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Category: Growth (Page 3 of 7)

Sifted

March 4, 2023 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” –Luke 22:31-32.

Why does it feel like I am dying?

The short answer—you likely are. But that’s a good thing. Hear me out.

So long as we are here on earth, child of God, your Christian walk will be peppered with seasons when it will feel like you are dying. Why? God is pruning you, transforming and reshaping you into the image and likeness of Jesus, His Son. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. –Romans 8:29.

God is removing your dead wood—your fleshy bits. Those weak or unproductive areas in your life that siphon your precious time, attention, and focus away from Christ. Those fleshly parts of you that look nothing at all like Jesus. So if God is removing it, let it go! For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. –Philippians 2:13. Because even the so-called “good stuff” will be useless where God is preparing to take you, so off with it. Remember, God is far more concerned with your character and eternal good than your comfort

Having experienced this painful process, Peter had firsthand knowledge of this Truth. Yet he was not the first of Christ’s disciples to have been sifted. And he wouldn’t be the last. In fact, each of the Twelve had been—sifted. Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. Within this month, or year, this very day, many of Jesus’s disciples have or will experience the crushing anguish experienced when God permits Satan to sift one of His children.

Will their inner cry and turmoil echo Peter’s, perhaps? “After all Jesus has done for me. All I have witnessed and know Him to be, how could my faith be so weak? How could I fail Him so miserably!?”

And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” –Luke 22:55-59.

“I was so sure I’d rather die than deny Jesus by demonstrating so little courage in my hour of testing.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” –Matthew 26:34-35.

Have you been experiencing a time of profound spiritual wrestling, hopelessness, or fear? A time so daunting that your toes, however briefly, drew dangerously close to the line labelled turning away? A moment when the literal fear of God ran through you, icy, jolting, one that left you crying out to God, repenting of your pridefulness and misplaced self-confidence? And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. –Luke 22:61-62.

Have you ever experienced a dark night of the soul?

Has the very earth beneath your feet suddenly upturned? Where everything you’ve believed and professed was tested, tried, and found wanting?

Or that startling moment of “I am not yet who I will be.” And you find yourself taken aback by the jarring realization you are still very human, contrary to your great faith in Christ. You’ve underestimated your vulnerability and are weak, susceptible to failing, to fall. Beloved friend, have you yet come face-to-face with that moment when it was Jesus, and only Jesus (as it always is), who held you back from a fall from which you’d never get up? I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. –John 10:28-29.

It’s in that place where we find Peter, here where many may find themselves today.

If this is you—If you’re experiencing a dark night of the soul, take heart, Beloved of God, He is still with you. But know this. God allows this crushing, questioning, this desperate time of falling and failing, of testing, to beset you. Just read the Book of Job. In fact, just read verses Eight thru Twelve for confirmation. “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” –Job 1:8-12.

And no, child of God, your Father has not stopped loving you. Neither has God forsaken you. Quite the opposite, His Holy Spirit is refining you. You’re about to level up.

Now notice how today’s scripture verse is so very personal, how God is interceding for you, specifically—as surely and personally as He did for your brother Peter. And though Jesus informed Peter that Satan had asked to sift them all, He also made clear that it was for Peter whom He was praying. Peter had much work to do— and he needed to be spiritually squared away to accomplish all that Jesus had called and equipped him to do. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

God is working out your fleshy bits, too, Beloved. Perhaps the sifting you’re experiencing is happening so that, like Peter, you too may be restored, transformed, made new, readied for the next leg of your journey with the Lord. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. –Jeremiah 18:4.

Holy Spirit will reveal your weak areas to you so that you might repent of any pridefulness, self-confidence, anything not of God. But, praise His Merciful name! As surely as the Holy Spirit convicts, He also intercedes in our great moments of weakness. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. –Romans 8:26-27.

Friend, if you are experiencing a time of change and trials, call out to Jesus. He will come, and with Him, His Holy Spirit, to help walk you through every valley. Romans 10:9-10 assures you of the eternal safety found only in Jesus. 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.

In Between.

February 25, 2023 /
MaryEllen Montville

Listen carefully: I am sending the Promise of My Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you; but you are to remain in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed (fully equipped) with power from on high. –Luke 24:49.

In-betweens, life is full of them, and so is the Bible. The in-betweens are times when God often births transformation, prunes, exacting newness, refining our faith. Father Abraham understood in-betweens. As did Moses, David, Joshua, and Esther. The Apostle Paul indeed did. It is fair to say all those listed in Hebrews, Chapter Eleven, understood the uncertainty and discomfort experienced while being in between. Days, months, sometimes years between what was— the familiar, comfortable, dare I say predictable, and God’s “what is to come.” An unfamiliar, new, and often uncomfortable season. Living in-between is where we find the disciples in today’s Scripture verse.

For now, we’ll call these in-betweens new shoe seasons.

Why new shoes? Because most people, whether believers or not, can relate to the discomfort felt when breaking in a pair of new shoes. And yet regardless of the pain, contrary to how they feel, you, dear brother, precious sister, must persevere in the oft-painful, awkward uncertainty new things bring with them. You must trust and have faith that the hesitancy and pain the in-between brings will one day cease. Said Scripturally: 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 3:18.

Transformation can be painful—the olive and grape understand this fully. At the hand of the One controlling the press, each endures the painful process necessary to exact their precious fluid.

From when Jesus called them to Himself, Christ’s disciples spent almost every waking moment with Him. Except, of course, those moments when a man, for obvious reasons, requires privacy. And when Jesus would slip away to be alone with the Father. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. –Luke 5:16. They’d eaten with, laughed, cried, and slept beside Jesus. And by the power of His Holy Spirit, He’d given each of them authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach repentance.

But now, standing before His In disciples in His resurrected Body, in His final moments on earth, Jesus gave His disciples one last gift—and a promise. His parting gift to them? Jesus opened their minds to understand all Scripture. Finally, all that Jesus had shared concerning Himself—His birth, life, death, and resurrection, became clear to them. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. –Luke 24:45.

Beloved, regardless of how long we’ve walked with the Lord. Irrespective of the hours spent in Bible study, quiet contemplation, or worship, we are still being perfected—sanctified. For as long as we draw breath, God will continue to take us from faith to faith. Stretching and refining us, God requires us to step out of the well-used shoes we’ve outgrown. They’ve served you well, don’t get it twisted, and yes, God gave them to you. But now it’s time for the new—your next assignment. And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven. –Luke 24:49.

God is teaching His children to walk on their own two feet and take the next step. To navigate and gain strength while in the in-between. Perseverance is being built. Character shaped—folded in, reshaped. And just as God did this with His disciples, so too with you and I, Beloved. God is equipping us for our moment. His “never-letting-go-letting-go moment.” Stay with me here…

Of course, God will always be with you—He’s promised you that. And God is not a man that He should lie. Still, there comes a time in the life of every believer when God will momentarily withdraw His hand so that you might stand, if you will,  on your own two feet. It’s a testing of sorts—a mirror. Allowing us to see what is or isn’t inside of us. Some of us needed coarse correction, perhaps. Or maybe encouragement to carry on, to keep going. Remember, in His Sovereignty, God sees and knows how you’ll respond when He withdraws His hand.

So it’s your faith—or lack thereof; God is allowing you to glimpse—your legs; God’s steadying.

How will we ever know, have confidence in, the strength of our faith, the certainty of our love and obedience to God, if our faith is never tested? If God never lets go of our hand? If He never places us in situations where we must dig deep to keep walking out our faith, to use the gifts He’s placed within us? Especially when we can’t sense His nearness and the ever-present, steadying Hand we’ve relied upon moves suddenly. Still, knowing God to be the Loving Father He is, our experiencing the in-between must be for our good—regardless of how we feel there. And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. –Romans 8:28.

In closing, parents, siblings, aunty, or uncle, remember when you taught that child to ride a bike?

Their training wheels had been removed, and they were about to experience the exhilarating terror of riding solo firsthand. Remember how they kept looking back at you, their safety net? And how you kept reassuring them they wouldn’t fall? That you wouldn’t take your steading hand from their seat, yet knowing you’d have to? That’s where the disciples find themselves at the end of Luke, Chapter Twenty-Four. Jesus was about to remove His hand from the back of the proverbial seat. Christ, no longer with them but alive now, in them, empowering them to do all things. Just for a time, they’d be in between. But in this moment, and until Holy Spirit invaded the Upper Room, indwelling them, they were still working off training wheel memories of the temporary power given them in the past. Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases. –Luke 9:1.

Today, many of us are doing the same. We’re working off yesterday’s power. Whether in uncomfortable shoes or sitting on bikes, we are in between. Afraid, not wanting the One we trust to take their steadying hand from our seat. So how do we navigate the in-between? We take our direction or coarse correction when we’ve failed to listen from the only sure place there is—God’s Word.

Earlier, I spoke of two things Jesus left His disciples right before He returned to the Father: a gift and a promise. We read about His gift earlier, how Jesus opened the disciple’s minds to understand the Scriptures.

But what about His promise?

In a separate conversation with His disciples, while preparing them for His inevitable death and resurrection, Jesus promised them that no matter what happened to Him, He would not leave them alone. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. –John 14:16-18.

Jesus fulfilled this promise, first to His disciples and then to us.

You are not alone in your in-between, Beloved. Your feet may be weary. Sore from walking around in new shoes. You may feel a bit shaky thinking God has removed His steadying hand from the proverbial seat of your bike. I get that. I’m experiencing an in-between myself. But despite all that, let’s thank God we do not have to live as the world does by our fickle feelings. Instead, we have the Sure Foundation of God’s Word to guide us as we pass through the in-between. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. –Psalm20:6-7.

Dear friend, why wait? If you have not asked Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, call on Him now, He will answer you! He will walk with you, leading you with His strong, right hand through every in-between you’ll ever face. In my alarm I said, I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help. –Psalm 31:22.

The Meditation of Your Heart.

February 11, 2023 /
Kendra Santilli

God is still speaking.

The daytime often proves itself a cluttered space for our souls. Identifying the voice of God in the midst of our mess becomes a challenge the busier our schedules get.

It was about three o’clock in the morning when a thought awoke me. I say “thought” because I am wary of labeling my ideas and thoughts as “the voice of God.” Our own thoughts and perceptions can often lead us to believe that they are the voice of God if we’re not cautious. This thought that woke me up was, “read Joshua 1:8.” In my tired haze, I said, “I already know what that verse says. I don’t need to read that right now; at three am. What I need now is sleep.” Although getting up at that moment was the last thing I wanted to do, it was as if that thought had awoken me with a megaphone.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not fall back asleep until I read Joshua 1:8. So, I got up and read the verse that I thought said, “be strong and courageous.”  My own arrogance had caught me. I realized right then that it wasn’t a mere thought that woke me up. It really was God trying to teach me something. He gently woke me up in the still of the night when I was void of distraction to tell me something that I otherwise would not have heard through the noise of a busy day.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. –Joshua 1:8

You see, I already knew what the surrounding verse said, “be strong and courageous,” but God was showing me the “how-to.” It was right there in the adjacent verse! It’s easy to declare, “do not fear,” “be brave,” and “be strong and courageous.” These phrases are much easier said than done and are not helpful in and of themselves. But thankfully, God is so gracious to give us direction and answers, the “how to’s” found in His Word.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips.

As the Lord of Armies (Isaiah 47:4), courage is in God’s nature. Studying and knowing His Word often bring with it the spirit of courage. We are confident in God’s abilities when we are secure in what He says. Surely we can all say that the more we study and become proficient in something, whether our jobs or roles at home, the more confidence we gain in that particular area. As a nurse, I become more confident in my practice as I study and learn about the human body and its healing processes. The same goes for the things of the spirit. When we are well acquainted with what Jesus says in His Word, we can live courageously and confidently, knowing that we abide by His instructions.

Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

What do you meditate on? In the middle of the night, are you kept awake by anxiety? Or do you choose to fix your thoughts on God’s goodness? The promises He has set in His Word?

Because what you meditate on will eventually lead to your actions. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he….” –Proverbs 23:7. Simply put, if you meditate on worldly thoughts, and are guided by them, then you will begin to live as the world tells you. But, if you meditate on the Lord’s instructions, you will start to live as His Word teaches. Meditating on God’s Word will lead you to be obedient.

God wants our hearts. Jesus said, “if you love me, you’ll keep my commandments.” –John 14:15.

When our hearts delight in Jesus, obeying Him, His Word brings us joy. Although it may not always be easy, the believer knows that the reward is living with clean hands and a pure heart, and ultimately, the greatest reward is communion with God. His Word branded on our lips cultivates wisdom to live rightly before God. Living in obedience brings a far greater reward than surrendering to fear repeatedly. There is, after all, nothing to fear when we are living for the Lord because His perfect love casts out all fear. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. –1 John 4:18.

As we strive to do everything in love, there is no room for fear, only courage. Have faith. God will pave the way before you.

And this type of courage comes from abiding in Jesus. Obedience to God brings with it the blessing of prosperity and success, according to God’s will. Be it spiritual, physical, financial, or in our interpersonal goals. God will go before you, strengthening and guiding you as you prioritize His statutes.

So if you don’t know God, I invite you to ask Him to show Himself to you in a real way. Ask Him into your life today. He will make your crooked paths straight when you surrender your ways to Him. Start by first praying and asking God for understanding. Then, read the Bible and meditate on the Words written on the pages. Remember them and ask Jesus to help you apply them to your life. As you open your heart to Him, He will become faithful to you. He will prove Himself real in your life. The True and faithful God! Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. –John 14:6.

Let’s Talk About Suffering.

February 4, 2023 /
MaryEllen Montville

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. –Isaiah 55:8.

“If God is loving, why does He allow so many to suffer?” “Why are some healed while others are not?”

I don’t know about you, fellow Christian, but I have been asked these questions numerous times by as many people. Now I am no theologian, no Bible scholar. I am a fellow believer in our Lord Jesus Christ who, like you, asks and, via Scripture and by the leading Holy Spirit as my teacher and guide, attempts to answer questions we may be asked or ask ourselves.

Some, claiming to believe in Jesus, attempt to answer these “beyond our paygrade” questions intellectually or emotionally. Yet, at their core, such answers are only partially understood spiritually within a faith-filled relationship with our Lord, Jesus. But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. –1 Corinthians 2:14.

Truth is, fellow believers, we, the Church, will never fully know, comprehend, or be able to wrap our finite minds around, the answer to these very real questions, this side of eternity. Today’s Scripture verse makes this evident. In 1 Corinthians 13:9, Paul clearly spells this out for us: Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

God never intended for His children to have all the answers.

Most of our walk and understanding of God is done by faith, as God intended. From the beginning, we were meant to know in part. Yet we’ve been commanded to act on what has been given us, leaving the rest to God. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. –Deuteronomy 29:29.

God has given us solid threads throughout His Word—lifelines. We can cling to these strong, sturdy, and steadfast threads, keeping our hope and faith alive and thriving until we, like Jesus, “know in full.” These lifelines enable us to share the life-changing Truth of God’s love and justice with a hurting and confused world.

So, what is God’s heart towards us, His children? His creations? The most accurate answer is Love. God is Love.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. –2 Peter 3:9.

I thank God for the Truth found in 2 Peter 3:9. Why? Because I was one of the “any“ our brother Peter is referring to. I thank God that it was His heart towards me that I should live—on earth and in heaven, with Him. Here, in part, is why:

In 2008 I suffered what some of the best neurologists in the country have categorized as a massive Ischemic Stroke. A blood clot had formed in my body and shot to my brain, causing what now resembles half-dollar size dead areas of brain tissue when seen on an MRI. These dead areas are on my brain’s frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes. The clot that hit my brain was described to me this way:

“Think of a pinball machine. You hit the little metal ball, and it bounces off several bumpers. That’s what happened in your head. One clot bounced off several lobes of your brain, damaging them as it did.”

I don’t remember much about the first few days after the stroke. Loud noises and voices, really. I now know they were the sounds of the MRI machine and those of the doctors and nurses who were treating me. My first conscious thought, the first thing I remember, is hearing my children’s voices. I couldn’t respond to them, as hearing them was like hearing someone far off, but I knew they were there, which comforted me. Eventually, I would awaken to find that the entire left side of my body had been paralyzed. I say “had been” because God healed my body in His infinite mercy. If you saw me today, like many, you’d likely say, “to look at you, you’d never know you had a stroke.” And you’d be right. Only God and I, and those closest to me, recognize the minor residual effects of that stroke.

I share my testimony with you in the hopes that it will encourage you. Restoring hope to that one who may be suffering some physical malady or is walking beside that loved one who has or is. Hang on—God is not finished with you/them yet. There is a purpose to what may appear to be this random suffering. God will redeem it.

He doesn’t play favorites. God did it for me, and He will do it for you or in the life of your loved one.

Those who know me will tell you that I often say one of the best things that ever happened to me was having that stroke. Sounds insane to some, I’m sure. Others may say my saying this is the result of the brain damage I sustained. But I say what the enemy meant for evil, God used for His glory and my good. I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. —Romans 8:18.

 I was not saved when that stroke occurred.

I was knee-deep in sin and rebelling against God. Had I died, I’d be in hell today. But God! Instead, within a few short months of returning home from the hospital, the Lord saved me. He wooed me back to Church, and once there, He came. Oh, glorious day! For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. —Romans 5:6.

Since that moment, my life has never been the same—not perfect by any means, and certainly not sin-free. But I am fully committed to the God who gave purpose to my suffering. Who, through that affliction, redeemed my life, using it to connect you and me and countless others. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. –John 12:26.

Beloved, you and I are here today because God is mercy-full and Loving.

On our best days, we forget this Truth—at least I do. Never mind when we are in the thick of suffering. We all too quickly forget that, as believers, we will share in Christ’s suffering, one way or the other. So, let’s not be afraid to share that Truth, one with another. Reminding one another that our God is loving, kind, and mercy-full. And that if, as with Job, God allows affliction to strike, He will surely redeem our suffering. Using it as a living testimony, a beacon of hope for those in our God-given sphere of influence, and a lifeline for the lost and hurting.

I am grateful to God for allowing me to break off and share this small corner of my testimony to minister hope to you or your loved one in your hour of need. Know that I am praying for you. And may God, in His infinite mercy, bring healing to your bodies, minds, and souls. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory. –1 Peter 4:13.

And if you are new here, dear friend, thank you for reading our blog. I pray it has been a Word in season for you. And I pray that if you have not asked my Mercy-full Father into your life as your Lord and Savior, you’ll do it now. We are not promised tomorrow, friend. As I have just testified, life can change in the blink of an eye. I don’t say this to scare you, only to share the Truth with you. Please, don’t miss saying yes to Jesus. Seeing that the warning still comes to us, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as your forefathers did in the time of the provocation. –Hebrews 3:15.

The Invite.

January 21, 2023 /
Matthew Botelho

“Come to the banquet!” dropped in my spirit Sunday during corporate worship. As the worship team played, a stillness came over the congregation when the Word came forth through a dear sister, “Be filled with His Word. Be hungry for the Word!” As those words were spoken with authority, I heard the Spirit say, “Come to the banquet! The invitations have been sent!”

It is so amazing how our Lord will speak in part through one person. Then another will say the same Truth, confirmation that the same spirit is flowing through both. For we each know in part, and we prophesy in part. But God is the God of order, and we are one Body.

My dear brothers and sisters, new friends, I pray this teaching speaks to you.

God is calling you, calling us all—deeper in this season. There are settings at His banquet table not yet seen and foods not yet tasted. Heavenly delicacies of favor and blessings. For His word is rich and filling. Crave the daily bread that is placed on the altar! The invitations have been sent out. The question is, will you accept it?

As the Lord spoke this to me, He led me to Matthew 22, The Parable of The Wedding Feast. Jesus is teaching the people what the kingdom of God is like. Now, if you don’t know what a parable is, that’s ok. Neither did I at the beginning of my walk. We are all at various stages in our walk with Jesus. A parable is a simple story that illustrates a moral or spiritual lesson. The people Jesus was teaching were babes in the faith, exactly how you and I started. Yet He met them where they were.

In Matthew 22: 1-3, Jesus teaches, “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they were not willing to come.”

God has arranged a marriage for His Son. The people of Israel are His chosen people. The nation is the bride, and Jesus is the Groom.

Jesus’ disciples delivered the invitations, proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come! Some accepted and received the Good News. However, other people didn’t want to accept the Truth, even though miracles were being performed before their eyes! Many that were sick and possessed by demons were being healed and delivered! How could they not see this as Truth? That Jesus is the Christ, our Savior! Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 13:15, ‘For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

You are invited to this amazing, glorious wedding feast. A seat has been set for you at the table, yet you decide to remain where you are. Why friend?! What is taking such priority in your life that if the King, and I am talking about King Jesus, has personally invited you to come and sit with Him and enjoy the wedding banquet, where you will receive salvation, righteousness, peace, unspeakable joy. Why would you even think of saying no to that?! Still, God, who is rich in mercy, gives us a second chance by inviting us again.

As we read in the following few scriptures, we will see that man has not changed in the past 2,000 years.

God is calling His church back to Him. The Church is His Bride, and His Son, Jesus, is the Bride Groom. He has given humanity a second chance through repentance and salvation. Do you know that God will keep calling you until you answer and that not answering is an answer? God is calling you right now! Oh, how I pray that your answer is “yes, Lord. I receive you.”

Jesus says in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to Him and make Our home with him.” My brothers and sisters, friends, Jesus wants to be in a relationship with you. And a relationship requires love.

Matthew 22:4 “Again, he sent out other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”

It is a big deal when God repeats something within the same chapter of scripture. Notice that He sent His servants out not once but twice. All things are ready! The menu has been prepared, and it looks like a giant BBQ is being served. God has spared no expense. All you need to do is accept the invitation and say yes. It sounds so simple, and yet we complicate things. “Sorry I cannot attend, I must………” (insert your reason here). “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.”—Matthew 22:5.

We make time in our daily lives for what’s important to us, our priorities, whether our jobs or hobbies. But is Jesus Lord over our priorities—not one of them, but Lord over them? Do we set aside time out of our day for Jesus? Let us ask this question: how often are we picking up our Bibles? What about Facebook? Are you being fed by what is happening in the world, in friends’ and strangers’ lives? Or are you being fed by the Word of God?

My brothers and sisters, friends, I am guilty of this too. Holy Spirit has convicted me. I am no better than those I’m posing these questions to. We all fall short. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”—Romans 3:23.

My point, my friends, is that we need to refocus and realign ourselves to God’s will and His Word. Allow Holy Spirit to minister to you. And do not harden your hearts if you hear His voice. And as we end our time together this week, I pray that this teaching, more God’s inerrant Word, has stirred something deep within you. God willing, I will be back again soon to continue the next part of this teaching.

Dear friends, the things of this world are failing, and the days grow darker.

But God has invited you to come to His wedding feast. Jesus has come into the world as a Redeeming Light. He is both the invitation and the only way to salvation. Come to the banquet and be satisfied. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and repent of your sins. He is faithful to forgive. Amen. “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.

He Will Prove Himself

December 10, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless, with the pure you prove yourself pure, but with the crooked you prove yourself shrewd. For you rescue an oppressed people, but you humble those with haughty eyes.–Psalms 18:25-27

How you perceive God is a direct reflection of the position of your heart.

The heart that is in the position of hating God or believing that He doesn’t exist is the heart that has never met Him. If only they knew how good He is, how kind He is, how faithful He is. If only they knew Him as I do: Rescuer, Healer, Restorer, and Friend. He is always faithful to meet me in my need, but when I am not in need, it is easy to allow my heart to slip into the mode of thinking that convinces me that I can make it on my own. I forget His faithfulness to me when I don’t remain faithful to Him. I can easily forget that God’s ways are good and blameless if my eyes are fixed on the world’s injustices, but when I shift my gaze toward Him again, I see Jesus in His light, for who He is. As I draw near to Him, He draws near to me (James 4:8).

His presence is made known to the heart that needs Him. He is so near to the broken-hearted and the oppressed. He can’t resist responding to a sincere cry for help because He’s that good. Conversely, there is the heart that believes they don’t need help. To this person, there’s never a sincere cry for help, preventing a sincere experience of His intervention. The pride of life and one’s own achievements can blind a person to their need for the Lord and His mercy. This pride boasts of self-sufficiency, convincing a person that they can do everything independently. It views God through the critical lens of self-righteousness. It makes the heart doubt the goodness of God and His faithfulness, taking matters into its own hands without realizing that His ways are better than ours. It fails to remember His goodness. In turn, these people can’t see through God’s perspective. These people perceive God as shrewd because of the pride that has kept their hearts closed to knowing Him as faithful, blameless, and pure. I, the Lord, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve. –Jeremiah 17:10.

So he will repay according to their deeds: fury to his enemies, retribution to his foes, and he will repay the coasts and islands. – Isaiah 59:18. The truth is the God of the Bible is faithful to His faithful ones, and His faithfulness is good. But to His enemies, He is just. What have your actions warranted? This life is our one chance at choosing Jesus. He is drawn to clean hands and a pure heart. It may seem contradictory because if you don’t have a pure heart, how can He be drawn to you? And, if everyone is a sinner, how can there be one pure enough in heart for Him to reciprocate purity? The beauty of our God is that even in your trespasses, He can purify your heart and cleanse your mind if only you would ask! Just realizing that your heart could use cleaning is enough for Him to begin His work within you. He repays all your work according to what you’ve done. I, the Lord, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve. –Jeremiah 17:10. The heart that generously does good by His grace, He repays richly. But to the selfish and prideful of heart, He proves Himself shrewd.

He takes care of His people, and we will see Him faithful, blameless, and pure. But for the tainted heart, He is absent and just. The good news is that for those who come to Him, He does not leave them the same way in which He found them. Jesus is the one who transforms hearts and renews minds. He can take a heart of stone and make it flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

Today will you examine your heart and let Him into those pieces of you that otherwise feel unchangeable? He wants to make you a new creation, restoring your heart to His original design of fellowship with Him. It is in fellowship with our Creator that we become whole. If you don’t know Jesus, I invite you to ask Him to make your heart of stone, making it into a heart of flesh. Ask Him to help you become faithful to Him, and let Him prove Himself faithful to you in the process. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart to see Him as blameless and pure, not shrewd. He is waiting.

Trust, Me.

November 5, 2022 /
Maryellen Montville

“The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything” –Malachi 3:10

If you’ve been attending church for any length of time, you’re likely familiar with today’s verse. It’s generally used in relation to tithes and offerings. And though we’ll touch on tithing today, there’s something else I’d like to share with you from this verse. A principle the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit this morning as I was praying over this teaching concerning trust. He put His finger on two words from this familiar passage, “test Me.” And what God dropped in my spirit concerning those Words had little to do with money.

Let’s explore what He gave me, shall we?

Tithing involves obedience. It demands you meet God smack dab in the middle of His “test Me.” It means laying your tithe at His feet, walking away, and trusting God to keep His Word. Blessing you however He sees fit.

Having that level of confidence, of faith, that joy of giving back, the thrill of “I get to” is born from having experienced God’s faithfulness in the past. It springs up from a deep well of trust fed by an ever-deeper well of intimacy. An intimacy developed within your relationship with Jesus. And it’s sustained there. It’s fed, made fat by a steady diet of God loving you and your wanting, chasing after the Giver far more than His gifts. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” –Matthew 6:33.

I just spoke of a relationship with Jesus. Do you have one? If not, friend, before you read on, I ask that you stop and pray. I assure you; asking Jesus into your life as Lord of all is a choice with eternal consequence. There is no more important message in the world than this. Jesus loves you. He died in your place, making way for you to be restored into right relationship with the Father. A relationship broken in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for fall men” –Romans 5:17-18.

And If you don’t know how to pray, talk to Jesus; it’s really quite simple. Just ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior, tell Him you’re sorry for your sins, and mean it. I’m adding His Word to help guide you. “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.

Now, we can continue…

When you choose to believe God will do what He says He’d do, believe in the surety of His “test Me,” your measure of faith will be stretched. And over time, your faith in God as Promise Keeper will become rock solid, like that faith spoken of in the old hymn, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” Though none go with me, I still will follow, no turning back, no turning back.

And yes, friend, you have the choice to obey God, to follow Him, or not.

Why? Because you have free will. Your salvation and free will are a gift from God; He has granted you the freedom, the weighty privilege, of choosing or denying Him. Life, or death.

Earlier, I spoke of the Holy Spirit, causing two Words in Malachi to stand out. I alluded the blessings you receive from God for the faithful, heartfelt surrender of your tithe aren’t invariably attached to some financial reward. And this is the truth. Because often, your blessing comes in the form of good health. It comes from having a warm, safe home or apartment or getting a new job. It’s God bringing that future husband or wife into your life. The blessings that flow from God’s “put Me to the test now in this” involves your eyes having opened this morning, Kissing your kids, your husband, wife, or parents, one more time. You can see and speak. You’re in your right mind.

Moving your limbs and having anything in your pocket to offer back to God is a blessing.

How about when your blessing is holding the child every doctor said you’d never be able to carry? Is that where God’s “test me on this” showed up in your life? Or was it in God’s answering that midnight prayer? When salvation was visited on your wild child, mom, or dad. Let’s talk about God’s greatest blessing. His having afforded you a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus.

Beloved, God’s “test me” really equates to His asking, “Do you indeed trust Me? Trust Me enough to accept that I know what is and isn’t best for you. Trust that I know when you need whatever you think you need right now.” Do you trust God’s character? That’s the real question here. That’s what the Holy Spirit dropped in my spirit. Because when God says, “test Me,” you can bet your life He’ll deliver. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” – Numbers 23:19.

Friends, nowhere in the Bible do you read God telling anyone to test Him—outside of Malachi. Actually, the very opposite is true.

Yet concerning your giving back to God a portion, a mere tenth of all you’ve been blessed to earn, here God instructs you to test Him. Actually, it’s a command; to give Him back a tenth of your earnings and watch how He’ll bless your life. In Malachi 3:10, God explicitly references money, yours, by which I mean whatever money He has afforded you. “You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But you shall remember [with profound respect] the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day” –Deuteronomy 8:17-18.

A humble heart recognizes that had God not blessed you, be it with one dollar or one hundred thousand dollars, you’d have nothing. Go ahead and reread Deuteronomy 8:17-18 if you doubt that.

So let me ask you this? Do you trust God? Are you willing to lay down that dollar in your pocket, the one He afforded you, and do what He asked of you? Test Him and see that if done with a joyful, loving heart, He won’t throw open the windows of heaven and bless you—however He sees fit. I have tested God on this, and I can assure you, friend, that God has been faithful to me in ways that have both blown my mind and humbled me to my core. And neither had little to do with money. The fact that Jesus died for me, has forgiven my every sin; if His blessings had ended there, I’d have been given what I did not deserve. And yet, Love continues to give and give.

Before I close, I must clarify that I am not suggesting that if you tithe a tenth of your income, God will bless you with some significant monetary windfall. Is it possible? Indeed, it is. He is God and can bless you however He chooses. But don’t get it twisted. God is God—He’s Holy. God is not the Lotto—lay down a dollar to win back one hundred. Nor is God an investment banker. Tithing is not about; I give God a tenth and He doubles my investment. God’s “test Me” is not tied to money. It’s bound to your trust in Him.

“That religion which costs a man nothing is usually worth nothing.”― Charles H. Spurgeon.

Fading Out

September 8, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

“He must increase, but I must decrease” –John 3:30.

The cycle of living can feel so exhausting. Wake up, eat, work, take care of the house, sleep, repeat. I think we can agree that at one time or another, we have all understood, related to this reference from Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless.”

We try our best to be good people. Yet leaving a mark on the world feels like a futile effort many days. In the Gospel of John, we are presented with an example that exemplifies a counterintuitive approach to fulfillment. John the Baptist (not to be mistaken with John the apostle who penned the Gospel of John) is introduced in John 1. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light [Jesus] so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light” – John 1:6-8.

John was Jesus’s cousin, a prophet who lived in the wilderness. John wore clothes made from camel hair and ate wild honey and locusts. Since his ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord, he would come to the people telling them to repent, to water-baptize them, and to declare there was one to follow after him (Jesus). You can read all about this in Mark 1:1-9.

I imagine John the Baptist would have been perceived as an odd man, but then again, God often moves through those we’d least expect Him to use. For John the Baptist, his ministry was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus.

And John’s purpose? Pointing everyone to Jesus Christ.

In New Testament Scripture, John’s ministry is our first example of a person testifying of the person of Jesus. The Bible says of Jesus, “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” –John 1:10-11. And while the rest of the world didn’t recognize Jesus, John recognized Him instantly.

God was using John to prepare the hearts of those who did not know Jesus. Although the Old Testament is full of prophecies of Jesus and the entirety of the Bible points to Jesus, John is perhaps one of the first to see Jesus—physically. John gave his whole life to tell the world about the person of Jesus.

There is a great lesson we can learn from John the Baptist about pointing the world to Jesus.

John the Baptist was selfless. While the world teaches us to focus on ourselves, God’s Word teaches us to love others even when they do us wrong. The culture of this world is one of selfishness. It looks inward for its fulfillment instead of allowing its Creator to fill and fulfill its every need, including its unseen needs. The world is centered on self-gratification instead of loving thy neighbor. And as more of society has welcomed the idea of self-centeredness, it has also drifted away from the One who can deliver them from the mental prisons that hold them bound. The result? A society that has increasingly accepted depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as normal. And while taking care of yourself is essential, it shouldn’t be our sole focus. We were created to love and exist in fellowship. Loving and serving God and one another.

Throughout the Gospels, we don’t read of John focusing on himself. There is no evidence in the scriptures of John focusing attention on himself. Instead, he readily released his disciples when they wanted to follow Jesus. When John saw Jesus passing by, he quickly said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus” – John 1:36-37. John didn’t get offended that his disciples went to Jesus, no. His attitude was one of rejoicing. “My joy is complete” – John 3:29.

Is Jesus enough to make your joy complete? Or is your joy made whole by your job, family, or ministry? While each gives us a sense of well-being, Jesus must be first. Everything else is just extra. Our prayer and deepest desire should be that Jesus fills us more than we thought possible. And, for that to be enough.

John the Baptist baptized with water, but the Bible says that Jesus baptizes (present tense intentional) with the Holy Spirit. – John 1:33.

It is impossible to live a life of faith without the help of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit without measure. “The man whom God has sent speaks God’s message. After all, God gives him the Spirit without limit” – John 3:34.

Our human nature is bent on us taking care of ourselves first. So, it is counterintuitive to put others before yourself, including Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit in us gives us the grace to manifest His love supernaturally. So, I’m not talking about us manifesting love by our own power. The True Source of supernatural love is Jesus Christ, manifest and evidenced by the Holy Spirit at work in us.

The Holy Spirit does not make us do anything or possess us to do anything, however. But He does lead us. Scripture clarifies, “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” – Romans 8:13-14. The choice is yours.

If we belong to Jesus—have professed Him as our Lord and Savior, His Spirit leads us. Yet, given that Jesus has also afforded us free will, we are allowed to obey or disobey His Holy Spirit’s leading us. Even though the Holy Spirit will always lead us in the way of Truth in Christ Jesus, to abundant life. Not only eternally but also on this side of eternity.

I pray that you invite the Holy Spirit to lead you in living a selfless life that points to Jesus and loves others unconditionally. If you don’t know Jesus, invite Him to your heart today and ask Him to help you live with purpose and fulfillment as He makes your joy complete.

Crossroads

August 27, 2022 /
Matthew Botelho

Crossroads- A point at which a crucial decision must be made, having far-reaching consequences.

Think of all the faith heroes who lived ordinary lives. Many were farmers, shepherds, and fishermen. Every day people like you and me. Many had families to provide for, and most of them faced the same problems we face today. In Ecclesiastes, the teacher says there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 3:5 “Whatever is has already been, and whatever will be, already is, God repeats what has passed.”

Same problems. Same issues of righteousness and unrighteousness; the only difference being the sets of eyes seeing these same problems—they were from a different generation. As we all stand closer and closer to the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, I cannot help but think about what was going through their minds and hearts when God called them and spoke the words, “Follow Me?”

For example, take Moses. Exodus 2:11-15 says, “One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.”

At one time, Moses was a prince of Egypt. Then a severe circumstance occurred in his life, forcing him to ignore his station and act upon who he truly was. When his crossroads moment came, Moses chose to act. And as a result of that choice, Moses was exiled to the land of Midian. Yet all was not lost. God brought Moses to Jethro’s family. He was the priest of Midian. There, Moses ends up marrying Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah. “Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage” –Exodus 2:21.

Now, during his years in the wilderness, Moses cared for his father-in-law’s sheep; he was pretty content with the life he was living. Moses also had a family, a son named Gershom; Moses considered his life to be in order. Until the appointed day, God called him, setting him on a path that took him away from order and comfort and towards the extraordinary.

Instead of caring for sheep, God will now have Moses care for a different flock, His chosen people.

God was ready to deliver His people from 4oo years of oppression. And He’d chosen Moses for the job. “Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. “I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” –Exodus 3:7-10.

God had now led Moses to yet another crossroads moment. Moses had two paths before him. That’s part of the beauty and love of God; He’s given us free will. Yet, God knew the path Moses would take. Yes, Moses had doubts and fear. We see that in Exodus 3:11. “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” And we read more about those doubts and fears in Exodus 4:10. “But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

How quickly we disqualify ourselves, focusing on our bad qualities, what disqualifies us, instead of seeing what God has already given us—sees in us. God sees the heart. And God knew Moses’s heart.

In one way or another, every child of God has experienced their own crossroads moment in life—or soon will. These moments of decision will not stop until we see Jesus face to face.

Now, I could have mentioned many others in the Bible who’d also faced their crossroads, but we’ll save some of them for the next time we meet, so don’t forget to look for part two of this teaching on Saturday, September 17!

But for now, how you face your crossroads moments in life is what determines how things will work out in your life. As I stated earlier, God loves us and gave us free will. So, it all comes down to what you will or will not do when you stand at your own crossroads. Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I have chosen you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask in My name, He will give you.” God already knew your heart, just like He knew Moses’ heart. And He knew which way you’d go when faced with such a choice. Ecclesiastes 3:14 says, “He made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from the beginning to the end.”

My prayer is this: when you come to those crossroad moments, may God give you, His wisdom. May He speak clearly to your hearts and minds. May you walk in the patience and the love of Jesus Christ. May He reveal all these deep things you are searching for. And, when you hear Him, you do not harden your heart but be pliable, trusting God has appointed a specific time to meet with you. Amen.

2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: I heard you in an acceptable time, and I helped you in the day of salvation. Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.” I pray you felt the tug of our Lord Jesus as you were reading this. If you are at that crossroad moment, I pray that you heed His call over you. He is ready to lead you to that defining moment that will bring you out of the wilderness and into the promise. Call out to Him and declare that Jesus is Lord in your heart and every circumstance. Ask Him to wash you clean of your every sin by the precious Blood of our Lord and Savior.

Amen.

Fixing Your Heart on God.

August 13, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

“For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves— cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.” –Jeremiah 2:13

In Jeremiah, Chapter Two, God describes Himself as the fountain of Living Water, reminiscent of how Jesus referred to Himself in John 4:13-14. Jesus answered, “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.” Could this have foreshadowed who God’s Holy Spirit would be to us?

God tells Jeremiah that He alone is the fountain of Living Water, its Source. Through Jeremiah, God asks his people, “what more can you possibly need?” Jesus’ saying that He can give anyone Living Water is groundbreaking to those who know the Scriptures. If Jesus can provide this Water, it must surely be the Spirit of God flowing from the Father Himself.

Within Jeremiah 2:13, God paints a beautiful picture of humanity seeking fulfillment in things that don’t last.

A cistern is a secondary source of water. For example, a cistern would hold water from rainfall. These cisterns could dry out quickly and wouldn’t fill again until there was an overflow from something else or another rainfall. A fountain, like a spring, is a primary source of water. A constant flow of water from which you can continually draw. God is telling Jeremiah His people have abandoned Him for a secondary source of belonging. They have abandoned the True Source for a low-quality, unfulfilling version. One that will leave them sick spiritually and, ultimately, would destroy them.

I see some of us in this picture—today’s Christians that is.

A people who too often neglect God for a lower-quality source of fulfillment, still, I invite you today to read the message found in the book of Jeremiah as a call to humble yourself and return to the Father.

The book of Jeremiah is centered around a prophet in the Old Testament by which this chapter was named. He came from a line of priests in a town called Anathoth, believed to have been about 3 miles Northeast of Jerusalem. We know that Anathoth was still part of the Israelites’ territory because the settlers there were priests from the tribe of Benjamin, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Because of the amount of lamenting we read from him, Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet.” At first, I thought he was just an emotional guy, but as I dove into this book, I realized his weeping resulted from a touch from God that had given him a heart for God’s people—Jeremiah’s heart was hurt by what hurt God’s.

While judgment seems to be a theme threaded throughout the entire book of Jeremiah, we also feel the ache of God’s heart for His people.

We read of God’s desire for His people to be restored to Him before His judgment comes. While the Bible does not talk much about Jeremiah’s life before becoming a prophet, it tells us Jeremiah came from a line of priests, indicating he grew up learning the scriptures. He was not rogue when God called Him. Following the examples of the prophets in the Old Testament, Jeremiah was mentored before stepping into his calling. Jeremiah had submitted himself to the Temple’s work and to serving Anathoth’s people when God called him to be a prophet. The interesting thing about God calling Jeremiah is that his tribe was outside Jerusalem. Year’s prior, King Solomon had banished this tribe from the Temple into Anathoth because of their disloyalty to him. Their being banished tells us Jeremiah came from a line of priests who could only serve the people to a degree but could no longer offer sacrifices in the Temple.

Why would God call someone from this family instead of a priest with full access?

Asking this question of you, Christian, asking it of us all, why would God call sinful people only to banish us from His presence? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- God is not afraid of our past, status, or reputation. He has a way of redeeming what seems lost to fulfill His divine purpose. Jeremiah had a specific assignment: to restore the hearts of God’s people to the Lord.

Jeremiah was called to talk to God’s people about God, above interceding for them; God already knew their transgressions and hearts were callous towards Him. The funny thing about this is that we often expect God to force people to choose what’s right, but our praying usually has to be coupled with action. “Faith without works is dead” –James 2:20.

We can pray for our brothers until our dying breath, but if we never open our mouths to sharpen them or tell them about Jesus, we will have only made it halfway. Praying for someone is what prepares their heart. Actions plant the seeds the Holy Spirit will water. Excuses don’t work with God. Jeremiah was a young man who tried to use his youth as an excuse to avoid his calling, but God nipped that in the bud by telling Him that he was purposed for his calling long before he was born. “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” –Jeremiah 1:4-5.

In that moment, the Bible tells us, “The Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with my words. See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant”– Jeremiah 1:9-10. Jeremiah is then filled with the Spirit of God and calls Israel out on their sins as a nation. He also begins to feel the sadness of Israel’s repeatedly turning away from the God who had saved them—time and again. I get the sense that God felt the betrayal by the people that He had chosen long ago to be His family. Remember, the first commandment of the Mosaic law is this: “you shall have no other god before me”– Exodus 20:3. Yet again, Israel had worshipped other gods, even making an idol of the Temple. “Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” –Jeremiah 7:4.

Israel had turned the Temple into a god instead of turning to God, seeking His presence.

The Temple became Israel’s cracked cistern. What’s yours?

If turning God’s Temple from their Source into a “cistern” wasn’t grievous enough, the Israelites also turned to pagan gods. Any other source save God alone, any cracked cistern, will never sustain you and will cause a depletion of your soul’s life.

Maybe your cistern is a significant other? Perhaps it’s your children, church, pets, home, your money? Where are your attention and affections focused? If Jesus is not the first thing that comes to mind, you’ve found a cistern.

God wants your heart.

He aches for you to come Home, tapping back into the Fountain of Life, His Living Presence in you, His Holy Spirit. Jesus is rich in love and mercy, and He abounds in blessings. God wants to bless you and provide for all of your needs. God wants to fill you with the joy and peace that can only come from His Pure, Living Water.

Hebrews 13: 8 reminds us: “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He wanted the hearts of His people then, and He wants them still. He wanted a family then, and He wants one now.

We were made for God, and in Him is where true peace is found.

Ask God today to expose your “cracked cisterns.” Then, ask Him to fill you with His Spirit, which will cause you never to thirst again.

And friend, if you have not asked the God who gives all who ask His Pure, Living Water, ask Him today. Drink deeply, and be satisfied. No cistern you have used to date will truly satisfy your longings as Jesus can. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” –John 4:13-14.

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