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

Category: Grace (Page 7 of 7)

Preparing the Way.

December 26, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His Star & His Ambassadors…

December 19, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” –2  Corinthians 6:1-2.

Paul is referencing the Prophet Isaiah here. More accurately, Isaiah is sharing with us what God has shared with Him directly concerning a future time and Ruler that will be born to His people, to Israel. Isaiah 49:8 is a love note from God, to us. It’s God pointing us towards the coming of His Son, Jesus, towards salvation and grace. Some say God is talking through Jesus, to Isaiah, pointing Him towards His acceptable time, His season of good-will, toward His virgin birth that will usher in God’s New Covenant. One that will be sealed by the Spotless Blood of this same One written about but yet to be born. “Thus said the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard you, and in a day of salvation have I helped you: and I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;” –Isaiah 49:8.

This Ruler and time would first be announced to the lowly, to a virgin village girl who would soon be overshadowed by His Holy Spirit. Followed then, by those lowly shepherds guarding the Temple flock the very night that same girl gives birth to God’s Son, Jesus. Had there never been a cradle, there would never have been The Cross. Jesus was born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem to one day die in our place. But before that, before He dies, He will grow up and challenge the status quo. He will touch and change and revolutionize our understanding of what it means to love God absolutely—and our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus was born, in part, to be our errorless guide, our unswerving Teacher—flawlessly demonstrating what it means to be a genuine co-laborer with the Father. To be the only man born of a woman worthy of taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world. This Godman. That tiny Babe wrapped in swaddling milk rags man’s only way back into right relationship with the Father. An unorthodox telling of the Christmas story for sure, yet True, nonetheless.

Long before the angel appeared to Mary, God had conferred upon man the unfathomable privilege of co-laboring with Him—of being His emissary. “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” –Genesis 2:19. Even before God’s Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary or that moment, a specific one of His stars pierced the clear night sky while certain shepherds tended their flocks or wise men in a distant land poured over their charts and maps in search of Him. God had chosen us, you and me, Paul, Isaiah, and Mary and Joseph, each to be His. The recipients of His magnificent gift of salvation, of His utterly amazing grace. Paul is admonishing the Church in Corinth never to forget this. We would be wise to take heed as well! To not receive God’s grace in vain. Be it our undeserved saving grace or the daily graces afforded us moment-by-moment that enable us to “live and move and have our being.” Instead, Paul is encouraging us all to follow his example of wringing out the very last drop of this grace afforded him, afforded us daily, in service to His God. He is also reminding us that we are, after all, God’s ambassadors here on earth. Our loyal service the King’s rightful due then. Those shepherds tending their prized Temple sheep, sheep having been set aside solely to be sacrificed for Israel, for its atonement, did precisely that. They lavishly spent every cent of the grace afforded them in service to their newly born Messiah.

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” –Matthew 2: 6.

Scripture tells us that no sooner than this preternatural star-emblazoned their otherwise ordinary night sky, an angel appears to them and, “the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them,” informing them that their long-awaited Messiah had just been born. Scripture goes on to tell us that they were terrified! Yet, despite their fear—their awe-struck-ness, they were off to find this Holy Babe. And, once they had seen Him, Scripture tells us they told everyone they came across about Him—about the extra-ordinary events of this very holy night. “And those who heard were astonished.” Grace had been afforded these shepherds. And they spent it all in service to the Babe they found lying in a manger. These were wise servants, indeed. We would do well to model our faith-walk after theirs. “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” –Luke 2:10-12.

It is said that on the evening of December 21, 2020, centuries since the last time what is being hailed as the “Christmas Star,” in 1226, to be precise, the observable conjuncture of the planets Jupiter and Saturn will, some say, light up the night sky. Whether this same conjuncture of planets or a similar one is what the shepherds saw, I’m not qualified to comment on. Yet this I am confident in saying: whatever this celestial event may be, whatever it may end up being labeled as, one thing is sure, this celestial event is no mere coincidence. Those like myself, patiently waiting for our Redeemer to return, have our eyes locked on the horizon, always looking up. We are eagerly awaiting the return of the One born in that manger some 2000 plus years ago. And, yet, while we look and while we wait—we work. Just as Paul instructs us, more, like Jesus commanded us. And we share, too.

We tell of His coming and of the wonders of knowing Him—of serving Him. We speak of His great Love. He is Love personified, after all. We tell of His amazing grace and mercy, of His sweetness, His tenderness. We speak of His correction and reshaping. His great love for us will not allow us to remain wherever He may have found us. We share that He will soon return and how no one can see Him—go with Him unless they are His unless they have a relationship with Him. Like those shepherds before us, those first evangelists, as my dear friend Sam Cordeiro just referred to them in His most recent sermon, we speak as they did, of what we know—have tasted for ourselves. This Christmas season ought to be about more than presents and lights and spending. It ought to be about receiving His great love for you, into your heart, new or newly. Receiving this One, we see asleep in the manger, Christ the Lord. The Savior of mankind. God’s New Covenant.

If you know Him, brothers, and sisters, then please, don’t squander the grace He’s afforded you. And friend, if you have yet to meet Mary’s Son, our Jesus, I encourage you, no, I plead with you to ask Him to show Himself to you this day. I would so look forward to meeting you one day and hearing our Father tell you, “well done, good and faithful servant!“ “Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” –Matthew 26:27-28.

Create in Me A Pure Heart, O God.

December 12, 2020 /
Stephanie Montilla

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” –Psalm 51:10.

The posture of David’s heart in this Psalm, his simple plea before God for a clean heart is a beautiful, Godly example for us all. A humble, bold example to follow when we go before our God, who is full of grace, recognizing our sins.

That said, have you ever felt morally dirty after having sinned? Have you ever felt increasingly burdened by the shame, guilt, the regret sinning creates within you? Have you ever felt entangled, snared by a habitual sin? Have you ever distanced yourself from God because inflicting yourself with a mental flogging just felt safer than confessing your transgressions to your Holy, heavenly Father?

Being the deeply flawed and imperfect beings that we are, our natural man is bound to sin. Each of us was born with a sinful nature; inheriting the sinful fruit of our corrupt human nature from Adam – “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” –Romans 5:12. Scripture also states that even seemingly innocent children are born with this same sinful nature: “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child” –Proverbs 22:15. And David confirms this as well, listen: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” –Psalm 51:5.

In our natural state then, in our flesh, we cannot please God. Hence our desperate need for Him, for His mercy, grace, forgiveness—for His love!

2 Samuel 11:2 tells us, “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.” David’s lust for this woman drove him to send his messenger to go and bring this woman to him. “She came to him, and he slept with her” –2 Samuel 11: 4. David’s lust (a mental and physical sexual appetite for a person) was the initial seed that moved him to sin. Then, after getting the woman pregnant, (11:5), that seed bloomed when David attempted to cover his original sin by ordering the woman’s husband to return from war—all with the hope that he might sleep with his wife. Making it appear then, that her husband, and not David, had gotten her pregnant. Unfortunately, David’s scheme did not work. So, David then proceeded to have the woman’s husband sent into the thick of a raging battle. Then, while standing on the frontlines of said battle, her husband was killed (11:15). What started as a seed of lust, led to the murder of an honest man. All this to cover-up David’s sin of having had an affair with another man’s wife!

And what happened with David, choosing sin over God, continues to this day. Our sinning begins with a thought—the seed. That thought then flourishes, spreading deeper into the appetites of our flesh. And, if not taken captive immediately, we will ultimately give sin a life of its own by operating outside of the fruit of self-control.

Mastery over our flesh requires mastery over our thought life.

“…What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” –Mark 7:20-22. There is a reason the Lord reminds us in His word that the heart is deceitful. Also, that we ought to think on those things which are honorable, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy so that we may gratify the Spirit, and not the desires of our flesh (Paraphrased Philippians 4:8).

Like David, I remember giving into the sin of sexual immorality, and, while feeding the flesh provides temporary satisfaction, that same satisfaction has lasting consequences. We must, therefore, put to death those fleshly desires within us, how we used to live; this is a requirement for the born-again believer.

As we learn later on in David’s story, the Lord forgave Him. Yet, because of what he did, his sin, David lost the child born to that adulterous affair –2 Samuel 12:15. In Galatians 5:16-26, the Lord instructs us to walk by the Spirit, avoiding then, keeping far from, the sins of the flesh: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions…” –Galatians 5:16-26.

David penned Psalm 51 aware of his rebellion, of the wickedness in his heart. Then, he did what most would consider being counterintuitive – he knelt humbly before God in prayer with a sincere and contrite heart. At one of the lowest points of David’s life, he pleaded with God to renew a right spirit within him—creating in him a clean heart. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” –Psalm 51: 10-12. I love that within David’s prayer He asks God for newness, for a clean heart—not just for God forgiveness! In other words, David is saying “change my heart, God! Create in me a clean, pure heart because I do desire to live differently. I want to be made new because I want to change and love as you do, Lord!” David’s approach to flat-out run to the very God who he offended appears incongruous. Our initial human response oftentimes is to disconnect and hide from God, much like Adam and Eve did. We come to Jesus with the barest understanding that his grace is greater than any of our sins—yet with the greatest of hope that His forgiveness is transforming.

The enemy wants to keep you burdened, entangled, entrenched in the shame, guilt, and regret of your sin—in the lie of it, that you may keep your sin to yourself—hiding it, supposedly, from an Omniscient God. When the truth is, you cannot hide anything from God. And, in keeping sin to yourself, the burden of carrying it becomes heavier and heavier, and the root of glorifying self-hatred and the shame of your sin, deeper. While it may appear to make more sense to us to hide our sins from God, ultimate freedom and spiritual rest will only come from running toward God instead. Yes, the very same God who you’ve offended is the very same God you need to run to for freedom, in repentance, for newness. I encourage you – don’t allow your mind to get trapped in the perpetual cycle of guilt and shame. Like David, humbly, and wholeheartedly confess your sins before God. Make running towards God your disciplined, default cycle instead.

Oftentimes, we experience our greatest disconnect from God when our sins are left unconfessed.

A strong relationship with the Lord requires that we repent and confess our sins regularly. As Christians, we are being sanctified, made holy even as He is Holy, daily. So then Christian, don’t let your sins stop you from boldly approaching the Throne of God! When you confess and truly repent of your sins, God will give your weary spirit rest. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” –Matthew 11:28-30. A “sacrifice of the heart” is precious in the sight of God.

God delights in a surrendered, broken, and contrite heart—one that desires to be pure.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus Christ wants our hearts! I encourage you to neither wallow nor allow yourself to remain entrenched in your sins. Instead, go before The Throne of God, confess, repent, and ask Him for a pure heart, a renewed spirit. What does our confession do? It humbles us. It reminds us of our need for God’s grace, it sustains and renews our faith. Wherever you are, be honest, talk to God. Open Psalm 51, praying it out loud. Might the Holy Spirit expose the ugliness inside your heart? Yes – but only because God loves you, He wants to work on that area within you. His grace is so beautiful. It forgives, renews, transforms, and, further still, it promises this: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” –2 Corinthians 3:12.

Don’t let your sins keep you away from God. Don’t allow them to keep you from knowing or accepting Jesus into your life. The Lord already knows your heart, nothing you’ve ever done—will ever confess can surprise Him. God is, after all, Omniscient; nothing takes Him by surprise. Pray sincerely from your heart then, confess it all, lay it all at his feet. I guarantee you that your Creator will meet there, renewing a right Spirit in you.

The Rain Is Coming.

November 14, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“They came to Noah and to the ship in pairs—everything and anything that had the breath of life in it, male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then God shut the door behind him.” –Genesis 7:16.

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard the phrase “the calm before the storm”? I sense in my spirit that this is where we are in this season. I believe we are in that place of seemingly blue skies, still. And yet, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve surely seen the storm clouds looming on the horizon. The Apostle Paul warned us about this season when He spoke to believers about the hope of our resurrection and the dark days to come upon the Church in 1 Thessalonians. He encouraged us not to despair over this coming storm, rather have hope. Though he was speaking specifically about the rapture of the Church in his preceding verses, Paul makes it clear to his reader exactly how the events of this future time will unfold. Keeping in mind that Israel is God’s world clock. “When people say, “Everything is quiet and safe,” then suddenly destruction will hit them! It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor, and people will not escape” –1 Thessalonians 5:3.

When we lay Paul’s account of the last day’s side by side with the biblical account of Noah and the flood, the similarities are striking. In the Genesis account, we’re told that up until the time the Lord sealed Noah and his family safely in the Ark, life outside of the Ark was a day like any other—seemingly blue skies above. People went on about their everyday lives—only Noah and his family obeyed God. Then suddenly God told Noah to put down his bucket of pitch. The time had come for them to get inside the Ark. Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation” –Genesis 7:1.

I’ve heard it said, “sometimes faith will make you look stupid until it starts to rain.”

Some theologians say it took between 55 to 75 years for Noah to build the ark—while still others say it was more like 120. The time it took, however, pales in comparison to Noah’s unswerving obedience to God’s command to build this boat despite the fact no one had ever seen the rain. 2 Peter 2:5 acquaints us with the fact that our Noah was far more than just the builder of the Ark of God, however. Noah was God’s herald, he was one who announces the heart of God to the world, listen: “And God did not spare the ancient world–except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.” We may liken Noah to John the Baptist in this respect—each God’s herald. The Bible isn’t specific concerning whether or not Noah was ever a “voice that cried out” to those around him to repent, but we do know the work he did on the Ark itself would have been a sure and certain witness nevertheless. Hebrews 11:7 surely attests to this fact. Just picture it, this mammoth boat a conspicuous herald in itself—a portent. And yet, everyone continued to go on about their business, ignoring somehow, this proverbial “elephant in the room.”

Sound familiar?

So, what of all this? What does Noah’s Ark have to do with anything going on today? And why am I telling you about it? Allow me to answer those questions by pointing you to the Ark’s door. Yes, that’s right—its door. This massive Ark, designed in the mind of God and crafted by Noah and his sons, was able to hold far more than eight people and a glut of animals. That Ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high according to Scripture, or approximately 440×72×43 ft. The Titanic measured 850 x 92 x 64 ft. and at the time it sank had a total of 3,300 human souls on board. The Ark held only eight human souls onboard when God sealed Noah and his family inside—let that sink in for a moment. Additionally, on such a massive-sized vessel as this Ark, Scripture also informs us there was only one entrance, only one door. Only one way to get inside, one way to be saved from the rain that would soon flood the entire world. And God Himself stood as the sentinel at that door. Remember, our Scripture tells us that it was God alone who sealed an obedient Noah and his family safely inside the Ark—no amount of pitch or tar did that, and anyone else that may have was far too busy “living their best life” elsewhere. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” –John 10:9.

Friends, just as Jesus abhorred the rampant sin He witnessed in the days of Noah, the very same holds true of Him today. God, after all, is immutable. “But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to sever their memory from the earth”—Psalm34:16.  Yet just as Jesus had made a way for Noah and his family to enter into the Ark, He offered this same way to anyone else who would have repented of their sin that they may enter in as well. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” –Romans 10:13.

Noah had found favor in the eyes of God because God knew Noah’s heart was for Him—Noah’s good works didn’t bring about his salvation, God’s mercy, and His election of Noah did that. God knew Noah had an obedient and contrite heart—and it was counted unto him as righteousness, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith”—Hebrews 11:7.  We’ll see this same salvation by grace through faith evinced in the life of Father Abraham in Genesis 15:6. And in Ephesians 2:8-9, it’s the Apostle Paul who assures us that it is by God’s grace alone, through faith, and not by works, that we are saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”’

Now back to this door I spoke of earlier. This Only Way into the Ark, the Only Way that any one of them might have been saved from the rain that would soon flood the entire world...

Just as there was only one door that led into the Ark then, Jesus is that only door through which man can enter into eternal life—be restored to a right relationship with the Father. Listen to how Jesus Himself says this in John 10:8-11. Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The rain is coming, friends. If you’ve been paying attention then you’ve seen those storm clouds looming on the horizon. It may not come tomorrow, or next week, or even next year—but as sure as the rain came in the days of Noah—storm clouds are heading our way. But the good news is—there’s more than enough room to enter into safety right now—today! Jesus Christ is the Ark of your salvation, and He will open the door and bid you come in, to anyone who knocks—sincerely seeking after Him. Just as Noah was saved by grace through faith from the destruction of the Flood, we can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus, when we repent and turn to Him. –Paul F. Taylor

Friend, my great hope is that if you didn’t have this personal relationship with Jesus when you started reading today, you’ll sincerely cry out to Him now. I pray you’ll ask Him into your life—your heart, as Lord and Savior. I promise you, that if you’ll earnestly knock, He’ll surely answer. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” –John 10:9-11.

The Living Stone and the Chosen People.

October 10, 2020 /
Stephanie Montilla



“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” –1 Peter 2:9.

The header to this passage is titled: “The Living Stone and a Chosen People” and something to single out, purely from fascination, is that the author of this epistle, Peter (Greek) or Cephas (Aramaic), was renamed by Jesus Christ—his name both meaning “stone” or “rock” (John 1:42). Right out the gate, Peter points to his intended audience, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout (1 Peter 1). For background and setting, under the governance of Emperor Nero, a great fire broke out in Rome destroying much of the city. The fire’s rage lasted approximately three days destroying homes, many of Rome’s religious elements, and ultimately devastating the Roman culture. Many died and those that survived the fire were left homeless, resentful, and hopeless. Emperor Nero’s scapegoat to blame for the fire were the Christians, who were already hated for their association with Jews, their growing influence, and their hostility towards the Roman culture. As Nero spread the word of this, with the pretext that Christians were the cause of the fire, vicious Christian persecution escalated, causing many to spread throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1). The apostle Peter penned this epistle to his intended audience, suffering Christians, to provide them with spiritual strengthening. Throughout Peter’s letter, he outlines several things.

To scattered, persecuted Christians, Peter exhorts steadfastness in the face of persecution and holy, virtuous conduct before unbelievers. He gives special importance to the body of believers in that they’ve been purified through acceptance of God’s truth and that they are God’s chosen or elect people, a comforting reminder to persecuted Christians. In this letter, Peter is reminding Christians that there is purpose in suffering for righteousness with the knowledge of their future victory and heavenly inheritance. Moreover, perseverance and unremoved joy, amid trials, is what God expects from His people and is the revealer of the genuineness of a believer’s faith. Christians have Jesus Christ as the model for how to respond when the world rejects and persecutes them. Peter’s counsel to the body of Christ then, remains applicable for Christians today and we ought to be refreshed by the revelation of what it means to be “God’s elect” as Peter penned in this opening letter.

It is a wonderful, astonishing revelation to be called God’s special possession, royal, chosen and consecrated for God’s unique purpose(s) – in that we “may declare the praises of our God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light” –1 Peter 2:10. Peter calls out the distinguishing marks of God’s people that separate us from the world (1 Peter 2:9-12).

Believers are a Chosen People:

Peter calls believers a chosen people. In the King James Version, the term peculiar is used instead—a “peculiar people” and, in 1 Peter 2:9, the original Greek meaning for peculiar describes someone or something as being private property. It can also mean exclusivity, belonging solely to a particular person. Today, one can interpret Peter’s verse to mean that believers are odd, peculiar people, however, we should consider this verse as referring to believers as those belonging to God; we are His special possessions. In the Old Testament, Israel was mentioned and described as a nation chosen by God (see Exodus 19:5-6, Isaiah 43:20-21, Deuteronomy 4:20; 7:6; 14:2). I love that Peter uses Old Testament terminology to describe the people of Israel and then applies that same connection to all believers. Just as Israel is God’s chosen people, the church stands as God’s chosen people too, a new branch grafted in. We must consider that we are chosen not because we are elevated higher in comparison to others, rather we are considered chosen solely because of God’s unmerited favor: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” –Ephesians 1:4-6. God does not choose people based on their giftedness, talents, or intelligence even. That said, regardless of our giftings, what unites all those chosen by God is that awesome responsibility of adhering to His instructions, being a light in this world, holding steadfast to God’s promises, and modeling to this world the fruitfulness that comes from following God (Exodus 19:5-6). To be chosen by God is not only a privilege given us via His incredible grace, but it’s also a blessing to be used when partnered with His Holy Spirit to help convey His glory. It remains astonishing to me that God chooses to partner with us!

As believers, we are connected to the cornerstone, Christ—chosen by God to receive his salvation. When Peter wrote this, Christians were being persecuted. Peter reminds them that they are a chosen people. In today’s climate, persecution (hostility, ill-treatment, violence) towards Christians exists in various forms too, and so what Peter reminded the persecuted Christians in AD 60-67 should serve as both a refresher and reminder to all Christians today as well. Just as Jesus Christ was “rejected by humans but chosen by God” (1 Peter 2:4), you also have to bear in mind that when man rejects you, it’s God who’s chosen you! We are in this world, but not of this world. History has proven that suffering is not new to the Christian who chooses God’s kingdom over culture – but take heart! God has already overcome the world and your citizenship is in heaven! And another marker that distinguishes the people of God is that they are a royal priesthood—a holy nation.

Believers are a Royal Priesthood and a Holy Nation…

Peter calls believers a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Once again, Peter uses Old Testament terminology to describe Israel’s priests, applying it now to all believers. In the Old Testament, the priesthood had the sole privilege of offering the sacrifice and approaching God in the temple. The priests were the only ones that could enter the Holy of Holies (a special room where God’s sacred presence dwelled) but thanks be to God, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we no longer have that blockade—that veil that separated us from God, removed now in Jesus’s obedience to the Father. Instead, we can go boldly now before the Father. We have accessibility to His presence, and, as royal priests, we are united with Christ! Romans 8:17 states that “we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” – we are therefore set apart for Christ in this world. As a royal priesthood, we have been entrusted with the same authority as Christ gave his disciples (Matthew 28:18). As priests, we can intercede in prayer on behalf of others and we fight spiritually, armored, to trample against the strongholds of the enemy (Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 6). Also, Peter refers to us Christians as a holy nation, “holy” meaning set apart – as God’s special possessions! “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” –1 Peter 2:9.

Friends, whatever difficulties you may face in carrying out your faith in Jesus Christ, hold fast to Peter’s encouragement that we are a chosen people, we are God’s special possession and are called royalty. And while the world may reject us, God has elected us to play a vital role on earth for His kingdom and to declare His praises! You may ask yourself, “why was I chosen?” God chose you because of His great love for you because He desires to have a relationship with you, and, He chooses to reveal to you God’s unique purpose(s) designed specifically for you. While we co-exist with others that may not have a relationship with the Lord, we must remind ourselves that we are called to be set apart in that we’ve died to ourselves and have chosen Kingdom over culture, even if persecution, mockery, political outlaw or humiliation awaits us. God’s love is profound in part, in that it allows us, His creation, to either obey His commandments or to follow our fleshly desires and human reasoning. I love that God gives us this choice more, I hope and pray that you’ll use it to choose Him—your affirmative response then, your yes to Jesus, ensuring you too will be a part of His royal priesthood, the chosen that will share in the first resurrection and reign with Christ in God’s holy kingdom (Revelation 17:14, 20:4-6).

Proceed With Caution.

October 3, 2020 /
Kendra Santilli

Let’s face it. We’ve all been there. The coworker that knows exactly how to get under your skin; that kid in your class growing up who knew your weak spots and pulled the rug out from under your feet at just the right time; the family member who seems bent on sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong; and that friend who you thought would be there for you through thick and thin but who left when it mattered most. Disappointments happen to all of us at some point, they just may hit each of us a bit differently. These moments of great hurt often become our greatest teacher. I’m not talking about some single moment where the heavens opened to reveal a profound epiphany that changes the course of the future. I’m talking about the small moments in life that define us. Those moments when, consciously or subconsciously, habits and patterns begin to develop that will help to shape how we respond to life’s hurts and disappointments.

You see, when people hurt you, it’s easy to shut down, shut them out. It’s so easy to say “I forgive them” and yet with our next breath get angry at the mere mention of their name. The difficulty lies in matching actions with words. Time and experience are the teachers of those skills needed for living mindfully, not just reactively. Thankfully, the Word of God has practical guidance for us. So, let’s dig in!

Let’s start with the mind since we know that every action originates from it. In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul teaches us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The New Living Translation says it this way: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” And yes, you read that right. An old dog CAN learn new tricks! God can help us to change the way that we think and process! I don’t know if you can relate, but somewhere along the line, I developed this awful pattern of assuming the worst of people. It wasn’t until I got married and would express to my husband “they said that because…” or “they only did that because…” that he would ask me, “did they really say that? Or are you assuming that?” He helped me to learn a valuable lesson that I believe is a righteous one: thinking the worst of people only leads to anxiety within my own heart. I brought it to God in prayer and asked Him to help me to change this pattern, just like Romans 12 says, and I began catching myself mid-thought, remembering to think the best of people rather than the worst. Over time, I noticed that I no longer thought that way and, in turn, no longer spoke that way either. Maybe my struggle is familiar to you, or maybe yours is something else entirely? Either way, the mind is a powerful command center where you can either nurture life or choose to cultivate destruction. Thought patterns are formed from an early age. As humans, it’s easy to get stuck in the cyclical rut of these old patterns of thought and behaviors; they’re being dug deeper and deeper with every repetitive train of thought driving over them. Their tracks then setting up, and, left unchallenged, can easily misdirect us into believing that we’re always right; never stopping then, to question ourselves, our own thoughts, or motives. However, when we invite God into the equation, He begins to challenge those thoughts and behaviors, eliciting one of two responses from us: prideful stubbornness or humble change. As His creation, we are free to respond either way! God has blessed us with free will. My prayer is that you join me in choosing the humble response, the outcome is far more rewarding!

While Jesus was among us on earth, He set an example for us. An example that is quite contrary to the pattern of this world—often, one that’s self-serving. The culture of this world holds a “what’s in it for me” attitude; often manifesting in complaining and discontentment, arrogance, and greed. And, while these choices and emotions may “feel right” now, their presence in us will never lead to true fulfillment within us, or without. The Bible teaches just the opposite actually. We’re to “do everything without complaining so that you may become blameless and pure children of God” –Phil 2:14. When we live a life void of complaining (be it about things or people), we live a life of purity—one of a clear conscience. When we avoid complaining, we become blameless, no one can ever blame someone for not complaining.

This leads us to my main point… to walk humbly and love all men as Jesus wants us to. We can go through life placing veneers over certain areas of our lives that prohibit us from doing this, disguising the ugly truths laying just behind them but, these veneers are a cover at best; an illusion that only mask the impure thoughts and motives laying just behind their surface. What we cover-up, however, will eventually be revealed, no veneer lasts forever—the rot behind it then, exposed.

Our thoughts and actions must go through a refining process that only God can accomplish. If we think poorly of people and allow those thoughts to make ruts in our minds, we’ll eventually live a life devoid of any genuine expression of love for another. Instead, we must come to understand this: all people are precious to God. We were all valued at the Cross. “For God so loved the world…” –John 3:16. Being made in the image of God Himself, we’ve been afforded the often unplumbed capacity to love people with the love of Christ; the sort of love that carried Jesus all the way to Calvary’s peak; our sins nailed to that Cross that weighed on His shoulder.

There is a life-changing lesson afforded each of us the moment we come to understand that though we possess this unfathomable capacity to love—loves greatest power is often displayed not in how tightly we hold on to love, rather in how loosely we hold those we’ve come to love. Knowing they were a gift at best, and that nothing or no one will remain with us forever—save God. And so, we must learn to graciously release them when their time in our life is through, holding nothing against them in our hearts. It’s powerful when we can love people fully in the moment, all the while being fully aware that they may not be there tomorrow. Forgiving people from a place of understanding, knowing that perhaps they may have been working through their own struggles when they wronged you. In part, this is remaining in peace with all men—living in freedom. In Matthew 7:3, Jesus addressed the way we should view offenses when He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” So our answer is simple then: before opening your mouth regarding someone else’s wrongs, let’s first take a deep look inward, searching out the offense that lives in us; we may just be surprised by what we find there. Also, by acknowledging our shortcomings, we’ll grow in compassion for others! Through this process of redirection through prayer, you will see that your perspective begins to change; firstly within yourself, then outwardly, towards others. Jesus said in John 13:35, “… by this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” He didn’t say everyone would distinguish His followers by their wisdom, or by the way they pray. People would know us by our LOVE. Do you love well? Do you proceed with caution when you engage with people, knowing how precious they are to our creator? Can we stand before God one day and confidently say that we did our best? I pray your answer is, or becomes, a resounding yes! I pray, beginning with your heart and mind, that your perspective towards others continues to reflect more and more of God’s heart towards all men.

Friend, if you don’t know Jesus, I invite you today to ask Him into your heart and into your life. There is no sin too great that He can’t forgive, no life too lost that He can’t restore, no darkness too dark that He can’t illuminate, and no heart too broken that He can’t heal. Let Him lead you into a life of love for all those around you.

In Order To Release. Luke 18:18-30.

October 19, 2019 /
When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

We are nowhere near as altruistic as we imagine ourselves. Scripture asserts that the human heart is deceitful beyond our understanding—it is incurable. In it lives the ability to commit every type of sin. “For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness” –Mark 7:21-22. In our own strength, we are powerless to overcome these evil thoughts and longings. Part of the ‘all things’ Jesus strengthens us to do includes giving us His strength in exchange for our weakness so that we can release into His loving care those things that can harm us or no longer benefit us. Contrary to how we may feel about them…

Much like this rich young ruler, we cannot give back to God any-thing He may ask us to give up or over to Him, minus the power of His Holy Spirit at work within us. It simply isn’t in our nature. Self-love will always so powerfully contend against the love of God that, even in the believer, it is often necessary to stir up our minds, by way of remembrance, the will of God that commands us to give and to sow. Having a knowledge of God, being a ‘good’ person, simply knowing about God, about His Word and will and desire for our lives will never give us the grace needed—the will required to release into God’s hands those things He may ask of us—from us. We see evidence of this in the rich young ruler. Likely a leader in the local synagogue. He knew enough about God to recognize in Jesus a man well-versed in the way and words of God—a true Rabbi. Thus he came to Jesus, sincerely some say, seeking to add more, some-thing else to what was already his. He had no idea that the ‘more’ he sought after would actually require him to leave behind what he valued the most.

With all he owned, all he had been given, he was the very poorest of men. Poor in that he was unwilling to exchange these worldly possessions for the eternal treasure being offered him. Christ in Him. Christ’s Life in Him and with Him—always. Of God living and ruling and leading and guiding and adding and taking away. Matthew Henry says it like this: Can a man lose by doing that with which God is pleased? He is able to make all grace abound towards us, and to abound in us; to give a large increase of spiritual and of temporal good things. He can make us to have enough in all things; and to be content with what we have. God gives not only enough for ourselves, but that also wherewith we may supply the wants of others, and this should be as seed to be sown.

Yet outside of a genuine relationship with Jesus, minus the deposit of the internal treasure of great value, the Holy Spirit in us, willing us to want what God wants, we too are inclined to turn and walk away from the future and promise the Lord has for us; choosing also, only those things which we can see and touch and hold on to. Those things we’ve deemed as beneficial to our overall wellbeing. Saying no thank you to God because we are too busy playing God…

This thought of freely releasing into God’s hands whatever it is He asks us to give up or over to Him, struck me as I was reading 2 Corinthians 9. Why did those believers in Corinth that had long since decided to give, need to be reminded of the commitment they had made? Wouldn’t they simply just give over the monies they had set aside when Titus and the witness arrived to collect it?

In Paul’s stirring words, a great spiritual Truth is revealed. Even the greatest of Christian men are simply that—men. And, as such, are susceptible to both falling and falling short. Fortunately, for those men and women whose lives have been surrendered to God, they, by His grace, through His election of them, are lifted up again and again and again, set aright, never to be left alone in the place they stumbled or fell short. As a result, when they fail God, and they will, by His strength in them, they are able to get up and continue on in Him. To keep fighting, keep giving up and over to. Keep standing in the face of what may feel like a great personal loss because their trust and love and heart and mind are fixed on the Gift they were given in exchange for the life they turned over to God when they heard Him say, “Come, follow me…”

Jesus is a master at revealing our hypocrisy, our humanness. Not to shame us but rather out of a deep and abiding love for us. A love He desires to share with all those who will receive it. With the precision of a gifted surgeon, He will expose our inability to keep the perfect Law of God; just as He did with this rich young ruler. By claiming to have kept all the commandments he revealed that he had in fact, failed to keep them. From the young man’s first words, Jesus begins to challenge his thinking by correcting his basic understanding of what is good. Jesus informs him that only God is good. Thus setting the standard we must use when measuring what we’ve falsely come to believe is good in others. In answering His disciples’ question on which is the greatest commandment, Jesus informs us that the core of—the very heart of all of the commandments is summed up in these two: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets”—Matthew 22:36-40.

For some of us here today, Jesus may be asking us, as He did our young ruler, to release material possessions He’s allowed us use of. For others, maybe it’s a job or a relationship that He’s asking you to let go of? Is God calling you to move to another church home? Maybe He’s calling you to a new city or state? Is He asking you to bless a person, a family, or some organization financially, and you just can’t see how you’ll see your way clear to do it? Is He asking that you entrust Him with your opinions of yourself, who you think you are, that you might see yourself as He sees you? Is He asking you to hand over your vision in exchange for His? Those wounds that have had you bound, are keeping you isolated and joyless, that you may have the joy and freedom that is found only in a relationship with Him?

The rich young ruler wouldn’t do it. He chose the here and now—what he believed he needed instead of what God was offering him. Left to ourselves we will always choose what pleases us. The power essential to give over to God any-thing He may require of us is found only in the person of the Holy Spirit. And it is in our relationship with Christ Jesus that the Spirit is given us, comes and lives within us—enabling us to do those things we simply cannot do on our own. He alone empowers us to obey God and to release into His Providential care every-thing God may desire from us—up to and including our very lives. But, we must accept His free gift. The rich young ruler knew of Jesus, but He did not know Jesus. So when asked to give over something he felt he could not live without—he had no choice but to walk away. He was power-less.

Do you have the power to release into God’s hands whatever it is He may be asking you to let go of?

If you are His, I pray that you turn to the only One who can strengthen you, brothers, and sisters. I am here to remind you and me of the commitment we made long ago—or not so long ago, to God. To have ready what we have pledged to Him when He comes for it…

Friend, if you have felt God calling you don’t turn away as the rich young ruler did. Don’t think you know enough about Jesus to get by when He is here offering you all of Himself right here, right now. Don’t turn away, please. Just ask Him, from your heart, to come into your life and do what only He can for you. He’s right here waiting to give you what you need, Himself, so you will release, into His care, what no longer serves you…

Hunger and Thirst. John 4:4-42.

August 10, 2019 /
“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”




She was thirsty. Truth is, she had been thirsty for quite some time. Her thirst was so voracious that not one of her 5 husbands nor her current lover was able to fully sate it. Yet thirst isn’t what sent her out to fill her water jugs on this hot afternoon; shame had caused her to steal away towards Jacobs well in search of much-needed water….

Being thirsty will do that to you…

It caused her to venture out into the high heat of the noonday sun simply to avoid the pain caused by those whose eyes were filled with loathing. To shield herself from the incessant, not-so hushed conversations that were laden thick with toxic contempt. Conversations so loud and pernicious their acrid poison pierced her own thoughts. “Five husbands, the shame! Harlot! Do you see who she is living with now? Don’t even look at her! Wicked creature! Filthy dog.” Each word a confirmation, an echo of what her own heart accused her of during her hours of stark isolation. “Spoiled. I am forever spoiled. So dirty. Filthy. Good for nothing other than shame. No one of value will ever look at me again…”

Each acrid word a fist. And, blow after blow, the assault just kept coming…

She should be used to it by now. The years of feeling shame. Dodging and weaving and avoiding. Of isolating—and telling herself whatever she needed to hear at that moment so as not to lose her mind. And, now, after having endured the exacting heat of the noonday sun that she might avoid the words of those women whose not-so hushed conversations stung like bees, after carrying her pain and shame this long way, this burdensome weight of knowing just how far she had fallen, how barren and parched she truly was; she’d arrived, finally, at Jacob’s well as thirsty as she had ever been. Finally, she was alone—well almost. A man was just there; sitting on the edge of the well. Will I never escape the reach of these insistent, needy men?

I wonder what this one wants?
They all want something…

He had walked into what most Jews of His day considered enemy territory. You see, Jews did not socialize with Samaritans. It just wasn’t done. To give you an idea of the strict division that existed between these two factions, think of the rift that has existed, and exists still, between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Or, drink in the sheer hatred and rivalry that exists between the Crips and the Bloods, or between any other bitterly opposing faction you can think of. This will give you a glimpse into the climate that existed between the Jews and Samaritans…

The deep chasm that divided them dated back before the separation of the northern and southern Jewish Kingdoms. These Samaritan Jews had become renegades. Mere half breeds in the eyes of any self-respecting Jew! Worshipping Yahweh and all those other strange gods, idols of all sorts. Surely, they were not true Jews!—1 Kings 12; 2 Kings 17.

Hence, why no self-respecting Jew would be caught dead in a filthy Samaritan village! Yet Jesus intentionally walks right into the middle of the years of bitter animosity and rivalry. Cutting through, like a hot knife through butter, all their religious, cultural, and social barriers simply by lovingly affirming their worth. He does this specifically to offer this thirsty woman a drink that would forever change, not only her life but would radically impact all those who knew of her reputation as well.

That’s what the love of God does. It changes you from the inside out. And this same love had caused Jesus to come and sit at Jacobs well, waiting. To restore—wash clean, make new, enliven. To offer new life to, a new way. Turning the world as she had known it, upside down. He came to tear down the division, the isolation, and, all of her false misconceptions. To break down those burdensome laws that men had implemented. He came to fulfill instead, every Word that God has ever spoken. And so much more. During His ministry, Jesus hungered after every Word that His Father spoke. They were His daily Bread. They were who He was. They were Him. What sustained Him. He lived to do the will of the Father—to speak what He heard His Father saying. To bring the love of God to a lost and dying world.

A world that hungered and thirst after anything that would satisfy it, however briefly. Even if it was killing them…

And so He asks this woman standing at Jacobs well, this one who is hiding in plain sight, for a drink of water. Jesus knows that what He has come to offer her far exceeds any thing she might give to Him—even unto her very life. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” –John 4:23-26.

In being afforded the honor of listening to this seemingly unorthodox conversation, we walk away with the privilege of having witnessed the love of God on full display. His heart and intentions freely poured out in the person of Jesus Christ, for Jew and gentile alike. (John 4:7-30)

She thought this Jew who showed up in her Samaritan village wanted something from her. After all, why else would a Jew stop to rest at a Samaritan well unless they wanted something? Why would any self-respecting Jew, say nothing of a Rabbi, talk to a Samaritan woman? It was unheard of! Rabbis didn’t even talk to their wives or daughters in public, never mind a Samaritan woman! To this very day, if an orthodox Jew should marry a gentile, the family will most likely hold that son or daughter’s funeral. Leaving no room for interpretation—they are dead. Both to their family and to their community.

Hence one reason why it had not occurred to her that this Jesus, a Jew—the Messiah, would ever come to a lowly Samaritan village simply to talk with her. To give something to her—not take one more thing from her; as so many had. Yet, even though He had shared with her all He had come to offer, even though she clearly understood this was no ordinary Jewish man, no ordinary Rabbi; still she wasn’t able to see through the gossamer veil of His parable (4:13-15).

Our sins blind us to His Truth…

So Jesus takes a different tack, a more direct approach. He purposely uses His knowledge of her sins to remove the scales from her eyes that she might truly see Him. Grasp at last His true intentions in coming to her. And it works! (John 4:16-19). More, through this one thirsty woman’s stepping from death into life, an entire village that had only moments before slammed their doors in her face, now opened their hearts to her after hearing her repeat all that this Jesus had revealed to her. John’s account informs us that because of what she had told them about this Jesus—about all that He had told her concerning herself, most came willing to listen to all He had to share with them. And, they not only listened to Jesus, but they were also thirsty for more! And, so, they asked Him to stay on with them because their hearts had been opened to hearing more from Him. Just as hers had. (4:39-42).

Friend is it possible that you, much like this woman at the well, are at a place in your life that you believe Jesus would never enter in to? Would never cross whatever barrier needed to be crossed that He might find you? Do you believe your sins are too great? Have you, like our woman at the well, bought into those not-so-hushed conversations concerning your worth?

If any of this rings true for you know this:

Just as surely as Jesus tore down every obstacle that He might save this one woman—He will do the same thing for you. He already has…
You are not too dirty, to hooked on whatever your choice of drug or drink is. There is no number of men or women you have had sex with that prohibits Jesus from loving you. Straight, gay, bi, drunk, drugging, stealing, not even the taking of life will separate you and God.

Jesus did not expect this woman to clean up her act before He was willing to come and talk with her, reveal the Truth of who He is to her. He knew that once they had a real conversation—once her heart was genuinely open to hearing what He had to say to her, He would then begin to lead her into the life He had created her to live. More, she would joyfully follow after Him! Leaving behind all those sinful choices that had once separated them…

He knew she was thirsty. He also knew He was exactly what she needed that she might never thirst again…

How about you? Have you also been thirsty for a long while too? Are you willing to leave what you’ve relied on until now at the well? Drinking deeply instead of what it is Jesus has to offer— a new life in Him? …Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. —John 10:14-16.

If you hear Him speaking to your heart today please, stop and listen to all He has to tell you about yourself. Ask Him to sit awhile with you. To become your Lord and Savior. After all, He came all this way that you might….

Unmerited. 2 Samuel 22:37

July 15, 2018 /

 “You have made a wide path for my feet
    to keep them from slipping.”

Billy Graham explains that grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. Noah Webster, in the 1828 edition of his now famous Webster’s Dictionary, defines unmerited as follows: “Not merited; not deserved; obtained without service or equivalent…”

David realized that everything in his life was the result of God’s unmerited gifts. Everything. This gift, a child, born from the union of open-handed grace and extravagant—boundless love. Born from God’s own seed…

We witness David’s great love for the Lord displayed early on in his walk.

We hear the impassioned cry of a young man hailing God’s praises with unabashed delight in his declarations found in Psalm 18. We see his fierce love and adoration displayed through his venerating dance before the Lord in 2 Samuel 6:14. Earlier still, in his fervent display of loyalty when, as a boy, he slayed a giant with faith, favor, a rock, and a sling. David saw evidence of the Hand of God in every turning of his life. Life, favor, grace, provision, election, provision—each was synonymous with God. It isn’t hard to imagine that He sang of God’s accolades throughout his entire life. Be those high points or low—

The scriptures are ripe with evidence of this truth…

David’s song of praise found in 2 Samuel 22 is, but a more mature version of this younger man’s heart that had surged forth in Psalm 18. A more complete, richer understanding of the depths of love, the breadth of favor and mercy—the lavishness of the provision, providence, grace and, the unfathomable forgiveness of this God he loved. It’s the pouring out of praise from every pore.

It is the evidence of, proofs of, knowledge—gnosis.

And, we would do well to model its unswerving devotion—this adoration, towards God. To see Him just as clearly in the every turning of our own lives. Realizing with David, that it is only by His design that we have been blessed with life at all! More, if we have been chosen by Him—to partner with, be used by Him, in some small or great way. And, finally, to live with Him eternally when our work here is finished.

Grace…

David knew—is extolling the fact, that God went before him making ways where no way was possible. Created great pools of grace—bays of grace, just to surround David. To protect his feet from falling…

Be encouraged! This same God is still creating those pools today friend. He’s still walking, well ahead of His elect, towards the intersections of destiny and divine timing. All that He might provide for you those things He planned for your life while He was knitting you together in the womb. Each experience a set up—preparation for the moment you would meet the exact person needed to propel you further along in your journey of faith, of refinement—to guide you into your new season, a new level of commitment and service. A shedding of self that you might reflect Him more clearly—trust Him unreservedly.

Grace…

David is speaking to us with conviction. More, with firsthand knowledge.

He’s speaking as one whose been seasoned by life—one who has gained a deeper understanding of the mercy, grace, favor, and, provisions of God. Therefore, now, at the close of his life, possessing a much broader appreciation and recognition of what has been afforded him, conferred on him, David speaks with a reverence and humility that is born from a lifetime of intimacy and trust. From one who has left some skin on the field. One who has lived through fiery trials—has been sifted and wounded and healed and broken and mended and broken again. And now, from this place—after every win and more, after some devastating losses, still stands before us ardently exclaiming, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent people you save me.” –2 Samuel

Listen as the Apostle Paul makes plain this same ardent declaration: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” –Ephesians 2:4-10

David’s reign began roughly in 1060 BC. And the Apostle Paul’s roughly in 37 AD. Close to 1100 years separating these voices. Yet, when compared, when laid side-by-side, they speak as one. They share the same fiery declarations of adulation. Each born from knowing the depths of their depravity. The sentence their sins deserved. And each acknowledging with his life—the unmerited grace bestowed upon them.

May the same be said of us. May our cry be: “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” –2 Samuel 22:31-32.

Unmerited Grace. It came in the form of God’s only Son. It is He that David lifts his voice to—spends his life in the service of. God’s Son wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Rejected by men and despised by many. Bruised for our sins—He took upon Himself the penalty for our sins. Stripped, He was beaten to within inches of His life. Pools of Blood shed—in them alone is life and grace and mercy and the forgiveness that David and Paul and Me and countless many sing our praises of thanksgiving to.

Jesus alone makes our paths wide that our feet may not slip. But oh, what it cost Him…

Friend if you are here today for the first time I believe God has directed your steps. If you’ve not yet asked Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior—it’s why He has you here now. Why you stuck around until the end. Please ask Him into your heart today. Tomorrow is promised to no man. “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.

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