Sonsofthesea.org

"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Month: February 2026

Same Oil, Different Jar.

February 28, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Maria Braga

“Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” –John 12:1-8

Jesus had performed this amazing miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead; now Lazarus sits down to dinner with Jesus. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, are also present. Martha is busy serving, as she always is, while her sister, Mary, anoints Jesus’ feet with an extremely expensive perfume. Martha always strives to be the best, while Mary gives her best. This story is one of worship and inspiration…

Mary flows with the moment, careful never to miss an opportunity to be with her Jesus.

In biblical times, when a young woman reached marriageable age, families who could afford it would purchase an alabaster box and fill it with expensive, precious oil to be used on her wedding night, the young woman would demonstrate her devotion to her husband by breaking the alabaster box and pouring out the precious oil on his feet, as a sign of honor, purity, and her total commitment to him.

Whether male or female, we all have an alabaster box filled with precious oil. It is the oil of our suffering, produced by the crushing we endure in life. We ought to value and protect our oil. Sadly, too often, we break open our alabaster box way too soon, pouring it at the feet of someone or something without God’s direction.

God’s plan for something so precious is that we never waste our oil senselessly, breaking our jar open before one undeserving of it, what it cost us, then try to put it back together with gorilla glue.

Our oil is extremely valuable and necessary.

The oil from our alabaster boxes is to be poured at Jesus’ feet, the Lover of our souls, not some stranger’s feet. Your alabaster box carries your essence; it tells the story of who you are, your trials and victories.

God knew and deeply valued Mary’s heart; Mary understood what it was like to give her all to her Master.

My alabaster box is personal to me. In it, I carry forgiveness, love, joy, reconciliation, restoration, my worship, my time with Jesus; the essence of the new creation God has made me. God transformed the old me into a new person. Unforgiveness, bitterness, sorrow, and pain were exchanged for this fragrant, new oil I now carry.

My perfume fills my surroundings, my fragrance is powerful, and my fragrance in God’s hands will encourage, heal, bless, and instruct others.

Only you, God, and I know the cost of our oil.

Breaking open your box at Jesus’ feet symbolizes pouring your all into Him; He, in turn, turns your mess into a message of love. God desires that you surrender your trials and tests into His care so that He can turn them and your life into an amazing testimony of devotion and love.

Each of us carries a unique fragrance, God alone knows. Our unique spiritual DNA fragrance is the result of our crushing. It is our unique essence, a fragrance God will use to reach another, drawing them to Himself. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God’s plan for your life is precious; you must therefore recognize the value of your oil and guard it, releasing it only in obedience and humility, according to God’s plans. Carefully guard your oil so it doesn’t break recklessly.

Judas was concerned with Mary’s gesture. All he saw was dollar signs. Judas didn’t understand the principle of worship and submission, like many of us don’t. He was looking at Mary and her sacrifice through natural eyes, eyes of greed, so he missed entirely the spiritual lesson being carried out right in front of him. Judas was only interested in the “one year’s salary” he saw being poured over Jesus’ feet. But Jesus was interested in Mary’s heart, a heart filled with humility, benevolence, and generosity. 1 Samuel 16:7 says: “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Jesus said, “Judas cared less about the poor.” He had no interest in helping anyone; he just wanted to acquire more money. Judas had a greed issue.

The alabaster box is a test for each of us. What kind of test? A test to reveal the nature of your heart. A test of trust. When we can break our Alabaster box at the feet of Jesus, as Mary did, it indicates we trust Him as Mary did.

How do we do this?

Remember that the box is not physical; it is a spiritual precept.

 You break open your alabaster box when you come before Jesus as you are, and lay your burdens at His feet. When you pray with expectancy, when you cry out to Him, knowing and believing that He’s the only help you have. When you call His name, knowing He is the God who sees you, “El Roi.” Exchanging your will for His and surrendering all you carry at His feet, and leaving it there. And by trusting Him to direct your ways, by reading His Word, knowing that when you do this, you can experience true freedom Jesus promised!

Matt 22:37: Jesus replied,” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is how we break our alabaster box at His feet. A person can be wonderful and well-intentioned, like Martha, yet not fully surrendered. But being fully surrendered is what Jesus desires; surrender pleases God; it holds greater spiritual value.

You must understand that there is a significant difference, spiritually speaking, between being well-intended and fully surrendered.

I pray that, like Mary, you desire to be fully surrendered. If so, pray this short prayer with me: Father, come into my heart today and make me new. Help me let go of my old ways so I can have new oil and become a new creation in You. Today, I open my heart to you and pray in the name of Jesus that you help me guard my alabaster box, my life, and heart. Amen.

Broken, For You…

February 21, 2026 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” —Luke 22:1

Did Jesus’ disciples realize they were witnessing the ushering in of the New Covenant? Had they connected the dots of John the Baptist’s words concerning Jesus to what was happening at their Passover table? “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” –John 1:29.

Had they fully grasped that Jesus is God’s Perfect, Sinless Lamb?

Did they have “ears to hear “Jesus when He’d told them that soon, and very soon, His own Body would be broken, much like the pieces of Bread He’d handed them? Or, that His Blood would be poured out as freely as the wine He poured into that cup of the New Covenant—for the forgiveness of their sins—and those of the whole world? “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” –Luke 22:20.

Scripture indicates they did not fully understand—at least not that night.

The disciples’ truer understanding of Who Jesus was and why His Body had to be broken for them—and for you—would come later, in an upper room, after His death and resurrection, 10 days, in fact, after His ascension—and beyond.

Their understanding would come after Jesus’s Body had been broken for them at the hands of Roman soldiers—His Blood, shed for their sins.

In hindsight, the twelve men who loved Jesus, walked with Him daily, and willingly laid down their very lives for Him, began to understand fully, and that’s how it is for many of us today. Like them, we don’t always get all of what Jesus is doing right before our eyes until after. John 4:26 explains it to us this way: “But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.”

God uses hindsight as a teacher…

Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, time, experience, and reflection provide us, as they did Jesus’ earliest disciples, with gnōsis—knowledge of spiritual mysteries we often miss in the moment. John 4:26 explains it to us this way: “But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.”

Long before Jesus and His disciples shared their final Passover night, the Prophets of old had foretold everything they would experience—at God’s hand. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” –Isaiah 52:10-12.

Did you catch that?

The breaking of the Bread at their Passover table, the night Jesus, through His wholehearted obedience and submission to the Father’s will, ushered in the New Covenant—a foreshadowing of God’s intention. God predestined to bring about His perfect will through the breaking of the Body of His One and only Son. Jesus’ Body would be broken for you and me, for the remission of our sins—Jesus was born sinless.

God intended that Jesus’ Body be broken for you and me. And Jesus intended to surrender to His Father’s will fully. Being Emmanuel, God with us—Jesus knew He must be broken—must die. By His dying, a Kernel would fall to ground, and an eternal harvest of many brothers and sisters would spring forth, New Life—starting with eleven of the twelve who sat around Him at His Passover table. “But Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” –John 12:23-24.

Eleven? I thought there were 12 disciples.

There were.

Yet not all of Jesus’ disciples could accept the hard Truths Jesus had shared with them; thus, one turned away. No, far worse: he didn’t just turn away after walking with Jesus, eating with Him, and drinking in everything He had taught the others. No, this one so wanted things his own way, his heart, so unyielding to God’s will and Truth, that He sold Jesus to His enemies even after having eaten the Bread that had been broken, Bread Jesus claimed was His very Body—broken for him…

Judas had religion, sure. He was, it appears, searching for something.

There may even have been a moment when Judas really wanted to believe in Jesus, so it surprised him when he started to feel some way toward Jesus. Maybe it was when Judas realized that Jesus wasn’t calling His disciples to a life of ease and comfort, but to sacrifice, humility, and to consider others above themselves that Judas’s heart became open to Satan?

Twelve sat as witnesses to the New Covenant. Twelve watched on as Jesus explained why He had wanted—needed—to be together with them this set-apart Passover night. Eleven of them, though they did not yet fully understand all that Jesus was sharing with them in real time, knew enough, had seen and heard enough from Jesus, they trusted Him enough, had tasted and seen enough to believe—without having to fully understand to take and eat what was being offered up for them. They trusted that in time, Jesus would make all these things clear to them—everyone except one, that is. He refused to believe. “Jesus answered, “[The one who will betray me] is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” –John 13:26-27.

Jesus’ Body was broken for you. His sacrifice, being broken, once for all, is powerful enough to cover the sins of the whole world—but you must want what Jesus gave over His Body to be broken for: Jesus died and rose again to grant you access to His table—to partake of the New Covenant. Eleven accepted and ate unto eternal life. One would not. You have the same choice today as these twelve did on that final Passover night.

Will you accept New Life Jesus offers you through His Blood, shed for you, His Body, broken for you, or will you refuse Him, choosing empty religion or your own will instead? “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” –John 6:47-51

Broken Open. Part 2 of a series…

February 14, 2026 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure Nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” –John 12:1-3

Last week, I shared the first of a three-part series titled “Why God breaks us before using us.” Today, we’ll spend our time together diving into Broken Open, part two in this series: I’ll wrap things up next Saturday, February 21st.

To recap: Part One shone a light on snippets of Prophet Elijah’s life. I encourage you to go back and read it if you haven’t already; the Holy Spirit shared some deep Truths—He revealed the first reason God breaks us before using us: Preparation.

Next week, part 3 will find Jesus and His disciples at a table where bread was broken—so that Life-everlasting might be shared.

But for today, we’ll follow the thread connecting Mary, the sister of Lazarus, Jesus, and the significance of their being together on Passover. We’ll witness what’s released when something—or Someone—is broken open.

The Passover table is set, everyone is present and seated—Jesus, in the seat of honor, then, in walks Mary. What is she carrying? It looks like a vase, no, it’s a jar. She bypasses the only vacant seat at the table and kneels, jar in hand, at Jesus’ feet. Breaking it open—the unmistakable scent of pure Nard instantly saturated every molecule of air in that room. All eyes were glued on Mary as she upended her vase, emptying the entirety of its contents onto Jesus’s feet. They watched, in stunned silence, as tears spilled from eyes locked on His, eyes that overflowed with love, and undeniable devotion—and something else, knowing, maybe? But what?

Whatever her knowing, it had driven her to this heaven-met-earth moment.

Yet how could Mary, an unmarried woman, afford such a superluxe purchase as pure Nard? I pose the following for your consideration: Mary used either her dowry to purchase the Nard, or the costly bottle of perfume was her dowry. Either way, Mary quite literally poured out her future security—a potential husband and children to care for her in her old age—onto Jesus’ feet. “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion].” –Matthew 26:13

According to Jewish Scholar and teacher Hayyim Schauss, “As far back as early biblical times, it was customary for a good father to give the whole of the mohar (bride price or dowry) or at least a large part of it to his daughter.”A father who appropriated the whole mohar for himself was considered unkind and harsh. A rich father sometimes gave his daughter a field, or other landed property, as well as female slaves.

Any public knowledge of a woman of Mary’s time making such an uncharacteristic, audacious move as Mary did would have surely cost her far more than her dowry; it would have cost her reputation as well. Yet seemingly, Mary didn’t care. She had determined to pour out everything she had on the One she loved—Jesus. The One whom, in a display of unabashed love, Mary, had literally laid down her life. “But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.’ –Philippians 3:7-8

Mary couldn’t have known she’d laid down her life before feet that would soon be nailed to His Cross. That His Blood, priceless and eternal, would be poured out with a kind of love only a handful, like herself, understand. “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.” –Philippians 3:10-11.

At Passover, the blood of goats or lambs was sacrificed; we see their blood first shed, then smeared on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelites’ homes that very first Passover night. This foreshadowed the day when Jesus’ Blood would be shed for the whole world. “While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. –Exodus 12:1-3;5;7.

Concerning Jesus’ sacrifice, the Apostle Paul reminds us: “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood.” –Hebrews 9:12.

There is nothing random with God. Nothing unplanned, unknown, or accidental.

His timing and ways are perfect—indisputable. So it was no accident that Jesus had to be sacrificed at Passover, nor was it an accident that Mary would break open her jar of costly Nard to unknowingly anoint Jesus for His burial. And concerning Mary’s actions, as if to defend and exalt her, Jesus said: “She has done what she could to anoint My body in advance of My burial. And truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” –Mark 14:8-9.

Again, there are no accidents with God.

Jesus’s sinless body was broken open for you.

His Blood, shed in accordance with the will and Law of God. “Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law—God’s “will”—he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries. And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.” –Hebrews 9:22

Lambs and goats were prepared in advance to be Passover sacrifices; ultimately, their blood was spilled to atone for the people’s sins. So too, God’s spotless Lamb had been prepared to spill His Sin-less Blood. Mary saw to that when she anointed Him. God’s Perfect Lamb would be broken open, quite literally. Once, for all.

Mary’s jar, broken open. Jesus’ being anointed, His Body broken open by a Roman spear— was part of God’s plan—all of it. In His Providence, God will break or allow something or someone to be broken open, so that its precious content can be released for use: blessing those it touches by healing them, saving them, anointing them for future use, or whatever else God sees fit to do. In His Sovereignty, God ensures that what needs to be broken open will be, releasing what’s within to accomplish His predestined purpose fully.

Has God allowed you to be broken open?

If so, rejoice, beloved! God is releasing what He placed in you, precious and costly, to bless, help heal, save, or anoint His own—or those who will be. You being broken open released what God knew they needed. See, that’s the thing about being broken open, it’s seldom about us; it’s about what’s in us waiting on God’s perfect timing to be released, like with Mary’s jar of costly Nard broken open at the exact moment it needed to be used to anoint God’s Spotless Lamb for His death.

Crazy, right! To rejoice in your pain. Yet isn’t that what our Lord did? “…Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” –Hebrews 12:2-3

Do you know this Jesus who allowed Himself to be broken open for you? You can if you want to. Ask Jesus into your life, and mean it, if you will, and do—Jesus will do the rest. “If you declare 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 profess your faith and are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10

Creeks Before Crowns. Part 1 of a series.

February 7, 2026 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” –1 Kings 17:2-4

In the greatness of our troubles, there may often be space for the greater display of the goodness of God! –Charles H. Spurgeon

Seemingly, out of nowhere, no introduction or explanation for his explosive appearance on the scene, we meet Elijah, the Tishbite. No reason is given for Elijah’s blurting out a rather odd proclamation to King Ahab. We only get: “Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, ‘As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word.

That’s it.

Next thing we know, God tells Elijah to head to a brook to drink its water and be fed there by ravens.

What is happening here!

To explain this fully would take more time than we have. For the sake of time, then, I’ll share just two snippets of Elijah’s story—God’s calling on Elijah’s life and God’s hiding of this unusual character by a brook.

Spoiler alert: Today’s teaching is part one in a three-part series titled “Why God breaks us before using us.”

I’ll wrap up this series on Saturday, February 21st.

For today, parts of Elijah’s story will make up the crux of this teaching—a way for me to get us going in the direction God is calling us: into His “next,” but first—preparation.

In the following weeks, as we move through parts 2 and 3 of this series, we’ll meet others who share similar bits of Elijah’s story: a woman with an alabaster jar. Through her, we’ll learn our being broken is, at times, God’s best for us. Part 3 will bring us before Jesus, His disciples, and a King-sized crowd, which will teach us that there will be times when breaking is necessary to see multiplication, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to Elijah.

Elijah was audacious. A bold prophet, used by God to gather a nation back to Himself—much like God uses you and me, daily. Okay, maybe He doesn’t use us daily to draw a whole nation to Himself, we can only pray for such a privilege. Still, Jesus will use us to draw one soul to Himself, which, to God, is of extraordinary value.

Really? Just one soul, why? As my pastor so aptly put it: “Jesus paid for that one soul with His very life.”

Read Elijah’s full story for yourself in 1 Kings, chapters 17–19 & 21, and 2 Kings, chapters 1–2. These scriptures remind us that, though mighty indeed, hand-picked by God, Elijah, like you and me, was just a man, possessing a measure of faith given to him by God to accomplish His will. “Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!” –James 5:17.

Elijah was a man who, on occasion, had a propensity for self-aggrandizement—a pitfall for some of God’s chosen vessels, for sure—this, taking oneself too seriously. Still, that didn’t prevent God from using Elijah to face off against and defeat 450 false prophets of Baal. Thankfully, our character flaws don’t prevent Jesus from using us.

Know this, however: as surely as God dealt with the unbecoming character flaws in Elijah, He’ll deal with us (1 Kings 19:10, 14). God has no problem putting those He loves, who are being shaped for greater use, into the smelter’s fire—it’s there where He removes our dross; the “yuck” of self that looks nothing like Jesus. “Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.” –Revelation 3:19

“So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your God, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” –1 Kings 18:20-24.

What’s my point in all of this?

To use snippets of Elijah’s life to help us gain insight into the necessity of God preparing us for future use.

Elijah means: “My God is Yahweh.” Elijah knew God. He trusted God.

Both His words and deeds affirm this, for the most part.

Remember, I said earlier that Elijah was a man just like us? Even the strongest of us — those with great faith, deeply rooted in a loving, intimate relationship with God — have these human moments of abject failure — Elijah was no different. I find this very comforting.

Seemingly, little time passed between Elijah’s bold proclamation to King Ahab and the Lord’s command for Elijah to go holed up beside the brook. What’s that all about?

Answer: preparation! A seeming anomaly, right? Why would a man with faith enough to make such a bold proclamation to a King on God’s behest need further preparation? This is a great enigma of our Christian faith: the more God entrusts to us, the deeper our relationship with God’s Holy Spirit becomes, the more preparation we’ll need—deeper pruning, greater obedience, ongoing refining, death to self/self-will—aka, preparation. Elijah was no different.

Some notable examples of the working of this mysterious Truth are the Twelve Disciples of Jesus: men hand-chosen by God who, like Elijah, needed refining and preparation both to continue and complete the work assigned to them—to build His Church. So if you say, as they did, as Samuel did: “Here I am, Lord, use me, send me,” then get ready. At some point, you too will be destined to enter the fiery furnace of affliction—and that, friend, is your safest place to be—yet another great, mysterious Truth! “Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hands of man.” –2 Samuel 24:14

Preparing Elijah for greater use was only one reason God had him make such a bold statement to King Ahab; God’s desire to restore His people to Himself was the other. Thus, God hid Elijah in a place of isolation beside the Kerith brook, where he would have to rely solely on God for everything—preparation.

By the way, Kerith means “cutting,” “separation.”

At Kerith, God would remove what no longer served Elijah; for his own good, there were things God had to deal with in Elijah before He’d release him to step into his greatest assignment—Mount Carmel. Out of a deep love for Elijah, God would burn away vestiges of his independence and self-will, reshaping Elijah into a more God-reliant, faithful vessel, fit for future use. Fitting, right? Since “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” –Galatians 5:9

Has God led you to Kerith?

If so, rejoice and be glad!

Creeks always precede crowns.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, be still and trust God in your season of preparation—of His breaking to remake you ready for your next. Receive with glad expectation the water and bread God will provide you—supernatural nourishment you’ll need to mount up renewed, refreshed, made ready to fulfill your next assignment. “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” –Isaiah 40:31

Friends, you, too, can experience renewal and refreshment—being made ready for all God has destined for you to do—by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you humble yourself before Him, He will raise you up a new creation! Jesus Himself said: “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” –John 5:24

The Lord Bless You And Keep You…

February 6, 2026 /

The Book of Job teaches us “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away”. Sadly, for us here at Sonsofthesea, the Lord has decided to move our Brother Matthew on to His next assignment. Saying we will miss him is an understatement—yet we trust God has so much more for our brother, just beyond the bend. And so, with heavy yet joyful hearts, we pray Godspeed over our brother and send him off, holding tight to the memories of joyful days past and to the hope for his “God did it again” days to come. In Hawaii, this blessing is often said in parting: Na Iēhowa ʻoe e hoʻomaikaʻi mai, ā e mālama mai. The Lord bless you and keep you, brother.

© 2026 Sonsofthesea.org

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑