Melissa Miller's blog

            It’s no accident that praying for boldness immediately follows putting on the armor of God.  Paul urges the Ephesians: “With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. Pray for me also, that I may be given the message when I begin to speak—that I may confidently make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may be able to speak boldly as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:18-20).

             Ever wondered what to say when you pray? Sometimes it can help to see what examples of prayer we are given in Scripture. in Acts 4, the believers prayed for boldness: “And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).

            Ovid, who lived around the time of Christ, records an ancient Greek myth called “Baucis and Philemon” in the eighth book of his famous Metamorphoses.  Baucis and Philemon are husband and wife, and unknowingly entertain the gods Zeus and Hermes; when they realize the identity of their guests (after the performance of a miracle), they beg indulgence for being unable to provide better for their gods. Zeus and Hermes punished the people who had not welcomed them with hospitality with a flood and reward husband and wife for being hospitable, unlike their neighbors. Their hospitality was considered an example in the ancient Greek and Roman world.
            The desire of reward and determination to avoid further judgment explain why, in Acts 14:8-20, the people respond in bold gratitude after a lame man regained the ability to walk, greeting Paul and Barnabas so enthusiastically. Since Hermes was regarded as speaker for the gods in Greek mythology, this further cemented the “identity” of both Barnabas and Paul as Zeus and Hermes, respectively. Paul and Barnabas hastily correct their boldness.
 

            How would you react if you were arrested for your faith tomorrow? What if armed men formed a firing squad before you and demanded you recant your faith or die? How would your children respond if police or soldiers stormed their bedrooms and asked them whether they believed in Jesus Christ? For many believers around the world, this is recognized as a real possibility, and they do what they can to prepare themselves and their children as much as possible. We in America cannot afford to downplay the real possibility that we, or our children, could face such a scenario one day. We teach our children to be kind, to be generous, and to show charity. But are we teaching them to be bold as well? Boldness is defined as “not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff”.
            Boldness should be prayed for all children. They need to be trained how to walk confidently and boldly in their faith. They need to be instructed in the Scriptures that their faith may have a firm foundation, on which they may boldly stand. But why is boldness important? Where does it come from?

 I watched the movie “Brave” with several children while waiting for their parents to pick them up. The message of the story is that the daughter learns to respect and value her mother (while the mother also comes to appreciate her daughter’s point of view)—their strained relationship is healed at the end of the movie, and the daughter treats the mother more lovingly in the end.
            One of the girls’ mothers approached her older daughter. “Does this movie give you ideas about how to treat your mother better?”

Valentine.
 
Good names usually have a story behind them. Had everything gone according to our plan, my family would never have bought her. But God’s plan was different.
 
Our plan was for us to purchase a pup from the litter before her litter was born. Shortly before we were to pick up our pup, we had a call from the breeder. Another buyer had picked up a pup from that litter, and when that pup became seriously ill, she returned it to the breeder. All the pups in that litter died.

The Importance of Touch, Part 2
 
How best to bring about a happy infant? I encourage churches to promote holding and cuddling of infants. Babies have historically been held close by their parents for millennia; this allows the infant to observe what his parents are doing and assures him that he is safe. A stroller, a bouncer seat, and all other infant paraphernalia do not bring the same reassurance, though they may temporarily quiet down an infant. .
 
Why do babies want to be held and comforted so frequently? Young babies do not realize that they are a separate individual from their caregiver. They are convinced Baby and Caregiver make one person.
 
Babies want to be in community with us. They want to be involved in the activity of the day. They want to be talked to and held. They want you to make silly faces and use silly voices to entertain them.
 
To an infant, touch is the physical equivalent of saying “I love you”. Babies do no better in isolation than do children, teenagers or grownups.

 
What’s this? Who are you handing me to, Mom and Dad? Who are these people? I’m scared. I want to stay with you. Why aren’t you listening to me? Mom! Dad! Help me!
 
Oh. You’re holding me. You’re rubbing my back. You’re warm. I like it when you hold me close, my tummy against you.

It is a common misconception that God can be kept out of certain institutions or establishments. The superstition is an ancient one---that a deity is only present if its symbols are present. To the mind of ancient man, it was devastating to have his god’s temple or sacred shrine ransacked or pillaged, or to have public statues or memorials to the god devastated, because the removal of these lessened the power and authority of the god.
 
But is that the God we serve and worship?

One of the best aspects of working with children is taking the time to play games with them. Some games are traditional, like hide-and-seek, tag, or hopscotch. Other games are made up on the spot (and some have more enduring popularity with others). Some of my games have been flops, lasting only a short while, and mentally discarded; some have been very successful, and are oft requested.  
 
One of the games which I regularly use with older children is termed “Romans vs. Christians”. It is educational only in the sense that it cements the idea that one should avoid a first century Roman centurion if one wishes to avoid a Roman prison. (Now that is a helpful and relevant life lesson for most American schoolchildren!)
 

Repent and Be Cleansed

A certain electronic gadget in my life decided to repent of its circuitry sins and undergo baptism. I did not demand such repentance nor encourage such baptism. It underwent the procedure without my knowledge and consent. Unfortunately, until someone invents a flux capacitor and makes a real time machine, I cannot go back in time to discourage this ill-advised response.

What Does It Truly Mean To Teach?

If learned, they did not, taught, you did not. This is how Bruce Wilkinson may have phrased his Law of the Learner had he chosen to reference Yoda.  One of his maxims is that “Teachers are responsible to cause their students to learn”. Does this surprise you?

Did you know that the same Hebrew word is translated “teach” in Deuteronomy 4:1 and translated “learn” in Deuteronomy 5:1? In other words, biblically, the two ideas are interconnected. Many of today’s teachers have the mindset that “If I dispense the material, it is the student’s responsibility to grasp and master the material”. This mindset is tragically the opposite of a biblical understanding of what it means to teach!

Able and Willing

            Are you able and willing? In their book How We Learn, a Christian Teacher’s Guide to Educational Psychology authors Klaus Issler and Ronald Habermas discuss the importance of being able and willing. The term “able” is defined by the authors as “whether students are capable of successful participation” while the term “willingness speaks of their motivation.” (Issler and Habermas, 100).

            A few days ago I was in working in a church nursery and, having no other available seating at the time; I sat on a piano bench while the babe snuggled in my lap. That is when he saw it. His eyes fell upon its enticing ivory and black keys. A large grin slowly spread across his face as my brain registered his intention. Tiny hands began banging the ten keys nearest his reach. Two other infants were sleeping nearby; I pulled him away, waiting for the inevitable crying, certain that the tranquil nursery was about to end as the chord rang through the air. One infant was sleeping; the other was awake, watching in wonder.

The Law of the Teacher

A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40).

            In Luke 6, Jesus gave this message on the plain, after He selected his inner circle of twelve disciples. The “class” convened, it was time for the first “lecture”. But the disciples were not given the luxury of merely listening to lectures and smiling sagely back at their master; Christ had higher expectations for them: their complete transformation. The students would one day be teachers themselves; teachers who served the Great Teacher.

            The call to teaching was not limited to the disciples. Nor is it limited to a few individuals in each church. Did you know Scripture teaches that all believers are to be teachers? The author of Hebrews laments in Hebrews 5:12, saying the believers “should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances.” Paul adds in Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace”. If you are a mature Christian, you are called to instruct others in the faith. You are to seek out and teach other believers, so that they may grow in the faith.

            Bare Feet. Playskool Tricycles. When the two come together in a church nursery, there is much pain!
            This time, I was smart enough to see the impending peril. Adam (not his real name) was not. A typical toddler, he had flaunted his independence by removing his socks and shoes to celebrate barefooted freedom!
            But I had the audacity to gather his footwear and propose re-shoding his feet. I then picked up the protesting tyke and set him on my lap. A defiant glare was in his eyes as he protested, loudly. “I don’t want my shoes!”
            “Well, have you asked your shoes if they want to be on your feet?” I replied.

Have a Little Honey, Honey

Proverbs 24:13-14: “Eat honey, my child, for it is good,And honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul;If you find it, you will have a future,and your hope will not be cut off.  (NET)

            As a child, my favorite sandwich was a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Honey, to my mind, was better even than the classic peanut butter and jelly. Children growing up in biblical times never had a taste of peanut butter, (Peanuts are a New World crop.) but honey was a welcome treat. This proverb is one of the thirty Sayings of the Wise in Proverbs 22:17-24:22. The Wise remind us that we should seek after and devour wisdom just as believers then sought and devoured honey when it was found.

Cup of Chesed

Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good,

For his loyal love endures.” (NET)

            Anyone who has ever watched a group of small children knows that small children love to carry around sippy cups. For many children, they provide a combination of sustenance and comfort while they wait for their parents to return. But at some point, the cup is forgotten, dropped on the floor or left on a surface, where the coveted drink is commandeered by another child who hurries to “destroy the evidence”.