MaryEllen Montville

“If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify].” –1 Peter 4:14

I felt led to revise and repost this teaching. I believe the Holy Spirit led me to do so because the hour we’re in demands its reminders. I pray He blesses and encourages you as you read…

Despite the fractalness, and ever-increasing unruliness happening in today’s world, though you’re bombarded daily by visual reminders of man’s bottom-of-the-barrel depravity, of the monstrous, pure evil that, once seen, can never be unseen, images of mothers killing their own children showing up on your television screens, or shamelessly spread out across your news feeds, hate speech and all sorts of threats and false accusations concerning you, your loved one, because of your faith in Jesus; the sheer ferity causing you, on your lowest of days, to feel, perhaps, as though Jesus has forgotten His Bride; I’m here to remind you He has not!

Christians are being cursed and reviled for their unswerving faith by the forces of pure evil, doing their level best to rid this world of Jesus and anyone or anything associated with Him. It will never happen, beloved of the Lord—Jesus is still on His Throne, and so I pray your eyes stay fixed on Jesus, and not the chaos, the visceral hatred, and ever-increasing darkness swirling around you.

The Lord has sent me to His battle-weary Bride to remind us that, contrary to how things may appear to some, Jesus is not far off; He is near. “[And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” –Isaiah 49:15

I’ve been sent to remind you that Jesus will never forget His promises to you: “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” –Deuteronomy 31:8.

You serve, or can choose to serve, the One True God who is near to His people: Emmanuel, God with us...

Jesus, having stepped out of time, left the glory of heaven, wrapped Himself in human flesh to be born of a virgin, that He might not only offer Himself as a willing sacrifice, taking your place on His Cross; the sinless dying that the sinful might live. Jesus also wanted to know your pain, needs, joys, and sorrows, intimately, experientially, as a man ginóskō, knows, his wife. “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin.” –Hebrews 4:15.

 In Greek, Ginóskō is defined as the bond between close friends, God and his followers, or the sexual union between a husband and wife.

And though the promise was given to Moses by God to encourage and strengthen His people, Israel, having been ingrafted into this vine, this same promise is yours—today. God’s promises remain as fresh, sure, and steadfast today as they did the moment they left His mouth—every one of them.

Like this one: “The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” –Deuteronomy 31:8

How can you know that what I’m telling you is true?

Simple. I didn’t say it. Jesus did. “Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” –Matthew 24:35.

The promise given to Moses to speak over God’s people, Israel, roughly 3.5 thousand years ago, carries the same weight today; God’s constant Presence and unfailing love remain unchanging. How? “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” –Numbers 23:19.

The same Jesus who knows the very number of hairs on your head is the same Jesus who has caught every tear you’ve shed in a bottle. “But [even] the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be struck with fear or seized with alarm…” –Luke 12:7.

He’s the same Jesus who still knows when a sparrow falls to the ground. “Are not two little sparrows sold for a copper coin? And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” –Matthew 10:29. Don’t miss the power of those faith-testing, I trust You “even if” Words, beloved. “And yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” This Truth underpins not only your sure, faithful footing today, but also the Rock-solid foundation of hope and faith you’ll need to navigate everything that will happen around you in the days to come.

 You must, must, white-knuckle cling to the knowledge that God is Sovereign, contrary to what you may see happening, think, or feel. Period. Having full confidence in this: nothing will ever happen in God’s world without His knowledge, or outside of His “But God” way of bringing good from our pain or the evilest intentions of the enemy of our soul.

Yes, beloved, Jesus will bring good from even the death and destruction that shakes you to your core. Atrocities that cause even the most stalwart of believers to pause and pray for the strength to keep pressing forward despite what they’ve just witnessed or read about. Choosing not to pretend these events aren’t happening, but choosing instead, to fix their eyes on heaven and screaming out if they must, “Jesus, I don’t understand any of this, but I trust you!”

God has not forgotten you, beloved.

Jesus sees everything happening to you and around you. And though you can’t see it right now, He is making ALL things work together for your good.

Long before you were born, twelve men, much like yourself, laid down their lives because they chose to cling, white-knuckled, to this one Truth. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” –1 John 1:1- 4.

Their relationship with Jesus was so solid, so unshakable, that, even when they faced horrific, torturous forms of death, they refused to deny Jesus. And according to His Word, at the very hour of their earthly death, Jesus was somehow with them, steadying them, preparing them in some way, to close their eyes to this world only to open them again to the world He’d promised them would come. “For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.” –Psalm 48:14.

If He does not leave us even at the hour of our death, how can you doubt then that He is not with you now?

Yes, it’s dark and getting darker by the day, beloved, but remember, Jesus told you this would happen. So don’t panic, and don’t let the headlines send you running to anyone or anything other than Him.

Jesus is with you.

He is with you—and He’ll never leave you.

In closing, the Apostle Peter knew, much like himself, that you would have moments of doubt and questioning when fiery trials tested your faith.

So, to encourage you to keep the faith and keep pressing on, Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, left these Words to remind and bolster those who believe—and those yet to believe—how present Jesus is—still. “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” –1 Peter 4:12-19. Emphasis mine.

Jesus will never fail you. Yes, you, my storm-tossed, questioning, doubt-filled friend. If there is breath in your lungs, use it to say yes to Jesus!