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Category: Grace (Page 1 of 8)

The Lord Is My Shepherd…

August 15, 2026 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4.

The Lord has led me to this Psalm, a personal favorite, in times of trials, loss, pain, fear, or need: for wisdom, comfort, provision, direction, and as a reminder that Jesus is the same God in this season as He was in seasons past. Faithful to meet my every need then, and equally able to meet it now. He’s God, forever meeting me in my place of need. My Shepherd, who will comfort me, give me the wisdom, direction, and discernment I need—not necessarily the answer I want or am praying for.

For that, though challenging to take in at times, I am grateful nonetheless.

Jesus’ calling me to more, the uncomfortable, unforeseeable more, that affords me the opportunity to grow in Him, become more like Him.

To put the full weight of my trust in Him, above everyone, especially myself; having done that more times than I’d care to admit, with what I can say were less favorable outcomes. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” –Proverbs 3:5-6

Jesus alone has seen my end from my beginning; He alone knows what’s best for me—on this one Truth I have bet my life…

Jesus is asking me to step out in faith for yet another Red Sea adventure with Him, to trust Him; maybe He’s asking the same of you in this season as well, beloved? Asking that we fix our eyes on Him. To encourage ourselves when what we see in front of us has yet to manifest into the fullness of what He has promised. To keep pressing into Him, moving forward by faith, trusting His leading by reminding ourselves of His unswerving faithfulness in every detail of our lives—how He’s met our every need—in times past. So let’s keep each other in prayer as we cast our nets out yet again, at our Master’s command.

Jesus alone has always been, and always will be, my Provider: I pray you can say the same. Jesus’ care of me—and you—is nothing if not personal. “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” –Emphasis my own.

Child of God, perhaps you too need a reminder of who Jesus has been to you in seasons past, in order to mount up in the strength you need today, and to keep pressing into Him for your right-now needs. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”

New friend, if you have yet to meet Jesus for yourself, if you don’t have a loving, committed one-on-one relationship with Him, today is the day Jesus has ordained for the two of you to have such a relationship. Despite your age, your health, your financial standing—whether single, married, or divorced, man, woman, gay, straight, or a transgender young adult, despite your past, no matter how messed up and sinful it may have been; God’s not finished with you yet. How can I say this with certainty?

You’re still here.

So long as there is breath in your lungs, Jesus is reaching out to you—still, or yet again. “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.”

Jesus is offering you all that you’ll ever need, in every season He’ll lead you through, and so much more—if you’ll let Him. How? It starts by inviting Him into your heart. Repenting of your sis and meaning it. Because at the end of the day, it’s your heart Jesus is after. A heart fully surrendered to Him—His will, into His care, and into His unfathomable love for you. Jesus desires your all-in trust. “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.” –Proverbs 23:26.

Is the Great Shepherd calling you into a new ministry, move, or a new position perhaps, in His Kingdom, child of God? Something that, in the natural, looks impossible. The finances don’t line up. You can’t see the end from the beginning—so you’re afraid to step or misstep, possibly?

Perhaps Jesus is asking you to let go completely of what you know is an answer to prayer, the very thing He alone is responsible for providing for you. That home, church family, that circle of brothers and sisters you’ve built bonds with—a rhythm that works and flows with ease, given to you for a season by God—but now, He’s asking you to release it, and to trust Him, sight unseen, for your next “God-thing.”

Or maybe you are walking through the valley of loss—the shadow of death has passed over you. Even now, darkening everything in front of you, making it impossible for you to see clearly. Are you mourning the passing of a loved one, a child you miscarried, or your closest friend—that one who was more of a brother or sister, really—and you’re feeling like the weight of such grief will surely crush you? Hold on! Run to Jesus. He is near, He is near! “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”

Hold fast to the Good Shepherd as you walk through your Red Sea moment with Jesus by your side, reminding yourself: “I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

Beloved, if the Lord is asking you to take your hands off something He’s given you—entrusted to you for a time—even a long time, don’t hesitate—I know, easier said than done; I’ll remind you here, however, that everything and everyone you have or have had the privilege of “getting to” know—rightfully belongs to the Lord. Hard as it may be to see or understand right now—you must, must, walk by faith and not sight, lest you fall.

Asking “why” right now is asking the wrong question, beloved—even though you long for God to answer you, give you some reason to help make sense of things; still, Job taught us God owes us no such answers.

The correct question, in every season, loss or plenty, mountain or valley, is this: “What are you trying to teach me, Lord?” Because whatever you are experiencing had to first pass through God’s Sovereign hands; thus, He is using it to shape you into the image and likeness of His Son, Jesus. Whether that makes sense to you now or not.

Our Father always does what is best for us—not what we understand or feel comfortable with—and we do well to remember that by remembering He bought and paid for us with the spotless Blood of our Good Shepherd. “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Friends, I encourage you to read Psalm 23 in its entirety; regardless of the season you’re in, it will bless you. As you read it, do so remembering Who this Psalm is speaking of; then, posture your hearts with the respect, deference, openness to His will, and the righteous fear due the name of Jesus. “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”

Psalm 23 is all about Jesus, beloved: His heart toward you.

Line after line speaks to His very nature and Character. What He has done and is doing in your life and mine, every day, in every circumstance, because He first loved us. The Lord is our Shepherd; we shall not want, even when you and I walk through what can certainly feel in the moment like our darkest valley.

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” –John 10:3-5;10

As with the Master, so with His students: will you lay down your life for Him, child of God—when you hear His voice calling you into unfamiliar pastures?

You Have My Word On It…

August 8, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.” –Psalm 138:2

Today, we’re going to begin at the end—of this verse, that is. We’ll start with its result, the honor of God’s name, then we’ll move on to its effect, reverencing and worshiping of our Lord. Sometimes, to understand a thing better, you have to take a step back to see it more clearly. Today is one of those times. It was the final twelve Words of this psalm that caught my attention. “For your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.”  

There is no greater assurance a man will ever be given in this life than God’s Word.

If God spoke it, promised it—it’s a done deal. “For when God made the promise to Abraham, He swore [an oath] by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” –Hebrews 6:13-14

I can personally attest to this biblical Truth. Never has there ever been an instance where God has spoken to me, called me to follow Him, assured me He’d lead me or provide for me, and then failed. Not once, ever, in my nearly twenty years of following Him.

Time will surely reveal what God’s Word accomplished in eternity past—regardless of how long it may take any of us to receive it and, if it be God’s will, witness its fruit. What more perfect example of this Truth is there than Jesus’ own final Words, this side of eternity: “It is finished.” –John 19:30.

God’s Living Word accomplishes everything God intended for Jesus to accomplish before Jesus ever left heaven for earth. Let that sink in…

King David understood this.

We witness this truth in the fruit produced throughout David’s life through God’s unwavering protection, provision, and guidance. And today, we’ll read how David white-knuckled clung to this truth in some of the final words he shared before he died.

David’s dynasty and life were ending.

Still, Scripture tells us of David’s indefatigable confidence, even as he faced death, that God would fulfill every Word and promise He had made David—though he himself would not be alive to witness their fulfillment. “Is it not my family God has chosen? Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. He will ensure my safety and success.” –2 Samuel 23:5

Daniel also understood this, Truth. “Then the king was greatly pleased and ordered that Daniel be taken out of the den. So Daniel was taken out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in and relied on and trusted in his God.” –Daniel 6:23.

We’ll hear from Daniel again soon. He’ll teach us how God alone deserves all our praise, honor, all the glory and our worship…

But for now, let’s stay with David…

David had been chosen by God as the future King of Israel when he was still a young man. Some scholars suggest he was anywhere between 10 and 19 when Samuel chose him from among his brothers and anointed him as king, replacing the reigning king, Saul. At that time, men needed to be 20 years old or older to serve in the army; Samuel had found David tending his father’s sheep. “Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel told him, ‘The LORD has not chosen any of these.'” And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” –1 Samuel 16:10-12

Now you might be saying, okay, but what does this have to do with David honoring God, like in the last twelve words from today’s verse?

Through faithfully tending his father’s sheep and faithfully serving his father and brothers both, God was shaping David’s heart to one day serve a nation. Through service and obedience, trials and testing, David would learn to trust and defend the Lord His God and His every Promise in all matters, great and small.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” –Zechariah 4:10

David did not despise his “small” beginnings, and God saw how humble and pliable, yet valiant and devout David’s heart was in His Hand. “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand” –Jeremiah 18:6

Throughout David’s life—every trial, test, every “giant” he’d face—David held fast to God: “David answered, ‘You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!” –1 Samuel 17:45

David, like Moses and Noah, Father Abraham, and God’s prophets, who foretold Christ’s coming, suffering, and salvation—never witnessed it for themselves —yet held fast to God’s leading and guiding. His every Word of hope. His every Promise. Hence, David could come to the end of his life like so many of God’s servants before Him, ready to face the One he had loved and served, fully confident that everything the Lord had promised him would come to pass—not because David would be blessed to see it all; he wouldn’t, he believed, because God said it.

” This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.” –1 Peter 10-12

What a blessed assurance for us all, beloved. “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” –1 Peter 10:8-9

I didn’t forget about Daniel.

He’s going to teach us about the first part of today’s verse: bringing us back to the beginning so that we might end up doing what David and Moses, Abraham, the prophets, and Daniel did. What we’re called to do until the Lord returns, or should He tarry, and call us Home. That is to worship Jesus! King of kings and Lord of lords.

To bow before Him in reverence and humility, acknowledging His Lordship over our lives always, in everything we do. “May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him. He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. I offer thanks and praise to you, God of my ancestors, because you have given me wisdom and power. And now you have let me know what we asked of you, for you have let us know the king’s mystery.” –Daniel 2:19-23.

Beloved of God, as surely as God has kept His promises to our brothers before us —be encouraged: He’ll do the very same for us—for you.

Hold tight to that Truth, as David and Daniel, Moses and the prophets of old did, as you pray for your prodigal, that parent or friend, yourself, or anyone you’re believing, interceding for. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” –Numbers 23:19

This same Jesus, the God of David and Daniel, Moses, Abraham, and all the prophets, promises you today, new friend, that if you don’t know Him as Lord and Savior, you can: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10

What’s In Your Heart?

July 25, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

‘But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the Lord. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.’ –Numbers 14:13

The world asks, “What’s in your wallet?” But the Lord asks, “What’s in your heart?”

Character isn’t revealed in times of comfort and ease; instead, it’s revealed in times of trials, testing, persecution, or betrayal. “Even a young man is known by his actions, whether his conduct is pure and right.” –Proverbs 20:11

Once again, the people of God have rebelled against Moses. They’ve hardened their hearts against God’s chosen leader; worse, they’d hardened their hearts against God Himself—even after having been warned by Moses and Aaron not to commit such a sin against the Lord. “That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes.” –Numbers 14:1-6.

We could talk about the people’s hardheartedness and rebellion today—they’ve given us much to talk about. We could also talk about how these same people God had entrusted to Moses’ care turned on him multiple times—including those of his own household. But we won’t be looking at any of that today because the Lord caused something else to stand out instead, as I read Numbers 14. “Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.” –Numbers 12:1-2

It wasn’t other people’s actions God was highlighting, however; instead, it was the posture of Moses’ heart.

How Moses had responded to accusations and betrayal, and to the Lord telling him of His intent to destroy these unbelieving, contemptuous people and start afresh, building a new nation through Moses. “The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” –Numbers 14:11-12

If you listen closely to Moses’ plea, you can hear the far-off cry of Jesus’ own heart, interceding before the Father for the forgiveness of those who took part in His betrayal and crucifixion: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” –Luke 23:34

And later, still, as He intercedes for those who will yet repent and believe in Him. “I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message. “ –John17:20

Moses was, after all, created in God’s image and, like Jesus, had, among his other gifts, a shepherd’s heart. Hear the heart of this humble, committed servant of God in Moses’ response to His Lord’s demand for atonement. Listen as he pleads for mercy and forgiveness, not punishment, revenge, or even vindication. Moses cares more for His Lord’s reputation and the lives of those who have betrayed him than he cares for his own.

So he pleads for God to stay His hand of judgment against them, asking instead for mercy for these guilty, rebellious, sinful, lost people entrusted to his care. “If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’” –Numbers 14:15

Like Moses, every Blood-bought believer is charged by our Lord to have this same heart of reverence for His Holy Name; and mercy, intercession, and forgiveness toward all those who have rebelled against, hurt, defamed, discouraged, lied about, or falsely accused us.

How can I say this with all certainty?

Because God’s Word gives me, gives us, that authority when addressing those who have professed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” –Philippians 2:5-8

Moses valued those who persecuted, spitefully spoke against, and betrayed him as having no less value than himself, despite their cruel actions and intentions towards him. So did the Apostle Paul. And so must you and I, if we call Jesus not only Savior, but Lord. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” –Mark 10:45

Still, neither Moses nor Paul nor John, nor any Old or New Testament servant ever accomplished such a Divine feat in their own strength. Impossible! “Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.” –1 John 3:16.

So how did these believers accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat? The very same Way you and I, and every other Blood-bought believer, will. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” –Zechariah 4:6

In closing, friends, the Lord saw Moses’ heart, John’s, and Paul’s as well. What’s in your heart? “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” –Psalm 139:23-24

I pray Jesus finds a heart sold-out to Him when He looks into your heart.

A heart willing to love as He loves—valuing others, their needs, before your own. “No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.” –John 15:13

No man, save Jesus, was, is, or ever will be, perfect, friend. Nor does Jesus expect you to be. Moses wasn’t. Neither was Paul nor John. But one thing Jesus saw in each of them was a heart fully surrendered to Him: willing to go anywhere, to do anything He asked of them—including to lay down their very lives, for Him.

I pray Jesus finds this heart in you and me. “Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility.” –Philippians 2:5

Are you willing to humble yourself before Him? Put others before self? Serve Jesus, whenever and wherever He calls you?

Are you willing to forgive more, plead for the forgiveness of those who have betrayed, despised, slandered, hurt, or tried to harm you?

Moses did. John did. Paul did.

How about you, friend? What’s in your heart?

So I pray that you do know Jesus, new friend, prodigal son; the same Jesus who gave His life in exchange for yours. The Innocent in place of the guilty—His heart is Love incomprehensible. I too pray, as Moses did: that God demonstrate this Love, forgiveness, and power in your life this very day. “Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing Love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty.” –Numbers 14:17-18

If We Are Lacking Love, We Are Lacking Everything.

July 11, 2026 /

Wesley Mendes

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” –1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Throughout the Bible, God’s Word speaks about the posture of our hearts. Whether you’ve been a Christian for a long time or are just beginning your walk, it’s important to reflect on the condition of your heart and intentions. We must ask ourselves before we step into our responsibilities or our ministries, if any; before we use our God-given gifts or talents, this one vital question:

Am I walking in love?

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal…”

Think about what Paul is saying.

You can preach powerful sermons. You can sing beautifully. You can pray passionately. You can serve faithfully every week. You can even operate in incredible spiritual gifts.

But if love isn’t the foundation…

It’s just noise.

Paul goes even further. He says that you could understand the deepest mysteries of God. You could possess faith strong enough to move mountains. You could give away everything you own to help the poor. You could spend your entire life serving others.

Yet without love…

“I am nothing.”

“I gain nothing.”

Those are very sobering words.

Love isn’t an accessory to the Christian life—it is the very evidence of Christ living within us.

Everything we do should be anchored in the love of God because everything God does flows from who He is. Love Itself. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. “–1 John 4:7-8

God doesn’t simply show love.

God is love.

So if our service isn’t anchored in love, it isn’t anchored in Christ.

Jesus illustrated this beautifully in Matthew 18:23-35 through the parable of the unforgiving servant: “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went to their master to tell him everything. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

A servant owed a debt so enormous he could never repay it. Yet instead of receiving the punishment he deserved, his master forgave the entire debt. Entirely. Freely. But that same servant walked out, found someone who owed him a tiny fraction by comparison, grabbed him by the throat, and demanded repayment without mercy.

Jesus’ point is unmistakable.

How can someone who has received unimaginable mercy refuse to extend mercy?

How can someone who has been loved so extravagantly refuse to love others?

The truth is…

God loved us when we were at our worst.

God forgave a debt we could never repay.

God showed mercy when justice was what we deserved.

Today, He gives us the privilege of representing Him.

What an incredible responsibility.

We must first examine our hearts, asking ourselves: “Are we showing up in life with the same love that Christ first showed us?” Whether it’s at home, at work, or at school, our goal is to reveal Jesus.

Being a Christian was never meant to be a performance. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” –Matthew 15:8-9

As Christians, we’re meant to pour from our overflow; what’s already inside of us.

From the overflow of the grace we’ve received.

The mercy we’ve experienced.

The overflow of love that rescued us.

Your every act of service, in all you do, be rooted in this one simple truth …

You have been loved beyond measure. Now, go love others in the same way.

If this speaks to your heart today and you realize you’ve been lacking the love Christ has called you to live out, don’t let that discourage you—let it draw you closer to Him. Ask God to strengthen your heart. Ask Him to reveal the places where you’ve become impatient, unforgiving, judgmental, or simply indifferent. Invite the Holy Spirit to transform you so that when opportunities arise to show mercy, grace, compassion, and love, your response reflects the very heart of Christ.

Remember, demonstrating the love of Christ isn’t about trying harder in your own strength. It’s about allowing God’s love to change you so deeply that loving others becomes the natural overflow from what Jesus has already done in you.

And if you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, today can be the day that changes everything. The Bible assures us: “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

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived the perfect life we could never live, died on the cross for our sins, and three days later rose from the grave, defeating sin and death so that we could have eternal life.

Today, you can come to Him by faith, praying: “Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died for my sins and rose again on the third day. I repent of my sin, and I ask You to forgive me. Come into my life, be the Lord of my heart, and help me follow You all the days of my life. Thank You for loving me, saving me, and making me new.” If you prayed that prayer with a sincere heart, welcome to the family of God. Your journey with Jesus has just begun, and He will continue to shape you into someone who reflects His love more and more each day.

The Thorn In Your Flesh…

June 27, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“…So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.” –2 Corinthians 12:7

So what’s yours? Your thorn, I mean? Have you never examined yourself, asking this question in your own heart?

Sadly, I don’t believe many do, at least not regularly. I know I didn’t, nowhere near as often as I ought to have, until the Holy Spirit showed me that I had a thorn placed in me. After coming to that realization, you can bet I started asking the question far more frequently. “What ‘thorn’ have You given me, Lord, and what is it meant to keep in check in my walk and service to You?”

Funny how we avoid questioning ourselves, isn’t it?

And by funny, I mean sad. Dare I say that our ignoring such introspection is akin to acting like a disobedient child? I’m addressing myself here…

We focus, instead, on those “thorns” we see so clearly in others, rather than on our own. Listen to what Jesus had to say about us behaving in such a manner: “Why do you stare from without at the very small particle that is in your brother’s eye but do not become aware of and consider the beam of timber that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the tiny particle out of your eye, when there is the beam of timber in your own eye?” –Matthew 7:3-4

It is wrong of us, sin, really, to compare ourselves, our ‘thorns, ‘to anyone else’s.

“Thank God I don’t have that thorn!”

Still, it’s not difficult to see that each of us, to one degree or another, for one purpose or another—God’s purpose, has or will have, at some point in our Christian walk, a thorn put in our flesh. As with Paul, for a reason Scripture leaves unspecified, God uses thorns to humble us, maybe to save us, refine or reshape us, causing us to turn and cling to Christ with utter childlike dependence and to cause us to recognize our desperate need for Jesus.

And here’s how I define desperate: you’re drowning, water is beginning to spill into your lungs, when suddenly a hand pulls you up and out, and air begins to take the place of water. Do you push away the hand that saved you, or, in desperation, grab hold of it for dear life?

Paul is telling us that every believer needs this level of desperate need for Jesus, just as he did.

There’s a reason Jesus tells us that, apart from Him, we can do nothing.

If Jesus did nothing on His own, how much more you and me? Are we so prideful as to admit we are “poor in spirit” as often, perhaps, as we are not? And what we do and can accomplish for God is done, as Jesus makes clear, in His strength, not ours. “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” –John 5:30

Some challenge this statement of fact by arguing that many things can and have been done without invoking Jesus’ Presence or His aid. While some may say they can do many things independently of God, in fact, they cannot. Their thinking that a thing is so does not make it so. And their self-aggrandizing attempts to exist independently of their Maker can be likened to opening one’s mouth underwater, thinking that air will somehow fill one’s lungs—useless at best, deadly overall. And while they’d be correct in their statement of fact, they’d be exposing the depth of their ignorance of God, of His Sovereignty, Omniscience and Omnipresence, of His inseparable Hand at work in the lives of men—whether said men acknowledge Him, or not. “…He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him].” –Matthew 5:45

So I guess, in the very broadest sense, any of us, even Jesus’ most devout child, can, if he chooses to, act independently of Christ, and rely on his own strength, instead of leaning on Jesus, though, as His children, we’re instructed not to.

Not to use our own wits and grit, so-called, rather than posturing ourselves in humble dependence and reliance on the leading and guidance of His Holy Spirit at work in us, because that’s the very definition of pride itself. Of shaking one’s fist at God in defiance and rebellious self-reliance. Man’s woeful ignorance on display, like a peacock strutting, plumes fanned out for all to admire, shrieking, “Look at me, look at me!”

“But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD and HAUGHTY, BUT [continually] GIVES [the gift of] GRACE TO THE HUMBLE [who turn away from self-righteousness].” –James 4:6

So instead of slapping lipstick on a pig, let’s call such pride what it is: the condition at the heart of the point Paul is making to the Corinthians—to us, through his sharing with us of why God allowed this thorn, this severe mercy to touch Paul’s life. There are times in our walk with Jesus when what may feel to us like punishment is, in fact, the Love of God, dressed in a way only hindsight will recognize. “Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.” –2 Corinthians 12:7

For some of us, our thorn is or will be a physical malady: cancer, a stroke, traumatic brain injury, autoimmune disease, epilepsy, crippling bone or muscular diseases, a severe speech impediment, or some physical abnormality; the list goes on. For others, their thorn is emotional: depression, anxiety, and all forms of mental health struggles.

I experienced God’s severe mercy back in 2008 when I had a massive stroke that left the left side of my body paralyzed. My brain had been so severely damaged that I needed my 79-year-old mother to care for my most basic needs: dressing, bathing, and caring for me. I had lost my ability to care for myself. According to my doctors and neurological specialists, based on the extent of brain damage I had incurred, I should have ended up never having fully recovered and in need of full-time care. But God, in His mercy, had another plan.

What certainly felt like severe mercy at the time, God used not only to restore my body and mind to what they are today, allowing me to live independently and fully functioning, but, more importantly, to lead me to Him through the “thorn” He’d allowed to touch my life. To receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So I can say, in hindsight, with a joy-filled heart today, that God’s allowing that stroke to touch my life was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because God used it to lead me to His Son and to experientially understand His mercy and grace, His Love, and the new life and relationship I have with Him, in Christ Jesus, my Lord.

And to answer your question, yes, there have been many times I have cried out to God. I still do, “take this thorn from me,” as profoundly grateful as I am for having experienced what it has, and does, afford me—my life in Christ. Still, truth be told, in my flesh, when experiencing the lingering after-effects, the mental struggle at times, the fatigue, and brain glitches that often accompany traumatic brain injuries of various kinds, I can understand why Paul continued to ask God to take his thorn away from him, and why so many of you do as well. But here God’s answer to Paul, to me, and to you, beloved of God: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” –2 Corinthians 12:9.

And His grace is sufficient in your life as well, friend, believe it or not. So won’t you ask Jesus into your life today? Let Him help give you the strength and grace to endure your “thorn.”

Condemnation vs. Conviction: Is the Cross Really Enough?

June 13, 2026 /

Wesley Mendes

“There is therefore now condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1

Many believers faithfully attend church, worship passionately, serve consistently, and genuinely love Jesus, yet still carry a weight Christ never intended them to bear; living under a cloud of guilt, shame, and condemnation. Every time they stumble, every time they battle the same temptation, every time they fall short, they begin to believe the lies of Satan:

“God must be disappointed in me.”

“I’m not good enough.”

“Maybe I’ve failed too many times.”

“Maybe I’m too broken for God to use.”

If we’re honest, most of us Christians have wrestled with these thoughts at some point in our walk. The problem is, these thoughts do not come from Jesus…

Jesus’ Gospel is not built upon your perfection. It is built upon His perfection.

The Cross is enough.

Jesus’ Blood is enough.

Jesus was and is more than enough.

This does not mean sin is acceptable. By no means!!! It does not mean we stop pursuing holiness, but it does mean that our failures do not have the final word because Jesus already has. One of the greatest tricks of the enemy is convincing believers that conviction and condemnation are the same thing. Which they are not. Condemnation says:

“You failed, so you are worthless.”

“God is finished with you.”

“Hide from God.”

“You’ll never change.”

“You are your sin.”

Condemnation drives people away from God. It produces shame, fear, and hopelessness.

Conviction, however, sounds different. Conviction says:

“This path is hurting you.”

“Come back to Me.”

“Repent because I love you.”

“You are called higher.”

“Your identity is still Mine.”

Conviction draws us closer to God. It reveals sin while simultaneously reminding us that God’s grace is available.

The enemy wants us trapped in shame. The Holy Spirit wants us restored in love. When Jesus went to the Cross, He didn’t partially forgive sin, leaving some for us to carry. He didn’t say, “I’ll cover everything except the mistakes you keep repeating.” Jesus forgave our every sin: past, present, and future. All of them. Scripture tells us in Colossians 2:14, “Christ canceled the record of debt that stood against us and nailed it to the cross.”

Think about that…

The accusations, failures, guilt, regrets, and shame that once stood against us were nailed to the Cross with Jesus. So why do so many believers continue carrying what Christ already carried?

Many Christians repent but continue punishing themselves. They ask God for forgiveness but continue living condemned. They worship on Sunday while secretly believing God is angry with them. But if the Blood of Jesus is powerful enough to save you, it is powerful enough to restore you.

Peter’s Failure Didn’t Disqualify Him

Peter provides one of the clearest examples of God’s restoring grace. Peter loved Jesus deeply. Yet he repeatedly struggled with fear and inconsistency. He stepped out of the boat in faith but, afraid, began to sink. He boldly declared that he would never abandon Jesus, only to deny Him three times before the crucifixion. Peter’s failure was public, painful, and undeniable.

Yet after the resurrection, Jesus did not condemn Peter.

Jesus didn’t ask him:

“Why did you fail Me?”

“How could you betray Me?”

“What makes you think I can trust you again?”

Instead, Jesus asked a different question:

“Do you love Me?” Jesus restored what shame tried to destroy.

Even before Peter failed, Jesus told him, in Luke 22:32, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Notice Jesus didn’t say “if.” He said, “When.” Jesus knew Peter would fail, yet He still chose him. That’s grace.

God’s pattern of patience:

Peter wasn’t the only person in Scripture who struggled repeatedly. Moses battled anger and frustration. Samson repeatedly compromised and gave in to temptation. Jonah continually resisted God’s calling. The Israelites complained, doubted, and rebelled, even after witnessing God’s miracles.

Yet throughout Scripture, we see the same pattern.

God corrected them.

God disciplined them.

God taught them.

But God did not abandon them!

These stories do not excuse sin. They reveal the incredible patience and mercy of God. God does not say, “Keep sinning, it doesn’t matter.” But neither does He say, “One more failure and I’m done with you.” A loving Father convicts, corrects, restores, and continues calling His children forward. One of the greatest battles believers face is identity. Many people define themselves by their struggles. They say:

“I’m an addict.”

“I’m an angry person.”

“I’m a failure.”

“I’m damaged.”

“I’m too far gone.”

But Scripture says something different. Second Corinthians 5:17 declares, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Your struggle is not your identity. Your worst moment is not your identity. Your past is not your identity.

Your identity is found in Christ.

Our enemy constantly reminds us of who we were. God continually reminds you of whose you are. When you understand your identity as a redeemed child of God, you begin to fight from a place of victory rather than for acceptance. Some people become uncomfortable when grace is emphasized because they fear it will encourage people to sin.

But TRUE grace does just the opposite.

Grace does not say, “Sin doesn’t matter.” Grace says, “You no longer have to remain enslaved to sin.” Real grace changes the heart. Love transforms a person from the inside out. People who understand grace don’t want to run toward sin. They want to run toward Jesus.

The more we understand His mercy, the more we desire to honor Jesus with our lives.

Conviction changes behavior through our relationship with Jesus. Condemnation attempts to change behavior through fear. Only one leads to lasting transformation. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” He meant exactly what He said.

Your salvation was not left unfinished.

Your freedom was not left incomplete.

Your forgiveness was not left partial.

The Cross settled it.

You do not earn God’s love.

You do not earn grace.

You do not earn salvation.

You receive them by faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of the Cross:

You are loved.

Mercy is available.

Grace is greater.

Your failure is not final.

The enemy wants believers trapped in shame because shame keeps people hiding. But God calls His children into the light. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. One brings you back to the Father. The other drives you away from Him. So if you belong to Christ, stop carrying what Jesus already carried. Stop living as though the Cross wasn’t enough. Stop allowing shame to speak louder than God’s promises. Romans 8:1 still stands today: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Notice it doesn’t say there’s less condemnation; it says no condemnation.

If you’re struggling with feelings of condemnation, invite Jesus into your heart as your Savior. Jesus promises to take that burden from you. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed.” –Luke 4:18

Remember Me, Too.

June 6, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

 “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.” –Genesis 8:1

After God commanded Noah to build the Ark, instructing him precisely how to build it and providing him with every material needed, God then instructed him on how to stock the Ark: what to put in it and whom. Only then did Noah’s “new beginning” begin; only after God Himself had sealed Noah inside. Yet it had taken Noah between 55 and 100 years, scholars say, to build the Ark. Then, once God had sealed him in and the rains started in earnest, it took nearly another year, more, some say, before Noah’s feet touched dry ground again. In all that time, much like Father Abraham, Noah’s faith didn’t waver. He just kept building and waiting for God’s next…

So, did God’s “remembering” Noah imply somehow that God had forgotten him and those He’d entrusted Noah to care for—help save, all those months adrift atop the waters? Was Noah left out there, forgotten by God, floating along, upon something that, ’til then, neither the world nor Noah had ever seen?

As the Apostle Paul might say, “God forbid!”

And yet, when you’re out there, bobbing around in the proverbial floodwaters, if you will, “waiting on God,” it can, at times, feel as though God has forgotten you. Wouldn’t you agree?

Are you able to imagine how even righteous Noah may have felt had he dropped his guard and let his flesh speak?

I can. I’ve done it.

How I thank Jesus that, because of Him, because of a Love so merciful and complete, we get to choose to live by the faith Christ has afforded us, and not by feelings as tumultuous often, as the sea itself, tossing these fleshly vessels of ours this way and that, still…

But here’s the thing, my seafaring friend, God could never forget you! Never!

As with Noah, God is simply shifting you from what was: that time of trial and hardship, loss, times of testing, to a season of restoration—of new beginnings, literally!

So stay put until the one Who sealed you in opens the door to your fresh start, once again…

God hasn’t forgotten what He’s promised you, beloved…even if the waters seem to be taking forever to dry up, even if you feel as though you’ll never again feel dry ground beneath your feet. Even if what God is calling you to looks so big, so “out-there,” even your dearest friends—most beloved family members—just won’t get it. Truth be told, it’s taking all the faith you have to hold onto such a God-sized vision. “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” –Matthew 9:23-24

Remain faithful. Keep bobbing. Keep sending out the Dove, beloved—God’s Perfect timing will have the final say, certainly, not you. God will indeed bring to fruition the fullness of what feels to you like a too-big plan. When the Dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the Dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.” –Genesis 8:11-12

I’ll remind you here, disheartened one: you did not build the Ark on your own; God built it with you, for you, to save you, help restore what’s been lost—help bring about your new beginning—yet again. Every ounce of strength you needed—every supply necessary, even the opposition you’ve incurred, “the seemingly endless bobbing,” all of it, brought about by the Hand of God to strengthen you, deepen your spiritual roots, causing your faith in Him,  your knowledge of His faithfulness to you, to grow to a level that will support your next season. “And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:19

A level which, minus the flood, the waiting and bobbing, you’d never have reached—all this so that you might be drawn closer to Jesus—made to look more like Him, all the while being used by God to fulfill His good plan and purpose, for your own life, sure, but equally, even more perhaps, the lives of all those you’ll touch in Jesus name. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].” –Romans 8:37

So no, beloved, God had not forgotten Noah, nor the covenant promise He’d made to him.

Within just a few short verses of today’s Scripture, we read of God’s fulfilling it. “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,’ I establish my covenant with you’: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” –Genesis 9:11;15-16

And since God is not a man that He can lie, beloved, and His Inerrant Word assures us He doesn’t play favorites, you can quite literally rest assured, if the seemingly “too-big” impossible plan, ministry, move, you fill in the blank, was in fact given to you by God, then God alone will bring it to fruition. “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” –Philippians 1:6

Your job, beloved? Keep the faith. Keep trusting God—sending out the Dove until God opens the “Ark” and your feet touch the first-fruit soil of your new beginnings. I pray you won’t forget to praise Jesus for His unending faithfulness to you once He does that “too big,” impossible thing in your life. “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.” –Genesis 8:20

Do you know Jesus, friend? The Only True God, Jesus, who does what no other god, so-called, certainly no man, could ever do—save you, making you a new creation in Him. Jesus, who can make what looks impossible to man—not only possible—but make it actually happen! Sounds too big, right? Impossible almost. That God could take a jacked-up life and make it new? Not like new, but actually new. Yet Jesus does. I can promise you that because it’s His Word, and it’s what Jesus did with mine. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” –2 Corinthians 5:17

God doesn’t play favorites, friend. He saved Noah, He saved me, and Jesus will save you, too, if, by faith, you sincerely ask Him. Invite Jesus into your life today and watch what He alone will do for you—and through you.

Because your salvation isn’t about you alone, it’s about those God has placed in your “Ark” with you, before you ever thought to answer His call on your life—and yes, it is God Who is calling you today. “For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].” –Ephesians 2:10

Don’t Buy The Lie; It Is Not Too Late.

May 2, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? ‘ ” Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” –Luke 23:39-43

The world had sentenced him to death. According to them, his life was over, irredeemable.

But God had a different plan for the one the world had written off as used up. Why did God choose the last moments of his life to reveal Himself to this all but dead man and not years before, when his life may have made a difference? When he could have been used to help save others, or had time to preach the Gospel that turns hearts back to God? Only God knows. Why does God save any of us when He does? “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! —a worthless piece of broken pottery among other pieces equally worthless [and yet presuming to strive with his Maker]! Shall the clay say to him who fashions it, What do you think you are making? or, Your work has no handles?” –Isaiah 45:9

Had this man been guilty of being imprudent with the precious commodity of time God had afforded him, spending it on foolishness, sin, and selfishness? One doesn’t end up hanging on a cross because they made all the right choices in life.

And though Scripture doesn’t tell us this man’s name, age, or past offenses—only what he’d done to end up hanging beside Jesus on a cross —historical writings do; they suggest he was a man of a certain age, and his name was Dismas. And even with all Dismas may have gotten wrong in his less-than-illustrious life because God chose him to be His child before the foundation of the world, we’re still talking about him today. “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” –Ephesians 1:4

No, you will not find Dismas’s name written in Hebrews 11— “Hall of Faith” — but because of one predestined and eternal stroke of God’s celestial pen, you will find it written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. “But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end— Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” –Isaiah 43:1-4

So why am I talking about Dismas today?

What does a thief on a cross have to do with you and me and our lives?

Nothing—if you’re of a certain age and can look back over your life with no regrets. But can you?

If you’re anything like me, you can’t.

Looking back at my life, it resembled Dismas’s far more than I’d care to admit. Like him, I too was guilty of a lifetime of sin, of foolishly spending the precious commodity of the time God had afforded me, my youth and beyond, on sin and selfishness. I, too, was written off on more than one occasion by others and myself, as irredeemable: too stained, too far gone.

Was that your story, too?

Can you relate to Dismas?

Friend, brothers, I thank God there’s no such thing as too late.

If there is breath in our lungs—or in the lungs of the one the world has written off, God still has a plan and purpose for our lives—or theirs.

Like Dismas, there’s a purpose for which you and I were created. No. We don’t all end up in the Hall of Faith, but I’m praying your name is found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

There’s no sin or even a lifetime of sin so heinous that God cannot redeem it, save it, making it clean, holy, made ready to use as a living testimony to save another. “For this reason he also called you through our gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –2 Thessalonians 2:14

Dismas is a perfect example of this Truth.

God is still using Dismas’s life to call others to Himself by reminding them, through His Word, that it’s never too late to ask God for forgiveness—to save them. After all, part of why God chooses us is to use us to reach whoever He will, however He will, whenever He will—just as He did Dismas or through this teaching…

It’s not too late.

You’re not too old—too far gone—been through too much, smoked, drank, or had sex with too many, to be saved—washed clean, made new in Christ.

It’s what’s hidden in your heart, friend, buried beneath all that hardcore, gangsta exterior —what does only God see and know of you? Are you sorry, truly, for all that you’ve wasted—stolen from God?

Time, after all, belongs to Him.

Are you humble enough to admit you got it all wrong for so long that now your only hope is redemption? Forgiveness and a second chance to serve Jesus and others.

Are you willing to use whatever breath God may leave in your lungs to ask His forgiveness for all that you’ve done? That is what God desires for you—just like it was for Dismas. God has a plan for your life—and what if God will use these last minutes He’s afforded us all to do something so life-changing in you and through you that another soul is won to Him?

Nothing is impossible with God, friend.

He specializes in using those the world wrote off as irredeemable—useless, common. I know this to be true because I was one of “them”—until that moment, He looked at me and said, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity]; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”

 So, for as long as there is breath in my lungs, as long as I have use of every faculty God has afforded me, by His grace, I will use them to point you and anyone else I can toward Jesus. In His mercy, Jesus saved me, not only from the wages of my sins, death, but for Himself—Jesus wants me, just as He wants you.

Jesus saw me—called me by name, just as He’s doing to you right now, and for that alone, I am His, eternally.

That is my choice.

You must make your own.

Perhaps rereading today’s Scripture again will help you decide?

As you do, notice, there’s no altar call at the foot of the cross. Dismas didn’t recite a sinner’s prayer—he was simply and truly remorseful for his sins, all of them.

God saw his repentant heart and forgave Dismas.

He’ll do the same for you whether you ask him in church, driving down the road, in the shower, wherever. It’s all about your heart—and your sincerity.

It’s not about where you cry out to God—only that you mean it when you do.

We never hear anything more about that other criminal who hung alongside Jesus—only what Jesus says to Dismas, who recognized that Jesus was the only One who could save him. Through this, we learn how God will use anyone He so chooses to point others to Himself—notice, too, how God rewarded Dismas.

No, Dismas didn’t make it into Hebrews 11, “Hall of Faith,” yet God is still using Dismas today to point us toward Jesus.

If there is breath in your lungs, friend, it’s not too late for you and for God to use you to save another…

 “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I Am, Life.

April 4, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” –John 11:25-26

There are times Martha gets a bad rap.

But not today!

Martha has become known for her busyness—always doing something while her sister, Mary, was commended by Jesus, for choosing what is best—stillness at His feet; drinking in every Word that spills from His lips.“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” –Luke 10:41-43

Today, Jesus makes clear, however, despite Martha’s busy schedule and diligent attention to her everyday chores, she has not neglected to hold fast to what He has shared with her.

I pray Jesus’ acknowledgment of Martha’s heart, love, and belief in Him, in the midst of her busy life, despite all that still needed to get done, encourages that busy mom or pastor’s wife, Jesus knows your heart as well. He sees that sister, brother, mother, or daughter who stretches themself daily in service to others, desiring to meet their needs, all the while praying silently to their Lord for just five minutes of quiet so they too might pour their full attention at Jesus’ feet.

Now, before running to get her sister, Mary, Martha ended her conversation with Jesus by assuring Him of her faith in Him. That she knew—despite her pain, even in the midst of her chore-filled, others need me, every day life—that she could never forget Jesus is who He claimed to be, and that He could and would do all He had promised. “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” –John 11:27

So on this Resurrection Eve, I felt led to spotlight what Martha knew rather than her busyness. Martha knew her Lord. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Dear ones, you may be in the midst of a “Martha” season, still, hold tight to your “Mary” heart…

It’s Resurrection Sunday, tomorrow! Hallelujah!

For the Christian, it’s a day like no other; not even Christmas, as glorious, celebratory, and meaningful to us as it is. Why? Resurrection Sunday reminds Christians of the living hope we possess because Jesus defeated death and the grave—once, for all. And that all who believe on God’s Son, have life eternal in Him. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” –1 Peter 1:3.

No other god, so-called, has defeated death and the grave, having been raised from the dead. Buddha, Muhammad, even Krishna, to name but three; their remains, still in their graves—but not Jesus’! Jesus’ resurrection from the grave assures the believer that where He is, we will be—He has promised us: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” –John 14:3.

 With this eternal Truth in mind, please pause here a moment to ask and answer that same question Jesus once asked of Martha: “Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?

 Everyone alive must answer, friend.

If not now, a day is coming, soon and very soon, when each man will.

God’s Word assures of this—believe it, or not.

“For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.” –Philippians 2:9-11

Now I didn’t ask you to answer Jesus’ question to scare or intimidate you, quite the opposite. I asked it out of love. Hopeful that Jesus is your Lord and Savior—that you do have a loving, intimate, Life-giving relationship with Him, and have, with a pure heart, said, as Martha did, “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” –John 11:27

I ask those also, who have yet to decide their answer, to search their hearts now and ask themselves, “Who is Jesus to me?” As you do, please use God’s beautiful Truth below to help guide your decision. Understanding what Jesus did for you, specifically, is deeply personal, and your answer will inevitably determine your eternal destiny.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” –Romans 5:6-11

Because Jesus was Martha’s Lord and Savior, she had a deeply personal relationship with Him and understood this Truth.

I pray you do, or will, before this day draws to a close…

God sent Jesus into this world to pay your sin debt—and mine—a debt we could never pay—Jesus didn’t come to condemn you, friend, but to save you! The guiltless sacrificed in place of the guilty. Jesus took your place on that Cross He was savagely nailed to and died on. All that you might have eternal life. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” –John 3:17.

Put simply, Jesus came into this world to ensure you be given the opportunity—along with every man—to answer for yourself the question He once posed to Martha. “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?

Martha believed, and she is with Jesus today, where she’ll be for eternity.

How about you?

Do you believe?

You must choose, friends, because not choosing is a choice.

Heaven or hell—that’s all there is.

I’m praying you choose heaven.

God’s Word promises you can and will have eternal life with Christ if, like Martha, you genuinely believe that Jesus is who He has claimed to be and will do all He promised to do. Read His promise for yourself. “If you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” —Romans 10:9-10

It’s Resurrection Sunday, tomorrow, Hallelujah!

I pray you experience a true Resurrection miracle: being set free from the grip from the kingdom of darkness, sin, and death; being born again into new Life with Jesus; and getting to meet Martha!

It Was Never In the Water…

March 28, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.  Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” –John 5:2-8

Jesus asking a man if he wanted to get well may, at first glance, seem odd to you; doesn’t everyone who’s been sick desire to get well? Scripture tells us the man had been paralyzed for some thirty-eight years, so the answer to Jesus’ question seems obvious, right? “Yes! “You, betcha I do!”

So, why didn’t the man just come straight out and say so?

Why the excuses?

You’d think after having been paralyzed for so long, when someone stood in front of you asking if you’d like to get well, you’d immediately answer, “Heck yes,” not give them a mouthful of excuses as to why you can’t. “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” –John 5:7

Still, before we judge this man too harshly for making excuses, let’s examine some possible reasons as to why he made them instead of simply saying “yes, please!”

Look, just there, in the shadow of Jesus’ innocuous question, a veiled clue.

Something more was happening with this man than first meets the eye —the reason or reasons behind what held him prisoner to that pool for so long ran much deeper than the inability to use his legs; something had crippled that man’s heart, as well. “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” –1 Samuel 16:7

When Jesus looked at that man, He saw beyond his physical paralysis and straight into his heart.

So let’s turn to the Scriptures to learn some of what Jesus may have seen there…

It’s clear that for years, this man had been paralyzed. But Scripture doesn’t give us details. We don’t know exactly what happened to him, or when. We’re left to speculate: was he a boy or young man when he lost the use of his legs? Did he fall? Was his paralysis the result of a childhood illness? Polio perhaps?

Whatever happened and when, we meet him as a man Jesus singled out among all the others at that pool to receive healing. “One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.” –John 5:5

Apart from the obvious, his physical malady, or perhaps as a result of it, lay another, less obvious disease which had gripped this man’s heart and mind: hopelessness. Despair, coupled with misguided hope in external forces at work around him, had this man bound to something that could never free him; so, day after day, year after unchanging year, he sat there, waiting.

Outwardly, he relied on others and “external circumstances” to change his inner life and fortune, all the while growing increasingly emotionally defeated. “This is my life now, what’s the hope in hoping?” “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” –Proverbs 4:23

He’d grown resigned to his life. Bitterness had paralyzed his heart.

He’d become so intrenched in a particular way of thinking, so blinded to hope or any real possibility that something other than the rinse-repeat hopelessness of his daily routine could be possible, that even when Jesus, His Creator, Healer, Savior, stood right in front of him and asked if he wanted to be free. Able not only to use his legs, but, bonus, use them to walk into a new life and hope, washed clean by the only water able to truly free him and make him whole, the Water of the Living Word, Jesus—his response revealed what Jesus saw when He looked into that man’s heart. “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” –John 5:6-7

Maybe you can relate to that man or his default rinse-repeat excuses?

Perhaps you’ve made a few yourself?

I know I have.

I can’t because: “I’m not talented, smart, wealthy, connected, gifted,” you fill it in, enough…

I was raped. I’ve been in prison. I was abused as a child, in my marriage. I’m too old, too scared, too far gone. It’s too late for me. I smoke, watch porn, and drink. I do drugs, daily…

Here me now, the man at the pool sat there for thirty-eight years. He was lost, beaten down, hope-less. Feeling, I’m maybe, like you may be at this moment. “I’m too far gone.” “It’s too late.” “Nothing will ever change!”  But look, nowhere in his story do we read that Jesus condemned this man. Nowhere!

Neither does Jesus condemn you.

He’s come to your “pool” today, asking, “Would you like to get well?”

Perhaps, like that man, you’ve been struggling with something for years?

Sure, your legs are working just fine, but your heart is sick.

You’ve been living addicted, depressed, locked in a lifestyle choice, or relationship you can’t seem to make your way out of—even though you want to. Hear me now, friend. As surely as Jesus stood before the man at the pool, oozing love, and a desire for him to accept Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness and healing, Jesus is doing the same right now, for you.

You’re not here by accident.

There are no coincidences. Your being here was purposed by God because He loves you, and died that you might have a new life in Him—with Him—be made clean, get a fresh start!

Jesus asked the man at the pool if he wanted to be healed, and now He’s asking you. If you do, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” You’ve been given all you need for that to happen. Like the man at the pool, you had it the very instant you heard Jesus ask if you wanted it—it’s His will that you be made well.

But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” —John 5:14.

The something “even worse” Jesus is referring to is not another physical sickness—though, because we live in a fallen world, that’s possible—nor is it Jesus saying He’ll take away the physical healing he’d freely given him, no. Believe it or not, that man’s legs being restored was not the greatest gift he’d received from Jesus that day…

The greatest gift he received from Jesus—that you and I can receive—is being given new life in Him, our being born again.

The man at the pool walked into his new life on his own two legs because Jesus loved him far too much to leave him sitting at that pool in his sin. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” –1 John 4:10

Friend, Jesus is standing beside you right now. He’s sought you out today beside whatever pool you’ve been hanging out at. Know this: healing, wholeness, peace, new life, and redemption can never be found in the water of this world. Why would you keep looking for something to happen on the outside of you that needs to be happening inside of you? You need Jesus, friend, living inside you. And He’s right here, right now, asking: “Would you like to get well?”

Please, say “Yes!” “You betcha I do!”  Jesus will take it from there…

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