Category: Destiny! (Page 4 of 6)

This Is Me, And You. Abraham, too.

May 8, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“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.

He Knows Your Frame.

May 1, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“But Jesus said, “Why are you troubled? Why do you doubt what you see? Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me. Touch me. You can see that I have a living body; a ghost does not have a body like this” –Luke 24:38-39.

Jesus wasn’t chastising His disciples; He was comforting them—reassuring them. He knew perfectly well that though his disciples had witnessed others being resurrected (the son of the widow of Nain—Luke 7:11-17, Jairus’ daughter—Matthew 9:18-26, and finally, their friend, Lazarus—John 11:38-44), their witnessing Him return from the dead borderlined on being just way too much for their finite minds to take in.

Remember, these were everyday men like you and me—many, simple fishermen. It was only Jesus who was both fully human—and fully Divine. Plus, up until the time they’d met Jesus, dead had always meant precisely that, dead. People just didn’t come back from the grave. Yet there He was, their Rabbi, standing right in front of them. A savage beating at the hands of the Romans. His Crucifixion. Three days in His tomb. It was impossible! Surely this could not be! And yet, there He stood. There was only one explanation for this. Suddenly, a scene played out in Peter’s mind. In it, Jesus had also asked His disciples a question. “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.…” –Mark 8:29-30.

So, can you imagine their shock? Their disbelief? Is it any wonder then that Jesus asks them why they’re troubled? Why they doubt who it is that’s standing right in front of them? Honestly, wouldn’t you have been troubled too?

Maybe it was due to their reaction to Him suddenly appearing before them? Or perhaps it was out of His great love and compassion for His friends, in His mercy, and with the most extraordinary tenderness that Jesus offers His beloved and troubled friends, His Peace? “…He said to them, “Peace be with you” –Luke 24:36. I choose to believe that it was the latter.

Jesus knows that as mere men, when we experience seasons of deep pain and loss, of trauma, often it’s the ordinary and the everyday-ness of life that we tether to; it aids in recentering us. He knows it’s’ the route and familiar that helps slow the wild spinning down just enough to feel safe enough to step away from the pain and towards life and living. Their having been eyewitnesses to the savage scourging Jesus had suffered before His barbaric Crucifixion leaves little doubt that John and Mary and the other woman would have shared the details of what they had witnessed with the rest of His disciples. “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother” –John 19:52-27.

Shared how they’d watched in horror and with the most profound sorrow as Jesus took His last breath. His final exhale perhaps forcing them to release their grip on the last vestige of hope they’d so desperately been clinging to. Jesus’ final breath—meant the end for them all. Its final work, snuffing out any flickering promise that remained in their hearts. Any remnant of hope these past three-plus years spent with Him had offered them. Joy-filled years spent talking with and learning from Him, walking, and eating, and marveling at His wonderful works. Their Messiah was dead. Jesus’ lifeless Body hung before them on His Cross. And with it, in their finite minds at least, the long-awaited, lifeless promise that the Kingdom of God had finally come. That after generations of oppression, their deliverer had finally come. That soon and very soon, they would all taste newfound freedom. And they would—just not in the way they had imagined it would come.

And once again, in verses 41-43 of this same chapter, we witness Jesus’ tenderness. His patient love towards His friends being displayed once more through a familiar, everyday gesture. Remember, Jesus knows it’s the everyday things that help center us. So He asks His friends if they have anything to eat? And when someone hands Him a piece of fish, Jesus proceeds to eat it; but more than just eating fish, Jesus wants to settle their anxious hearts, so He uses this everyday act to assure them that they do not see a ghost. That no ghost could do what they are watching Him do; being omniscient, Jesus knows that they are awed and joyful by His sudden appearance, but He also knows that they’re confused and bewildered by it as well. Jesus knows they need time. That seeing Him do anything ordinary will help put them at ease. “The followers were amazed and very, very happy to see that Jesus was alive. They still could not believe what they saw. He said to them, “Do you have any food here?” They gave him a piece of cooked fish. While the followers watched, he took the fish and ate it.” Jesus knows His sudden reappearance has caused His disciples to have tunnel vision, focusing only on the here and now.

On the possibilities of what His sudden return may mean for them? What His being with them once more is all about? What might it look like moving forward now? But Jesus needs their minds to shift beyond this moment. Beyond themselves and their immediate wants and needs. Time is a precious commodity now. Remember, Jesus also knows that very soon He will be returning to the Father. So He needs their minds to shift towards His eternal plan and purpose for having had come at all. Jesus needs them to move forward. Towards those, He knows are depending on them. So then, for the final time in these closing verses, Jesus does the familiar yet again. This time, He taught His disciples. “Jesus said to them, “Remember when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must happen—everything written in the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms.” Then Jesus helped the followers understand these Scriptures about him. Jesus said to them, “It is written that the Messiah would be killed and rise from death on the third day” –Luke 24: 44-46.

Jesus grounds His jittery friends. He recenters them—focusing their attention on the familiar—on the mission. On what they know, the scriptures. On what has been foretold concerning Him, their Messiah. Concerning the bewildering and fright-full moment in which they now find themselves. Then, Jesus goes further still, reminding His friends that they have been His witnesses. That all of what they’ve seen while with Him is now part of their story. Their testimony. The very foundation of all that they will share as they go forth into all the world. It’s their legacy. The unplumbed treasure they’ll leave behind for future generations—for you and me. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” –Luke 24: 45-48.

Jesus knew His disciple’s—their frame. He knows ours too. He knows that for us to do what He has destined us to, created us to do, we must wait on Him. Wait for His strength and the power of His Holy Spirit. We must wait for His timing, wait to be gathered together, called, and we must wait to be released. Jesus knows that our minds must first be opened to the Truth—To Him, His Spirit, to His Word just as His disciples were. Just as they had to wait before continuing with the work that Jesus had started—so must we. “Then he said, “This is God’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty—you will succeed because of my Spirit, though you are few and weak’ –Zechariah 4:6-7.

Jesus knew that the birth of His Church was imminent. That within days He would be ascending back to His Father—our, Father. His work here on earth, in the physical sense at least, being all but finished now. And, that it would be these men, His chosen, these mere mortals that He’d soon empower, baptizing them with His Spirit, charging them then, to carry out this magnificent work of spreading the Good News to all, to you and me, so that we too might carry His Truth all the way to the ends—of the earth that is. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.…” Acts 1: 8-9.

Friend, if you’ve read this till the end, yet you don’t know this Jesus personally, then do know this: You’re here because He wanted the two of you to meet. He wants a friendship with you, to walk together and work together. He’s done His part by bringing you here. Won’t you please do your part by accepting His invitation? Just ask Him into your heart, sincerely repent of your sins, and He’ll take it from there. He knows your frame, what you truly need. “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” –Romans 10:9-10.

The Heart Of Judas.

March 20, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“…Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me” –John 13:21.

Within the human heart lives a propensity to sin, our fleshly nature at work in us, as it was in Judas. And apart from God’s saving grace—His Holy Spirit alive in us, preserving us from the bent of our fleshly nature, again, like Judas, we are powerless to overcome it. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” –Romans 7:15-20.

The Gospels inform us of Jesus calling each of His disciples. To some extent, they give us a snapshot of the apostles’ lives. Of whom they were before they began to follow Jesus. It also provides us with a glimpse of the settings in which he called them to follow him—except that is, for Judas Iscariot. Exactly how and why Judas was called to follow Jesus is not fully known. Some scholarly texts suggest Judas had been one of John the Baptist’s disciples. That he came to resent Jesus for not saving John from Herod’s executioner, and that this resentment took root in his heart and was a contributing factor in his subsequent betrayal of Jesus. However, we learn from Scripture that Jesus chose Judas to become His disciple—part of His inner circle. “When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles: And Judas son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who became the betrayer” –Luke 6:13;16.

Judas is ignominiously known as being a traitor. For having betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver—ultimately leading to Jesus’ arrest and His death on the cross. The Gospel tells it this way: “Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over” –Matthew 26: 14-16. It continues by saying, “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders” –Matthew 27:3. And Scripture also informs us that Judas, realizing what he had done, was filled with remorse and committed suicide: “And he went away and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5.

That led me to think about the condition of Judas’ heart? —and what of our own? After all, the Son of God had handpicked Judas to follow him. So, are we prone to fall away also? Betray the very God who called us?

Judas had witnessed the miracles Jesus had performed; he’d been in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm—Matthew 8:23-27. Judas was there when Jesus performed His first miracle, converting water into wine at the wedding in Cana —John 2:1-11. He’d witnessed Jesus feed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish—Matthew 14:15-21. And Judas was a witness to the miracles God performed. He’d also heard Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount –Matthew 5:1-48. He’d listened to Jesus’ parables and was present to hear Peter answer the question Jesus posed to each of His disciples—the very same question each one of us must answer for ourselves:” Who do you say that I am? Peter responded by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”— Matthew 16:16. And, finally, Jesus had also given Judas power and authority to perform miracles: “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” –Matthew 10:1. Judas had been given the privilege and honor of walking beside Jesus daily, knowing the Son of God personally. Yet, still, the devil-possessed Judas, causing him to betray Jesus. “After [Judas had taken] the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly [without delay]” –John 13:27. How could this happen then? Hadn’t Jesus chosen Judas?

Again, all of this led me to contemplate the condition of Judas’ nefarious heart, asking myself then: Is there a little Judas in all of us?

Many of us profess to walk closely with Christ—just as Judas did. We share our witness—talking freely about what God has done in and through our lives—of the grace He’s poured into them. We talk about the miracles, signs, or wonders we’ve heard of or witnessed firsthand. Yet none of that exempts us from walking away from Jesus—from betraying Him, just like Judas did.

Seemingly, only Jesus was aware of Judas’ impending betrayal that fateful night—everyone else at the table appeared unsuspecting. “When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me. They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, ‘Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?'” –Matthew 26:20-22. Not a single person, besides Jesus, pointed to Judas as being the traitor. And yet, long before this fateful night, there were signs of fissures in Judas’ heart—signs of his double-mindedness. John’s Gospel says this concerning this very issue: “Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” –John 12: 1-6.

Judas treasured money more than Jesus, and what he stole, he stole from God—not man. He knew that Jesus taught, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” –Mathew 6:21. Yet, the pull to possess the things of this world, his sinful desire for money, and perhaps, past resentment became an overarching factor that contributed to Judas’ betraying Jesus. Knowing this then, it is essential for those who profess Jesus to check their hearts continually—asking God to examine them because simply acknowledging Jesus doesn’t equate to His truly being the Lord of your life.

To that end, you may find asking yourself the following questions helpful:

“What’ treasure(s)’ of this world have you allowed to dethrone the Son of God from your heart?”

“What daily habits are you entertaining that serve the lust of the flesh rather than foster a desire for the things of God’s and His kingdom?”

“And What are the “temporary pleasures of this world” that pull you away from God? Those things that trouble and grieve God’s heart?”

“Is it money? Is it lust? Is it a drug? Popularity? Possessions? Is it greed?”

If you profess to be a child of God, your heart’s greatest desire must be firmly rooted in pleasing and seeking after God and His Kingdom—and not being consumed by the “temporary gains” in this world.

After reading about some of the sin issues found in Judas’ heart, his greed, and double-mindedness, the possible root of bitterness that had taken root. His attachment to the things of this world. His being a liar and thief and his ability to betray Jesus, shouldn’t that awaken the resounding question in our hearts to be: “What can I learn from this?”

I know for me, I learned proximity to God is not an indicator that we abide in Christ, that our proximity to God does not exempt us from the enemy’s influences. I learned that those who refuse to fully yield their lives to Jesus Christ (their will, all that they are and have been given) could, sadly, be enticed away from serving Him, serving the lusts of their flesh instead. Judas walked with Jesus, was fed, and taught by Jesus, was prayed over by Jesus, healed individuals by the authority given him in Jesus, was a friend to Jesus. Judas spoke and acted like a disciple. Yet, his heart was far away from God. Judas knew all about religion, not about a relationship. “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 perform many miracles? ‘Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’–Matthew 7:22-23. And this same religious spirit we witness in Judas is still alive today in those who, like him, are merely going through the motions in their walk with Jesus Christ. Those who perhaps attend church faithfully, follow all the rules, and offer their tithes—yet they lack a personal connection or genuine commitment to Jesus.

Judas was “in,” and yet he was still able to betray Jesus. Judas was “in,” yet the devil possessed him. The more religious we are, the more like Judas our hearts may become.

And again, that forced me to look at myself and ask: “If Jesus wasn’t in my life, who might I be now?

I pray this same question drives you never to forget that forsaking God for the “temporary pleasures” of this world will always leave you feeling morally bankrupt.

That it reminds you that for all of Judas may have gained in this world, it never quenched his overwhelming feeling of remorse—that guilt and shame that drove him to hang himself. Neither will the things of this world ever assuage our guilt and shame. The enemy of our soul will make sure of that—just as he did with Judas. Satan always exacts a price far dearer than anyone thought they’d have to pay for the temporary pleasures he offers them. Ultimately, though, Scripture was fulfilled—and whatever the enemy had intended for evil, the Lord turned it around for His good purpose.

Judas’ desire was not for God, to advance His Kingdom – I pray that it is for you. I pray that the kingdom of God is your ultimate treasure and not the things of this world. I sincerely pray that you invite the Spirit of God to search your heart daily—revealing any wrong way within you. I pray that your profession that Jesus is Lord of your life matches your walk. I pray that if you’ve yet to ask God into your heart as Lord, you’ll do it today. I pray that you serve God as your Master. May the motives of your heart continuously be to glorify God. I pray that you’re a Peter, and not a Judas—because Peter died for the One he loved, while Judas followed Jesus yet, in the end, chose Satan over our Savior! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6: 24).

Previews…

March 6, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David” –1 Samuel 16:12-13.

The Word of God is full of these—previews, I mean. Of God allowing His chosen to catch some small sliver of a glimpse of the destiny, they’ve been set apart to fulfill…

One minute a young David is out in the field tending his father’s sheep, and the next, his father’s servant is calling out to him. “David, come quickly; the prophet Samuel is asking after you!” And right there, in the presence of his slack-jawed family, in one life-changing, whirlwind of a moment, David, a young shepherd boy, is anointed Israel’s new King. “Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance” –1 Samuel 16: 10-12. And although it took only a few short minutes for Samuel to seal the destiny of this newly appointed boy-King, it would take David’s “preview” some 15 plus years and beyond to bear mature fruit. And Scripture is littered with examples like David’s. Of the destinies of God’s chosen suddenly being shifted on a dime. Of the so-big plans of God being carried out by His finite creations. Examples of men and women who were changed in an instant, yet it took years for them to grow into the fullness of their calling. A calling God had deposited within them in less time than it takes us to blink! One such example that comes to mind is Joseph, Jacob’s youngest son…

I have to wonder how many times Joseph thought, “Lord, why all this lag time,” as he watched and waited for his preview to come to pass? (Lag time: that period, however short or long, God uses to prepare us for the destiny He’s allowed us to catch some glimpse of). Remember, Joseph was about 17 years old when God gave him a glimpse of his future via a dream. Then, shortly after sharing that dream with his family, he was violently ripped away from his beloved father and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. After which, Potiphar’s wife unjustly accused him, and he was imprisoned. While there, he was betrayed by those he had worked to free. Then, finally, some 13 years later, at the approximate age of 30, Joseph entered Pharaoh’s service, becoming the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. And soon after that, the dream given him by God when he was 17 was finally fulfilled when those who had sold him into slavery came and bowed down before Joseph. You can read all about Joseph’s extraordinary life in Genesis, Chapters 37- 50.

My apology; we were talking about David.

Some scholars suggest David was somewhere between 12 to 15 years old when he was anointed King by the Prophet Samuel; you can read about this in 1 Samuel, Chapter 16. And yet, David would not ascend to his throne for another 15 plus years. Sound familiar? Didn’t we just read of something similar happening to Joseph? We’ll need to jump over to 2 Samuel 5 and beyond in order to read the account of David’s ascension and reign. And then, moving on from David, let’s look at others throughout the Scriptures who’d caught a preview of their destinies as well.

We’ll start with a young Galilean girl from Nazareth named Mary. She had been given a glimpse of God’s calling on her life—and so had her fiancé, Joseph. Apocryphal accounts say Mary was between 12 to 15 years old when she became betrothed to Joseph. Yet before they could marry, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary—changing the course of her life forever—Joseph’s too. “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you”—Luke 1:26-28. Verses 30-31 goes on to tell us that Gabriel told Mary, this newly engaged virgin, not to be afraid, that she was going to have God’s baby—and she was to name Him Jesus, listen: “Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.” And then there’s John the Baptist, Elizabeth’s son. And Father Abraham. God called him to leave behind his family and country, all that was familiar to him—to set off towards a destiny that would rival even that of a Hollywood blockbuster! And the list goes on and on. There’s also a young Samuel, woken up one night out of a sound sleep by God’s preview on his life. –1 Samuel 3. And then Moses, who went from a babe being drawn from the Nile in a pitch-sealed basket to a mighty prince of Egypt, turned wilderness shepherd before finally being used by God to free His people from the tyrannical grip of Pharaoh –Exodus, Chapters 2-5. And We haven’t even touched on the Apostles Peter, John, and Paul; each of these men and women hand-chosen by God—and all of them given a “preview” of sorts.

So why the lag time between their being called and that call being fulfilled? Why, since God had chosen them, didn’t He just use them right away? Why so long for David to finally take the throne? Or for Joseph or Abraham to see the call on their life fulfilled? Why did Moses have to experience so many tests and trials? And why will you and I have to endure lag time as well?

The answer is “simple—yet not.”

First, the simple: It’s about election and preparation. The simpler part of it, well, simple for God at least, is election—being chosen in Him: God’s initial call on their lives bubbled up from a deep place within them in an instant—it was effortless. But the preparation part, well, that took some time. That required God to prepare them for the preview He had given them. Preparation then is the “yet not” piece of, “simple, yet not.”

Their preparation would involve God having to strengthen and refine their trust in Him—in His ways and timing as they faced the many challenges and trials that answering His call brought with it. He was teaching them to walk out the “how” of His call on their life—that stepping out in faith part. That, faith over feelings—regardless of what it looks like, part. Think Paul here in Acts 9. Think of the reshaping that God did in Him, the breaking down, and the rebuilding that took place deep within him as he spent three days and nights in that room on Straight Street, having been blinded after seeing God. “He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink” –Acts 9:9.

Times of preparation allowed each of the above mentioned to grow into God’s unique call on their life. They afforded them both the circumstances and the opportunities to learn about accepting heartache and loss. To grow in love, they discovered new levels of sacrifice and how to be stretched to the point of breaking yet trusting God that they wouldn’t be. But that’s only after passing their first test, that of answering God’s call on their life. Then, and only then could they start putting one foot in front of the other and, over time, through adversity and times of great confusion or suffering, learn to follow God wherever He led them. And through all of this, they became awoken to what some may say is the hardest of all God’s lessons—trusting His timing. It’s Scripturally sound to say that of the many things God will use to test our calling, His use of time is undoubtedly one of His biggest. “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day “–2 Peter 3:8.

So, let me ask you, has God shown you a preview? Has He allowed you to catch some small sliver of a glimpse of His call on your life?

Are you heading off to Bible College? Is God calling you into your first pastoral position? Or, maybe, He’s calling you to head up the worship team or become an evangelist or missionary? Perhaps He’s just calling you to get up out of your pew and join in? Does God want to use you somewhere in the board room, city council, or the Nation’s Capital instead of in the pulpit? As a mom instead of a worship leader, or maybe you’ll be both? Wherever that “bubbling up” from your depths inevitably takes you, of this one thing be assured, friend: there will be times of preparation ahead. But oh, the joy they’ll bring with them! The surpassing peace and unplumbed Love of God you’ll experience by stepping out in faith and learning to trust His mysterious ways and timing, learning to accept heartache and loss, love, and sacrifice—the ever-changing-same-ness of God. The fixed fluidness of following Him. And the learning to be stretched to the point of breaking yet trusting God that you won’t be. Learning, as Mary Fairchild so aptly put it: We can pour out our honest desires to God, even when we know they conflict with his, even when we wish with all of our body and soul that God’s will could be done in some other way.

Learning, like Mary, David, Joseph, and Peter did, as Jesus did, to say: “Father, not my will but Thy will be done” –Luke 22:44.

Friend, I hope you know this God who both calls and prepares us for the previews He allows us to catch. But know this: if you don’t yet, you can today. Know that God’s Word brings salvation. Won’t you ask Him into your life as Lord and Savior right now? “But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved” –Romans 10:8-10.

What’s in Your Hand?

February 14, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

Somewhere on the far side of the wilderness, there’s a heaven-meets-earth moment waiting for you. It’s just past the whirlwind of insecurity that can leave you feeling the sting of defeat. It’s beyond the doubts that tell you that there is nothing about you that could ever make a difference in this life because you’re just an average person.

But what if? What if I told you that the Creator of the universe wholeheartedly disagrees with you? What if He could take your most common attribute and make it extraordinary? God is not afraid of your inabilities; instead, He sees abilities in you—you never even knew existed. And so, it was with an unlikely character we encounter at the beginning of the Old Testament. His story a remarkable one, filled with redemption. Moses, a Hebrew turned Egyptian Prince born during a very hostile and oppressive time in Egypt’s history.

Follow me as I paraphrase Moses’ story. I believe historical context is important:

…During Joseph’s reign in Egypt, he was second in command of all Egypt. Scripture tells us the Israelites prospered and multiplied while under his care. “…the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them”—Exodus 1:7. So much so that even after his death, they continued to thrive and flourish because Joseph had been so highly revered and regarded. The Bible informs us that the Israelites did far more than merely exist in this new land; they fully occupied it.

Now, fast forward 400 years. Joseph is long dead, and a new Pharaoh has been appointed. One who found Joseph’s legacy irrelevant, and the Israelites’ success in their small Egypt corner a threat to his rule. His response then—enslave them all. It’s extreme, I know. And, sadly, it only gets worse from there. To decrease the Hebrew population, Pharaoh ordered all the male babies be killed at birth.

Meanwhile, a humble yet audacious Hebrew woman gives birth to a son. And in her desire to save him from Pharaoh’s death decree, she sends him floating down the Nile river in a pitch-protected basket. And Pharaoh’s daughter was just a way downstream, bathing. Her handmaids were with her; they saw the basket and brought it to her. She was delighted, believing this was a gift from the gods! Little did she know that he would one day become the Hebrew God, Yahweh’s gift to His own people. She sends for a Hebrew slave to come and nurse the child, but the slave who comes ends up being the child’s mother.

Even amid oppression, God still showed kindness to his people.

After the child was weaned, he was sent back to Pharaoh’s daughter. She gave him the name Moses, and he grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. As you read in Exodus, skipping ahead, after a series of destiny-shaping events, Moses ran away from the palace to Midian, today’s Saudi Arabia. There he met his wife, worked as a shepherd, and started his family. All of that could have been his happily ever after, but God had other plans for Moses’s life. One day, this Egyptian prince-turned-shepherd led his sheep to the “far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God” –Exodus 3:1. In the perfect position for a heaven-touches-earth moment, Moses was all alone on the mountain, and he got that exact moment! We know that God manifested as fire burning within a bush, yet the bush wasn’t burning up—this mystified Moses. God had preserved Moses, allowing him to be rescued from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter, to now stand before this burning bush. And the same God that saved Him was now commissioning him to go and free His enslaved people, the Israelites, just as He had promised Moses’ great-great-grandfather He would do hundreds of years before. God says to Moses, “the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” –Exodus 3:9-10.

Let’s pause here for a moment and figure out where we fit into this story.

From Joseph to Moses, the above events didn’t happen in a day, a week, a month, or even over a year’s time. Over the years and lifetimes, these events occurred by God having placed these men strategically into positions where He would equip them to lead His people out of the places and circumstances that oppressed them and led to their suffering. And so, He might do this same thing for you, too. Perhaps that’s where you fit into this story? You may feel like you’re on the “far side of the wilderness,” but God has not forgotten you there. Even as you read this, you’re just moving along, living your everyday life. And yet, right in the middle of your daily life, God might show up in a sudden, all-consuming, “burning bush moment” that will forever rearrange the trajectory of your entire life, turning your ‘just daily living’ into something extra-ordinary. Or maybe you may feel so content with your everyday life that you’re missing those burning bush moments that are right in front of you?

Back to the story, Moses is in front of the burning bush and is so confused about why God would ask him of all people to lead His people out of Egypt. He’s just an average shepherd, and remember, he had that series of unfortunate circumstances back in Egypt? He wasn’t sure how he would do any of what God asked of him without getting himself killed? Little did Moses know, something extraordinary was about to happen to him. Yet in that pivotal moment, the Lord asked the most seemingly random question: “The Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied. The Lord said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. Then the Lord said, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[a]—it had become as white as snow. ‘Now put it back into your cloak,’ he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.” –Exodus 4:2-4; 6-7).

God used what Moses had. Moses didn’t need special equipment, a theology degree, or a select title. All he needed was obedience and loyalty to God. As you read on, Moses was not a fan of this idea of being used by God. He made excuse after excuse. He even asked God to send someone else. Yet in the end, Moses obeyed God; and his obedience led to an entire people’s freedom. It also led him to experience the glory of God in ways he never knew were possible. His obedience to the Lord led to his being used by God to transcribe God’s law for the people. Moses became one of the Old Testament’s most prominent leaders because of his obedience to God’s call.

Hebrews 11 tells us: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt,not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

We often want to see remarkable things in our lives, yet we aren’t willing to act in simple obedience. We admire the faith of people who can keep their relationships with God even through the craziness of life. Those who can be joyful amid trials. Those who can still pray for the house seemingly beyond their means or for the job they didn’t think they’d ever get. Those who pray for healing and see it happen. Those who have a powerful walk with the Lord. We admire that faith, and we even want it. Let me remind you, “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” –Hebrews 11:1-2. Faith is not something to be attained; it is a lifestyle. As you obey the word of God, you grow in faith—your faith increasing as your obedience gets bolder.

I will ask you the same thing God asked Moses…

“What’s in your hand? What do you already have that God can use?” Ask God to help you to see the burning bush even within the ordinary. He is faithful to meet you right where you are, just as He did with Moses. God will introduce Himself to you. And, as you discover Him, I promise you’ll find that you have far more in your hand than you ever realized you had. God will use you in ways you never thought possible. And, if you’re here today and have never asked this God into your life, please, do it now. Let Him use what you have sitting right there in your hand…

Cabin Pressure

January 30, 2021 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“…There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land” Hosea 4:1.

When cabin pressure within a plane’s cabin drops, passengers will need air masks to receive sufficient oxygen. These air masks prevent hypoxia—a condition caused when the body lacks enough oxygen to maintain normal physiological function. When a plane loses cabin pressure, the temperature inside the plane drops, and passengers feel great discomfort in their ears and eyes, but the main health risk is low oxygen. —AeroSavvy.com

Our twenty-one-day fast ended just six short days ago now. It was an amazing, refreshing, illuminating, and personally edifying time for me and many in the Body. Thank you, Abba, for doing what only you can through the power of your Holy Spirit when your children seek you with a sincere and repentant heart.

Shortly after our corporate fast began, I saw in the spirit oxygen masks hanging down in an airplane cabin while doing my morning devotion. I then heard the Words in my spirit, “change in cabin pressure.” And the Holy Spirit began to minister to me. I do not feel released to share all that was given to me now, but I am confident in sharing the following. Before I do, I feel lead to preface what I am about to share by plainly stating that I am not a prophet. I do not profess to walk in the anointing of that sacred office. That said, as with many of my fellow believers in Christ, I have prayed that I should both love as I ought and seek the gift of prophecy, just as the Apostle Paul instructs us to in 1Corinthians 14:1. “Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.” Yet, even while praying in this vein, I understand that the pure prophetic voice is a gift from God. One He alone freely bestows on those He chooses that they might walk in it to warn, encourage, or to declare His judgment or intentions, to share some revelation with an individual or group that only God, in His Sovereignty, could know. Prophecy is not something one can gain by study or force, by human ingenuity, lest it is false prophecy. God forbid! I encourage every believer, new or seasoned, never to follow, to swallow whole the words of any man, but in all things, all things, use wisdom. Take what is said, read, spoken over you, and lay it aside your final authority, God’s Word. If what you’ve heard or read, what has been told to you, spoken over you, does not align with His Word, I encourage you to spit it out quickly, lest, left unchecked, it poisons you. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” –1 John 4:1.

Many false prophetic voices, coupled with a lack of discernment within the Body, have caused God’s people to go astray in recent months. We will each give an account to God for what we have asserted comes from His mouth.

My position on the Prophetic clearly stated then, let’s continue.

You may be thinking, okay, got it. I agree with all that. But what does a Word from God and an airplane’s cabin pressure have to do with each other? My hope is by the time I share what I have been given, I’ll have answered that as clearly as I am able. As most know, each seat on an airplane has an overhead panel. On that panel, you find your air vent, call button, light switch, etc. What is not so obvious is the oxygen mask tucked discreetly away within it. I’m sure those who’ve flown have watched or half-watched as a flight attendant walked the passengers through the safety procedures? Step by step, they explained what to do in the event of an emergency or sudden change in cabin pressure. How, when the mask dropped down, place it over your face, securing it tightly by pulling on the attached elasticized band, putting your oxygen mask on first before helping a child or anyone else in need. And though you may not see air moving within its airbag, oxygen is indeed flowing.

And herein lies the connection between a change in cabin pressure and the Word God gave me:

The Holy Spirit made it clear that the days in which we live, these “perilous times,” are about to ramp up quickly, becoming increasingly darker ever so quickly now. This quickening, the shift has already occurred. With it, the volume of the clanging, clamoring voices of the world—those of the false prophets too. Their voices will increase both in number and intensity. And those believers who are not firmly rooted in the Word of God, now more than ever was the sense I had, will be easily deceived. Led astray, they will wander from the Truth because they are not rooted in it. I heard the Holy Spirit say that the cabin pressure has already changed—hence the masks hanging in mid-air.

As it is now and ever shall be, until the Lord’s return, expressly in these last hours of human history, we need to know God’s Word for ourselves more than ever before! It’s dark out there, friends, and it’s getting increasingly darker. We need God’s Word, our Word—for our very existence; as surely and desperately as we would need oxygen to breathe if the pressure in the cabin of a plane changed suddenly, lest we perish. Without God’s Living Word, we are starved of wisdom, direction, and knowledge. Adrift, direction-less. Air-less.“But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge” –Job 36:12. Without it, believers, all humanity in truth, are starved of knowing how God has chosen for His children to conduct and walk out their lives. His Word, the very guardrails that keep us safe and our feet on that narrow, straight path; the staunchest of believers susceptible to stray from, falling prey to the wiles of the enemy without the guidance and affirmations God’s Word affords us all. “Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” –Psalm 119:33;105. Knowing this then, we must first take a firm hold of His Word for ourselves—applying it daily, liberally, to every facet of our lives, our thoughts. Hungrily breathing it in if you will, guaranteeing it is the standard by which our desires and ministries are measured. Doing this as instinctively, deliberately, and with the same innate urgency to live, we’d display in thirstily reaching-out for said oxygen-mask if it suddenly dropped before us mid-flight!

Assuredly friends, God’s Word is that essential for Godly living. Not only for our day-to-day well-being, equally our eternal destination. Because believe it or not, we each have one. Reading and studying God’s Word is an intentional act. We each must decide, choose to cling to it.

These are perilous times, my brothers and sisters, new friends. And perilous isn’t an everyday word. It’s not one we come across much in our daily lives except perhaps when we encounter it in our Bibles. Webster’s 1828 edition, my go-to dictionary, defines perilous this way: dangerous, hazardous, full of risk, and more. And God’s Word says this concerning perilous times: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” –2 Timothy 3:1-5. One need only look back to the recent scourge that stained our country, the violent storming of our nation’s Capital, and the staggering global death toll resulting from COVID-19. Adding to these, those that seek not to stifle, rather rid our country of anything or anyone that stands for or proclaims our God! And this list could go on and on. I say this not to instigate nor inflame, instead to cast Light on the Truth.

Friends, I trust the Holy Spirit has led me to share this Word with you that it might lead you, lead us, to repent of any spiritual laziness or complacency we’ve allowed to creep into our relationship with our Lord. To come before Him once again in sincere repentance, seeking His forgiveness and His face. Asking Him to remove any debris we’ve allowed to build-up within us, consciously or unconsciously. Those things that block the flow of His spirit within us, that He might more effectively minister to us personally, and outwardly, that His Spirit might flow more freely from us, reaching those He’s predestined us to reach. Things like too much T.V time and not enough Bible time. Making the time necessary to do the things we choose to do, want to do, all the while willingly sacrificing our time with God to do them. God recently pointed to just such areas in my life and said, “will you offer these to me?” “Will you put these on the altar?” By His grace and in His strength, out of a deep sense of conviction and love, I said, “yes, Lord!” So, I am not condemning you, friend; rather, I share God’s correction with you in my own life to spur you on, encouraging you to reach and stretch and grab with both hands all that God has for you—wants to get to others through you!

And I encourage you to do the same. Time is short, and the harvest is great!

We serve a faithful God, friends. One who chastens His children only to make us pure as gold—to refine and strengthen us for what is yet ahead of us. But take heart, for with His chastening comes His promise: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” –Revelation 3:10.

And new friend, if you have not yet sincerely asked Jesus into your heart, inviting Him to come and take up residence within you, to lead and guide, to restore and make your life new, washing you clean of a past you may be less than proud of perhaps, then come to Him, now. It may be the very reason He’s led you here! And if I’m speaking to you, my prodigal brother or sister, return to your Father now. He’s waiting, open-armed, to receive you back to Himself.

Preparing the Way.

December 26, 2020 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“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.

Victory, in Pursuit…

November 7, 2020 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

Here we are in November 2020, suspended in thin air hoping for release, at any moment. The joy of freely gathering with our beloved friends and family, the privilege of returning to work, the gift of peace of mind. It appears time has decided to just stop without a care in the world about its effects on our human experience. Yet as I sit here asking God how I can share a spark of hope, I am reminded of all the times that God has met me with supernatural strength to fight my way through the muddy seasons of life. I’m not talking about physically, but more so mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It feels reminiscent of the story of Gideon. It’s one of great courage and redemption which seems like a timely message for this moment.

God tends to catch us off guard by finding us right in the place of obscurity where we thought we were invisible. Let me give you a tiny snippet of Gideon’s situation before we dive into the good stuff.

When we find Gideon in Judges 6, Israel (God’s chosen people) had been under the oppression of Midian for 7 years after they had “done evil in the sight of God”. At this point, much of Israel had adopted the pagan gods of their oppressors. In this case that god was Baal. Now, let’s meet the man of the hour. While Gideon is thought to be one of the greatest judges of the Old Testament, his valor did not come naturally. At our introduction to Gideon, we find that he was timid (although I’d say timid is an understatement). He was NOT the kind of guy I’d pick to lead me into battle. We meet him while he was threshing wheat in secret. Threshing is the process by which the edible portion of wheat (the kernel) is separated from the stalk, a laborious task that I can’t imagine was very subtle. But in this case, he was literally preparing his food in secret out of fear of his oppressors. He feared they would steal the bounty of his demanding work. Yet it is in this secret place that the Bible tells us, “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” —Judges 6:12.

The Lord is with you, mighty warrior?

Those words echo so loudly in the caverns of my soul. Perhaps that’s because I’ve found myself in a fearful place where hearing the words “mighty warrior” would have been too overwhelming to bear. I don’t know that I would have believed anyone who would call me a “mighty warrior”. Honestly, I’m not 100% convinced that Gideon bought it either. But I don’t think the angel of the Lord cared whether Gideon believed it, because the angel was speaking to who he knew Gideon was created to be, not to who Gideon thought he was. See, our perceptions of ourselves don’t always reflect God’s intentions for our purpose. He sees the warrior in you long before you can ever even think you’re capable of being strong.

The first thing we learn in this story is that although he was insecure and filled with doubt, God STILL chose Gideon. Instead of being confident in this identity, he came back with skepticism, listing reasons the angel was wrong according to what Gideon could see, God wasn’t doing signs and wonders anymore; God had abandoned them—and his clan was the weakest of all the clans, and, he’s the weakest in his family. These are all declarations devoid of hope. Yet, when hope is all but gone, God can restore your purpose in a moment! The response was remarkable. The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Judges 6: 14;16. God’s responses are always brilliant. He speaks to the root of the problem and not just the symptoms. Gideon is giving all these excuses as to 1) why God is absent and 2) why he’s not qualified, but it’s almost as if the Lord said, “yeah, and?” In a lot of ways, He does the same with us. Just stick with Him and He will lead you out of the hands of your oppressor! Whether that oppressor is someone, something, or even anxiety, depression, or insecurity. He is faithful to lead you into victory.

The next thing we see about Gideon is how fearful he was. This angel had just given him a divine revelation of who he was, but Gideon was skeptical; he needed proof. So, the angel gave him a sign that he was from the Lord, and then Gideon was *kind of* comfortable following his lead. The first thing the Lord commands Gideon to do is to tear down the altar to Baal. Now, instead of making a scene in broad daylight, Gideon is terrified. He agreed, but he did it at night when no one could see. Let’s stop here and observe something. How often do we get caught up trying to make ourselves good enough to live for God or even do something as simple as going to church? Right here, in this humble story, we learn something about God the Father, He’s not afraid of your fear. Gideon was afraid, but he obeyed while afraid. God knows our fear, but he’s looking for our obedience. He alone will give us the courage to obey His Word in the face of our greatest fears!

Are you getting the gist of Gideon’s personality yet? I hope so!

Let’s fast forward a bit. Now, Gideon is getting used to fearful obedience (which ultimately turns him into that mighty warrior God knew he was). God leads Gideon to fight a battle with Midian (remember, these were the oppressors). Now, the Midianites were a large army; the Israelites were not. But that’s JUST how God wanted it. In fact, as small as the Israelite army was, God wanted it smaller still. God’s power shines brightest in the face of the impossible. So, Gideon chose 300 of the most unlikely men to be in his army, and off they went to war.

Now, if you’ve made it this far, here’s where I REALLY want you to pay attention!

Gideon and his three hundred men exhausted, yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. –Judges 8:4. The text makes it clear these warriors were exhausted. But they KEPT. ON. FIGHTING. How many times have you been so exhausted and wanted to throw in the towel? I for one have oft found myself too tired to keep moving forward, maintaining joy amid crisis, keeping faith when I felt incredibly let down, finding hope when it felt like I was drowning. I’m sure you can relate in some way? But be of good courage, because if you walk with God, He promises to be with you! He will give you strength. He’ll give you what it takes to keep up the pursuit! Victory is often just around the bend, yet how often we miss it because we quit too soon. Keep fighting. Keep moving. God is on your side!

You may find yourself in the same place Gideon was—just living your life when bam! your all of a sudden moment comes, and you get that sense that there must be more to life than this. We can be doing the most normal thing when God moves us to action, and it’s up to us whether to respond with obedience or complacency. As we think about this time we are living in, may I remind you that God has created you and me for such a time as this, to surrender to Him, be His righteous ones, live with the kind of obedience that “does it afraid”, and fight until the battle your in is won. I know these are trying times, but remember, God’s power shines brightest in the face of the impossible. “His power is made perfect in your weakness” 2 Cor 12:9.

Are you afraid, tired, hopeless, doubtful, lonely, anxious? God sees you. He knows your short-comings, yet He still calls you by name- the name HE gave you. It’s up to you to respond. With God by your side, victory is yours! I invite you to turn to Jesus, repent of anything in your life that may not be pleasing to Him, and ask Him to walk with you, giving you courage and strength to live to your fullest potential.

Transformed. Acts 9:3

December 14, 2019 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

**“Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.”**

Friends, for the remainder of Advent, I will continue to share shorter posts centered around Jesus as the “Light.” It is this aspect of Himself that He has been impressing upon my heart, and, I believe, wants to re-mind us of. In these dark days, these turbulent and uncertain times in which we live, be remind friends: Immanuel is here, still! He is sending His Word out in this season of hope to refocus our hearts and minds on Him. To rekindle our remembrance of His promise to, “never leave us, never forsake us.” My prayer for each of you in this season of hope is that you will look up and be refreshed, reawakened, or, perhaps, awakened for the first time, to His Truth. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5.

Suddenly: unexpectedly; happening, coming, made, or done quickly, without warning.

One moment Saul was intent on killing the leaders of The Way and taking anyone who even remotely smacked of Christianity captive. And in the next, he finds himself blinded by the Light of the glory of God. At that moment, Saul experienced the “suddenly” of God. Scripture states it this way: “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” –Acts 9:1-2. Armed with letters of authority from the high priest to commit these unspeakable atrocities, Saul had set off for Damascus to address the synagogues there. He was asking for their cooperation in the arrest of anyone they suspected maybe following The Way. He wanted them all, every man, woman, and child in chains that he might have them dragged back to Jerusalem.

Religion will do that to us. It will drive us into believing that even our wrongs are right. It will so blind us to the Truth, that we’ll dress up our sins and earnestly offer them up to God as a sign of our love, our loyalty, just as Saul did. Only the Pure Light of God’s Truth is able to remove these scales, this crust of religious ideology from our eyes, enabling us finally to see this Jesus who is standing right in front of us…

Little did Saul know, however, that he was, and would continue to be, an intricate part of God’s plan of salvation for the gentiles. As a result of his ravaging and persecution, these new followers of The Way fled Jerusalem. And, with them went The Truth. This knowledge of Jesus as their Savior. Of Him being The Way—the only way, back into right relationship with the Father. And this Truth spread with their every step. From one to another it passed, this life-changing Truth could not be contained. It passed from one to another, sating the thirst of each one it filled just as surely as if water had been given to one who is parched. In Saul’s attempt to silence the voice of those that now carried the Word of God within themselves, he had unwittingly become one of its greatest catalysts. But, before Saul could accomplish his insidious plan to bring an end to The Way, however, God would stop him in his tracks—literally. Listen to what God has to say about men’s plans: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” –Prov. 16:9. It was God’s plan, not Saul’s, that would prevail. It always has been, and it always will be…

The verse following today’s Scripture says this: “He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” –verse 4.

Saul, in the midst of his sinful, awful tirade, hears the voice of the Resurrected Jesus, and its Truth pierces him to his core. At that same moment, he is blinded by the Pure, All-knowing Light of this same Jesus. He has caught a glimpse behind the veil, been made a witness of the blinding Truth of God. All his misguided zealousness, his religion, must now give way to this Truth that exposes men’s darkest deeds. Saul will forever be undone by this one encounter. And so too, must we…

Saul was blinded, yet, in a very real sense, his eyes had never seen so clearly.

In Saul, we’re able to catch a glimpse of ourselves. Our desperate need for transformation, for reconciliation. In Saul we also witness great hope. The fiercest of sinners can be saved! It is not too late for you, for any of us, to turn to this Jesus and ask His forgiveness. Ask Him to come into our hearts, forever changing them. In Saul, we recognize our deepest need: to meet this Resurrected Jesus face to face. To be transformed, as he was, by this God whose Light is no longer swaddled and lying in a manger, a Christmas babe. Like Saul, we must be willing to leave our religion, our idols, and intellect, our traditions, and pride at the feet of Truth—our love offering, our due. We must come and bow before Him, fall to our knees, face to the ground, in humble adoration, in submission, in awe. Then, stand up, bold, and changed, and willing and wanting to tell anyone and everyone about this Light that pierced the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds.

The Light that is coming again, soon, and very soon…

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” 1 Corinthians 15:50-52.

Jesus came to Saul just as He comes to each one who has, or ever will be, saved: suddenly and without warning. And, just as suddenly, He will one day call us back to Himself—eternally. No man knows that hour. Not even the Son…

Friend, this Advent, ask yourself this one question: If Jesus suddenly showed up today, are you ready to meet Him face to face? Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Paul’s experience alone ought to dispel that lie. Where are you spending your eternity? If you don’t know the answer to this question, please, I implore you, ask this same Jesus into your heart now, don’t delay…

Deliverance. Exodus 14:21-22.

May 19, 2019 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

“Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!”.

Talk about being delivered in a way you never saw coming! Whoever heard of a sea dividing then standing at attention; allowing folks to walk smack through its middle all night long?

What do you do when your deliverance comes wrapped in risk?

When God asks you to take a leap of faith that looks more like cliff diving at Possum Kingdom Lake than puddle jumping in the summer rain? When it’s tied-off with ribbons of uncertainty and challenge? When you come face-to-face with your deepest truths—your fears. When everything you think you believe about God, have known of Him, your faith in Him, the depth of your relationship with Him—is unexpectedly challenged? Shifts beneath you somehow. When the familiar of it all is suddenly slipping through your fingers like so much sand? How do you survive that walk through the unfamiliar? Through the soul-crushing valley-of-the-shadow-of death and then back, yet again, into the bright newness of your next season?

What did it look like when God moved in your life? When He delivered you from an enemy intent on your destruction? When He said “enough” to your bondage, “no more” to your being held captive. Did your freedom come wrapped the way you hoped it might? Or, did it arrive ragged and banged up? Looking like some barely recognizable version of what you’d imagined it would?

The Israelite’s faced what undoubtedly appeared to be certain death.

Pharaohs army closing in on their left—and on their right an outwardly impassable sea. What do you do then when you’re faced with an impossible situation? How does going from a seemingly bad situation to one that’s worse affect your faith? Does it send you chasing after God? Doing all that you’re able to stay tucked-up tight under His Providential care? Or, does the impossible before you remain just that, the impossible that’s before you?

Faith or flesh? How do you respond? Moses and the Israelite’s had to decide. So will you and I…

As we’ll see, the Israelite’s opted for the flesh. Moses, in contrast—held tight to his faith. On one side you had thousands of people grumbling and faith-less; carping about how they would have been better off to have died in Egypt—remained in bondage—rather than to die in an unknown wilderness. All they saw was the impossible, the unmovable, the outwardly insurmountable that was hemming them in. These same descendants of Father Abraham, hand-picked by God to be saved—had lost that faith. These same souls who had witnessed God bring water from a rock, deliver fresh food to the desert floor each morning, these whose clothes and sandals never got old though they wore them for some 40 years; responded to Gods delivering them from Pharaoh’s savage grip with grumbling and fear. Resentful of His method—they were angry with Moses for the loss of the familiar chains that had bound them. Truth be told—don’t we each have a bit of this same tendency within us? This leaning towards fleshly “living in the moment.” This grumbling and high-mindedness? An initial knee-jerk resentment towards God for pulling us out of the familiar muck that we’d become accustomed to? Our pride-filled thinking that often says, “if I were the one able to deliver someone, I would do it so much differently—painlessly and swift.

On the other hand, if you’ve been walking with God for any length of time surely, you’ve witnessed His mercy and grace? I can only assume that He has delivered you from one or more, if not perilous situations, then perhaps that near-miss situation. That, how am I going to make it this week—this month—today situation? That, “how did I walk away from that in one-piece” moment? Maybe He’s kept you from losing it when your spouse walked out—or worse, died suddenly. When a parent took ill—or your child. When you went through that season when God went silent and His silence shook you to your core! Or, maybe, God has asked you to take your hands off of something—someone or someplace? And, although what you experienced while immersed in it was painful, it was nonetheless familiar—had become dangerously safe. That’s what it may have felt like to be an Israelite wondering around in the desert. Suddenly set free from years of bondage. Their faith being stretched and tested to its breaking point; they cursed Moses and questioned God rather than seeking after Him.

Though their miracle stood literally before them, expectation blinded them for seeing it. And yet, despite their lack of faith and their grumbling, contrary to their blindness and hard-heartedness, God never left them. To the contrary, He was always one step in front of them, leading them ever closer to Himself. Oh, how He longed for them to just trust Him…

And then there’s Moses. A man whose faith allowed him to look out over this same seemingly impossible situation, with great faith. A man familiar with the unconventional. An Israelite raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in Pharaoh’s palace. A man accustomed to the wilderness. Familiar with Gods placing him in the midst of impossible situations. A bush ablaze that is never consumed. Facing a half-brother who resented him as pitilessly. Moses, a murderer returning to the very scene of his crime. This man with a stammer was told by God that he’d become His mouthpiece; a vessel used to help free His people. A man who, in spite of his own fears determined he’d be faithful to God; regardless of what stood before him. Moses was a leader forged over 40 years of being crushed and reshaped during his Midian exile. He was a shepherd. A man who knew first-hand that God never fails.

As both sides stared down that same seemingly impossible situation; Moses believed not only could God deliver them all—more, He surely would. The Israelites on the other hand wavered. Their faith devoured by their fickle feelings. And yet each of these, be they faith-filled or fickle, had a purpose in Gods redemptive plan. Each is our example. As believers, we must choose however whose example we will follow when faced with our own impossible wilderness. Will we hold tight to our faith? Or will we follow after our feelings?

Because here’s the thing—when you belong to God as the Israelites do and He decides some-thing, some situation, relationship, or habit when even the topography of your life must be changed; it’s going to change. It is simply impossible for Gods will to be thwarted. As surely as His Body was broken for you, He will split a sea wide open to make a way for you. Not only is God Sovereign, He loves you too much to leave you trapped in bondage. Somehow, if you are His, He is certain to bring your deliverance to pass. The unknown of it—to you and me at least, is His timing.

Moses’ hands are lifted beloved. Your sea is about to open before you…

Be expectant my brothers and sisters. God has heard your cry—deliverance is at hand. Allow me to encourage you to remain pliant, stay wide open to whatever—however, God has chosen for you. Trust Him. Period. Be ready to move wherever God may be leading you in this season of your deliverance. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God the holy God of Israel, who saves you. I will give up Egypt to set you free. I will give up Ethiopia[a] and Seba. I will give up whole nations to save your life, because you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honor” –Isaiah 43:2-4.

And friend, if you’ve found yourself here for the first time, or, if you’re a returning friend know this: There is no such thing as a coincidence. God has led you here today because He wants to deliver you—lead you, into all that He has waiting for you. Won’t you follow Him today? Please ask Him into your heart as Lord and Savior this day. No man is promised tomorrow. 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” –Romans 10:9

Category: Destiny! (Page 4 of 6)

This Is Me, And You. Abraham, too.

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The Heart Of Judas.

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Previews…

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What’s in Your Hand?

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Cabin Pressure

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Preparing the Way.

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Victory, in Pursuit…

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Transformed. Acts 9:3

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Deliverance. Exodus 14:21-22.

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