is because self-will and self-interest is the basis for sin and separation from God and hinders us from receiving God’s care and provision.

While giving up the right to self is comprehensive, in the parables of the hidden treasure and expensive pearl the totality of the sacrifice did not leave the main characters without means or substance.

God permits us to trade up!

By the very act of giving up something of less value, a fortune is secured! In His Kingdom, God invests His life in people who abdicate the kingdom of their own self-will and self-interest and make their priority doing God’s will.

Following Jesus costs you all of the only thing you really have—your right to your own self.

When you make the trade, your natural life is replaced with His Kingdom life, your destiny fulfilled, and your life possessed with immeasurable value and eternal significance.

Growing Wheat in a Field of Weeds – Matthew 13:24-30

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“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, …. ‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’… ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn'” (Matthew 13:24-30, HCSB)

In this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a man who sowed wheat in a field but is sabotaged by his enemy who sows weeds among the wheat.

Now, that’s not really the way we envision the Kingdom of God, is it? We sort of understand the wheat field, but the weeds don’t really fit into our understanding of the Kingdom of God.

So, the servants of the owner of the field want to pull up the weeds, but the owner commands the servants to let the weeds grow with the wheat and then he instructs the servants to separate the weeds when they harvest the wheat.

This parable demonstrates the sovereignty of God over His creation. “Evil” coexists with “good” for a period of time.

Then, Jesus interprets His own parable and explains that the sowing of the weeds in the wheat field is unquestionably the work of Satan, the Devil (vs. 38-39).

But God is Almighty and His Plan is Supreme, even to the extent that He can use the evil actions of people and even the Devil himself to work His good purposes.

God is able to grow and harvest wheat in a field full of weeds!

God remains undaunted by evil in the fulfillment of His good purposes. Although the evil one is working throughout history and even the circumstances of our lives to disrupt God’s plans and purposes, God is active in this present world but He is not necessarily reactive to evil.

So God works through the circumstances of our lives to declare Himself and His redeeming love to us.

God is resolute, intentional, and deliberate. He has a plan and purpose and is actively pursuing His plan of building His Kingdom in our lives.

Sometimes our lives may seem to us more like growing wheat in a field of weeds. But Jesus assures us in this parable that our life is really a field of wheat with some weeds growing in it!

We are God’s wheat field! And God is the master! He wants us busy growing wheat, not pulling weeds! 

“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10, HCSB).

Kingdom Entrepreneurs – Matthew 13:23

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“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 13:23, NLT).

The parable of the sower is the first recorded parable of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In the parable of the sower, Jesus told about a farmer who was planting seed for crops:

  • Some of the farmer’s seed fell along the path and the birds came and ate it.
  • Some seed fell on rocky places where the soil was shallow and the plants sprang up quickly but soon withered because they had no roots.   
  • Some seed fell among thorns and the weeds didn’t allow the plants to grow. 
  • Some seed fell on good soil where a crop was produced that was many times greater than what was sown.

Jesus explained the parable of the sower to the disciples saying that the seed represented the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God—the gospel.

The farmer or the sower was, of course, God, and the different locations where the seed fell characterized the manner in which hearers of the gospel believed and received the Kingdom message.

The first category of hearers refused to believe its message while the other three categories of hearers received (and believed) the message of the gospel but responded in different ways.

Some received the message with joy but it didn’t get “rooted” or “grounded” in their lives. Some received the message but didn’t make it a priority and other obligations consumed their time and money. Yet, others heard the message and it was a life-changing experience!

Three different categories of people received (and believed) the message, but only one of the three was productive for the Kingdom of God.

These were the Kingdom entrepreneurs!

Kingdom entrepreneurs have been transformed by the message of the gospel to the extent that God uses them to effectively transact the business of His Kingdom.

God causes His Kingdom to prosper abundantly in their lives so that their profitability for the Kingdom is increased to amazing proportions! They produce a harvest of souls that can be even a hundred times greater than the seed that was planted in their lives!

As a citizen of God’s Kingdom, you are faced with some very important business decisions during your lifetime.

And, in the final analysis you must either be productive or else your service to God’s Kingdom may not be required: “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29, NLT).

Examine the Fruit – Matthew 12:33,35

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“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad…A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.”  (Matthew 12:33,35, NLT).

Goodness is a quality that is only attributable to God.

And God’s redemptive purpose is not to create good people, but to establish His goodness in the human heart.

So God’s plan for you is not just to clean you up, but to shape and form the character of your being for eternity.

God wants to do an inside job on you!

He knows that it is what is on the inside—your character, your heart, your soul—that determines what you will do with what is on the outside—your words and behavior.

According to Jesus, it is relatively simple to determine what is on the inside of a person.

You examine their fruit!

When you purchase fruit at the store, you pick it up and look it over before you place it in your shopping cart. It’s the same way with people.

You hear what they say and see how they behave: “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (vs. 7:20).

What you say and do are indicative of what’s in your heart.

What do people hear and see coming from your heart? Do you  pass the fruit exam? Are you a tree that bears good fruit?

Let the words you speak and the way you live demonstrate that Jesus lives in your heart!

“So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone” (James 2:24,NLT),

Adapted from The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present, by Steven C. Mills

Lavished With Grace – Ephesians 1:7-8

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“We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7-8, HCSB).

This year I started a new book project. It’s a project that’s been on my heart for sometime and one that I sensed that God wanted me to begin writing this year.

The subject of the book is Christian discipleship. It’s about spiritual formation through the practice of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, and Bible study.

Now, what’s ironic about me writing this book is that I’m not a very disciplined disciple. And that’s a concern I expressed to God.

Why would God want me, an undisciplined disciple, to write a book about discipleship?

And while I was questioning God on this issue, I had a couple of other questions: Why would God assign me to be a single parent to two grandchildren when I never really was that good of a parent, even with the help of a wife?

And, why would God even show His favor to me in the first place, someone who is so self-referenced, self-focused, and self-sufficient? Isn’t that a lot of grace for God to give when there are so many other people without these severe spiritual limitations?

Why does God choose us hard cases, the down-and-outers, the unyielding, to become His children?

Here’s the quick and short answer: GOD IS MAGNANIMOUS!

I suppose it would probably be more theologically sound to say, GOD IS MUNIFICENT, but that’s not a word most of us understand.

So, let me explain what I mean about God’s magnanimity.

Have you ever seen a field of wildflowers in full bloom and tried to take it all in? You can’t. There’s too much beauty there for your mind to comprehend.

Jesus, in describing such a field of wildflowers, said that “not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these” (Matthew 6:29, HCSB).

And what about all those fields full of wildflowers that nobody ever sees? What use are they?

Jesus went on to say about this field of wildflowers that God clothes the grass of the field with this beautiful coat of wildflowers, but it is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow (Matthew 6:30).

And what about the universe? Wouldn’t the Earth and the Sun have been sufficient? Okay, then maybe one solar system would have been enough. Or one galaxy.

But no, God created a universe with untold numbers of planets and stars and solar systems and galaxies that is so expansive that we have to talk about its expanse in terms of millions of light years.

What use is it all? Is God wasteful?

God can’t help Himself! He’s magnanimous! He’s munificent!

When God creates, He does so in abundance, generously, lavishly. That’s His nature.

And it’s God’s nature that when He shows mercy, He does so generously, exceedingly generously!

So God finds people like me, the hard cases, the down-and-outers, the unyielding, to lavish His grace upon!

And then it’s God power at work in me: “To Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to [His] power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, HCSB).

So how can I write a book on discipleship, be a loving parent to my grandchildren, or even become a child of God?

Because our magnanimous God meets me at the point of my need for Him–my innate need for Someone bigger, greater, and more powerful than my own self to help me tell His story, to be a better parent, a better person!

And the greater our need, the greater is the richness of His grace that He lavishes on us!

God isn’t just God, He’s an awesome God.
     God isn’t just great, He’s glorious!
          God doesn’t just show mercy, His grace is amazing!
               God doesn’t just love us, He sent His only Son!

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, HCSB).

The Righteousness Test – Job 23:10-12

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“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food” (Job 23:10-12, NLT).

Did you ever sit down to take a test in school and wonder where the questions came from?

The test questions didn’t ask for any facts or information you read about in the text or discussed in class. Instead, the test questions expected you to analyze and apply the facts and information you had read or discussed.

And, you probably thought the test was unfair and maybe even complained to the teacher or at least to other students.

That is what happened to Job.

When Job’s faith was tested by God, at first Job doubted that he could plead his case to God.

In this passage Job expresses confidence that when God tests him, he can, in fact, ask God for an explanation of the test.

In reality, God wasn’t testing Job’s faith; Satan was.

But God does use the difficulties in life that confront us–emanating either from Satan or from our own mistakes–to instruct us in His holiness and righteousness and build our faith in Him.

It’s the righteousness test!

God knows where we are going in life, and the righteousness test keeps us on the path to where He wants us to go.

And when God uses our suffering to teach us about His righteousness, then like Job we will conclude: “He controls my destiny” (vs. 14).

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28, NLT).

Singled Out – Genesis 18:17-19

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“Should I hide my plan from Abraham? the Lord asked. For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised” (Genesis 18:17-19, NLT).

One day God made a personal visit to Abraham.

Personal appearances by God to Earth are called “theophanies” or “Christophanies” if the appearance seems to represent the pre-incarnate Christ.

Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate in scripture between an angelic appearance or a theophany other than by the context. The context here seems to indicate an appearance of God accompanied by two angels, all appearing in human form (vs. 1-2, 13, 17, 22).

The purpose of the personal visit by God to Abraham was twofold: 1) to confirm God’s covenant with Abraham (vs. 10) and 2) to render judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (vs. 21) and extend His mercy to Abraham’s family.

After God confirmed His covenant with Abraham, He had a conversation with Himself about confiding in Abraham about His plans to execute judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

Since Abraham was God’s chosen one through whom His redemptive plan for humanity would be implemented, God determined to reveal His plans to Abraham.

And God still reveals His plans and purposes to His people today. That’s because God operationalizes His will on Earth through people, His chosen people, those He has singled out!

Just as God chose Abraham and visited him personally, God has singled you out and visits you personally by His indwelling Spirit.

So, find out what plans and purposes God is revealing to you and then operationalize His will in your life. God will surely do all He has promised!