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

Category: Connection (Page 11 of 13)

This Is Me, And You. Abraham, too.

May 8, 2021 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised” –Hebrews 4:9-10.

I literally have no idea just how many times I have read these very verses over the years. Nevertheless, today, the Holy Spirit allowed me to see them anew—more profound somehow.

As a Christian, I know the Truth found in these few lines of Scripture, in this chapter, really. More, I believe them.

In them is found the very foundation of who I am and in whom I believe. The Rock-Solid Truth on which I hang the full weight of my hope. Yet as I read them today, it was as if the Holy Spirit allowed me somehow to see their Truth afresh. It was as if His Words took on a life of their own, like some scene unfolding before me, animated. For just the briefest of moments, He opened my heart to understand these verses more personally, and in an instant, I was visually transported back to a little church by the sea. That place where the Lord saw fit, one spring day in March, to first whisper, “Come, follow Me.” Years later, He would whisper this same command when He anointed me to birth this blog. And yet it didn’t start there—my relationship with God, I mean. I didn’t go searching for Him on that Spring day; He called me—had been wooing me. I know that now. All I knew then was I had this pressing, inexplicable need to go to that little church by the sea, so I went.

I now understand I was one of those lost sheep Jesus spoke of in Luke 15:4. “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” And way back when so too was Father Abraham—He was a lost sheep as well. I also understand that Jesus had a plan for both of our lives; I know that now, I didn’t then. A plan that would only unfold after He’d pull from our bellies the very faith, He’d placed in them, in eternity past. Faith is the genesis of everything. Without it, we can’t do anything. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” –Hebrews 11:6.

I forget that sometimes as I read Scripture. I forget that Abraham, and Moses, David and Daniel, Martha, and Mary, Paul, and Peter, all of these had been given their own measure of faith—just as you and I have been.

Yet Scripture informs me that though I possess this faith, say nothing of the gifts and talents on lone to me; I cannot lay claim to them as if they were something I made happen. Something I did or found on my own, lest pride swells up in me, and I fall. As with everything else in my life, even the very measure of faith I possess is a precious gift given me from my Heavenly Father. “I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” 1 Corinthians 12:9. Equally true is this: This measure of faith was given me because God had already accepted me as His own; He’d chosen me in Christ Jesus in eternity past.

Sitting in that little seaside church on that spring day, how could I have known that? For that matter, neither would Abraham have had any idea the day God showed up, of the call, nor the unfathomable blessing that would soon be made manifest in his life as he went about his everyday life in Ur. “And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them” –Romans 4:11.

See, that’s the thing the Holy Spirit illuminated afresh today. How profoundly personal our conversion is, and how suddenly it is that we are changed. Just how suddenly this literal life-changing gift is bestowed upon us. Abraham and I are both witness to this Truth. One moment we were dead in our sins, and then, in the twinkling of an eye, we were made new. And so too were that great cloud of witnesses that went on to glory before me. One second, we were all dead in our sins, and in the next, in fulfillment of the will and plan of God, all were washed clean; made a new creation in Christ Jesus, His now, eternally.

That’s where it all starts, in that nanosecond in time, determined in eternity past. Hear the Word of God: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations” –Jeremiah 29:11.

Did you catch what the Prophet Jeremiah said by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?

God chooses us before we ever come into being. And, not only had Jeremiah been chosen by God, given his measure of faith by Him, more, wrapped up in His being chosen, was Jeremiah’s calling. His purpose. So too is ours, our “one-of-a-kind calling,” our unique piece of the creation puzzle that God will anoint, using it to bring His eternal plan to fruition. “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” –Psalm 139:15-16.

The Apostle Paul found this foundational Truth of being chosen in Christ Jesus and gifted with faith of such import that it permeates almost all His writings. “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” Romans 12:3.

John Piper says it this way concerning Paul’s writings. Concerning this faith that we who believe are given: God has given all Christians varying measures of faith. This is the faith with which we receive and use our varying gifts. It is the ordinary daily faith by which we live and minister. Paul’s final remedy for spiritual pride is to say that not only are spiritual gifts a work of God’s free grace in our lives, but so also is the very faith with which we use those gifts. This means that every possible ground of boasting is taken away. How can we boast if even the qualification for receiving gifts is also a gift?

The Apostle Paul says it plainly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” –Ephesians 2:8-9.

So perhaps this brief visual journey afforded me by the Holy Spirit today came as a reminder? Maybe He was reminding me how the faith I claim as my own came into being? Perhaps I need re-minding of that sometimes? There’s no perhaps about it; actually, shamefully, I do.

Why? I find it curious, wholly human perhaps, how I can hold something as sacred as my faith so dear, yet so dispassionately at times. As if taking it for granted somehow. At times we forget, in our flesh, that our faith must be stirred up. Watched over and cherished, as the treasure of great price that it is—guarded, with our very lives. I, for one, am thankful that the Holy Spirit reminds me of this Truth when I become lax.

Perhaps today, I needed to be re-minded to cling to this precious treasure I have been entrusted with. Re-minded to continuously exercise my faith on behalf of those who have yet to come into their measure of faith? Re-minded perhaps, that on a day I did not expect Him, the Spirit of the Living God came, suddenly, and blessed me with this precious, Life-giving gift of faith—just as He had for Father Abraham, just as He’ll do for you. And so, friend, if you’ve yet to call this faith your own, you can now. I believe the Holy Spirit has led you here for just that reason, to bless you with your measure of faith.

But first, you must ask Him to come into your life as Lord and Savior. Confess that you have sinned and that you need Him. Then stand still and watch the Lord fight for you—change you, increase with time, the measure of faith He’ll give you today. “Now not for his sake alone was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also—to whom righteousness will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead—who was betrayed and crucified because of our sins, and was raised [from the dead] because of our justification [our acquittal—absolving us of all sin before God]” –Romans 4:23-25.

We Have A Great High Priest…

April 24, 2021 /
MaryEllen Montville

“For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people” –Hebrews 2:17.

This morning has been pain-filled—my heart is heavy. Truth be told, this has been a very trying season. Some seasons are just like that. And when we’re walking through our pain—at least when I am, it’s easy to fall into despair. To forget for a time that, even though what we’re experiencing is real, we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s happening—or that it hurts as bad as it does. Jesus assured us that as long as we’re on this earth, things like this will happen. But how easy it is to forget that sometimes. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”  –John 14:27.

I’m sure it’s because of just how pain-filled these recent times have been for me that the Holy Spirit came as only He can in His gentle, loving way, and reminded me of something this morning that I needed to be reminded of. Something I’d recently heard the character who portrays Jesus in the series, The Chosen, say. A statement He made in response to a question posed to Him by the hostess of a dinner party He was attending.

The hostess asked, “When I was a little girl, my father told me the Messiah would bring an end to pain and suffering. If you are who people are saying you are, when will you do that?” And the character that portrays Jesus responded: “I’m here to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven, a Kingdom that is not of this world, a Kingdom that is coming soon, so yes, sorrow and sighing will flee away. I make a way for people to access that Kingdom but, in this world, bones will still break, hearts will still break. But in the end, Light will overcome darkness.”  I needed to be re-minded of that today. And I thank the Holy Spirit, not only for what He deposits within me but equally, for what He re-minds me of when I need reminding. And so I’m here to re-mind you, as well. Because perhaps like me, you may need reminding right now.

But first, notice Jesus’ response to this woman. He pointed her towards the Good News—towards God’s Kingdom, towards The Truth. And then He addressed her concerns. So today, as I share with you what God has placed on my heart, I pray it points you towards God. Towards His Kingdom, and His Word—made flesh. Towards the Truth; towards Jesus and His great Love for you.

Over these past several months, I’ve lost four dear friends. I take great comfort in knowing that I will see them again one day soon as each of them knew Jesus. But it still hurts that they’re no longer with me now. In addition, I’m currently typing this message in an entirely different state, as in location. I’m here because the enemy has attacked my family, and the Lord suddenly sent me here, for now, to help. Also, before I began typing this teaching this morning, I was—I have been, praying with my brothers and sisters back home for a dear brother in Christ who is undergoing surgery today to remove a cancerous tumor from his body. Updates continue to come in via text of complications the doctors have encountered. Suffice it to say that my heart hurts this morning—it’s heavy. Yet, at the same time, by God’s grace, I have great peace.

As I was sitting here praying, pouring my heart out to the Lord, the Holy Spirit, my precious Comforter, came. And, doing what only He can, He began ministering to my broken heart.

He reminded me, as I had just reminded my friend’s wife via a text message, that we have a Great High Priest who has tasted everything—every emotion and situation we can imagine. So, He knows—can personally relate to, exactly what we’re feeling and thinking. He is not a God who is far off. He is close to us—to my friend in surgery and me right now, to his wife and his family as well. He’s close in the hour of our deep need. He’s close to my son and your son or daughter in their moment of need. Closer even than we can fathom. And I, for one, am so grateful for that fact right now because I need what only Jesus can give me—His peace and strength. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” –Isiah 40:30-31.

I am grateful for the assurance that He will never leave me nor forsake me—no matter the circumstances—no matter what every demon springing up around me may be screaming at me right now!

I know God is with me –I trust Him. And He sent me here to you today not only to share my testimony but also to remind you that as surely as God is with me, so too is He with you. If you are His child, then His Spirit at work in us reminds us that we are to walk by faith, not by sight, not according to how we feel. Feelings change; Truth doesn’t. His Spirit in us reminds us to trust Him. Especially now, when so much of what is going on around us makes absolutely no sense. In these trying and uncertain seasons of my life—these dark and challenging valleys, I am so thankful that I don’t have to walk by sight. That I can trust Jesus to lead and guide me instead. Otherwise, I don’t know if I would make it out of this present pain-filled valley in one piece, to experience the mountaintop, once again, that faith and my relationship with Jesus have taught me are waiting for me on the other side of this. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” –Hebrews 4:15-16.

I’m also reminded this morning that no matter how painful this valley may be, I’m not walking through it blindly. This pain will not overtake me because Jesus made sure to forewarn me that people will get cancer in this fallen and sin-riddled world—yet He is with them, still. They’ll die what seems like way too early, in my mind at least. Divorce will happen, and we’ll be forced to stand by and watch those we love walk through the pain it brings while not being able to do one thing to stop it from happening. Our children will become addicted—or maybe our parents. They’ll make lifestyle choices that, as Christians, we cannot and do not agree with—and yet we’ll love them despite their choices. Just as Jesus loved us—and still does. Despite those sinful choices we continue to make. “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” –Hebrews 2:18.

We may never understand—or know why God allows certain things to happen to us or to those we love, this side of heaven that is. But if we have a relationship with Jesus, this much we do know about Him now, today, for certain: He’s a loving Father. A Good God. And because we know this, know Him—because we’ve tasted and seen for ourselves that He alone is Good, we can confidently say as Job did: “…What? Shall we receive only pleasant things from the hand of God and never anything unpleasant?” –Job 2:10. In fact, right before Jesus was about to be betrayed—about to willingly take up His Cross. Before His sinless Body was about to be ripped open by the Roman whip, well before thorns were viciously pressed into His forehead and scalp, and before spikes were savagely driven through His wrists and feet and a spear jabbed into His side, Jesus assured His disciples—comforted them really, us too, me right now, with these Words: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” –John 16:33.

All you and I can do is comfort and pray for each other, friends—be Jesus’ hands and feet, honestly, compassionately, and tangibly.

Because whatever valley I may find myself in, whatever my sister and her husband will face once he’s out of surgery today, whatever valley my son or your son or daughter, your parent or parents may be walking through at this very moment. By God’s grace alone, we must remember, as we pass through it, that we have not endured the ultimate betrayal, the pain—physical or emotional, that Jesus suffered for us—for me, lest I ever forget His pain was personal. It was and still is personal for you, too.

So, if like me, and so many others today, you find yourself in the valley of despair—walking through pain so heavy it’s taking all you have to just put one foot in front of the other, please friend, know you are not alone right now. Even as I type, I am still praying—for you this time. I’m praying and take authority over whatever has your heart in its vice-like grip this day, in Jesus’ name. I’m praying you will follow my lead and cry out to the One who knows us better than we know ourselves—the One who sees the end of your situation from its beginning, despite your pain.

Cry out to the One who saw it all coming and will, no matter how it looks to you right now, no matter how hard it is for you to believe you’re going to get through this, more, believe that you’ll eventually smile and thrive and grow and love and heal and forgive and reach out, again. And why? Because we have this Great High Priest who not only felt and experienced everything we have, He will also empower us to overcome this. This same Jesus assures us in His Word that: “I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me” –Jeremiah 32:27.

So If you’re reading this and have said to yourself, “wait, this is me! This is how I’ve been feeling, too! I’m walking in a valley of my own right now. Then won’t you cry out to Jesus for help? And, if you’ve yet to ask this Jesus into your life and heart as Lord, what better time than while you’re in a pain-filled valley? Why? Because He’s just waiting for you to ask for His help, waiting to help you walk through it. He’ll come and forgive and restore, renew, and heal you, right where you are. Yes, friend, even there in the thick of that sin you think is so unforgivable. Just repent of your sins today and ask Jesus into your heart. Why go it alone when you can do it with Jesus? “He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is beset by weakness” –Hebrews 5:2.

Preparing the Way.

December 26, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” –Malachi 4:4-6.

In the Old Testament Canon, we hear the Holy Spirit’s final Words pointing us firstly towards John the Baptist. Toward his crying out in the Judean wilderness to all who will listen concerning Jesus’s imminent arrival. “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” –Luke 1:17. Malachi’s final verses in the Old Testament are a bridge connecting us to the promises that will not see their fulfillment before Christ’s second coming. And within these closing verses of Malachi, we discover a harbinger, also. For clarity’s sake, let’s define that term. Harbinger: a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another; a forerunner of something. A Harbinger is a sign, a herald, a forewarning. It announces some future event—good or bad. A harbinger is an anticipatory sign, much like crocuses and budding branches are in spring. Like dark storm clouds on the horizon, it can imply a storm is on its way. Today’s Scripture verse is just such a harbinger, a warning that something sudden and life-changing is on its way.

Biblically speaking, harbingers are often given us in advance of some impending judgment or possible disaster that we might repent, having been forewarned. Israel, and through them, the gentile nation would soon receive just such a sign in the person of John the Baptist. Israel had turned away from God—all but forgetting Him. Stepping out of the dry and dusty obscurity of the Judean desert, John the Baptist’s sole message a clarion call to anyone who would receive it: “…His message was, Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” –Matthew 3:2. A strongly expressed, far-reaching demand for action if ever I have heard one. More, it is a harbinger that will remain unchanging until the last of those Christ has called to Himself answers Him. This call is challenging people as acutely today as it challenged them when John first spoke it—forcing them to turn either towards Jesus or away decidedly.

God designed us—our heart, to recognize His Truth when we hear it—our consciouses instantly pricked then, having recognized His voice.

Today’s few Scripture verses ought to make us pause and reflect on what the Holy Spirit is saying to His people—these Words His last for some 400 years! Indeed, they must contain the hope and promise, and direction needed to sustain us through such a long silence.

Within them, Malachi challenges us never to forget the laws given to us by God. How appropriate as we stand facing the close of another year, a gracious gift to take with us lest we forget God’s mercy, His “guardrails”—those immovable boundaries He has set in place both to guide and protect us in the form of His Commandments. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel” –Malachi 4:4. Next, Malachi encourages us to look forward with hope, looking towards this “Elijah” who will prepare the way for Christ’s return. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” –Malachi 4:5. Lastly, he encourages us by speaking of restoration and renewal, not destruction, as the portions reserved for God’s children. “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” –Malachi 4:6.

These verses are like superfoods for those of us who believe. They are chuck full of direction, hope, and promise. They are the bridge that connects the closing Words of the Old Testament and the opening Words of the New. In them, we are encouraged to look back and remember how God has freed each of us from our personal Egypt. From what and where it is, He has delivered us. Because as certainly as God delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh’s death grip on their lives, so too He has delivered you and me from the grip of sin and death on our own—if we have accepted Him as our Saviour and Lord. “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin” –Romans 6:6-7.

God, mercifully, with Moses as our witness, made His first covenant with us on Mount Horeb—revealing His profound love and power, His intentions for us—through His ordinances and commandments. These our guardrails then, saving our lives—protecting us from hurt, harm, and danger, if we’ll but obey them. The enemy has irrationally done everything in his limited power to maintain the façade that both he and sin will prevail on the earth. Malachi assures us just how wrong our enemy is, building a bridge of hope instead, carrying us into the New Testament towards Jesus, restoration, the forgiveness of sin, and new life. “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was” –Romans 6: 4-5.

And finally, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, Israel and the world will witness God’s two final witnesses. One of which will surely be like “Elijah” having the power to shut up the sky—just as we see the first Elijah did in 1 Kings 17:1.

“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” –Revelation 11: 4-6.

These witnesses are the vessels used by God to continue His outpouring of undeserved mercy on a lost and a dying world. A world He chose to leave heaven for—offering Himself as the propitiation for its sins so that those who will receive Him will be restored into right relationship with the Father. He did this in Sodom, for Nineveh, and He did it in Jerusalem to pour out His mercy. And He is and will continue to lavish undeserved mercy on this world that has rejected Him—until He finally comes again. Jesus left His place at God’s side and wrapped Himself in human flesh, a Babe born in the lowliest of places all that He would one day offer Himself a living sacrifice for the world. From eternity past, it was the Father’s heart to bestow mercy upon us that we might be spared from the curse of sin and the second death. “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” –Revelation 20:6.

So, now, in the closing hours of human history, God uses this same mercy to soften the hearts of the fathers toward their children and the hearts of the children toward their fathers.

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God” Romans 6: 6-10. And in kind, so must we.

Yesterday, we celebrated Christmas. And in our celebrating, remembering. We remembered why God’s Son was given us at all. This leading us back, finally, to the harbinger I spoke of earlier, that anticipatory sign, much like crocuses and budding branches in spring, like dark storm clouds on the horizon.

Concerning this harbinger, Matthew Henry states the following: Let the believer wait with patience for his release, and cheerfully expect the great day, when Christ shall come the second time to complete our salvation. But those must expect to be smitten with a sword, with a curse, who turn not to Him that smites them with a rod. None can expect to escape the curse of God’s broken law, nor to enjoy the happiness of his chosen and redeemed people, unless their hearts are turned from sin and the world, to Christ and holiness. His testament is stark certainly, but True, nevertheless.

Friends, as surely as Christ came to us the first time, He will come again. Ask yourself—have I prepared room for Him in my heart? If not, I urge you don’t delay! Please, do it now while there is still time. No man is promised tomorrow. “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” –John 5:28-29.

Necessary Endings.

October 24, 2020 /
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth”

Some may find it odd that God would speak of new beginnings amid His farewell address to His disciples. Why speak to them of some future hello in the middle of His saying goodbye? In part, Scripture points us toward the “new thing” on its way. A return to the upper room and all that would soon be birthed from it was awaiting them—they simply couldn’t see it yet. Be that as it may, Jesus assured them that He would not abandon them, leaving them like some poor orphans. Instead, He’d leave a blessing behind—He’d send the unfathomable gift of His Holy Spirit to them, to encourage, empower, and, to lead them into all Truth. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” –John 14:18. God knows the weakness of our frames, knows just how easily we lose hope—even as we’re standing in His very presence at times, hope may ebbing out of us. Peter understood this better than most the very second, he felt himself sinking. He had taken his eyes off Jesus, looking instead at the swirling, raging sea around him—but I digress. God is always re-directing us towards a new thing. I say re-directing because being the dumb, stubborn sheep we are at times, we stray off course far more often than we ought and must be put right. Pointed, yet again, towards what lay just ahead—just over that next horizon, around that next corner, just beyond our seeing—not behind us or backward mind, lest it’s part of God’s plan for our edification. God is forever speaking to us of new beginnings, new hope for our future—at the Cross, in birthing rooms, gardens and graveyards, or anywhere in-between. Today was no different in that respect. Jesus was about to re-direct His confused and heartbroken friends that they might soon be fully prepared to partner with Him in the birthing of His Church. They’re pain and confusion used as a springboard then, to propel them into this new Way. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” –John 14:16.

Save God, nothing and no one on earth remain with us forever. Life is a million little lessons of letting go —of holding loosely to what God has allowed our hands to touch at all.

Just about everyone loves Spring. We look forward to the promises it holds. Its new-ness. Green buds, life, color, and the scent of the not-so-distant summer teasing the air. Spring is like a fresh coat of paint over last year’s lackluster walls—everything seemingly made new again. We all love the sound of hello, its promise, and the hope that simple little word offers us —goodbyes, not so much. Yet they are necessary at times to make room for what’s about to come. That’s the crux of what Jesus was sharing with His friends concerning their need to experience this necessary ending. We must always remain obedient and open, no matter how painful, to receiving God’s best for our lives, marriages, ministry, careers, friendships, etc.—even when His best is born from some painful ending we wanted no part of. To do otherwise is saying we know what’s best for us—not God—making ourselves gods. And Scripture is clear about what becomes of the one who thinks too highly of himself. “Pride ends in humiliation” –Proverbs 29:23. From Genesis to Revelation, we witness necessary endings—fresh spaces being made for some new plan of Gods to take root in. Every-thing alive is cyclical—bringing with it new life, hope, provision, protection—springing forth from what appears to be dead and gone. Parents die and children are born. A leaf buds and falls to the ground only to return in the next season fresh and new. Joseph’s brothers fully understood this the day they stood before Him. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute…” –Genesis 45:8-11.

And Ruth may never have fully taken in the plan behind all the necessary endings she had endured while in Moab, the loss of her husband and friends, her childlessness, and Orpah’s choosing to stay behind—nevertheless, God redeemed every drop of her pain and loss. Though Ruth would have no idea that both King David and King Jesus were future descendants born from her God-ordained union with her kinsman-redeemer Boaz, still, God was faithful to give Ruth beauty for ashes, nevertheless. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!” –Ruth 4:9-10.

It is not for us to always understand the why of God, rather, we’re simply to obey whatever it is He asks of us.

But back to Jesus and His broken-hearted disciples. Jesus had just washed their feet in this same upper room He’d soon send their Comforter to. The same room we witness them partaking in their very first Communion—and their very last Supper—here on earth that is. Flesh and Blood would soon be offered up that night that they may possess Spirit and Truth and wisdom, discernment and revelation, eternal life too—power from on High as well. How else could His Church withstand the barrage of attacks it was and will endure at satans hand? No mere man or group of men, no matter how loyal, could ever defend His Church alone—only the One who has been charged to stand guard over it is able to fully protect it. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way” –2 Thessalonians 2:7.

We each are temporary stalwarts chosen to stand our post for the few brief minutes that is our life. We are chosen makers, gatekeepers who do not leave their post until their relief shows up—and it always shows up, remember, every-thing in life is cyclical. Forty days, the time Jesus spent being tempted and prepared in the desert for His ministry. Forty days after He defied death by walking out of His grave, Jesus said goodbye to His disciples—yet His goodbye was pregnant with hello’s promise. And, soon and very soon, we will reap the joyful reward of this necessary endings “new beginning”—when Jesus returns! It had been ordained for Him to leave the world that He might return to it in such a way that all men will see Him coming on the clouds—and we’ll be with Him, those once broken-hearted disciples of His too!  So, friends, don’t hang on to what God is asking you to let go of. Remember, all life is cyclical, and God has a beautiful plan for the necessary ending He’s allowed to touch your life—even those you wanted no part of.

Friend, if you have yet to meet this Jesus, now is the time—today is the day. We never know when a moment may pass us by, never to return. Please, don’t let this be that moment. Scripture assures you that if you’ll simply and sincerely ask Jesus to come into your life, He will. Won’t you ask Him now? “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, 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 with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” –Romans 10:8-10.

Ever, Green…

October 17, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” –Jeremiah 17:7-8.

Because it is limited in its own essence. No tree has unbounded potentialities; though it live for centuries it will grow itself out, exhaust all its latent force. Not so with the soul. It has unending powers of growth. Because it is limited in its supplies the river at its roots may dry up; the nutriment in its soil it may exhaust. Not so with the soul; its roots strike into the inexhaustible fountain of life. Its leaf shall be green, — ever green. –Joseph S. Excell

To fully take in the rich imagery and deep spiritual inferences Jeremiah places before his readers in verses seven and eight, that ‘ever-fruitful tree planted by the stream’ mentioned above, we must go back and read verses five and six so that we might bear witness to another, this tree’s “ever-green” opposite—the barren, stunted, prickly heath. A dusty, fruitless thing fit only for wastelands and arid places. Side by side now, we can rightly assess them. And, as it with these two exemplars, so too is it with every man; thus a choice lay before us all. One, wholly reliant on God, desperate for want of Him. The other, stiff-necked, and self-reliant, stubborn, and resistant, it turns to anyone but God for sustenance, making gods then, of created things. This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives” –Jeremiah 17:5-6.

The Bible tells us that God “so loved the world He gave us His only Son”—yes, even to these rebellious ones determined to go their own way, no one is excluded. God provides for all His creation. Yet some are willfully barren, while others are joyfully well watered. Some choosing to live in their stiff-necked, empty self-reliance, just as Judah did, the spigot of their hearts rusted over now to God’s will, to His love and tenderest of mercies. They were unwilling, their choice made, they will not receive the Living water needed to thrive and flourish. These simply refuse to join the man who will not live anywhere other than beside this Life-giving stream. Instead, they drink in the fierce, fiery judgment they have brought down upon their own heads, shaking their fist at God all the while, as if they had no part to play in their own calamity. As well might bees try to get honey from a vase of wax flowers as we to draw what we need from creatures, from ourselves, from visible and material things? Where else will you get love that will never fail nor change nor die? Where else will you find an object for the intellect that will yield inexhaustible material of contemplation and delight? Where else infallible direction for the will? Where else shall weakness find unfailing strength, or sorrow adequate consolation, or hope certain fulfillment, or fear a safe hiding place if not in Christ alone, that Living water for our souls. –Alexander Maclaren, D. D.

“They will not see prosperity when it comes.” This ‘heath’ cannot receive, his will, like his heart, sealed shut to those things—those countless blessings that come from the merciful, bountiful, hand of the Lord. His eyes fixed instead on his own abilities and accomplishments, on self, on another’s—any others, input, or assessments of his self-worth. He does not need to acknowledge God for his everyday blessings, he is far too busy chasing after the gods of this world to waste his valuable time. Money, lust, more and stiller, and stiller. Judah was his teacher and he’s become an exemplary student. Hence, determined in his sin and hard-heartedness, he loses out on those blessings God had intended him. “The LORD says, “People of Judah, your sin is written with an iron pen; it is engraved on your hearts with a diamond point and carved on the corners of your altars” –Jeremiah 17:1. He seeks ‘things’ only, never their Creator. He has chosen to go his own way. He is root-less. Disconnected. Parched. Withered and brittle. A tumbleweed of a person tossed first here, then there, never at rest, never satisfied with his lot. This an example of one devoid of connection to the Source of Life-giving Water—the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus describes such a one as being able to do nothing of lasting or eternal value. “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.…” –John 15:4-6.

By comparison, the other “does not fear when heat comes…”  Why? Because he has been blessed to have fostered an everlasting connection to his Living Source. Conversely, the doors of his heart flung open, his entrance swept clean, wide, and welcoming. The teeniest of his root-hairs pining after more and more of this Living water—unquenchable. His very song one of wanting. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” –Psalm 42:1. This one’s everything, each blessing: from his very breath to his undeserved forgiveness he acknowledges having come solely from his Creators loving hand. He is filled with a wave of peace not his own, content to take his rest on this dewy bank he’s been planted on. He seeks no riches for himself, nothing silver or gold might buy; his worth found in God alone, this ever-fecund tree. And so, he sings: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day, their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever” –Psalm 146:1-6.

You, I, the poorest and humblest of men, will never be right, never feel in native soil, with appropriate surroundings, until we have laid our hearts and our hands on the breast of God, and rested ourselves on Him. Not more surely do gills and fins proclaim that the creature that has them is meant to roam through the boundless ocean, nor the anatomy and wings of the bird witness more surely to its destination to soar in the open heavens, than the make of your spirits testify that God, none less or lower, is your portion. –Alexander Maclaren

Friends, Jeremiah’s words assure us of two things: The promises God has made to those that are His: that we need not fear amid the fiercest of circumstances, the most trying, leanest, most arid of times—the depth of our Source cannot be plumbed. We are firmly planted in Him—by Him, our roots running deep and straight into our inexhaustible Source. Therefore, we shall not fear the drought, our leaves will never wither nor grow dry. Our strength found in worshipping our God. We possess this Life-giving Water the world knows nothing of—more, we are wholly possessed by It—by Jesus. Conversely then, you can trust in mere flesh, but you cannot have it both ways. To turn toward something other than the Lord is to turn away from the Lord. We can’t face both directions at the same time. And don’t be fooled dear friend, God will not be mocked! The man who chooses his own way has chosen to be planted in poisonous soil—nothing fecund or prosperous can ever be found in him. His the salty place where the heath grows—those whose shallow roots have difficulty reaching deep enough to drink from the Life-giving water just beyond their reach.

We each must choose. You’ve been made aware now, there’s a difference—God, in His infinite love for you, would not leave you unawares, uninformed, without a witness. Whom will you serve then? God or man? There is no middle ground, friend—no ‘other’ choice. I’m praying you chose wisely. I’m praying you chose the Lord and all that He’s had planned for your life since before the foundation of the world. I’m praying this Word to take deep root in your soul, and that it shoots forth tendrils that will affix you to Him, always.

Friend, if you don’t know this Jesus, I pray you to call out to Him today. Ask Him to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Here is His promise to you if you will: “The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” –Isaiah 58:11.

Living in Awareness of His Presence…

September 5, 2020 /
Kendra Santilli


“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” –John 14:26.



When I was growing up it seemed as if I was always striving, looking forward to the next milestone. When I was a child, I dreamed of turning 16. Getting the job. The license. The sweet sixteen party. What was there not to love?! Then I turned 16 and all those things were great, but then what? If only I was 18! Then I could vote. I could get my own place. Make my own decisions. I would be an adult! Then 18 came and signing medical papers at the doctor’s office wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I realized 18 is just a pseudo-adult. So, I thought- I just need to make it to 21. Then I’ll be a REAL adult. 21 came, not much changed, and then I thought- I still can’t rent a car. Then I turned 25 and could rent a car (which I have yet to do!), but now what?? What had I been striving for? I mean, of course in between I had many accomplishments, good friends and coworkers, good grades… life was good!

But at times I would think to myself, am I living on purpose?

Routines have a subtle, natural way of paving patterns in our behaviors that we do not necessarily always control. We begin to affix ourselves to these cycles- wake up, get ready, go to work, come home, get ready for bed, do it all over again. Day after day after day. If we are not careful, the business of life gets the best of us and by the end of the day, we have nothing left to give to the adventure of life. I would like to propose to you that routines in and of themselves are not the issue- losing sight of God amid the routine is the issue. Did you know that Jesus did not leave us helpless? He left the Holy Spirit as our helper! “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” –John 14:26. For the believer, those reminders that come, or those inklings we get in the depths of our souls are, oftentimes the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Jesus came to restore us to the Father, in turn giving us purpose. Without the Holy Spirit, chasing after purpose is a dead-end street; with Him, there is clarity of vision and purpose.

In this passage, Jesus also defines the Holy Spirit as a teacher. “[The Holy Spirit] will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Do you remember taking a test in school and saying a quick prayer to remember what you studied/learned? (I, for one, went to a Christian school so desperately praying for my tests was definitely part of my test-taking strategy!) Life throws us ALL KINDS of tests. We just need to be reminded to apply the principles we already know. I can just hear Jesus cheering me on saying I taught you those things! You KNOW this! This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. On our own, we can respond impulsively and irrationally. But inviting the Holy Spirit to be a part of our thought processes 1) teaches us to live rightly and 2) reminds us of those things that we were taught. Everything comes full circle.

Not too long ago I began this habit of inviting the Holy Spirit to help me to live in awareness of Him every day. It’s as simple as asking Him to open my eyes to opportunities for ministry that the day brings or inviting Him into my thoughts to help me redirect them when they become destructive. When we invite Him to occupy those spaces of our hearts, we begin to see transformation; we begin to see our purpose unfold right before our eyes.

There was a time when I was highly aggravated with someone because I felt as though she always blew me off. I would say hi but without paying any mind to anything around her, she would just keep on walking. Around that time, I had begun inviting the Holy Spirit to help me to love people with His love and see people with His eyes. I remember my FIRST thought when I saw this person one day after thinking about saying hello was, I do NOT want to say hi. She’ll just blow me off again and I will just end up upset. So, to try and prove myself right, I did say hi. To my not-so surprise, I got no response. NOTHING. Not even a look in my direction. But before I could even gloat in how right I was, the Holy Spirit stopped me. I heard, loud and clear in my mind’s ear, she cannot hear you. I remembered at that moment that she had a hearing problem in one of her ears. So, I instantly repented to the Lord in my heart and redirected my hello to her other ear and she said hello. The Holy Spirit was teaching me a new depth of His love and grace now. Had I not invited Him to teach me and lead me that day, I would have missed that opportunity to love and stayed instead, trapped in self-pity and pride. You see, God loves every person around you more than you ever could. God does not gossip. He is not going to wallow with you in thinking badly about a person that He created and loves. The truth is His purpose is to transform us into loving the way He does. This is the kind of love that moves us to compassion for even the worst of people. The kind of love that causes us to want them to know the Jesus that saved our very souls. The kind of love that initiates our first response to be prayerful and understanding rather than judgmental towards our brother. Prayer is the key to unlocking our purpose…

Through prayer, the Holy Spirit will lead us into understanding. “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” –Prov 20:5. Your purpose is so far beyond anything you could ever imagine, yet if there’s no understanding, your purpose will remain unearthed beneath layers and layers of self. Get in the Word of God. Know it. Write it on your heart. It is by reading the word and discovering God’s intent and heart for humanity, that you will discover who you are. It is where you discover layers of identity that are so much deeper and more complex than you even realized. Through this discovery of our identity in Him, you begin to discover your purpose that is hidden in Him.

The discipline of discipleship strengthens us enough to know that, come what may, He will work everything out for our good and His purpose for those who believe (Jeremiah 29:11; Ephesians 1:11). The beauty of walking with Christ is that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help lead us into understanding these principles. Too often Christians forget about this power source that lives within them! The Holy Spirit is not a source of condemnation but understanding. We were not saved from sin so that our human nature would remain the same. Only by the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit are we able to change—living lives then, that are pleasing to God, and in turn, sweet for us as well. Living in awareness of His presence is where transformation takes place. Invite Him into your heart, your thoughts, and your vision. He is faithful to lead you and show you His heart. So in closing, here’s my prayer: firstly, if you don’t know Jesus, that you will come to know Him. That the reality of His presence is made known to you. And Second, that you live with the awareness that the ever-present Spirit of God is working in and through you always…

Priests of God…

August 29, 2020 /
“But you are His chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into His wonderful light –1 Peter 2:9

In our justification, God has declared us righteous in Christ through His blood. In our sanctification, God is working to make us righteous in what we do, say, think, and feel. As the Lord’s holy priesthood, we can be sure that His work to sanctify us is not in vain and that even though we might get discouraged at times, He will most certainly transform us into the holy priests He has designed us to be. –R.C. Sproul.

I hope you catch what Peter is saying to you here because it is deeply personal? Please, don’t just gloss over it. This is a love note addressed to you, written by the Holy Spirit. He has hand-picked you to receive it so that you’ll have no room to doubt who you are in Christ Jesus! You have been chosen friend, by the all-knowing, all-seeing Creator of the universe Himself! And His choosing you for Himself is neither random nor recent. Watch, I’ll prove it to you: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you a prophet to the nations” –Jeremiah 1:5. Did you catch that before part? It means that you have always been in Christ Jesus—just as He has always been One with the Father. I know, I know, who can fully understand such a mystery? Our finite minds can scarcely take it all in. Yet it’s true whether we can fully take it in, or not. Look to 1 John 5:20 for confirmation. God may not have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations, but He most certainly formed you in your mother’s womb and set you apart for His immense pleasure and use. As a child of God, election and purpose are a double portion blessing. You came into this world with their seeds planted deeply in your belly. And at the appointed time, God calls them forth. You have been chosen in Him, in part, for good works. Peter is revealing Truth here that will, should you grab hold of it, revolutionize your relationship with Jesus. Shifting you from being saved by grace alone, to being forever set afire for Christ!

Only then will you fully catch that you have been “brought out of darkness that you might proclaim—shout from the rooftop—the excellencies of Him who has called you out of that darkness, out of your sin, and into His marvelous Light.” Friend, God has chosen you to be a beacon of light in this dark world. Go forth and shine!

And by using the title royal priesthood, Peter is reminding you that as a child of God, you share in a sacred privilege that once was reserved solely for His firstborn, the nation of Israel. Those God has chosen to set aside as His special possession. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy ” –1 Peter 2:10. Having been grafted into this treasured branch then, you receive both the blessings and the benefits that flow through it. “For you [are] a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” –Deuteronomy 7:6. Yet, unlike the priests of old, you are no longer required to bring an animal sacrifice to God to be offered up in reparation for your sins. Because God so loved you, He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, once for all, to atone for the sins of the entire world. Instead then, as royal priests, we offer ourselves, our lives, wills, our plans, hopes, and dreams as loving sacrifices unto our God. All the while imparting His grace to others and drawing nearer to Him ourselves. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” –Hebrews 10:10–14. Peter is letting you know that because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, you are a royal priest who needs none but Him to stand between you and your Father as mediator. “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” –Romans 8:34.

The world needs us to take our mandate seriously and be a true priest of God so that we might rightly minister the things of His kingdom to all those He’s calling unto Himself, into His kingdom. –Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider.

Peter is also letting you know that you are a holy nation. “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners” –1 Peter 1:15-17. He is reminding you that you are not of this world. You’ve been called out of it, to live separate from all that it offers, that you might share in the eternal glory of the next—serving God nevertheless, while you’re still here. You are a citizen of a holy nation, robed in Christ’s Righteousness, washed clean in His shed Blood. Called to live a life that is pleasing to God. After all, being holy means: to be set apart, unique. “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” –Isaiah 61:10.

You are not like those who belong to this world—this nation. They have no desire to be set apart for God, be used by Him. They’ve chosen instead, to serve themselves. To have at best, a form of godliness. Making their own rules, living however they so choose. But not you friend. You have been hand-picked by God. Plucked from the dark influences of this world. Your standard then must be higher, purer, aimed exclusively at pleasing God alone. Everything you do lovingly brought before the One who searches and knows the motives of each man’s heart. Trusting that He is fashioning you daily to look more and more like His Son—like where you’re headed, not where you’ve been. All that you might spread the seeds of the Gospel wherever God plants you—be it in your home, your workplace, the grocery store, or the privileged platform of your ministry. You must—each of us must, do all that we can as people set apart for His use to bring glory to His name.

How unfathomable the honor to be used by God? A vessel that allows His Truth and Love and Light to so shine through our cracked and flawed humanness, that all matter of men are drawn to what it is we possess wanting to possess it for themselves. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body” –2 Corinthians 4:7-11.

Dear friend, know that your being here is no accident. God loves you with a mind-blowing, unplumbed love—He has purposefully led you here. He wants you to know how deeply you are cherished, even if you find that hard to believe. He will show you if you’ll just invite Jesus in.

Because You Knew Him… Matthew 7.

May 2, 2020 /
Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Walking with God is a beautiful lifelong journey that continuously leads us into becoming the person that God created us to be. His leading comes in different ways: for some people, it is a clear cut knowing in the depths of their being; other people require more time to seek out the will of God; others know that His leading is simply a gut feeling of what should be. For all of us, however, there is a deep desire to live rightly. As Jesus concludes His famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, He gives some extra guidelines on living for God. I, for one, can attest that this chapter isn’t an easy one to get through. Some parts make me feel good, while other parts make me want to turn a blind eye. I believe these uncomfortable passages exist to sharpen us. These words have the power to show us the way that God intended for us to live from the beginning of time. These scriptures lead us to repentance- not because God seeks to make us feel bad about ourselves, but because pride has no place in His presence. We are to live humbly before the Lord. 

Matthew 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Ouch. Reading this passage makes me cringe a little bit because I can’t help but think, what if that’s me?! I mean, I’ve never performed miracles, but I have certainly prayed for them and seen them come to pass. I have prayed to God. I’ve both explained prophetic Scripture, and encouraged others. Does this mean that Jesus could turn me away at the pearly gates? Let’s quickly look at the scriptures preceding this one, as they provide some insight into Jesus’ perspective.

At the beginning of Matthew 7, Jesus instructs His listeners to steer clear of judging others. Have you ever heard the saying, “only God can judge me”? Look no further than Matthew 7 for the origin of that statement. This instruction is the beginning of laying down our pride and understanding that every person has their struggles. Judging is not to be mistaken for holding one another accountable for our actions. A judging spirit is a condition of the heart. Looking at someone through the lens of judgment raises contempt within us against our neighbors. Instead, Jesus is calling us to love our neighbors. Within our hearts, judgment and self-righteousness cannot coexist with love. One or the other must prevail. We must be careful to avoid putting ourselves in God’s place by assuming the intentions of others; that’s His job. Jesus is inviting us to a life of living humbly, of searching our hearts before pointing our fingers at others. 

Matthew 7:7 goes on to say “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”. Living humbly paves the way for leading a life of repentance before the Lord. Repentance leads to salvation, where we are adopted into the family of God. The rest of this section of Matthew 7, talks about the goodness of God as a Father towards His children. He promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him. When we ask, we will receive it. This is not God surrendering His sovereignty to us, but rather us understanding that God, in all of His sovereignty, can give us what we ask!

As we read through this chapter, Jesus lets us know that in this life there are narrow and broad roads which we can choose to walk. He says to enter through the narrow gate… only a few find it. What this means is that we must be wary of following the ways of the world (the broad road), and instead, hold fast to His teachings (the narrow road). TAKE HEART! We just read that Jesus promised we WILL find Him if we seek Him. If we ask, it WILL BE given to us. If we seek Him with all of our hearts, The Way will be made known to us, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to live rightly. This narrow road He calls us to walk with Him is possible, but it’s not always easy. He warns us in the following passages to beware of false teachers and false disciples. He gives us the wisdom and discernment to know His people by the fruit of their lives. What are they producing? What are you producing? The fruits of the spirit in us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) are all evidence that God is at work in our hearts.

With all of that said, we have made it to Matthew 7:21; the scripture that makes us stop in our tracks and ask ourselves where we fit in the picture of salvation. 

Instead of looking at this passage with dread, I’d like for us to see it as an invitation. As an invitation to know Him more, or at all. An invitation for self-reflection. An invitation for the Spirit of God to search our hearts and uproot anything that may not be pure in His sight. I once saw this passage as a condemnation, but now I see this verse as Jesus’ invitation to knowing Him far more intimately. He says “… I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” When we begin to invite Him into our prayer times and moments of personal reflection, we cultivate a relationship with our creator. Jesus didn’t say “because you messed up you will not enter the Kingdom of God”. He doesn’t say “you didn’t do enough good works”. He says “I never knew you”. He is more moved by our relationship with Him than He is by our good deeds void of Him. How will we know if we are living as close to Him as we’re commanded to be? Well, Jesus said “whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40). What are your actions and attitudes towards those around you? Are you generous towards them? Not just financially, but also generous in love, in kindness, in giving of your time. For everything we do is as unto the Lord. 

In Matt 9:15, Jesus is found eating dinner with sinners. The religious leaders condemned Him for it, but He replied, “… go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Sacrifice often has a self-focus on what we can do, while mercy focuses on others. Mercy is simply when a person is treated better than they deserve. May we never be so self-righteous that we withhold kindness and mercy from those around us. Although someone may “deserve” some kind of treatment, Jesus calls us to extend favor to those who may not have earned it. This kind of love for people can only overflow from a relationship with Love Himself (1 John 4:8). 

We can lead countless people into His presence and/or into a relationship with Him, but if we do not have that relationship ourselves, it means nothing in our eternity. I encourage you to invite Him into your next self-reflection. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you when you pray. It’s easy for us to do all the talking, but I challenge you to say your piece, and then, without expecting anything of Him other than what He wants to say, ask Him, “Jesus, what do you want me to know”. I pray your face is a familiar one in the throne room of Heaven. As you get to know Him He will know you. And because He knew you, you will eternally become a part of the Kingdom of God. 

Friends, the Kingdom of Heaven is much bigger than our earthly requests. God still loves us enough to give, but I pray that we all reach a point where our hearts are ok with whatever His will is, apart from our own desires. If you have not begun a relationship with God, I invite you to ask Him for forgiveness of your sins. He loved you enough to come to earth and die for you so that you could be reconciled to His family; a family that sin has kept you separated from. Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. As you make Him a part of your life, He will not only lead you to the straight and narrow road, He will also give you the strength to walk it.

On my next blog post, I am excited to explore what Jesus meant in this passage when He says that only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter the Kingdom of God. I can’t help but ask myself, “what is the will of the Father, and how do we know we’re following it?” Join me as I study the teachings of Jesus to better understand what this means. 

See you next time!

Nets & Fruit. John 21:6

April 25, 2020 /
And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”

Okay, so what do nets, and fruit have in common? And where-on-earth is she going with this? I’m delighted you asked! Why don’t you grab your coffee, settle in, and allow me to explain? Ready? I’ll start with the answer to your question, then dig-in from there. So, it turns out that the answer to what connects nets and fruit is twofold—a mirror image. The cornerstone of their relationship is obedience & connection! Let’s continue, and we’ll see where this twofold relationship leads us…

The heart of scripture—a very large part of it at least—is steeped in this one foundational and eternal Truth found in 1 Samuel 15:22. God wants our love (heart, mind, soul, and strength), our obedience, over some gift or service we might offer Him.  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

But why? Why are obedience and connection so important to God? I believe scripture bears out that the answer to this is, in part, triune. Its first strand, the life-giving heartbeat of obedience, is a genuine love for our Beloved. Thus, our love of God compelling us to obey Him. Obedience’s very breath—surrender. Its thoughts, the sole joy its meekness offers our beloved. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” –1 John 5:3. And the second strand, faithfulness, comes then, and, wrapping itself around such a love says, “I too love deeply and seek only to remain bound to my beloved.” “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”—1 John 2:3-6. And, then, lastly, obedience’s’ final and most reflective quality is that of honor. And the eyes of honor cast their light in such a way that only the beloved is illumined in their stare. “And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.…”–Colossians 1:18. These triune strands perpetually interlocking, one with the other—resilient. Fixed in their fidelity and devotion, a bond fashioned by their common cause, obedience. Their fibers fixed, yet flexible, always seeking to accommodate each new command of the Beloved—His every desire.

And, when they’re cast then, where the Lover of our soul’s bids us cast them, His blessings inevitably flow—our nets overflowing then, receiving from His never-ending source. “Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” –Deuteronomy 30:9-10.” In plain speak: obedience will cause your nets to become so full they’ll be bulging at the seams! And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” –John 21:6.

Now, alongside the fundamental lesson obedience teaches in today’s verse, ever generous, it goes further still by introducing us to connection, its sacred companion. And, as a result of this one introduction, our souls will soon be thusly fortified. The question posed this day, soon answered. Obedience will have succeeded in pointing us towards the mysterious, life-giving consequence of having a connection with the Beloved.

In today’s verse, we witness the bountiful catch the disciples shared when they obeyed Jesus’ command. Certainly, our Father delights in blessing His children in numerous ways—material blessings, much like this catch, being but one of them. The disciple’s nets would never have been filled so had they not listened to—been connected to, obeyed the One who instructed them exactly where to cast those nets. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” –John 21:3. There’s a lesson in this verse for each believer. For every pastor and evangelist and teacher and prophet. We are not our own. We have been bought with a great price. And nothing—not one thing we do will ever have an eternal impact—aid in helping to escort one soul from death to life, if it’s us deciding where it is we’ll go, and what it is we’re willing to do. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” –John 15:1. We must be wise and guard our heart’s friends. We must be ever mindful of our motives for seeking after God. May our obedience to, and our desire for, our Beloved, never spring-up, like some unruly weed, from a place of self-seeking. Obeying Him simply because we might somehow be rewarded. Remember this, we serve El Roi—the God who sees me—who knows my heart, and its every desire. May our obedience then, my obedience, be born from a genuine desire to draw ever closer to the One from who all blessings flow…

And, as with obedience so too connection. We are reminded throughout Scripture of the supreme importance—the intrinsic necessity of remaining connected—joined—united—intertwined with, a literal part of, our Beloved. Quite literally infused with His very essence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5.

He tells us quite clearly that without this connection to Him, in Him, with Him—outside of this life-giving union—we can do nothing. Not one thing of eternal value that is. We can do plenty in terms of being selfish and destructive. Just ask Adam and Eve. They can tell you firsthand about what happens to a soul that chooses to break its connection with its source—with El Roi. “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” –Genesis 3:17-19. And in Matthew 7, we hear Jesus share His heart on the absolute, paramount importance of our maintaining our connection with Him. Equally, however, He makes crystal clear the eternally, terrifying consequences of our having deluded ourselves into thinking that we are in fact connected—have this relationship—are grafted into Him simply because we’ve served on a few committees. Went on a missions trip or two. Or have prayed for the sick and lost even. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”—Matthew 7:21-23.

If we were paying attention to what happened in the Garden right before Adam and Eve were banished for their disobedience, then we witnessed the Father’s eternal connectedness to His creation on loving display. (This Messiah who came, and will come again, that all men might have access to a connection with Him—made possible through the obedient sacrifice of Jesus Christ, by the Blood He shed on His Cross for all mankind, putting an end to death and the grave once, for all.) Even here, amid Adam and Eve’s dis-obedience, their deliberate dis-connect, we witnessed this God that so loved the world making a way for us, His children, to be able to return back to Him. In the thick of man’s rejecting their Divine connection, in the very epicenter of man’s disobedience, we witnessed God’s, unfathomable love. His redemptive plan, even then, to offer Jesus to this sin-full, dis-obedient, world on display—so that you and me and him and her might be able to come home again. He shed blood. A foreshadowing of Christ. Putting to death animals that He might wrap Adam and Eve in their bloody skins. “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”–Hebrews 9:22.

God did this so that you and I, if we’ll but obey and slip-on Christ’s Bloodied sacrifice, His Righteousness, might be re-connected eternally, back to the Father.

Friend, if anything you’ve read here today has touched your heart, know that it’s because God loves you and is offering Himself to you. Asking you to connect with Him directly—sincerely, as your Lord and Savior. I pray that you’ll obey. I’d love nothing more than to meet you soon and very soon when we have all been gathered up in Him. “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.

Unfaithful. Hosea 1:2.

April 18, 2020 /
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of [her] prostitution; for the land commits great acts of prostitution by not following the Lord.”

I’ve heard it said that It is important to remember that grace is not merely unmerited favor, but it is favor in spite of merited judgment…

Our Scripture is shocking I know. Not exactly the nice “after Easter message” you may have been expecting. I get it. I do. But if you’ll just extend me a little grace, I promise you the same Jesus we just praised and hailed and exalted last week—will show-up here today. Our Savior will come bursting forth as surely, as plainly and eternally, as He did that first Easter morning!

I recently read a compelling point made by commentator James Montgomery Boice concerning today’s Scripture. It opened my eyes afresh as I took in his reflection. It pointed me, with laser precision, directly toward the whole raw, deep, eternal Truth that is laid bare before us within the Book of Hosea. Boice’s arrow most definitely hitting its intended target: If Hosea’s story cannot be real (because ‘God could not ask a man to marry an unfaithful woman’), then neither is the story of salvation real, because that is precisely what Christ has done for us…

This quote instantly took me straight back to the pure, innocent, devoted, crucified Christ that I’d recently just beheld hanging on a criminal’s tree. In an instant, I found myself staring into His eyes caked with blood yet so soft still, full of a love and compassion, a tenderness, that quite literally brought me to my knees. This Godman, this Christ, was hanging there because of me. I felt the Truth of this in my soul. My sins the nails that had pierced His hands and precious feet. Innocent. And yet the Truth I saw so clearly expressed in those eyes pierced my heart. I couldn’t escape them. I didn’t want to. I never want to not know—live one second that I breathe the very air He created, outside of the Truth I saw in those eyes: “MaryEllen, my love for you is what held me—to that Cross.”

Our God—my God, this Christ that left heaven behind so that He could wrap Himself in the temporary-ness of human flesh that He might feel every thing, everything you and me feel; every need I have, we have, you’ve ever felt. From hunger and pain to cutting betrayal and great love—such inexplicable love. Thirst, hunger, heat, cold, loss too—He felt all of them. Did I mention knowing rejection by its first name? Jesus felt everything. Every hot Israeli day and it’s partner, the cold night. Every hour of deep longing for a people He came into this world specifically to die for—to make a way for, as no other ever could. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” –Matthew 23:37.

If only they’d have welcomed Him. If only they would have accepted the ring He came asking them to slip on. If only they’d have taken His name and remained faithful to Him. It is this God—this Christ, this Bridegroom that comes to Israel in the book of Hosea. That comes to you and me and him and her and says I know you’re a prostitute. I know that you’re unfaithful. I know that while you are still here, wrapped in your sin-full flesh there will always be “others” in your life—standing in between us. In Hosea, God teaches us—however frankly, not only how He feels about us, more the lengths He will go to, to make us His own. You see He knows our frame, our sinful state, as surely and completely as He knew Israel’s sins and idolatry—their whoredom. Strong words I know, but Truth is biting at times. And as we witness in the language of Hosea, God can and will be as frank as He so chooses to be to get our attention…

By the start of Hosea’s first chapter, Israel has already wandered far from God. It’s been chasing after the Baal’s. The gods of this world. Those things they thought would bring them pleasure, would satisfy their deep hunger. Sound familiar? It should. We are each guilty, on some level, of this very sin! “But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking. You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?” –Ezekiel 16:15-16.

Is it any wonder then that at this pivotal moment, Gomer is introduced to us? This woman who, representing Israel, has broken her vows, her covenant to remain faithful to this innocent Prophet of God. In Gomer, we witness the condition of Israel’s heart —a people He has chosen for Himself—a wanton and rebellious people God has chosen as His own. But don’t judge them too harshly, because in Gomer a mirror is also handed to you and me—reflecting back to us our unfaithfulness. And, as painful as it may be to look into, if we, like Israel, like Gomer, are to truly repent of our whoredom—our idolatry and sin-full wonderings, our spiritual adultery, then look into it we must. “So I bought Gomer back for 6 ounces of silver and 9 bushels of barley. Then I told her, “You must stay at home with me for many days. You will not be like a prostitute. You will not have sexual relations with another man. I will be your husband.” In the same way the people of Israel will continue many days without a king or a leader. They will be without a sacrifice or a memorial stone. They will be without an ephod or a household god. After this, the people of Israel will come back and look for the Lord their God and for David their king. In the last days they will come to honor the Lord and his goodness.” Hosea 3:2-5.

Our God is long-suffering and merciful, yes, but let us never forget our Husband is also just—and jealous of His bride…

In this first chapter of Hosea, we witness the not-so-shadowy figure of the Messiah—the Christ that will come, emerging. This Jesus who will come to us while we are yet filthy and wallowing, like some unrestrained beast, in our sins. A God who is not put off by the foul-stench of these, our many sins. In this first chapter of Hosea, we meet this God who sees past all of our stuff —our every sin, our shame, lies, and our hustle, to the person He has created us to be in His Son Jesus. He bids us then to follow after Him.

Just as we are, He calls us to Himself…

Yet, as with Gomer, His great love for us refuses to leave us in the state in which He found us. Even after His bearing witness to every thing we’ve ever said and done, still, He wants us to come to Him. To not let our stuff stop us from accepting His marriage proposal. To just get up and run to Him—leaving our filthy past in the dust! And get up and follow we must! He loves us far too much, has paid too great a price to ransom us, to leave us continuing to roll around in the same filth in which He first found us. “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” –Romans 6:21-22.

Despite how degrading and repulsive it may have felt to Hosea to be asked by God to marry Gomer, out of obedience to Him, he did it; regardless if it made sense to anyone, himself included. God had commanded Hosea to go and marry this harlot—not die for her. Jesus would soon be sent to cover dying for her. In Christ’s taking a bride from amongst a polluted, sin-drenched, wanton world, we witness the nascent beginnings of His great obedience to do the will of the Father also—however contrary the Father’s will may appear to us in sending One that is sinless to marry one so full of sin. If we were paying attention, we would have caught God’s intention to send us Christ, back in the garden when He covered Adam and Eve in bloody animal skins. But that’s for another day…

In Hosea, we see the foreshadowing of Christ’s donning His wedding suit—a human body, mere flesh, and willingly, obediently, lovingly, stepping across time and eternity at the Father’s behest. Not only to save Israel but also you and me too; we were a great part of why He came at all. To give us His name. To bestow upon us rights, privileges, and honor we’d otherwise never have known. He gave us our place in this world—and the next. In Hosea’s loving-kindness to Gomer, we are privileged to catch but a glimpse of this Jehovah God’s great love, both for Israel—His firstborn, and for you and me, branches grafted into His precious Body. And yes, even for that one too…

“For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” –Romans 5:7-8.

Friend, if you are here today and there is something in you that’s saying, “wait, if God can love a prostitute then there’s hope for me too” you’re right! There’s room for us all at the feet of Christ Jesus! And yes, He’ll take you just as you are. No need to try and get cleaned up before you come. I was a Gomer, and He met me right where I was. Won’t you ask God to come into your life right now? Why wait? “Yet the number of the sons of Israel Shall be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to them, “You are not My people,” It will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.” –Hosea 1:10.

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