TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! The Heart

"This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." Isaiah 15:8

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Say it loud! Say it proud. I never get tired of hearing or saying these two small words. For me and millions of other people they carry a great deal of meaning. For years I have been on a one man mission to remove the use of the auto response mechanism, "You too!"

There is a reason why "YOU TOO!" is not emblazoned upon Hallmark Christmas cards. It will never become a best seller.

It's not too much to expect another Christian to celebrate the meaning of the season and to simply repeat, "Merry Christmas!" It may be a bit of a stretch to hold a high expectation for a person who doesn't hold any meaning to the birth of Christ to respond with a hearty "Merry Christmas!" However, don't expect those of us who place great meaning on it to stand by and watch "Merry Christmas" bullied off the scene by a plethora of politically correct phrases. In other words, don't mess with Christmas!

Still, the militant Merry Christmas cadets ought to have some degree of understanding about what they are saying before they arm twist a perceived heretic into spouting them out. They should also avoid saying the words without having their heart engaged in obedience to the One who gives the words substance. There are more platitudes and pop culture Christianity on tap this season than at any time of they year. I draw little Christmas cheer from mindless mantras repeated over and over,

• "And that's what Christmas is all about."
• "Jesus is the reason for the season."
• "Keep Christ in Christmas!"
• "Put Christ back in Christmas!"
• "Christmas is not just one day a year."
• "Celebrate the Spirit of Christmas all year long."
• "Cash or charge?"
  

OK, I threw that last one in just to see if you were still there. I know it was a little off message, but not by much. Christians could do with a healthy appreciation of what it took for Christmas to have any meaning for them at all. They can fall prey to the same advertising campaigns and commercialization of Christmas as those who have no comprehension of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Don't fall into the trap of becoming a Christmas snob who thinks that repeating two words makes them better than those who have yet to see The Light.

It is important to remind those determined to put Christ back into Christmas that they were never commanded by The Christ to celebrate His birthday. He placed no great significance on it. His last words to His disciples challenged them to remember His death, burial and resurrection. They were told in no uncertain terms, "DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME!"

Putting Christ back into Christmas simply requires obedience to what He said. To do this is going to really cramp the style of churches all over the world. The bale of hay and a bathrobe pageants, the live nativity scenes, the lazer light shows, and the countless cantatas will take a back seat to Baptism and The Lord's Supper. Not quite as flashy, but they carry the reason for the season with a great deal more substance.

It dawned on me this year, that THE CRADLE, THE CROSS, and THE TOMB are all vacant. I know I'm not the sharpest knife in the theological drawer so cut me some slack on this, but to make much of them and still miss Jesus is still disrespectful to Him. THE HEART is the only place where Jesus can be found. A heart filled with Jesus gives His Spirit elbow room to keep Him as the focus of a person's life every day of the year. That kind of fulness is marked by obedience to what The Risen Christ desires for His followers to be and to do in His name.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." John 15:12

"Love one another." Profoundly simple, and simply profound. It describes the unconditional love to be expressed to those closest to us, and to those who drive us away from them. Simple? Yes, but simply impossible until there is a change of heart in the one required to do the loving. Jesus describes this kind of love as obedient behavior in response to His command. Singing the "Happy Birthday" song or choking "Merry Christmas" out of a heretic is not on His "To Do" List.

In September 1996 I had the privilege of attending a conference at The Cove in Asheville, NC. Warren Wiersbe was teaching that week on The Book of Romans. It was an amazing experience. The setting was spectacular with The Smokie Mountains, and The Lodge at the Billy Graham Center serving as a backdrop to the study of the Scripture. It just doesn't get much better than that for me.

One of the statements made by Dr. Wiersbe that has stuck with me over the years was his reference to sin as it related to the teaching in Romans. I believe I am doing him justice to quote him as saying,

"The heart of the matter is the heart, and the matter of the heart is sin."

He went on to describe how Paul taught that a person's heart cannot be made right by keeping The Law or through a slow process of self-correction. The sinner's heart required a state of grace to be declared between The Law Giver and The Lawbreaker. There was simply no hope for a change of heart to take place in the life of the sinner without an act of grace being administered in the heart of a sinner.

Sin separates a person from Holy God. Only a righteous Judge can declare an end to the separation. Healing of the breach is not a matter of want to on the part of the sinner, but can do on the part of the Judge. God judges a person to be right with Him based on the work done on behalf of a sinner by His Son, Jesus. When Jesus came to THE CRADLE it was a start. When Jesus died on THE CROSS, it was a finish. When Jesus rose from THE TOMB, it was a promise. THE CRADLE, THE CROSS AND THE TOMB are all vacant. Only THE HEART can be filled with Jesus.

THE HEART remains the one place in the world where JESUS desires to live. Without Jesus there is no reason for the season. Without The Spirit of Christ there is no Spirit of Christmas. All that is left is the tinsel, the glitter and the sentiment, but there is no change of heart. THE HEART filled with Jesus is filled with His Spirit, and allows Him the elbow room to develop the character of Christ in the life of the follower of Christ. The change of THE HEART is in an instant, but the development of The Character is a process that will take a life time.

THE HEART of the matter is still the matter of THE HEART. A life of obedience comes from a heart full of Jesus. THE CRADLE preceded THE CROSS and THE TOMB. Jesus told His disciples to remember His death, burial and resurrection, not His birthday, but none of those remembrances will have real meaning until THE HEART becomes the residence of THE RISEN CHRIST.

"Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said...'What shall we do?' Peter said, 'Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, and as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." Acts 2:37-39

Don't forget the real gift giving of Christmas. Give your heart to Jesus and experience The Gift that keeps on giving, The Spirit of Christ.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Gary Miller,

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

The Whitefield Project

gmillerlight@gmail.com

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE! The Room

"O, magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34:3

December 1, 2011 our immediate family gathered in Fort Worth, Texas at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at a brief ceremony for the rededication of THE DON and LIBBY MILLER PRAYER ROOM. Dr. Jack Terry was our gracious seminary host for the event. We were honored by all the family and friends who took time out of busy schedules to make this special occasion even more meaningful for my parents, Don and Libby Miller. Mom and Dad are in their nineties and still two of the greatest prayer warriors I have ever known. They have been married for 66 and a half years, and their life verse is:

"O, magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34:3

After serving as pastor and church planter for Southern Baptist churches in Texas and in New York, God called my parents to launch a prayer ministry in 1977. For over 34 years of their marriage, Mom and Dad travelled around the world challenging people to get alone with God and pray. Their ministry has taken them to every continent of the world, and most of these United States. They have personally led prayer conferences in over 1,000 churches, and their teachings on prayer have been expanded to countless other venues by video and now DVD formats. They made the transition from overhead projector to PowerPoint in their late eighties. My favorite quote on prayer comes from my Dad.

"Prayer is the intimate communication between the Heavenly Father and His child."

The Room is located on the northwest corner of the second floor in the new McGorman Chapel on the campus of Southwestern Seminary. The Chapel, named for Dr. Jack McGorman, honored and respected New Testament professor of the Seminary, is spectacular. Dr. McGorman remains to this day one of the finest Greek scholars ever produced by Southern Baptists, and the Chapel is a fitting tribute to this rare treasure of a man. He and Dad have been long time friends, and it was a precious moment being able to reconnect these two war-horses over lunch. It was a great reunion, and designed by God to take place.

The Miller clan was invited to take part in a delightful luncheon prior to the dedication service. Mrs. Dorothy Patterson was our gracious hostess. The Miller family wishes to express to Dr. and Mrs. Patterson their deepest appreciation for their willingness to prioritize the space in the new Chapel for The Room. At the luncheon, Mrs. Patterson was so apologetic that all the furnishing had not arrived, and that she feared it might appear to be incomplete. I was glad to quote what I have often heard Dad say, "Less is more, when God is in it." I assured her my parents would be pleased if there was room enough to kneel.

After the final wave of family arrived, I looked around to see if I recognized anyone in the room that Dad might want to meet. I was pleased to see that Dr. McGorman was just a few steps away from Dad's table. I went over and reintroduced myself to him. He had been Dad's New Testament Greek professor while he was in seminary. I had followed in Dad's footsteps and studied Greek under Dr, McGorman twenty-five years later. I remember Dad referring to him affectionately as "Cactus Jack" McGorman. It was a nickname he had earned among WWII veterans who entered seminary after the war. Any cockiness they brought to the campus after defeating the Axis powers soon evaporated in the battle they faced with "Baby" Greek. "Cactus Jack" was a tough drillmaster. They discovered that what he knew about Greek prepositions could make a grown man cry. My days with him translating Galatians still brings tears to my eyes. It was pretty embarrassing! But I digress.

As soon as I mentioned Dad's name, Dr. McGorman's eyes lit up. He exclaimed, "Your father is Don Miller! Is he here?" I was thrilled to be able to escort him over to Dad and watch them reconnect. Dr. McGorman said, "Don, do you remember when we were together at Wilmer?" They rolled down memory lane like it was yesterday. In a flash, they were young guns again recalling when they had teamed up to lead First Baptist Church of Wilmer in revival services. Dad had pastored this church during his student days over sixty years ago. It was my first church too. I was born on a Sunday afternoon while Dad served as the pastor of FBC, Wilmer.

I am not doing a very good job describing the scene that I witnessed. I can only hope you get a little bit of the picture. It was a glimpse of two warriors on the threshold of Heaven who have fought the good fight and finished the race with their friendship and their character in tact. As the young people often say, "Sweet!" Men like these two giants are my "Rock" stars. I want to be like them when I grow up.

The Room has a view. Three spacious windows offer an elevated perspective of the beautiful 100 year old campus. There is a spectacular stain glass work depicting the artist's Biblical perspective on the bowls of prayer. It is set in the window on the west wall, and when the setting sun hits the stained glass, that room will be a rainbow of inspiration to people gathered to pray. However, the view of the room is not to be found by looking out, but by looking up. Prayers in The Room will be offered up behalf of the pastors and the churches of North America. The best view is always seen from God's perspective.

The call to pray for the next Great Awakening will take place in The Room. Prayers will be lifted up to God that will call on Him to do what only He can do. There has never been a greater need for Spiritual Awakening in America. The soul of a nation is at stake. The nation is in a crisis that man cannot solve. The view of The Room will be best seen by kneeling down before God and lifting up our empty bowls to Him in prayer. God's view will not be found by standing up and looking out the window, but by kneeling down in prayer and looking up to Him. When things look their worst, often God is up to His best.

"Man's extremity is God's opportunity." George Whitefield

It is my prayer that what takes place in The Room will become a model for what needs to be birthed in the lives of pastors and churches all over America. The Great Awakening that takes place in this nation will be a gift from a gracious Father who has heard the cries of His children. The Room can become a lab where the next generation of church leaders learns to cry out to God for what only He can give. If this inspiration takes place in the life of a pastor while a student on the campus, it will be replicated in the life and ministry of a pastor in the church.

"The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless work, prayerless studies or prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray." Samuel Chadwick

The Room is furnished with kneeling benches and a wonderful clock that shows the path of the sun as it moves across the nations of the world. The most important message contained in the room may very well be the Scripture verse that is framed, and placed on the wall to the left of the entry doors. It is an important reminder to the purpose of The Room.

"Call unto me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, that you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

Father, we know from Your Word that You answer when Your children call, and admit to You that they do not know everything they need to know. Father, grant that The Room will be graced with the humility of those who enter this place to seek Your face, and discover the great and mighty things that will bring about The Great Awakening that only You can provide. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Dr. Gary Miller

TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!

GMillerLight4U.blogspot.com

gmillerlight@gmail.com