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

Category: Awaken (Page 2 of 5)

Everlasting To Everlasting.

June 22, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” –Psalm 2:12.

From Genesis to Revelation, one single, tenable thread establishes and unites Truth. God is Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end. He is Triune and Co-Eternal. As He was in the beginning, He will be in the end. It’s this very constancy—this “sure foundation” upon which every Blood-bought believer, starting with Moses and reaching to you and me, then locking fist and faith with that final believer, has anchored our faith. As Scripture makes plain, all else is shifting sand. “And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.” –Matthew 7:26-27.

Truth is Living. Immutable. Inerrant—contrary to the many jockeying voices who clamor otherwise.

“In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.” –Colossians 2:3-4.

But more to my point, Truth is a Person:

 “Who is Truth?”  

Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God.” –John1:1-2. Firmly establishing this Cornerstone of Christ as God’s Living Truth is paramount so that all else built atop it is sure, lasting—able to bear weight.

Jesus is God’s Living Word.

And so, I’ll lay the beginning and end of Truth side by side, exposing us to its whole counsel.

First, from the Old Testament, is Moses, who, under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, says this of Truth: “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” –Deuteronomy 32:4. From the New Testament, Truth Himself speaks: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6.

Go back and trace the Scripture references within this teaching, and you’ll notice a consistent interlacing theme—the Words: He, Father, Son, Mine, I, etc. As we will soon see, the “Person” they point to is our Linchpin, our Bridge, The Truth, Jesus. “I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30.

Jesus is Eternity Past and Eternity Future, being perfectly One with the Father, spanning time as we understand it. God simultaneously birthed and fulfilled His plan and purpose for creation through Jesus. And Jesus accomplished God’s purpose through obedience and Love for the Father. In Jesus, everything is held together: every jot and tittle of Scripture, you, me, the cosmos, every molecule of our world. “And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]” –Colossians 1:17.

We witness Jesus, the Eternal Presence, foreshadowed in Eden—when sinless, innocent blood was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin and guilt. Yet let’s remember, Jesus has always existed, and so, through Scripture, we also witness Him Pre-Garden as The Lamb.

God’s Sinless Sacrifice—prepared before God’s the foundation of the world. Waiting. Willing. “And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] from the foundation of the world.” –Revelation 13:8.

Before Christ’s Perfect sacrifice was a time when, over and over again, the blood of bulls, sheep, lambs, and rams were sacrificed, their lifeblood spilled on alters—blood is the substance God required to rid man of his sins. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” –Leviticus 17:11. Blood, smeared on door posts and lintels that death might pass over those who, by faith alone in God alone, Trusted Him—another foreshadowing.

Those who ate their meals in haste behind those bloody doors knew God, but not the name of His slain Lamb—not yet.

Moses, Abraham, Noah, Joseph, and David worshiped God and served Him. Leaving behind their old way of life to follow “YHWH.”   They’d heard His Voice and came to know Him via His Spirit and Word. These men believed God to be far Greater than themselves—eclipsing all other gods they had worshipped before Him—out of custom and ignorance.

From eternity past, the Father’s plan centered around Jesus:From Genesis to Revelation, we witness this Truth repeatedly: Jesus’ eventual substitutionary death on the Cross, His defeat of sin, death, and the grave.

Even in the nascent Church, this Truth became so firmly entrenched in the hearts of Jesus’s disciples that men freely gave their lives for Him. “But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family].” –Galatians 4:4-6.

Later, as the Church grew, through the only Scriptures they knew, New Testament writers would heavily pepper the Word with Old Testament references to Christ. The birth, life, ministry, miracles, and mentions or inferences of Jesus’ Lordship, His Blood, death, and future reign all reference the will and work of God’s Holy Spirit; God’s Word is one single, seamless Truth.

Some scholars say these Old Testament references constitute as much as 33% of the New Testament. Said differently, roughly 2606 Old Testament Scriptures are directly quoted or referenced within the New Testament, every one pointing toward Jesus. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” –Romans 15:4. This hope is part of God’s plan for all of His children—all those chosen in Christ, for Christ, before the foundation of the world. “For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.” –Galatians 3:26.

Though none from the Old Testament had heard the name Jesus—they knew God—believed in God.

And because of such faith—His Blood, the Blood of Jesus, God incarnate, The Father’s Perfect, Sinless Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world, washed them clean, saving them. “Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” –Mark 12: 26-27.

We have looped full circle, ending where we began: with Jesus, our Co-Eternal, Triune God; The Father’s Spotless Lamb, whose All-Powerful Blood is far-reaching enough to simultaneously save Moses, Abraham, Isacc, Jacob, me, and you, if you’ll invite Him into your life as Lord of all. Trusting, as did Abraham before you, as I and every other believer on the planet have, that Jesus is who He claims to be—the Only Way to the Father. “Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” –John 14:6.

Friend, before the foundation of the world, Jesus knew you.

And if you say yes to Him today, that is evidence you’ve been chosen in Him.

Yet if you reject Him, which, unimaginably, is your God-given right, then Gentle Christ that He is, Jesus will not force Himself nor His forgiveness upon you.

He will honor your choice to reject Him.

But understand this.

From eternity past, that is never God’s choice nor His heart toward any of us—towards you. Your relationship with Jesus is personal. “Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus.” –Ephesians 2:5-7.

Repent! The King Is Coming.

June 8, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will—.” –Ephesians 1:4-5.

Sporadically, over the past months, my team and I have shared teachings focusing on sin, sinning, and our need to repent. I believe God’s Holy Spirit birthed each of these teachings to remind us all of the effects and repercussions of sin and our need to repent daily. All to lead us to Truth—The Truth—His name, Jesus. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6.

So today, to bring these peppered teachings on sin full circle, to offer hope, and to prayerfully guide those whom Jesus is calling to follow Him into the fullness of Truth, where God’s Love and plan for such a Love has always existed—in Jesus. Through Scripture, we’ll witness that somewhere in the “eternal past,” God knew you; equally, He created you to fit purposefully and uniquely into the grand tapestry of His eternal plan.

God’s Inerrant Word speaks of the time “before the foundation of the world.” When all that existed—was Yahweh: “The Uncreated, Self-Existent One.”

That place where you, me, and everything in the seen and unseen worlds began. In God.

As finite beings, we recognize the abovementioned time as the eternal past or time everlasting. “Before the mountains were born Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.” –Psalm 90:2.

Notice that this Old Testament Scripture says of God, “You are,” present tense. Yet it also gives evidence of God’s eternal existence with its; “Before You had given birth to the earth and the world…”  

And in Revelation 1:8, God says of Himself. “I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].”

Brothers and sisters, I took pains to lay a sure foundation for God’s irrefutable, eternal existence for the primary reason of re-minding and confirming for you that you were indeed chosen in Jesus. Sealed untouchable in Christ—who is God and was with God before the foundation of the world; your eternal destiny secured in Jesus—for Jesus, in the everlasting past.

You are chosen, set apart, sealed in Christ, unlike those creations God foreknew and gave the same opportunity to grab hold of, cherish, and accept His free Gift of Love, yet they rejected Him.

And so you are not that one, friend, one who will reject Jesus; I’ll pause here a moment to remind you that the Author of Life, Christ Jesus, is extending His Hand of forgiveness and Life to you.

Continuing, listen to how the Apostle Paul explains our being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. “For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.” –Romans 8:29.

Scripture is clear, friend: there is no middle ground to stand safely upon. Either we’re all in, or we’re out. Unimaginably, God Himself has afforded us this unfathomable freedom of choice. Now, it’s up to us to choose wisely because God has made His choice clear: we choose Him, surrendering our will freely in exchange for His. “And just as Moses in the desert lifted up the brass replica of a venomous snake on a pole for all the people to see and be healed,  so the Son of Man is ready to be lifted up, so that those who truly believe in him will not perish but be given eternal life. For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.” –John 3:14-16.

Yet God is patient, knowing the hearts of each of His creations.

Perhaps, to build our faith in Him,  Jesus allows us to believe that He has forgotten us for a time—that He doesn’t see our great need for His strength and intervention to come swiftly and pull us out from the thick mire we’ve been wallowing in for so long that we’ve made our mess our home. Falsely believing there is nothing more for us than the crippling consequences of our sinful choices. “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

Friend, the enemy of your soul, would like nothing more than for you to falsely believe that where you find yourself now is as good as it gets.

Please, don’t fall for his lies!

You were not created for sin; to live in sin. You, dear friend, were lovingly and purposefully created in the Image and Likeness of God—for God—to be loved and protected, cherished by God as a precious child of God. Scripture makes clear: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”  

This Scripture alone demonstrates the Truth of Jesus’ Words shared with His doubters—those supposed wisest men of their time who stood poised to kill Him for making the assertion “I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30.

By Jesus saying this, these Jewish priests and scholars understood just enough to realize Jesus was claiming to be God—and they could not abide by what they assumed was a blasphemous claim. So, in hardening their hearts, these so-called wise men rejected Jesus—and sought to kill Him and anyone or anything associated with Him.

Sadly, not much has changed since then. “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” –John 10:33.

Jesus’ heart for His chosen people is Love.

In the eternal past I’ve spoken of today, the fullness of the Father’s love was continually poured out on His Son—Righteous, Holy, and Pure. According to God’s Inerrant Word, He is The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. “And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] from the foundation of the world.” –Revelation 13:8.

This verse not only testifies to the Truth of God’s plan to save mankind somewhere in eternity past, before Adam and Eve or God’s earth were ever created, but equally, it makes clear God foreknew those who would reject His offer: His free Gift of salvation: His only Son’s Life given in exchange for theirs.

My prayer for you, for us all, today is this: that you are not like those who, being wise according to the world’s standards, become so like those so-called wise men before you that you reject Jesus, Savior of the world, to your eternal peril.

Although no sin is acceptable before our Holy God, Jesus Himself assures us there is one unpardonable sin—rejecting God’s Holy Spirit.

And since His Holy Spirit is God, those who reject Him reject the Triune God Himself. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” –Matthew 12:30-32.

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Jesus proclaimed it. As did John the Baptist. And though not popular nor feel-good, now, concerning the deadly wages of sin, in obedience to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, so too have me and my team. Friends, Jesus loves you. He is patiently waiting for you to accept His Love and forgiveness. If you haven’t done this, what are you waiting for? “Heaven’s kingdom is about to appear—so you’d better keep turning away from evil and turn back to God!”–Matthew 3:2.

Time Out.

May 4, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, “Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not after that you can cut it down.” –Luke 13:6-9.

I will start by saying hello and thanking everyone who takes the time to read this teaching. I pray it will minister to you as powerfully as today’s Scripture ministered to me. Have you ever had those moments when God sits you down and says, “Time to have a heart-to-heart talk?” This very thing happened to me. So I hope you don’t mind that I am using our time together to be transparent with you. My heart is such that both my transparency and our time together will serve to edify, not scare you. For our God is a loving and merciful God.

But, if in your mind, you think you are doing well, yet, what you are doing doesn’t align with God, He will sit you down and have that “Father to son/daughter moment.” “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” –Romans 12:3.

Not out of anger but in love, to realign you. God wants to speak lovingly to you.

“For whom the Lord loves He chastens And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” –Hebrews 12:6-8.

Chastening sounds like such a harsh word, doesn’t it? It means to bring correction, rebuke, reprimand, and, yes, even punishment.

Yet, which of us, when we were children and did something wrong, did not receive a rebuke from our dad or mom? In that same way, more actually, God loves so us. So much so, that if we start walking down a path that He did not call us to go down, any path that will lead us towards something He never told us to do –because of His great love for us; God will bring correction.

God will deal with you and me in the same fashion as an earthly loving father would.

So, during my recent chastening, the Holy Spirit led me to Luke 13. As I read, He started ministering to me as only God’s Living Word can. I read this chapter as though Jesus was teaching it to me for the first time. Let me explain:

In Luke 13:6-7, I read: He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, “Look for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?”

I read: This man had a fig tree in a beautiful vineyard, and in reading, it sounded as though the tree was mature enough to have produced fruit; saplings do not produce fruit. And so he hoped it would one day produce the fruit he so richly desired.

Now, picture God looking at you, hoping you will not remain a sapling forever. That one day soon, you too will mature and produce fruit.

Yes, you look the part. You go to Church smiling and saying, “Bless the Lord.”You have bumper stickers on your car saying, “Jesus Saves!”

You talk the talk; yet inside, however, you are hollow, clanging, as Paul says: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction].” –1 Corinthians 13:1.

Are you carrying bitterness, anger, jealousy, selfish ambitions, envy, and so on? You look mature, and like that fig tree, you have green leaves. But, you are not producing fruit because of whatever is contaminating the soil of your heart.

Friend, God did not create or call you to watch you live and not bearing fruit.

What fruit might that be? The fruits found in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

A child of God will have evidence of these fruits on their “tree.” My friends, we are all a work in progress, yet God expects us to be producing something for His Kingdom.

There is a timeline in that Scripture: “For three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down.” God’s Word reminds us all, believer and unbeliever alike of our need to repent of our sins. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 6:23

My friends, we are living at the end of the age when Jesus will soon return to take His bride Home.

No one knows the day or hour, but, are you willing to go another day not having a relationship with Jesus? Or not producing good fruit for His Kingdom? In Revelation 22:12-13, Jesus reminds us: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

 But thank God, there is always hope!

Let’s read what the servant said to the Vineyard Owner in Luke 13:8-9: “But he answered and said to him, “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.”  And though Jesus was talking about the nation of Israel needing to repent for its sins and rebellion, so too does the Church; you and I. We are, after all, grafted into their vine. There is only One God.

Jesus has interceded for us, my dear brothers, and sisters. When the Owner wanted to cut down the tree, The Servant said, “Let it alone until I dig around it and fertilize it.”

Jesus asked the Father to allow Him to dig around the soil of your heart. It is like Jesus is saying, “Father, allow Me, to dig deep and minister to them so they will produce the fruit you want to see and desire.” 

So, ask yourself, is it worth holding on to anger and jealousy?

Do you truly believe that Jesus does not want to set you free from your sins? To not be righteous before the Father, in whose Image you are created? Because if you do believe that lie, my heart breaks for you. We read in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  That is the Truth.

You have likely heard that Scripture; the question is: Do you genuinely believe Jesus died for you?

I pray this has touched you in such a way that it helped set you free.

Fellow believers, we must grow and bear the fruit Jesus is looking for; let us not choose just to look the part yet stay barren. “So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin.” –Matthew 3:8.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus makes this offer: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”  I invite you to ask Jesus to take first place in your heart. Allow Him to minister to you. Open the door of your heart to Him. He is willing and able to set you free. Jesus Himself promises you: “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” –John 8:36.

Amen.

A Call To The Light.

March 23, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” –1 Thessalonians 4:7.

Often, as children of God, we are placed under a microscope. The Truth is that a true believer in Christ Jesus does not look at the world through the same lens as those who do not believe in Him. Jesus said that we, His children, are to live in this world but not to be part of it—not to take part in the things of this world. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” –John 15:9. And, in Romans 12:2, Paul reminds us: “…not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

In John 17:16-19, On the night Jesus was betrayed, He prayed for Himself, His disciples, and for all believers. For you, if you are His, and those that have yet come to Him. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

As Jesus prayed for His disciples, He declared, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Jesus claimed they were separated, new creations the world does not understand. We have also been declared sanctified, justified, and righteous by Jesus’ finished work on the cross. 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, the apostle Paul writes, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

If you belong to Jesus and are one of His children, you have been made new by His death and glorious resurrection. Romans 6:4-5 reminds us all, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

My dear friends, you have been set apart to do your Lord Jesus’s will.

To glorify God in everything you do.

He placed His Spirit within you the very moment you declared Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Just as the disciples before you were sanctified, so too are you. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” –Ephesians 1:13-14.

Someone once shared this analogy: the believer in Jesus Christ looks at the world through “rose-colored glasses.”

Hearing this brought me back to when I was a young kid, say, about ten years old. I remember my grammie wearing these big, giant, bug-eyed sunglasses with rose-colored lenses. When she placed them over my eyes, the color of her surroundings changed to match the tint of her glasses.

This change in our perception of our surroundings happens also, as we read God’s Word and grow in our faith. The world around us starts to change color. Said differently, darkness is exposed when the Light of the Gospel shows up.

Things that once looked normal to us when we were in the world are now exposed for what they truly are now. And the Light of God’s Word also exposes unclean spirits and darkness in people’s hearts. “And have no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak those things which are done by them in secret. But all things are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” –Ephesians 5:12. 

Brothers and sisters, be the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Before knowing Jesus as Lord, there was a void within us all that we all tried to fill with earthly idols and addictions, but now you are filled with the Light and Love of Christ. Let His Words speak to your heart and into the inner depths of your soul, and trust that you are armed with the sword of His Spirit, His holy Word; it separates His Truth from the lies and deception of this world. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-sided sword, piercing the even to division of souls and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12.

Put on the whole armor of God, weapons fashioned by Almighty God for the believer to wield against the enemy’s attacks. “Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” –Ephesians 6:14-18.

We know that the enemy does not fight fairly. He lives in ambush mode, waiting for you to stumble.

He knows how to get you, and if he can isolate you from the Body of Christ, the brethren, he will destroy you. Satan knows what hurts you; he knows when you are weakest or most tired, it is then he will strike without mercy. “Be sober, be vigilant; becaus your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” –1 Peter 5:8.

Knowing who you are in Christ Jesus and declaring your King’s authority over every circumstance will bring you victory over darkness. You have been separated from the world to do the good works in Christ Jesus; you are sealed with His Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 14:12-14 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father and whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

As I close this teaching, I am praying for each of you. I pray that those who do not know Jesus but genuinely want a relationship with Him will take that next step by repenting their sins. I pray you will trust in the power of the sinless Blood of Christ that washes away every sin, past, present, and future. I am believing for supernatural transformations in the hearts of many in this Holiest season of New Life and Hope. “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:5-6.

I am praying for you and all those who will call out to Jesus as Lord—and are saved. Amen

But As For Us.

February 3, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But Peter and John replied to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must judge [for yourselves]; for we, on our part, cannot stop telling [people] about what we have seen and heard.” –Acts 4:19-20.

As I read chapter four, my spirit leapt when Holy Spirit shone His Light on today’s verses. I recognized that, like Peter and John, we, His Church, are standing on the precipice of this same type of insidious spiritual oppression. And, like them, we, too, must choose who we will obey. God or man? “How dare you speak that name!” “How dare you tell us that your Jesus is the only way to heaven? I’m a good person, and love is love!” Brothers, we are now being faced with, or soon will be, being silenced. “Deny Jesus!” “Cancel Him!” You’re one of those radical Jesus freaks! Go too far, and we’ll cancel you too!

The world will do its best to silence anyone who professes Jesus, His teachings, and the stabilizing Truth found only in His Inerrant Word. Jesus is the only way to the Father. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” –John 14:6.

Yes, we love all men, just as Jesus commands us to. But loving the yet saved ought to propel, not prevent, us from speaking the Truth in love, lest they not hear Truth and remain lost. “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.” –Matthew 15:10-14.

Beloved, we’re teetering on the crumbling edge of a world many have known and grown-up in.

A world that once felt seemingly firm beneath our feet is now giving way beneath us because, as it was then, so too today. Nothing will ever be the same. It can’t be. There is no going back. That’s not what Jesus intended—how He planned it, and He did plan it.

That’s hard for some to hear or accept; I get it.

Truth often is, but thankfully, our inability to reconcile Truth doesn’t stop it from being true.

Why? Because God’s Truth is fixed, not fluid. It will not be altered, weakened, or changed in any way by any man’s inability to make peace with it. “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” –Isaiah 55:11. Remember what Jesus told His disciples when they, like many today, experienced a shifting of the ground beneath them, when relative predictability was replaced by a sure knowledge that at any moment, once reliable things, will quickly turn unreliable—unrecognizable. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” –Matthew 10:34-36.

Use a sword against their Roman oppressors, yes, absolutely!

The disciples were expecting a King David moment from Jesus—planning, in fact, for its imminent arrival. But a man’s enemy being a beloved family member? That was hard for these men whose family and community were a large and stabilizing part of their culture and identity, the unifying backbone of their everyday lives.

Our brothers had no New Testament pages to turn to for hope—no Holy Spirit yet living within them, providing them with a peace that truly does surpass all understanding. No, these followers of Jesus were pioneering the faith. Yes, they walked with Jesus, but in many ways, what He was teaching them, this new Kingdom He was ushering in, was as foreign to them as the idea of His loving the Gentiles!

These New Testament believers had said yes to Jesus without knowing what would come from their following this not-quite-King David, Messiah.

Still, God had chosen them purposefully. He had called them to partner with Him to help create the map we’d one day use to follow Jesus as they did, one faith-filled step at a time.

So what do we do with this Truth, the sure knowledge we possess that persecution will come?

I ask this because, I’d say, and Scripture points towards our being at this same place of no return as our brothers once were —or a hairsbreadth away, at best. We, too, are standing upon some same precarious edge of a world many of us have known and grown up in, one whose once firm precipice is about to give way beneath us because, as it was then, so too, today. Nothing will ever be the same. We know what’s coming and what’s expected of us when it does. We are blessed to have the Holy Spirit and our Bible as our guide. Thankfully for us, our Father has given us a step-by-step detailed guide to follow. Jesus, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, placed it on the hearts of those who have gone before us, pioneers of the faith, stalwarts, each.

As for me, by God’s grace and in His strength, I have decided to follow Jesus. “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 3:13.

As the old hymn says, “No turning backing, no turning back.”

When asked by Jesus if he would turn away like so many others, Peter has the best answer I’ve heard concerning the decision we each must make. Do we follow Jesus, no matter what happens, or do we fall away?

” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope]. We have believed and confidently trusted, and [even more] we have come to know [by personal observation and experience] that You are the Holy One of God [the Christ, the Son of the living God].” –John 6:68-69.

Jesus assures those who follow Him that trials and persecution will come.

But to those who persevere, who’ll not deny Him, who’ll stand and fight, lifting His Banner of Righteousness, Love and Truth high above whatever tides of opinion or rejection may ebb and flow around us, to them, to us, He says: “But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” –Matthew 24:13.

Friends, listen to what Joshua shared with those who, like us, were facing the same spiritual battles we are. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” –Joshua 24:14-15.

Who will you fear? And by fear, I mean respect, reverence, serve, honor, and obey friends.

Who will you serve? You not choosing is your choice. So, if you’re still wavering between serving the world or the Lord, may I encourage you to cease delaying now and choose Jesus!

Expecting.

January 13, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“For while some are saying, “Finally we have peace and security,” sudden destruction will arrive at their doorstep, like labor pains seizing a pregnant woman—and with no chance of escape!” –1Thessalonians 5:3.

Sonsofthesea Family, please forgive the delay in this teaching being sent out. To err is human. I apologize.

Firstly, to my brothers in Christ, please, don’t let the image or title of this teaching cause you to turn away, thinking, “This is a woman’s message.” It’s not. It’s a message for us all. We are all expecting—regardless our gender. At least, we ought to be.

One of the many things I love about Jesus, His Word, is how He used everyday language. Imagery and references the average man could easily recognize. Old, young, man, woman, rich or poor, there was always something woven into His teachings for everyone—except, of course, for those who had zero interest in hearing it. But that is a message for a different day.

Today, I’ve been assigned the task of sharing with you what  Holy Spirit shared with me.

Words like “expecting, labor, timing, pain, sacrifice, suffering and such will be used.” As you can imagine, there was little surprise for me when Holy Spirit started using the imagery and language of birth to get His point across. God is nothing if not consistent.

So we’ll jump in here, and I’ll share with you what He shared with me:

When a woman is expecting, ready to deliver her child, what initiates her labor?

What thing or things must happen before her labor can begin?

According to an article submitted by Johns Hopkins, science doesn’t really have an exact answer to this question. They can’t articulate precisely why the onset of labor pains happens when they do. They can tell us about statistics, variables, studies, and parameters. They can share their guidelines and methods used in determining when a woman’s labor will likely occur—some window of sorts based on age-old and irrefutable facts. Years and centuries worth of compiled, detailed accounts and studies. This data has enabled science and doctors to narrow a woman’s due date to within a two-week window.

So, somewhere between here and there, things will start progressing quickly, speeding up and bringing the expecting woman’s body to the very brink of birth.

Maybe here is where my brothers say, “I thought you said this wasn’t a woman’s message. So far, it’s been all about what happens to women!” But wait, hang on, please. We’re about to pivot. You’re about to start to see where you fit into this message.

Interestingly, the Bible compares the rapture of the Church to the onset of a woman’s labor pains.

In fact, It’s so specific in its comparison of the two that God’s Word assures us Jesus has no more idea when this blessed event will occur than a woman knows the day or hour her labor will begin. “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” –Matthew 24:36.

Imagine, Jesus, the One who was born, crucified, died, and resurrected on the third day to save us, has no idea the day or hour in which He’ll rapture His Bride. And a woman, though pregnant and able to calculate her approximate due date, has no clue, really, when her actual labor will start.

The reason for them both not knowing? In a word, God. “He answered, “The Father is the one who sets the fixed dates and the times of their fulfillment. You are not permitted to know the timing of all that he has prepared by his own authority.” –Acts 1:7.

No one, not even His Beloved Son, Jesus, can move outside God’s expressed will, plan or Divine time. In the same way, nothing can live, move, or have its being outside of God’s expressed will. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.” –John 5:30.

Only God in His Sovereignty, holds all time and times in His hands.

Jesus has no idea the day or hour He’ll first meet the Bride He’s given His Life for, gone and prepared a place for her. This Bride He loves passionately—fed and nurtured, loved and sacrificed and was willing to endure much suffering for. The Bride Jesus gave up His Body to protect all that she might be with Him and the Father always. And yet, not even He knows the day or hour He’ll first be able to hold her in His arms. Those same arms once nailed to His Cross.  

As I pivot here one last time, let me say this:  this teaching, with its comparisons and conclusions, is intended to point us toward God and His Sovereign control over all things.

It’s to land us squarely on the Truth that, contrary to who we are, what we may be seeing happening around us. Whatever imminent brand of darkness is looming ever closer, something more ominous and pervasive than ever before. Despite all that we see—and may feel, as Christians, such things ought not move us. We must rely on God alone. His Word alone. We must keep our eyes fixed on things above, not the swirling chaos at our feet, barking at us like some ratcheted-up junkyard dog hellbent on frightening us.

In closing, Jesus told His disciples it was best for them if He went otherwise; He could not send them the Comforter—one who would come and take up residence within them. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.” –John 14:16-17.

Though neither knows the exact hour, Jesus and the woman know their hour is upon them.

That some gossamer-thin veil of time is about to tear, ending the preparations, anticipation, and expecting, ushering in their reward for having endured the fullness of time. For one, a baby. For the other, a Bride. Each starts as a seed within the other. “For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love.” –Ephesians 1:4.

Jesus, the Ultimate Sacrifice, will soon be made eternally One with His Beloved. “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.” –Mark 13:7.

If you’re a Christian, you’re also expecting. At least, you ought to be waiting, watching, making ready, preparing yourself and those in your family, workplace, classroom, at the market or gas station—for Jesus’ soon arrival. “Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” –Ephesians 5:16.

And you, friend, if you have yet to meet the One who is patiently waiting for you to call out—”Jesus, save me!” Now is the time. These are perilous times. And no man is promised tomorrow. I don’t say this to frighten you; watch the news for confirmation. But, if my telling you moves you to cry out to Jesus, I’ve done what I was sent to do. Point everyone who will listen toward Jesus, the Savior. “For while some are saying, “Finally we have peace and security,” sudden destruction will arrive at their doorstep, like labor pains seizing a pregnant woman—and with no chance of escape!” –1Thessalonians 5:3.

Saturation Point.

December 9, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

“They will fall by the sword, or be carried off into slavery among all the Gentiles. And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, till the appointed times of the Gentiles have expired.” –Luke 21:24

Saturation Point. Dictionary.com defines it this way: A point at which some capacity is at its fullest; limit:

As I read today’s Scripture, its last nine words came alive. God’s Logos, His written Word, became Rhema, a Living Word. I couldn’t help but think of everything happening in Israel right now. Let me explain: the Holy Spirit mostly speaks a Rhema Word into our spirit as we read His Written Word. It’s made alive and often applies to a right-now situation in our lives or the world around us. A Rhema Word is the Holy Spirit drawing our attention to or confirming something of importance. In every case, God’s Rhema Word must align with His written Word—His Logos. Holy Spirit is a God of order, not confusion. He will not “share” something with any of His children that does not align with what He has already spoken in His inerrant Scriptures.

“When, Lord? “When will the fullness of the Gentiles be complete?”

“When will You rapture Your Church?”

Those questions were burning in my heart as I read today’s Scripture. Like many brothers and sisters, I, too, am “watching and waiting” for our Lord’s return.

A greater sense of expectation has gripped me lately—an even deeper longing has been awakened.

Today, that growing expectation made me ask: “When will You call us Home, Lord?”

This world is not our home, and it’s undoubtedly nearing its saturation point. How much further will You allow things to deteriorate before You say, “Come on Home?

Abba, I’m not questioning You. I’m asking You a question, putting to words the recurring thoughts in so many of Your children’s hearts, Lord. “Are we one drop, five, ten drops even from this world having reached its absolute ability to contain the sin, hatred, hardheartedness, rebellion and rejection of You and most anything to do with You?

Will my brothers, sisters, and I live to be raptured?”

Mind you, either way, we won’t stand idly by, just watching the sky or the news for signs—concerning the rapture, they’ve been fulfilled. Still, while we watch, wait, trust, and pray to the Lord of the harvest, we’ll fish for men.

Yet I’m hoping that today, no, before this sentence is finished…

“It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.” –1 Corinthians 15:52.

Still, I wanted to know more about those nine words Holy Spirit brought to life to answer my question.

I’ll pause here to clarify that Scripture clearly states no man knows the day or hour the rapture will occur, so, straightaway, what this teaching is not, is a false prophetic word concerning the Church being raptured. Given today’s climate, I choose to leave nothing open for interpretation.

As I said, I wanted to know the meaning behind today’s Scripture, so I went digging.

I read more concerning the historical background of Jerusalem and the Jewish people. That led me back to the Bible, to Jesus and today’s verse, then to the Apostle Paul and his teaching on the meaning of the fullness of the Gentiles. “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.” –Romans 11:25-26.

At the end of the day, Jesus and the Apostle Paul confirm that a divinely set number of Gentile believers must first accept Jesus as Lord and Savior before every living Jew will be saved, having finally accepted the Truth that Jesus is the Messiah.

In roughly A.D. 70, Jerusalem received its fatal blow at the hands of Rome, its oppressor, where, it’s said, some 1.1 million Jews had been murdered and where approximately 100,000 others were enslaved, used to feed Rome’s insatiable appetite for dominance. Of this horrific atrocity, Johannes Norval Geldenhuys, a South African minister and Bible Commentator, writes: From the commencement of the history of the Jewish nation, God, through His servants, warned them clearly that if they behaved unfaithfully and wickedly, they would reap disastrous retribution. Especially the striking words of Deuteronomy 28:15-68. There is almost no form of calamity that visited the Jews during the Roman-Jewish war, not mentioned here in Deuteronomy.

I strongly recommend you pick up your Bible and read what the Lord warned would happen to His chosen people should they disobey Him. And then, ask yourself, if God did not allow His firstborn to escape the consequences of their deliberate sin and rebellion, what makes anyone today think that they will escape God’s judgement if they refuse to repent of their intentional, flagrant sins?

I share this Truth in love, not to frighten you but to remind us all, starting with myself, that we serve a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Full of mercy, longsuffering, and whose heart it is certainly, that not one should perish, yet He’s also a just God who will not allow his creations to reject Him forever. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

God’s heart is that no one tastes destruction—that which was created for Satan and his followers.

Some commentators say that when Rome had sated its savage appetite, having devoured Jerusalem and its people, not one Jew was left alive. In addition, no Jew was allowed to enter Jerusalem save one day a year—when they were allowed to enter and mourn the ravaging of their people, Jerusalem’s utter destruction, and its renaming at the hand of its Roman conquerors.

Even then, to ensure nothing of the Jews remained, Rome renamed and rebuilt a city atop Jerusalem’s ruins, calling it Aelia Capitolina.

Antisemitism is nothing new.

Knowing that He had forewarned His people of the inescapable destruction to come upon them and their land should they choose not to obey Him, is it any wonder that as Jesus drew near Jerusalem and, seeing into its near future, the utter pain and destruction yet to come, He wept? “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things [that make] for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, “and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” –Luke 19:41-44.

In 1948, a Jewish state was established by what can only be described as the Sovereign Hand of God after thousands of years of its people having been scattered, existing in exile. Yet it wasn’t until 1967 that Israel took control of the Old City in the Six-Day War with Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. And yet, even to this very day, Arab Gentiles continue to reign over the most contested site in all of Jerusalem – the Temple Mount.

And so, we wait and watch while we continue to work—knowing that, at least for today, the fullness of the Gentiles has yet to occur.

Unless, suddenly…

Friends, the fullness of the Gentiles is about God not wanting any man—Jew or Gentile, to perish. So, if you have yet to accept Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior, please do it today. Listen to Jesus’ Words concerning the hour we find ourselves: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24: 36-37; 42:44.

Creator and creations.

October 14, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

“For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set] so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].” –Ephesians 2:10.

Michelangelo’s Statue of David, created between 1501 and 1504, is known for its remarkable details, particularly in the right hand. This iconic statue was carved from a single 6-ton slab of marble that two other sculptors had discarded due to flaws. The marble lay exposed to the elements for 26 years before a 26-year-old Michaelangelo was awarded the commission.

Today, we will endeavor to peer into the mind of our Creator God, skimming a finger across the surface of His plans and abilities, predestined works designed and assigned for us and to us—before God called us into being—these plans set in stone if you will, before the foundation of the world. Think of it: Our Father has afforded us the privilege of partnering with Him in good works.

The Sovereign God of the universe, our Creator, Jesus, allows us to carry such knowledge and treasure within our mere earthen vessels– mind-blowing!

Michelangelo, endowed by God with the vision and ability to coax delicate veins and whisper-thin fingernails out of unforgiving marble, God affords you and me our unique talents and giftings, some small glimmer of His distinct abilities splashed onto us—enabling us. Such awe-inspiring skills and attributes are partly shared, Creator to creation, witnessed in the fullness and potency of His Majestic imagination in creation.

Think of it: Before anything materialized in the natural world, any gift bestowed to a man—everything was first conceived in God—in the realm of the Spirit—then made manifest by Elohim, Creator God.

Omniscience and Omnipotence united in a single cause—creation. “Thus saith God the Lord (he that created the heavens and spread them abroad: he that stretched forth the earth, and the buds thereof: he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.” –Isaiah 42:5.Your skills, talents and abilities, eye color, lifespan, every breath, the planets, plants and trees, gifts from God, their genesis, a thought, originated in the mind of The Creator of all things. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” –Revelation 4:11.

Bible: “By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” –Hebrews 11:3.

Now understand this beloved of God: This same Creator God, Sovereign in power and abilities, this Master Craftsman, Originator, Initiator, Sustainer, Author of your faith, gifts, and talents, fashioned you with great intention in Christ Jesus. Complete with a detailed plan for your life. Work for your hands to accomplish, hearts to mend and lives to minister to. So I’ll remind you, child of God, that you were created on purpose for a purpose, in Christ Jesus, and you are loved with a kind of love that is far too big and enveloping—too far-reaching and profound for us in our finite forms to embrace fully. “For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works.”

God, the Master craftsman, the Originator of all things, crafted you with an eye and attention to detail galaxies beyond Michaelangelo’s preschool ability to carve David’s likeness from a marble slab.

God, whose capabilities make Rembrandt’s exquisite brushstrokes look like mere arts and crafts projects, spoke, and whole galaxies burst forth—vibrant and pulsing.

God, whose mind conceived an artery, sight, the complexity of the human heart, brain, and oceans, created you with everything you would ever need to do, everything He had mapped out for you to do—before the world’s foundation. “Which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set] so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].”

Hear God’s Words today, not mine. Cling to them as Living proof of Jesus’ Divine intention and purpose in creating you. You are God’s Masterpiece. Cherished and adored. God says it this way: “You are one who is precious in my eyes! You are glorious and I have loved you! I have given men in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life!” – Isaiah 43:4.

A man may have called you a mistake, unwanted, unplanned, but not God.

Yet, you’re not alone if you wrestle with believing this Truth. Many of our brothers and sisters who love and serve the Lord struggle with wrapping the unhealed areas of their hurting hearts around this Truth. So if you are faltering in embracing the Truth that you are God’s Masterpiece, having been sealed in Christ Jesus on purpose for a purpose before the foundation of the world—know that I am praying God heal whatever broke your heart or trust.

I’m praying, too, that you will remember to live by faith and not according to your hurt feelings.

Please, don’t allow what others have done to you, their failures, cruelty, unthinking, uncaring actions to harden your heart against ever fully receiving God’s unplumbed, healing, enlivening, restorative, Pure and peaceable Love.

You are not an accident, Beloved of the Lord! Drink in God’s Truth: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!” –Psalm 139:13-17.

Beloved of God, our limitedness, our inability to fully conceive or take a thing in, does not negate God’s Truth, His Omniscience and Omnipotence, nor His ability to place such a thing within us—within our reach, the scope of our ability to interact or partake of it. The same Creator who gifted Michelangelo and Rembrandt, who poured the Psalms into David’s belly and then pulled them out that they might edify us, chose you—crafting you precisely as you are.

Suppose you belong to—have a relationship with Him who created you. In that case, the Infallible proof of the following bold declaration is possible because, paraphrasing Scripture, God told the Apostle Paul: “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

Do you think that our Sovereign, Creator God, seeing your end from your beginning, would entrust you with carrying such Treasure as His Holy Spirit, who enables you to fulfill the good works God has predestined for you and has gifted you with the ability to co-create with Him, if He could not guard such eternal treasures, keeping them and you until His return? “I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].” –Philippians 1:6.

Dear friend, if you have your sight, you have seen evidence of this Creator God I’ve spoken of today. —God made sure of that. Father God wanted to ensure you do not miss Him.

Everything He created was done with you in mind, for your pleasure and benefit, because Jesus loves you. You may not know Him personally yet, so I invite you to do that now. Ask Jesus to be The Lord of your life. Tell Him you’re genuinely sorry for your sins and want a lifelong relationship with Him. He’ll do the rest. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” –Romans 1:20

Shana Tov!

September 23, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” –Isaiah 40:31, emphasis my own.

“New.” As defined by the Oxford Dictionary: not existing before, recently made.

I am writing on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, meaning “head of the year.” And so, a changing of the guard is about to occur. Yet the old year would have given way to the new by the time you read this. Those who had been eyeing the perfect head of cabbage or garlic at market, the ideal fish or rooster or lamb for roasting—wanting to ensure the head of something extra-ordinary and satisfying was the centerpiece of a table ladened with hope, the companion of new beginnings, home now.

Their hope? That with its last breath, this year passed away peacefully; pray God, relinquishing all it held dear, having entrusted any loose ends, any unspoken goodbye, that remnant of heartbreak or suffering, into the Sovereign hands of God. And then, as with a baby’s first breath, the embryonic New Year would instinctively, joyfully announce its arrival, ushering in a new sound, as do all things the Lord ordains, if we have ears to hear. And, with its clean slate and new beginnings, Rosh Hashanah will cry out from the bottom of its hope-filled lungs, announcing its triumphal arrival. “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!” –Psalm 98:4.

And this New Year, original as it is, nevertheless follows an age-old pattern. Like its predecessors, contrary to the joys or pains it might hold, it will come and go. It has been this way since man began tracking time, one year following another, landing me here on the eve of yet another New Year. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9.”What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9.

Yet, in today’s verse, this “new strength” the Lord describes to His Prophet, Isaiah, this newness born of His Spirit, is unlike anything else. “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.” –Isaiah 40:28.

This newness is uncreated, having no beginning. It mirrors its Creator; its end, known only to Him. “Now God himself will have his home with them—’God-with-them’ will be their God! He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and eliminate death entirely. No one will mourn or weep any longer. The pain of wounds will no longer exist, for the old order has ceased.” And God-Enthroned spoke to me and said, “Consider this! I am making everything to be new and fresh.” –Revelation 21:3-5.

With an all-in certainty, soon and very soon, God will fulfill the above Power-filled verses.

I am also unquestionably confident that Jesus is renewing the strength of His beloved children who trust in Him. In this New Year, I choose to take God at His Word. He is imparting His strength to those who place their trust in Him; new, uncreated, supernatural power flowing straight from the heart of God into His people.

Into you, whose body has been ravaged by cancer, beloved of the Father. And into you, whose faith is in tatters, a mere thread holding it together. And you, weary soul, bent over that grave, wetting its dug-up soil with your tears, leaving so many unspoken words and unfilled hopes of tomorrow in its cold depth. To you, husband, or wife, crying out night and day over your strained marriage as you seek God for answers—and dear parents, carving paths in the carpet from pacing to and fro. Praying, beseeching, wondering where your child may be this night; like the prodigals before them, having taken all they could fit in a bag, they have run after the illusive, shiny bobbles of the world.

Still, beloved, if you will but fix your sorrow-full eyes on heaven, lifting your bowed head, you will find yourself staring into the eyes of Love unsearchable. Jesus will have stooped down beside you and, in His strength, bid you drink deep and freely of Him until you are sated and restored. “…those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” –John 4:14.

But, you will not be restored to who or what you were before.

No, beloved, remember, old things have passed away. God is doing something new in you. Rest confidently in this Truth as you mount up on new wings, soaring to new heights in this a new season: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” –Isaiah 40:29. Beloved, this singular, unifying nugget of Truth unearthed in Isaiah 40:29, upholds the believer from the beginning of any one year until its end.

It has been this way before time as we know it because this mysterious Truth exists in God, a sliver of His multifaceted, benevolent character.

And then, no longer weak nor weary after being lifted by God’s new strength, go, in the power of His Holy Spirit and encourage your brother, your neighbor. The soul who has yet looked into the eyes of Love unsearchable that they too may be made new this year. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free! ‘ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.” –Luke 4:18-19.

“Shana Tov,” beloved of God.

You dear friend, If the God I speak of, the God whose unsearchable Love for you, has called and kept you glued here, please, take a moment longer and say yes to what it is He is offering you: Love and a new beginning in Him—with Him. Start by telling Him you are sorry for everything you know you have done wrong—tell Him everything—and mean it. Then, tell Him you want Him, and His Holy Spirit will come and make His home in you. Don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself: “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

Be Loosed!

August 12, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” –John 11: 38-44.

I intended this week’s teaching to come out of the first chapter of Colossians and be titled “Doing your part.” But as you can see, that is not the case. Holy Spirit always has the final say here. When I picked up my Bible and read the account of Jesus’s resurrection of Lazarus within the margin, I read a long-ago notation I’d noted. It reads: “Jesus will handle the resurrection. You do your part.”

I don’t believe in coincidences. The fact was not lost on me that the exact words I’d intended to use to title this teaching were now staring back at me.

God was trying to get my attention. And He had it now.

“Doing your part” has been an ongoing theme of late. So It made me wonder if you’re also not hearing some rendition of these exact words in your Spirit.

I ask because my experience has been that the Word I receive from the Lord is first meant to minister to me, then flow outward to you. And so I pray that we submit our will, our wants, what may appear ‘right’—sound, to us, to the will and calling of Jesus—putting to death all internal chatter that clamors for answers to the why’s. Allowing God’s Word to mirror our true reflection back to us.

In so doing, may the exhale of our breath genuinely be, “Thy will be done.” Whether we understand God’s will—or not.

As I read today’s Scripture, several points stood out:

First was the opening sentence. It informs us that Jesus was deeply moved—but why? What had touched Him so that Scripture lets us know straightaway that Jesus was moved? I believe in answering this properly; we must go back a bit.

At the beginning of this same chapter, Jesus informs His disciples that Lazarus has died.

Yet, at first, His disciples don’t understand that Lazarus is physically dead because Jesus says Lazarus has fallen asleep.’ Naturally, their minds think of ordinary sleep–rest. This oxymoron is one of many instances found in Scripture. Knowing their confusion, Jesus spells it out for them. He emphatically states that Lazarus is dead. He tells them it’s good that He wasn’t there to intervene.

Jesus was about to perform a miracle in the lives of so many through this one act of obedience.

Yet Jesus commiserated with Mary and Martha’s friends and neighbors’ pain and outpouring of grief. Was this partly because, acting out of obedience to the Father, Jesus had to stay put and not go to Lazarus? Is this why in part, Jesus was so deeply moved? Because He could not intervene, not touch, and heal His friend as He had so many others? Jesus trusted His Father surely. And although Jesus is fully God, He was also fully human and felt the genuine pain we experience in such moments. “For we do not have a Great High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses…” –Hebrews 4:14.

Yet all of this—His pain and theirs, did not stop Jesus from obeying the Father’s will.

There was a greater good that was about to come of this. Jesus knew obedience to the will of the Father was more important than His or their feelings—obedience is always paramount. “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” –John 15:10.

The second point that struck me was the barrier blocking Jesus’ entrance into the place He was sent to bring about the miracle He’d been sent to perform. Remember, Jesus tells us: “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” –John 5:30.

Scripture points out Jesus’s saying, “Take away the stone.” Why?

Could it be that in addition to its natural use, attention is brought to this stone to illustrate that we place proverbial stones across our hearts, denying God unfettered access? Denying Jesus access to give us the same healing and restoration of life and life to the full that we see Him give Lazarus?

Friends, if we belong to Jesus, we have been chosen to partner with God. Our part—my part, your part—is to choose to listen to Jesus’ voice and allow whatever stone impeding His entrance into our dead places to be rolled away—so that fullness of life might come forth.

Jesus tells those present to roll the stone out of His way. (notice the stone can be moved!)

Martha’s response? To tell Jesus no—don’t do that. What are you thinking? He’s been dead for days, and it stinks in there!

Sounds reasonable, right? After all, isn’t that what we do when we hide ‘our flesh’ in places we think no one can see? When we choose to keep our tomb, those—shameful or painful—even prideful parts of ourselves sealed off—safe from view.

After all, Jesus couldn’t possibly love us if He sees all that, right?

Wrong!

Jesus knows that to have True Life; we must let Him into our stinking—rotten fleshly places. We must agree to have any stone moved away that might deny Him full access—to every yucky—stinking part of us! Why? Because the Truth is this: whatever Jesus does to us—in us, through us, is not just for us.

“Lazarus, come out!” And He did. And we will, too—all those called by His name must leave our dead things behind.

We, still wrapped in our grave clothes—still carrying the scent of things long since dead within us—are just waiting, as Lazarus was, to be released into the Fullness of Life. “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Jesus will always have the final Word.

Though salvation is a free gift from God, one based not on our good works that any of us might foolishly think we could earn such a gift, we do have a part to play in working out our salvation. Paul clarifies this in Phil.2:12. “So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

Plainly put: We must do our part, must agree—desire, want, our stone be rolled away.

Do you, friend? I pray you do. Won’t you ask Jesus to roll away everything blocking you from asking Him to come into your heart? To be your Lord and Savior, He’ll roll away anything standing between you and Him if you genuinely want it gone. Jesus says it this way: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” –Revelation 3:20

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