Hilltop Christian Fellowship Clear Spring MD

06/24/2026

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24th, 2026

Melissa and I entered full-time ministry 37 years ago because we wanted to spend every hour of our lives loving God and loving people in the context of pastoring.

Today, we choose to do it again, love God and love people in the role of pastoring.

This post is not an attempt to polish our halos, because our halos are tilted and tainted. They don't always glow like they should. But hopefully there's enough reflection in them to see the face of Jesus.

In Luke 17:10, Jesus said:
"When you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do'."

I believe that's Jesus' way of saying: "Don't get big headed about it. Don't think you're the last coke in the desert. Keep a humble heart."

I could write a book on some of the challenges that exist in the role of pastoring, involving people. But people are WHY we and other pastors / shepherding couples, keep doing this. And we are people too. And we hope to extend as much grace to others as we both need.

If you see anything good in us, give God praise.
If you see anything bad in us, give us grace.

But I could write an entire LIBRARY on the blessings of this incredible "call" to preach, teach, counsel, visit, officiate, referee, lead, advise, etc.. The blessings FAR outweigh the challenges. Melissa and I are living the dream!!

We've been so blessed with precious friends. Lifelong loyal friends who entered our lives decades ago, or even a few years ago, and are still right here "in the trenches" with us. They've celebrated our strengths and prayed for our weaknesses. You know who you are because some of you are reading this right now.

Ministry can be such a "revolving door". Just ask any pastor couple. People come and go all the time, and you don't give your heart out easily. We pastors "build walls" too. We hurt, cry, fail, doubt, struggle, feel betrayed, blamed, and abused. But God sends some people - like some reading this - who sit with us in our pain, show grace to us in our weakness, and prove their friendship by showing up --- again and again and again.

We thank God for you. Yes, you.

And this post isn't aimed at anyone in particular. Oh wait, yes it is, it is aimed directly at those dear friends who didn't just SAY they "had our backs" but prove it year after year. Thank you. You help us remember to not become calloused and cynical.

Ministry is an awesome place to be. We highly recommend it if God has called you to do this full-time in some ministry capacity whether it's pastoring, missions, teaching, feeding, counseling, etc.. But do pray for discernment as you give your heart away. Love greatly, serve all, love everybody, but ask God for a few comrades who will "have your six", stay in the foxhole with you, tend to your wounds, let you succeed without feeling jealous or fail without feeling condemned and tossed aside.

Ask God for a few unmistakable, humble brothers and sisters who truly love you for who you are, not for how you make them feel or how catering you can be to their agenda. (Okay John, what happened? Who hurt you? ---- Before my Lord, in full integrity before God, I am happy, free, joyful, and filled with peace -- I simply feel these words flowing this morning for not only me but for anyone else who needs them.)

So find yourself a handful of the true, the lifers, real friends.

And cherish them. Because they are rare.

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." — Proverbs 17:17

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." ~ John 15:13

06/23/2026

06/23/2026

TUESDAY, JUNE 23rd, 2026

Jesus had a way of disappointing the religious elite, but He didn't let that stop Him. He didn't "fit the bill" of their expectations of the Messiah, so they rejected Him (and still do today). And they will reject you too if you don't measure up to their idea of what

"a good Christian"

should be.

I'm not making excuses for sinful behavior here, I'm talking about being like Jesus. He hung out with the notable "failures", even ate with them which was a big fat NO NO in His day. Jesus touched lepers and sat at a well talking with the town tramp in order to rescue her. He told stories about helping people who'd been beaten up in life, only to have the priests ignore the man in the ditch because they had "religious work" to get to. He healed on the Sabbath, made a woman the first preaching missionary to Samaria, allowed Mary to "sit at His feet" which was reserved ONLY for male disciples, ignored a politicians command to "come here now", Jesus replied "I'm doing the Fathers work right now, maybe later", called His first disciples in fishing boats instead of the synagogue, recruited a tax-collector to be a follower, said that a Gentile Roman Centurion had more faith in God than any Jew He'd ever met, and a "boatload" of other acts of kindness and mercy that bristled those who considered themselves the "spiritual elite". Good grief, no wonder the stuffy finger-waggers schemed to kill Him!

Matthew 15:8-14 “‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The disciples were like: "Oooo Jesuuussss, you just offended the religious elite!"

"Meh".

I'm glad Jesus is Who He is and not what others try to say He is. I'm glad He reached to the bottom of the barrel and found a John Miller, a Melissa Miller, and our family. And I'm glad He still reaches ANYONE no matter WHAT or WHO. I'm glad He sends His true disciples out to a hurting world to radiate His love and mercy.

And if you're going to be like Jesus then you're going to have to break some rules. (“‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”)

"with their lips
"hearts are far from Me"
"They worship me in vain"
"their teachings are human rules"

And yet the Pharisees and Scribes could quote Scripture out of context to support their own preconceived ideas and preferences.

Meh.

Someone said: "You don't have to compromise your convictions to be compassionate." I like that.

Let's be like Jesus. Full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Grace AND Truth. All Grace without Truth is flimsy liberalism. All Truth without Grace is stoic legalism. Jesus had both.

And when we are full of Jesus' Spirit, then we will too.

06/22/2026

MONDAY, JUNE 22nd, 2026

To the one feeling useless, spent, tired, overlooked; hear me, you are not.

Your circumstances are not like everyone else's. God knows this. Your season of life is different. You see others full of energy, out enjoying their families, working hard, serving in the church, posting vacations on Facebook, celebrating what they just bought, and while you are happy for them, there's a part of you on the inside that feels......a little sad, some self pity, or the false idea that God has forgotten about you.

He has not.

Psalm 34:18
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 38:9
"Lord, You hear my every sigh."

Is it an illness that keeps you mostly indoors? Has age crept up upon you where your energy is just gone? Did life spin out of control and you run from sun up to sun down just to keep up with legit responsibilities? A divorce happened and you haven't fully recovered from the emotional roller coaster? Death invaded your family and stole your loved one? Are you caring for a sick loved one? Are you the loved one who is being cared for you and it eats at you because you fear you're a burden. YOU ARE NOT.

God see's you. He see's you sitting there reading this, and He told me to type this for you, and I don't even know who you are. All I know is, He is feeding me every word right now.....for you.

He loves you. He cares about you. He knows your situation. He knows your pain, your questions, your anger. And for someone, while you can't get out and do like you used to, or you weren't "called" to some seemingly "grand and glorious" station in life, what God wants from you is....well, here is what I sense Him saying to you:

"JUST LET ME LOVE YOU".

"Just be".

"Exist in My love".

God invites you to praise Him, pray for others, read your Bible, speak words of encouragement, send a text to uplift someone, do what YOU can do. Stop focusing on what you CAN'T do and start noticing all the things you CAN do.

You are loved and valued more than you'll ever be able to comprehend. And God wanted you to be reminded of that today, whoever you are.

Exodus 2:24
"God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant".

Abide in His love. That's all He wants from you.

06/20/2026

📖 8am Small Group Bible Study
📖 9:15am Combined Bible Class in Sanctuary
🥳✝️ 10:30am Worship Gathering
🙏 Wednesday Prayer & Bible 6pm
Many other opportunities for everyone!

06/20/2026

SATURDAY, JUNE 20th, 2026

I've never been an atheist, though I attempted that foolish thought on occasion. From a child, I always believed in God, though I didn't know Him. I knew in my heart by the witness of Creation that there had to be a Divine Intelligence behind it all.

However, there was a time when I did NOT believe in the Bible. To me it was only a collection of myths, religious aspirations, spiritual fantasies, the writings of hopeful wishers trying to make sense of their world. One day, 40 years ago, I decided to thumb through a Bible my grandmother gave to me. I remember feeling pity for those gullible souls who actually believed it. I figured I owed it to myself to at least read some of it and see what it said, in case a "Christian" ever asked me if I knew some of the things in the Bible, then I could maybe debate him.

My initial curiosity grew into deep interest as I read the Gospel of John, then Romans, and so on. My skepticism morphed into intellectual satisfaction as I raked in the wisdom and reasonable evidence for the validity of the Scriptures. There were days when it was hard to put down the Bible because of the insights I was gaining!

I researched the evidences for the case for Divine Inspiration of the Bible. I studied the prophetic, historical, archaeological, scientific, and even medical facts in the Bible. After several months of serious research and the radiant witness of Melissa's authentic faith, I couldn't resist any longer. I bowed my knees and invited Jesus Christ to be my personal Savior. For the past 39 years, Melissa and I have had the pleasure and privilege to teach/preach the truths of the Bible in 16 countries and make it our "daily bread".

From that day until today, it has been the most incredible adventure I could have ever hoped for! You owe it to yourself to dive into it's contents and prepare for eternity.

Make it your "mapquest" for life. To neglect it is to do harm to your own soul.

Begin in the Gospel of John, or Romans, or perhaps just begin reading it from the beginning. Ask God to reveal Himself to you as you read it. It is the most POWERFUL Book on the planet!

Go ahead, I dare you!

06/19/2026

FRIDAY, JUNE 19th, 2026

GOD BEYOND "god".

"god". The "god" we think we know so well still exists beyond the loftiest thought you and I could ever have about Him. Though it is a blessing to say that we "know God" --- we have not figured Him out completely, therefore, we are often guilty of making a "god" in our own image and calling "that" "God".

The eternal GOD, the TRUE GOD, Father of Jesus and pure Divine Mind of this boundless Cosmos remains beyond the reach of any human comprehension.

Romans 11:33-34
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”

In theology, God being "incomprehensible" means that while He is real and can be truly known, His infinite nature can never be grasped exhaustively or fully measured by finite human minds. God is the eternal "Rubiks Cube". We can study His attributes, know some things about Him, be truly born-again children, appreciate a relationship with Him, and yet still not be able to twist and turn Him to fit our colors, our denominational preferences and sacred cow traditions.

So you think YOU have Him all figured out in every detail? Wow, congratulations Nicodemus.

Jesus has a way of ticking-off self-righteous Pharisees. He heals on the Sabbath, recruits fisherman as first disciples, calls out hypocrisy, allows Mary to "sit at His feet" which was reserved only for male disciples, touches lepers, eats with "sinners", befriends tax-collectors, holds conversations with former prostitutes and a woman at a well who was the scandal of the community, answers the prayer of a despised gentile Roman Centurion, and chooses to use whoever He wants to without asking for our permission or approval.

If "god" would just be more of a Baptist, or a Pentecostal, or Reformed, or Vineyard, or more American, more White, Black, Asian, more into the hymnal, less beyond the control of how I want "him" to act, be, or do, then me and "god" would be tight, because "he" would be on my leash, my program, my agenda, my tastes, my ideas, my tradition, my......

GOD is GOD. He is not and will never be our bellhop, genie in a bottle, spare tire in the trunk, or stay inside my preconceived box.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Job 11:7-8
“Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?"

All that we CAN know about God, as blessed as that is, is still only a thimble full of water taken out of the Pacific Ocean. I pick up a grain of sand that I personally have studied daily for 40 years and yet I look at the endless beach and fall on my face in worship of this unfathomable Diety named YHWH.

Job 26:14
"Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, And how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

06/17/2026

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th, 2026

If you could sit in an atmosphere that is fairly close to a Bible College course, for free, with open Bible, scholarly notes, video presentations, and then end up praying with others in a small group, would you take advantage of this opportunity?

Well, beginning this evening at Hilltop Christian Fellowship in Clear Spring, MD, we are starting with GENESIS and will be covering every single book in the Old Testament. (We complete the New Testament already).

Everyone is invited!

Remember when Wednesday church gatherings were the norm? They still are at Hilltop.

Remember how refreshed you felt when you attended midweek Prayer Meeting/Bible Study? You can be again.

Remember how you felt more "connected" with God and a church family when you made Wednesday evening services a part of your priorities in life? You can get back to this!

We have Kids Ministry that runs parallel to the Bible College Level teaching and prayer meeting, and the teens meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month (as well as every first Saturday).

C'mon over if you're not already committed to a Wednesday church gathering. Come see why we have a decent crowd on Wednesdays. 6:00pm. Bring your Bible and a notebook and get ready to grow, be blessed, experience GOD!

JESUS IS WORTHY!

06/16/2026

TUESDAY, JUNE 16th, 2026

In John 14, Jesus said if we love Him then we will gladly keep the commands He gives. And John later writes that the commands of the Lord are not burdensome.

Normally, we might bristle at the thought of someone saying "If you love me then you will do what I say." Do we rather think to ourselves: "Well, if YOU loved ME then you would let ME do what I want instead of what YOU tell me to do."

That's not love, that's selfishness.

Jesus doesn't invite us to a form of spiritual slavery. The threat is not: "If you don't keep My commandments then you'll go to Hell forever." The invitation is to see the value of having Jesus Christ as your Rabbi, Best Friend, Savior, and loving Lord of your life. And there is no greater way to live.

To be quite frank, you don't have to love Jesus. You don't have to read the Bible, pray, go to church, believe in God, or do anything for the Lord whatsoever. He gives you that right. God is a Gentleman and will not FORCE anyone to love Him.

This is not a "Beggar Jesus" standing on the corner with a cardboard sign "Please love Me." or "Will work for your happiness" or "Anything helps".

No, this is the LORD OF CREATION standing at the center of the Universe with all of Heavens angels gladly bowing in reverence, inviting you into a personal relationship forever!

But if you don't want Jesus you don't have to have Jesus. You can live for yourself, do what YOU want, act the way YOU want, make YOUR OWN choices, and pretty much yawn at God and His commands. But remember this:

If you ignore God, don't be surprised when He ignores you. If you reject Christ, don't blame Him if He rejects you. If you don't love Jesus, don't criticize God if you end up in Hell (God forbid).

God loves you and gives us all chances before we die. "It is appointed unto men to die, then afterwards comes the Judgment." Hebrews 9:17

Sometimes people say "God isn't fair." Um, excuse meee? What do you mean GOD IS NOT FAIR???? God is so fair that He will even let you not like Him, not love Him, and reject Him, He'll even let you choose Hell....but know this....while you don't have to follow Christ or love God there is one thing you WILL have to do...

You will have to face the consequences of your choices.

There is no getting out of that.

Stop with the excuses. Grow up.

God offers you eternal life, peace forever, forgiveness of sins, a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ and a million other eternal blessings. If you fritter away your miserable existence on your own whims and fancies and then die without Christ forever, then that was your own demise.

But oh dear soul wake up! Today you have a chance to surrender to the LORD OF GLORY! You can repent and turn to JESUS NOW! And if you did that for real, but you've fallen away, backslidden, cooled off for whatever temporal reason --- COME BACK NOW!!

There is no better time than now to just let it all go, surrender to Him afresh, fall in love with Jesus and then gladly keep His commands because they are the way to REAL LIFE!!

John 10:10 "I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly (full)." ~ Jesus

Love Him. It's the greatest life available to the human race.