Windmills

When Pastor Roger sees a windmill, he sees the Holy Spirit at work in the life of a believer. First, pneuma is the same Greek word for both wind and Spirit. “The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants” (Psalms 104:4). The windmill adjusts to the direction of the wind in order to work, just as the Christian must adjust to the divine Wind in order for life to work. Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). The windmill brings forth life-giving water to a dry and thirsty land, just as Christians are to overflow with the Living Water of His Spirit! “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit. . .” (John 7:38,39). So, the next time you pass one of the prairie’s whirligigs may you be amazed at the works of God.
Be God's,
Roger Miller

Redeeming Evil

I love the book the Shack by William P. Young. Mack accuses God about justifying

pain and evil:Papa replied; "Were not justifying, we are redeeming it." Those seven

words may be the bestapologetic of a Holy God's allowance of the worlds plight.

The Same day I was blessed by experiencing Cash's America. It was the Johnny

Cash's life story. Johnny Cash's life was a journey from justifying his evil, to

finding God's redemption. Johnny is an example a man can be a drug addict and a

saint, struggling to find his God.

One of the best redemption stories in Cash's America, is the story of his older

brother Jack tragic and painful death at the hands of a table saw. At first glance

there is absolutely no redeeming qualities to his painful and unnecessary death. The

Cash family tells that in His final minutes on earth: Jack pleads with his father

that he wants to be with him in heaven one day. So he asks his dad please tell me I

will see you in heaven one day? Ray Cashed promised he would, Jack died

and Ray got on his knees and accepted Jesus as Lord.

Truth be told you are God's story of redeeming evil. No one but you knows where you

are in the story; lost, lusting or longing for God's light. But know that no matter

the evil or good you have known you are God's Child. Papa wants you home in His

arms.

Be God's

Roger Miller

Book Review of Nick and Norah’s infinite Playlist by Rachael Cohn &

David Levithan by Roger Miller



Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is about hope. Hope cannot exist in the past. In the book Nick

and Norah are hopeless because they are stuck in past relationships with their ex’s. In fact when

hope is directed toward the past it becomes despair. Hope cannot exist in anything we already

have. Hope can only exist in the future. The Play list is a story about one existential night of

club hopping while Nick invites Norah to be his five minute girl friend. Existentialism –living for

the now-without different characters, plot and possible endings will only lead to a hopeless

existence. The book ends hopeful for Nick and Norah because their discovery of each other,

allows them to bury their past and hop on the A Train into the future. Hopefully together. The

highest and most noble thought in Nick and Norah’s infinite playlist is Norah’s concept of Tikkun

olam. Tikkun olan is the Jewish concept that means to repair or perfect God’s world. Norah has a

slightly different view when she states: “Exactly. Basically, it says that the world has been

broken into pieces. All this chaos, all this discord. And our job-everyone’s job-is to try to put the

pieces back together. To make things whole again.” (143) Then Nick comes up with insight when

he says: Maybe we’re the Pieces. . . Maybe, “ I say, “what we’re supposed to do is come

together. That’s how we stop the breaking.” This is a challenge to the reader to ask: is the

shocking and chaotic song that opens the book by Dev: “F____ the Man/F____ the Man/I

really want to F_______ the man” (1)-ever put pieces back together or will it just break the

world more. All of western thought says that what we think, what we sing, what we visualize

leads us to either wholeness or brokenness. Instead, it will be songs like Ludlow that Nick

composes, that will lead to Tikkun Olam. “Who will apologize for how we are? Who will navigate

when we’ve gone this far? Answer me Answer this Answers all the questions that I’m too afraid

to ask! (114) This is one of the books flaws it is in the young adult Genre and I am sure that the

authors youngest readers can not see that all the shocking graphic language and sexuality only

brings the brokenness to Nick and Norah’s world. While it is Nick and Norah’s love- expressed in

Ludlow is what brings wholeness. It saddens and angers me as a parent that this book received

glowing reviews, there has to better coming of age books for my children. Nick and Norah’s

infinite playlist receive praise for the realistic portrayal of the New York Club scene for Teens.

Here is what the School Library Journal wrote: The passion and intelligence of these characters,

along with the authors’ intimate knowledge and complete respect for their audience, make this

novel unique.” This is what I find objectionable the authors respect and seeming approval of the

club scene that has left Nick, Norah and their friends broken and angry. The pornographic world

they live in receives so much respect from the authors it glitters. Instead, of the raw reality of

Nick and Norah’s stalled life just like His Yugo, maybe because it has been immersed in a world

of filth. Parents only the strong of heart will be able to wade through the shocking world of Nick

and Norah’s vulgarity and sexuality with little redemptive value. Because of these factors it is

my opinion it is not a appropriate book for teens.

The concept of nobility has as much to with a person’s worldview as it does with his family tree.

To be noble meant to be “High-Minded.” It is not about arrogance or being exclusive it is a

person who seeks that which is most honorable. Literature is the doorway to the highest

thoughts , principles and motivations. So it saddens me that a popular book portrays young

adults first sexual experience in the Ice Room at the Marriot. It angers me that this book

accurately shows that many parents are absent in their teens journey to adult hood. It angers

me as a parent that many educators believe and teach books such as Nick and Norah’s infinite

play list will build a more noble and hopeful world.

Indicator Species by Lee Pitts

I can not believe it has been 4 months since I posted-a very busy summer. I read this article during the fair and it had a deep impact on me and wish to share it with others.

Some scientists say that the existence of mankind is melting away because some Polar bears are disappearing faster than a bag of marijuana at a Puff Daddy Concert. We are told that polar bears are an "indicator species", much like the canary who was taken into mine shafts to warn miners that they'd best be searching for daylight when the bird fell of it's perch.

I have no argument with the concept of indicator species, I just think that instead of polar bears there are specimenns much closer to home to keep an eye on to tell us when Armageddon will arrive. Here are my top 10 indicator species. . .

*Bee Keepers: Look in your Yellow Pages and you'll find they are as easy to find as knees on a bee. Their disaperance wouldn't be as much of a concern if one-third of the food we eat didn't result from bee pollination. They may not be as cuddly as polar bears but I think we should be far more worried about their disappearance.

*Sheep Shearers: These folks are disapearing faster than lambs in Wyoming. There are a couple of reasons for this and they have nothing to do with global warming. Our sheep industry has been exported to New Zealand and Austrailia and the shearers are all making more money clipping humans at Supercuts. I think my last haircut was given to me by an intoxicated and blindfolded sheep shearer. I smelled like KRS for a week.

*Blacksmiths: One day we'll pay for parking the horse and carriage in favor of the automobile. And with gas at $4 a gallon I think that time is rapidly approaching. When we do finally come to our senses all the blacksmiths will be making Jewelery, tongue studs and wrought iron security gates.

*Chicken Farmers: Chickens used to be raised on 95 percent of our farms but now they are as rare as a bunkhouse Feng Shui expert. I think there are only three left.

*Knitters: Remember when grandmas passed the time by knitting instead of yanking on slot machines? If we ever get into a war with China we're all gonna be running around naked because no one knows how to make their own clothes anymore.

* Livestock Auctioneers: Oh, sure there are more auctioneers than ever, but they are all selling foreclosed real estate. The three meat packers left are trying to put livestock auctioneers out of business. . . right along with true price discover.

* Logging Truck Drivers: Be honest now-when was the last time you were run off the road by a logging truck? The few logging truck drivers that somehow managed to survive the spotted owl are not being wiped out by $4 diesel. If you don't think this is serious go the lumber yard and ask the price for a 2-by-6-redwood board.

* Knife Sharpners: There used to be an agreeable fellow who came by the place on a regular basis to sharpen our knives and scissors. Lately though this indicator species has been harder to find than an NFL linebacking interior decorator. This is too bad because we import more of our beef and other meat from Brazil, Argentina and 30 other countries around the world we are going to need much sharper tableware.

*Large Animal Veterinarians. These are harder to find in vet schools these days than male students. They are about as popular as farrowing crates. This is a concern to me and my fellow aging baby boomers who won't be able to afford medical advice, and assorted ointments and salves, when the vet comes to the ranch to preg check the cows.

*Trappers: When Congressmen start coming in close contact with all the wolves and mountain lions they stocked our backyards with they'll come to their senses and start paying people to get rid of them. Just like we used to do before we handed over our government to English majors, lawyers and overeducated urbanites who seem to care more about saving fairy shrimp than they do kids.

The Cowboy in Me

The Cowboy in me want to ride rough shod over life.
The Christ in my attempts self-giving

The Cowboy in me wants to be drunk with the pleasures of this life.
The Christ in me is driven toward the life to come.

The Cowboy in me was build by the Barbwire of rejection and the burning sun of disappointment.
The Christ in me is crucified daily in the attempt to love my enemies as the Son has love me.

The Cowboy in me refuses to admit the sin of pride and anger.
The Christ in me holds out hope that God can be seen in all men, even prideful ones.

The Cowboy in me wants to ride against the wind, with the wind blowing away all my responsibilities.
The Christ in me calls me to row against the wind with a cargo of lost souls.

The Cowboy and the Christ both need the blood of Jesus to find a way to the bunkhouse.

Sinner's Prayer

Who are You ? 2 Sinners Prayer? February 17, 2008
Roger Miller

The Sago Mine disaster was a coal mine2006. The Sago Mine in Sago West Virginia, the blast and ensuing aftermath trapped thirteen miners for nearly two days only one of whom survived. What went on in the final hours in that mine? We may have never known this side of heaven what happened in that mine in those final hour except for Randal McCloy On April 26 wrote a letter to the families of the 12 men killed in that mine detailing what happened in those final hours. "We were worried and afraid," McCloy wrote, "but we began to accept our fate. Junior Toler led us all in the Sinner's Prayer."

The Church of Christ the Christian Church has been criticized for it opposition to the sinners Prayer.
Because of our non-use of the prayer some have put the cult label on us! Some of this criticism has been justified because. . . Over the years ago I heard sermons and conversations in which a Church of Christ preacher would ask the question, "Can a man who is trapped in a cave and can't get to water to be baptized get to heaven?" His answer was absolutely not. Some may have went on to discuss why Mother Teresa is in hell and why the man on his motorcycle that dies in a crash on his way to being baptized is in hell.

Those type of preachers would give absolutely no credence to the belief that those miners who didn't know Jesus before praying the "Sinner's Prayer" could be in Paradise right now. He would argue since they weren't baptized in water there's no way they could be there. There are a lot of people and Bible scholars who would share the preacher's sentiments.

I'm as firm a believer in people being baptized as anyone. Every New Testament example of people being saved involved water baptism. Jesus was baptized. There's so much important symbolism in baptism. I've heard one writer refer to baptism as "the believer's wedding ceremony". I think everyone should be baptized.

In the situation of the Sago miners, I believe with all my heart that if their "Sinner's Prayer" was sincere (as I believe it was) that God heard it. What business of it is mine or anybody else to decide or declare whether or not those men got to go to be with the Lord or not? Is not Judging man-Gods Job? The bigger question is shouldn't we all hope they're there? What’s the Big Deal? Most people point to Romans 10:9-13 as the basis for the "Sinner's Prayer". That passage reads: "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

The examples I found of the "Sinner's Prayer" were almost all like this one:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from his day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

What an incredible, scripture-based prayer! As the fumes and smoke literally sucked the life out of that hole in Sago, can you imagine the peace and comfort that prayer must have brought the men who had never prayed it before? Can you picture the tears in the eyes of the men who already knew the Lord as they heard these men pray this prayer?

So What the Big Deal? Why does the Christian Church oppose the sinners Prayer? In Romans 10:9- 10 we’re introduced to a Greek word that means "to say the same thing." It’s the Greek word "homologeo" (“homo" = same; "logeo" = say). This is the word that is translated "confession," and Paul tells us that confession is part of what we do to be saved. There are three Greek words used in the Bible that we translate to the English word, prayer. The first word is "proseuchomai" which means...to pray to God, supplicate, worship, make prayer. The second Greek word for prayer is "parakaleo" which also is a compound word. "Para" means "near, beside, equal" and "kaleo" means "to call or bid". When put together the two words mean to call or bid someone who is on an equal level with us. The third Greek word for prayer is "deomai" which means "to beg or petition...as binding oneself". It implies a very urgent need. The problem the restoration has with the sinners prayer is the word prayer is not found in Romans 10:9-13. Our motto is where the scripture speak we speak and where the scriptures are silent we are silent! We are for prayer, but against adding to God’s instructions and that is what we feel the sinner prayer does! Second problem we have with the sinners prayer is, well do you remember how we talked about last week the best way to understand the Bible is to use the scripture to understand hard to understand verses? Once again, if this were the only verse about confession or calling on the name of the Lord-it would be easy to make the leap that confession is prayer. Paul the writer of Romans I believe is going back to his own day ofsalvation. Luke recording in Acts 22: 12-15 Paul or Saul’s Conversion writes: A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul,receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him. 14"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up,be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.' Notice Luke the writer of acts uses a different word for confession: Calling on his Name but it is the same concept as Romans 10:9.
From this passage is it not clear that Paul is alluding to his public confession of Christ at his baptism? Once again Prayer is not in the passage! When you speak where scripture speaks and are silent where it is silent you have issues with man’s additions and subtractions with the text! What is it that we need to confess? We need to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. God wants us to say is the same thing that:* Peter said in Matthew 16:16 “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God (Let’s say that together) * Martha said in John 11 when Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world." SO, God wants us to “say the same thing.” What does history teach us? As followers of Christ, we have to be on the offensive against the attitude that the way we have always done it is God’s way! Wrong! Most of history-a Majority of God’s children have made a mess of God instructions-including me-Including you-Including your saintly grand mother! Thank Goodness for God’s Grace and Mercy! Remember from last week three additions to God instructions was the teaching of Original sin, and indulgences! Then Came the teaching of purgatory, when you die if you have venial sins that are not forgiven you go to a place called purgatory to be punished for your sins and when you are punished long enough then you go into heaven. No where in scripture are we are sent to a temporary place to purge us from our unforgiven sins.

Only the blood of Christ can purify us from sin, we can not purge ourselves from sin! Many of the European cathedrals where financed through indulgences. A priest would be designated as a fundraiser, He may come to Elbert and offer a sliver of the original cross and a hundred years less in purgatory for a 1000 dollars. So after you bought enough of these indulgences you might as well indulge in sin because your time in purgatory has all been paid up for.

This dramatically changed the teaching of Salvation, The church over hundreds of years shifted from adult baptism to infant baptism. From immersion to sprinkling. From a repentant heart full of faith, to no faith with the church as the saving agent! By the time the reformation came along Apostolic teaching of salvation was virtually lost, the new cry became by faith alone-most threw out baptism because of the vast heresies of the dark ages .

One of man’s solutions was the Mourners Bench. Out of the doctrine of original sin came the tradition of the mourner’s bench and alter call. The bench is about 20" to 25" high and several feet long. Sometimes it is covered with padding, and it is known to be a place of outbreaks of tears over sin. No one is certain how the first altar call happened, but most historians lay it at the feet of early Methodists. But the concept goes all the back to the Calvinist tradition which believed that men were called only to wait on God for their salvation. They prayed for special feeling of the heart or a vision to confirm they were of the elect. At one time in history the sinner prayer was almost unheard of and the mourners bench was front and center. It is a reminder that man is really adapt at adding and subtracting from God’s directions. WE all must be very careful! Because, If one wants to be saved, he must be saved according to God's will (Matt. 7:21).

The “sinner’s prayer” probably evolved, in some form or another, in the early days of the Protestant Reformation movement, as a misguided reaction against the Roman Catholic dogma of justification by means of meritorious works. For example, Jacobus Faber (c.1450-1536), who has been called “the father of the French reformation” wrote a commentary on the epistles of Paul in 1512. (This was fiveyears before Luther’s break with the Roman
Church in Germany.) In this volume Faber argued that justification is obtained through faith without works . Later, rebelling against the “merit works” system of Romanism, Luther would contend that salvation is on the basis of “faith alone.”
The Roman Catholic Church epitome of meritorious works was infant baptism, so in protest baptism was slowly left out. The sinners prayer has flourished because it is compatible with modern media. While the mourners bench originated about the same time, I believe it has faded from the seen because it is difficult to invite 10,000 at a Large revival to come forward and to wail and mourn seeking god’s confirmation of salvation. And if T.V. and Radio Evangelist had to ask their audience to find a bench or a baptistery-they may be out of a work. The sinners prayer is terribly convenient to man, but can not be found in God’s instruction book the bible! But the question I have is why did God choose baptism? Personally I think for three reasons it is a humbling act to be dunked in water publicly! You can not Biblically baptize your self, it requires another person, Christ made us to be in a community-so it should begin in a community! Lastly, most baptisms are done inside a church building or in the presence of a church family, the church is the mother that raises God’s children. So baptism is done in and with community not like a distant and independent sinners prayer that can be done over the airwaves! What would I say to Randall L. McCoy? I would say I am Confident in God’s Mercy to make an exception for your friends who sincerely prayed the sinners prayer.

The answer to this question is found in the character of God. Listen Psalms 103: 10 share with us the character of God: He (God) does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us our sins deserve or repay us according
to our iniquities. Ps 103:10 NIV Would a God of love reject an honest heart? No way. Would a God of mercy and kindness condemn any seeking soul? Absolutely not. Having called you and died for you would he cast you away because of a curious sequence of events? Inconceivable. Is it possible for an unbaptized believer t o be saved? Yes, definitely. Should every One be baptized? Yes, definitely. Listen to how the Character of God comes through Jesus hanging on the cross in his love for the thief to which he says: Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 20:43 the thief on the cross, however, is a crucial exception. His conversion drives dogmatists crazy. It is no accident that the first one to accept the invitation of the crucified Christ has no creed, confirmation, christening, or catechism. How disturbing to theologians to ascend the mountain of doctrine only to be greeted by an uneducated thief who cast his lot with Christ. Here is a man who never went to church, never gave an offering, never was baptized, and said only one prayer. But that prayer was enough. He has a crucial role in the gospel drama. The thief reminds us that though our dogma may be airtight and our doctrine dead-center, in the end it is Jesus who saves. Does his story negate the importance of obedience?

No, it simply puts obedience in proper perspective. Any step taken is a response to a salvation offered, not an effort at salvation earned. In the end, God has the right to save any heart, for he and only he sees the heart. That is the position of the Christian Church-Only God can make exceptions-as men we have no right to add or
subtract from scripture-so I have a responsibility as a follower of Christ and a teacher to follow scripture as close as possible trusting God’s grace to overcome my weaknesses and sins!

What would I say to Randall L. McCoy if he said to me, I prayed the sinners prayer in that mine and I do not want to be baptized. I would first point out that Once a person admits his sin and turns to Christ for salvation, some step must be taken to proclaim to heaven and earth that he is a follower of Christ. Baptism is that step. Baptism is the initial and immediate step of obedience by one who Has declared his faith to others. So important was this step that, as far as we know, every single convert in the New Testament was baptized. With the exception of the thief on the cross, there is no example of an unbaptized believer. Second, I would say Randy think about your response for a moment. God humbles himself by leaving heaven and being born in a feed-trough. The God of the universe eats human food, feels human feelings, and dies a sinner’s death. He is spat upon, beaten and stripped naked, and nailed to a cross. He takes our eternal condemnation on himself in our place. He then offers salvation as a free gift and asks that we say yes to him in baptism and someone responds, “I don’t want to.” Such logic does not add up. Such resistance doesn’t reveal a problem with baptism. Such resistance spells trouble of the soul. It reveals a problem of the heart. I am confident that it reveals a unrepentant heart! A person refusing to obey God does not need a study of the sacrament. He needs a long, hard examination of the soul. The incongruity puzzled even Jesus. “Why do you call me‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things I ask?” (Lk. 6.46). Or listen to James; You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. James 2:24 True believers not only offer their sins, they yield their wills to Christ. Baptism is the initial test of a believing heart. If one won’t obey Christ in baptism, what will he do when He calls shim to obey him in prayer? Or evangelism? Or service?The highest motive for doing anything is because God asks you to do it. The heart of the saved says, “If you want me to be baptized in a pool of Jello, I’ll do it. I may not understand every reason, but neither do I understand how you could save a sinner like me.”

If one is resistant on the first command, one might wonder if there has been a true conversion experience. So Randy if you love and believe in Jesus, if you are willing to turn from your sins and follow God there is no need to refuse or wait-this day declare your faith and commitment to Christ at your baptism!

Conclusion: What is our Hope? Some have called the Christian Church Water regenerationist because we
have emphasized baptism to the point some have left Christ out of the equation. So I am often asked, as a member of the Christian Church is your hope in Baptism-is your hope in doing a ritual in the right way? I respond the same way every time My hope is the same as that of every Christian-My hope is in Jesus the Son of the Living God! Hebrews Points out that Jesus is the Author and perfecter of every believers faith. He is the hero of the Christian Faith. He is the one we practicing walking in his footsteps.

Well Jesus left us an example I believe we should follow. Sinless Jesus is Baptized as an Example for us. Matthew 3:16 Jesus is Baptized as a Adult by being dunked under water. Matthew 3:17 Lastly, Jesus commands us to baptize other believer to declare that they and disciples of Jesus! Matthew 28:19 I am certain that if you love Jesus, but have not been baptized after hearing the truth today your faith will compel you to obey by coming forward to be baptized as we stand to sing!

Kenya

Elbert Christian Church is attempting to raise $8000.00 to build a church in Kenya for the Massai people. We have a auction coming up on May 10 at the Russel Gates in Elbert Co. We are looking for New or almost new products for donations. This is a great cause because less than 3% of the Massai tribe are follower of Christ.