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

Category: Mercy (Page 2 of 7)

The Gate That Leads To Life.

May 24, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to Life, and there are few who find it.” –Matthew 7:13-14

In this opening scripture, Jesus teaches the people what it means to follow Him. I remember reading this passage when I first started walking with our Lord, and it puzzled me. “What gate am I supposed to walk through?” I thought to myself, looking around. I wonder if Jesus saw that same reaction from the people He taught and His disciples.

Now, after maturing some, I see and hear this scripture, and it brings me Life. Jesus is the Gate that leads to Life. He is the Narrow Way, and not many find it. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” –John 10:9

There is a broad path that leads to destruction. I picture it as a bunch of people crammed together, leaping over one another, trying to get ahead of one another, doing whatever it takes to make it or to beat out another person, fueled by a destructive “me first mentality.” Allowing fleshly desires to overtake and consume them; that’s a dark place to be.

The apostle Paul writes to the Church in Galatia about these works of the flesh. What was happening then is still happening today; there’s nothing new. Paul writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultry, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissension, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” –Galatians 5:19-21

When we come to know Jesus, He changes our mindset from darkness into Light, from death to Life. Jesus has made the way! Darkness flees when the Light is present. Jesus says, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” –John 12:44-46

A believer’s lifestyle needs to be one of worship and prayer, not trying to gain an advantage over another to get ahead. Jesus says, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33. We walk with Jesus down this narrow path, set apart from the “worldly” lifestyle. We are to be transformed into a new way of living.

Jesus even said this to the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and Sadducees at the temple, “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” –John 23:25-26.

I recall my pastor saying many times, “true salvation is not first seen from the outside. It starts from the inside, then it shows itself outwardly.” Thanks, pastor Lino! He always points us directly to the Word of God. “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,  he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” –Titus 3:4-5.

Your salvation is not based on what is on the outside, how good we look on the outside, but rather, salvation starts when you have been washed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which leads us to repentance. “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” –Romans 2:4

You can look all pristine and well put together on the outside, but be a total train wreck on the inside. This is why we must remember that works without faith in Jesus Christ will not save us.

Speaking to His Church, Jesus reminds us: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” –John 15:5-6

Later, Jesus says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples.” –John 15:7-8

Let us abide together, Church. With Jesus as its Head and we as His Body.

There is no Life in the Body without The Head controlling or telling His Body how to move.

According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, to abide means: to accept or act in accordance with (a rule, a decision, or recommendation).

This means that when we decide to follow Jesus, we choose to follow Him fully. We follow Him fully by loving Him and following the statutes He laid down for us, His commandments. “If you love me, obey my commandments.” John 14:15.

Ask yourself, “If I am living for Jesus, am I truly walking this narrow path? Or have some things gotten in the way of my walk?” Did I allow anything to come in, causing me to stumble? Reading Galatians 5:19-21 reminds me to examine my heart and ask our Lord Jesus if anything needs to be repented and thrown away. As David writes in his psalm, “Search me, O Go, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” –Psalm 139:23-24

David knew he was human and susceptible to sin. We are all human, and we all fall short. May I suggest you take a moment today to ask God to examine your heart?

If you were convicted after reading this teaching, I pray the Holy Spirit leads you to repent and ask for forgiveness. Repentance means to turn your mind and your heart away from that sin and worldly desires that lead to death, and ask Jesus to forgive you. “For godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.” –2 Corinthians 7:10.

Decide today to repent and walk no more in your sin. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10

We are praying for you all in Jesus’ name. Amen.

My Hiding Place.

May 17, 2025 /

Pastor Maria Braga

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4.

In life, there are times when we feel on top of the world, everything is going well, and the mountain top becomes comfortable and highly appealing, but it can also often become a place of forgetfulness. When we are there, we forget that there are places opposite the mountain tops called valleys; when something suddenly happens, and we see ourselves descending from this fantastic “mountain” to those “valleys,” we are not even sure what’s happening because we forget in those moments that valleys even exist. That can be scary!

The question is: How do we handle such complex challenges when we suddenly face them?

There’s an interesting story in the Bible that King David talks about—a place he probably traveled through many times as a shepherd. David uses this place as a metaphor for difficult times; it appears to be a place he is very familiar with and one He compares hard times to. We, too, can compare our difficulties to this lesson or this visual King David shares, remembering that, like him, many of us have gone through similar trials. The place is called “The Valley of the Shadow of Death,” located between Jerusalem and Jericho.

The only time you can see sunshine at the bottom of this valley is at noon, when the sun is straight overhead. Sources say that it is still there today. It is a steep, winding road made narrow by rocks, with a massive cliff on the right side, 800′ in depth. It is a place of danger! David chose this place as his place of suffering and endurance during many of his trials; it was his hiding place.

There are three things I want to point out about valleys:

1- Valleys are temporary but a part of life.

Deuteronomy 11:11 says, “But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.”

Valleys are a sure thing. Everyone goes through them at one point or another in a lifetime. As you read this text, you may either be coming out of a valley, entering a valley, being in the middle of a valley, or heading to another valley. These valleys are inevitable in life; they are part of it, and we know they are coming repeatedly through our journey. The best thing to do while in the valley is to pray and learn to listen to the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit there, and know that despite the magnitude of the valley, you are never alone. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” –Heb 13:5. God’s love is with us as it was with David! Hold onto Him, and He will help you cross each valley.

Remember, you are never going to the valley; you are going through it, and that everyone encounters valleys: “The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in everyone” –Psalm 34:19.

2- Valleys are at times unpredictable but fruitful by divine design.

Valleys can be a consequence of something we did, didn’t do, or something that happened to us outside our control. Valleys appear in many forms – a loss, a disappointment, a setback, an illness, trouble within a marriage, or finances. All forms are valid, but the question for those of faith is: How will you go through those valleys and still hold onto your faith?

Remember, valleys happen to believers as well as unbelievers.

Being a believer doesn’t spare us from the troubles this world brings. The difference between the believer and the unbeliever is that the person of faith goes through the valleys with Jesus. The unbeliever doesn’t have Jesus to carry them through those difficult valley moments when they can’t stand alone.

In the hiding place, being alone with your Maker is crucial. Some valleys can really bring you to a place of losing your joy! “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” –Matt 28:20. For the believer, God intends some valleys to grow our faith. The Lord takes us there to stretch and increase our endurance; we bring other valleys on ourselves.

Every choice we make, whether believers or unbelievers, will have consequences.

3- Valleys feel lonely, but we are not alone; God is with us!

I feel lonely, abandoned, and sad in a valley. I’ve learned to accept by knowing in the depths of my soul that I am not alone. Jesus’ promises to me stand forever. Yes, it feels lonely because the work God is doing in me cannot be done in public by anyone else; God is doing it in secret, in the valley “Our Secret Place.” God is chiseling pieces off to make me look more like Him. He is transforming me from areas that have been formed in my life over the decades I’ve lived, and things I’ve learned. He reserved this time just for the two of us. In these valley moments, like David, I say: “Even though I walk through” the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2022.

Cancer was something I never thought would come to me. No one in my family has ever had this atrocious thing. At first, I was numb and couldn’t understand or accept what was happening. My first chemo treatment was a shocker. My hair falling out was a shocker. The pain I experienced was unbelievable. Amidst all of these valleys, God spoke to my heart at the very beginning. Thank you, Jesus. The day of my biopsy was tough for me. I was lying down, and so many student doctors were around me, poking me with needles, with the head doctor watching them. I couldn’t speak; I was in pain. Suddenly, in the depths of my spirit, I heard: “You shall live and not die.” My heart and my spirit leaped. The doctor noticed a sudden change in me and asked if I was ok. I said yes!

They continued the procedure, and I was now in my spirit, I believe – because I felt like God was right there with me, carrying me through this valley of agony. At another time, I took an injection within 24 hours of the first chemo, and I reacted horribly to it. My whole body felt like one big pulse, pulsing from head to toe. That entire day and the following night, I was literally in agony and felt like all my bones were being crushed. Amid it all, I kept calling Jesus. That was my prayer.

I heard the same voice I had heard before from the depths of my soul, but this time, His Words were “I AM.” These Words brought me such peace. I knew God was with me, and regardless of the suffering, He was carrying me, and I would be ok. Today, I share my healing story because He graciously and surely healed me in “My Hiding Place.”! Our Hiding Place can be the mountaintops of sweetness or the valleys of bitterness. Either way, we must stand firm and hold onto the promises of God for our lives.

Father God, I pray for every person reading these words today. Wherever they are in life, whatever valley they face, please give them the strength to endure it. To see You, and hear Your voice in their process. Touch their mind, body, and soul, and heal, encourage, bless, and carry them through their challenging valleys. I pray that if anyone doesn’t know You, Jesus, that person opens their heart and comes to salvation. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen

A Cultivated Heart.

May 3, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

Praise God! We finally made it through the wintery months here in New England. Spring is here, and the renewal of life has begun. Trees are budding, and birds are chirping in the early morning. Spring is also when my oldest son starts preparing to plant his garden. I can’t get him to clean his room, but when it comes time to prepare his garden, he’s all for it. My son loves to grow plants and has a real knack for it. To this day, I am still not sure where his love for gardening comes from. Neither his mom nor I has any experience growing plants. Yet, every mid-spring, my son goes out into his garden and starts tilling the soil, breaking up the hard ground from winter passed.

As I watched him last year, I noticed the dirt he was breaking up looked nothing like the hard, dried-out topsoil. The soil he was turning over was much darker and richer. My son told me that if he didn’t turn the soil over, he would be unable to sow any seeds in the ground because plants wouldn’t grow in the hard topsoil. So, he cultivates the ground to prepare it. It takes work to prepare the ground for sowing.

Seeing this made me start thanking God for His Son, His saving work on the Cross, and how He changed my once hard heart.

You see, spiritually speaking, the heart is not that fleshy muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies; the heart is our mind, will, and emotions. Jesus desires to bring each of these under obedience to His life-changing power, softening them. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” –Proverbs 23:7

Everything changes for the better when we submit our hearts to Jesus; this happens only because of God’s grace. There is no other way to receive salvation and redemption (being saved from sin, error, or evil) but through Jesus. He alone knows what’s in men’s hearts, and like the rich soil my son exposed, only Jesus can turn a man from a life of sin and death to one made clean, new, ready to receive Him, rich in abundance.

Jesus is the only answer for a man’s deceitful heart; He is the Sower, and our heart is the ground He desires to till. “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up right away, since it didn’t have deep soil. When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have root, it withered. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop. Still others fell on ground and produced a crop that increased 30, 60, and 100 times that was sown. Then He said, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” –Mark 4:3-9

This scripture says the sower went out and sowed seed, which fell on the rocky ground. After a while, tender little sprouts began to grow, but the soil was not suitable for them to thrive in. The roots needed to grow and get nutrients from the ground beneath that rocky soil had no place to sink into. So, too, the Word of God cannot take root if it’s sown in a man’s hard heart (mind, will, emotion). Perhaps some rocky soil is caused by heartache or words spoken in anger. As a result, the heart closes itself off from allowing anyone in. But God! Jesus is the only one who can change that heart of stone, turning it into a heart of flesh, making it whole again, ready to receive once more.

After Jesus was taken down from His Cross, He was laid to rest in a garden tomb, and a large stone was used to seal the tomb. “Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.” –John 19:40-42

But that stone was supernaturally removed on the third day, and Jesus walked out alive!

Jesus is the Seed sown into the hearts of all who declare Jesus as Savior by God the Father. These hearts will not only have new life, but will also help to reproduce new life. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” –John 12:24

The thorns, those wicked thoughts or anxieties that whisper, “You don’t need God.” Or “Nothing will ever change; you’re just a hopeless case.”

Such thoughts will choke the Word of God out of you if you allow them to. “Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out.” –Matthew 13:7.

Jesus is the only Person who can remove these thorns from your life.

He alone bore a crown of thorns on His head for you. Those wicked thoughts, those lies people have told about you. Jesus’ Holy Blood covered His crown of thorns, freeing everyone who will receive Him as Lord and Savior from the curse of sin and death.

The fall of man took place in the Garden of Eden, where the human heart was forever changed the very second sin entered the world. Still, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, in another garden, Jesus accepted a cup of suffering which contained the sins of the whole world.

Man’s salvation is made possible because Jesus died in our place, after drinking every drop of that bitter, sin-filled cup. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” –2 Corinthians 5:2.

But before Jesus was betrayed and taken away, He prayed to the Father, saying, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” –John 17:1-3

Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, my dear friend, proves His love for you.

Jesus was so determined to see you free that He came as a willing ransom, paying in full the price sin demands. He did this for anyone who would proclaim Him as Lord. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” –Romans 6:23.

I invite you to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior into your hearts. Let Him break up any hard ground He finds there—by repenting your sins. Invite Jesus to plant a new thing in the turned-over soil of your heart. Jesus loves you, and He is so willing to do this for you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16 Amen.

Bread, Not Bunnies.

April 19, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“I alone am this living Bread that has come to you from heaven. Eat this Bread and you will live forever. The living Bread I give you is my body, which I will offer as a sacrifice so that all may live.” –John 6:51

Men might be willing for Christ to save them, but not for Him to reign over them—Charles Spurgeon.

Tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday. A day when some will celebrate with their perhaps bi-yearly visit to church, wearing their new, or new-to-them, Easter outfits. Sadly, they’ll celebrate the day God defeated death and the grave as just a fun-filled day, complete with chocolatey treats instead of what it truly is: A Life-giving day that changed everything! The day Jesus, the sinless Son of God, took their sins and ours upon Himself, His once-for-all sacrifice, dying the criminal’s death we deserve so that all men might have New Life in Him and a restored relationship with the Father. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” –1 Peter 1:18-19.

Still, knowing this, many will give Jesus His 45 minutes tomorrow, then consider their duty done; sadly, they will go on to celebrate the Easter bunny’s arrival with their children. Celebrating how he brought them baskets filled with jellybeans, toys, and chocolate bunnies, sometimes real ones—making him the hero of the day. Perishable trinkets will take the place of the Pearl of Great Price. Heaven’s kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it” Matthew 13:45-46.

They’ll give their children baskets full of candy but not share the unfathomable sacrifice Jesus made just for them. Instead of telling their children just how much Jesus loves them, or the immeasurable lengths He went to ensure they could be His, instead, they’ll take them on the hunt for that well-hidden golden egg—the prized egg, the reward for all their hunting efforts! The Apostle Paul had something to say about those who write Jesus out, replacing Him with idols, man’s thought-up imaginings, their “Easter best” efforts: “For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.” –1 Corinthians 1:18.

How thankful we are, dear Christian, that our hunt is over!

Jesus has risen, hallelujah! And so, too, shall we!

Our Prize is One we did not have to go in search of. Instead, He made His presence plain to us using His heavenly host to announce Himself that none could deny the most excellent Gift ever given to mankind: King Jesus, Bread of Life. “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. Don’t be afraid!” he said. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” –Luke 2:9-12.

How fitting, beloved, that our King should be born in Bethlehem, known in Hebrew as the “House of Bread.” Jesus, Living Lechem (bread), declared of Himself: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” –John 6:35.

We see the foreshadowing of Jesus as the Bread of Life in the Book of Exodus.” Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.” –Exodus 25:23-24;30.

This bread was a sacred memorial offering, a reminder to God’s people of His Everlasting Covenant, Presence, and continual provision.

From the beginning, God’s heart towards His people has ensured that we are well-fed by His Word, sent first as life-sustaining manna in the wilderness. Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” –John 6:31.

Then, through Moses, God instructed His priests to place actual bread, a placeholder for Jesus, on a sulhan or table inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Twelve loaves were to be baked and then arranged in piles of six each, made from the finest flour and covered with the finest incense laid out weekly before the Lord by His priests. His table and its Old Covenant bread foreshadowed a future table where the New Covenant Bread of Life would sit with His Apostles. And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” –Luke 22:19-20.

Bread factored heavily in Israel’s history, including that of the early church.

Bread was a staple, even in the poorest homes. Something that all people, regardless of their wealth, poverty, Jewish or Gentile background, skin color, or background, could relate to. Is it any wonder that Jesus, our humble King, who came so all men might receive His free gift of salvation, likened Himself to such a Life-Giving staple? His Body and Blood, Bread and Wine, Jesus also said: “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink” –John 6:53-55.

Jesus is not a man that He can lie, beloved.

Tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the grave, defeating sin and death. Let us never forget that the shedding of our Bridegroom’s Blood is what makes us a spotless bride—you were bought at a very high price.

Each of John’s passages assures us that Jesus, the Bread of Life, can and promises to give New Life to all those who come to Him hungry for God’s real Food, sent to us that we might have New Life in Him today and eternal life in the world to come. “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” –John 6:58

New friends don’t make tomorrow about chocolate bunnies, easter baskets, and a new outfit. Make it about the Bread that came down from heaven. Make it all about Jesus, the Bread of Life. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. / And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” –John 11:25-26.

Reflections of Mephibosheth.

April 12, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.” –2 Samuel 9:3.

You, child of God, are a type of Mephibosheth—as am I. Made lame by one man’s sin. We were born sinners, unable to save ourselves. “The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” –1 Corinthians 15:45. Yet, for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, like Mephibosheth, we’ve been made whole; free to walk in fellowship with God again—because of Jesus.

As we prepare our hearts to celebrate Resurrection Sunday, I pray we call to mind the cost our Lord willingly paid for our sins and those of the whole world—His guiltless Life in exchange for our scarlet sin-stained lives. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” –1 John 2:2.

Apart from God’s unplumbed mercy, which offers to restore what we lost at the hands of Adam and Eve, guardians who dropped us and then hid in misplaced fear from God who, from eternity past, has wanted nothing more than to shower us with His love and bless us with every good thing, we are prisoners of Lo-debar, that hope-less place of long-dead dreams and even deader lives.

Like Mephibosheth, the hope-less are shackled to Lo-debar by the weighty chains that bind all who are Light-starved to dank, dark prisons of shame, guilt, and pride. Like him, they hid in fear, cowering in barren isolation in Lo-debar, a place that, when mentioned anywhere but there, is instantly associated with “the place where nothing thrives and the near-dead dog trembless cowering in constant fear of reprisal from their master’s tempestuous wrath.

Many of us knew Lo-debar; maybe we spent chunks of our childhood or some portion of our adult life there. Perhaps it was a family place, our neighborhood, or our town? Everyone you knew lived in Lo-debar, and those you came across who didn’t seem as unrelatable and alien to you as you imagined living in a foreign country might be. “In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope” –Ephesians 2:12.

I was made lame in Lo-debar by some version or another of shame and fear. I was crippled by depression and low self-esteem, made even lower by my own sin-full life choices.

I could say I was dropped shortly after having been born and not be wrong.

It’s fair to say all parties involved, me and them, contributed to my lameness; as far back as I can remember, all I ever knew was Lo-debar. That is why I can assure you with the confidence born only from one possessing firsthand experience that if not for Jesus, I can say with absolute certainty I’d never have changed addresses. Maybe you’d be the one God would have sent to minister to me? For sure, I didn’t have what it takes to walk out of Lo-debar on my own—being born lame, none of us did or do. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” –Titus 3:5.

Like Mephibaseph, I’d never have known the blessing of being invited to eat at the King’s table or having “tasted and seen” such Goodness while living so-called, in Lo-debar; such unimaginable joy and unplumed hope does not exist there.

Only God can cause a man to shed his skin so completely that he is no longer recognizable even to himself. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” –Galatians 2:20.

There’s a Hebrew concept known as Chesed; it has a multifaceted meaning. It speaks of lovingkindness, mercy, steadfast love, and loyalty. Sound familiar, child of God?

Chased is what David showed Mephibosheth.

Rather than killing anyone who may potentially lay claim to the throne, as was the custom when a new king was crowned, David, Jesus’ placeholder, instead shows Mephibosheth, God’s own mercy and loving-kindness.

For one who had been living in fear of the day the new King might catch wind that he was alive in Lo-debar, being shown such unimaginable mercy came right out of left field! Mephibosheth thought that if the day ever came when King David found him out, surely David would exact his revenge—ending his life, not blessing it! “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!” –2 Samuel 9:7.

How like Mephibosheth those of us who lived in Lo-debar were once.Crippled by shame and fear of being found by God. Accustomed to living small and hidden in a world where sin, shame, and the knowledge, so-called, of what we believe we deserve would, if we’re careful, hunt us down and destroy us. Living misguided and so far from the Truth that God loves us and desires an intimate “sit at the King’s table” relationship with us. A “I will restore all you’ve missed out on while foolishly hiding from what you thought would be My wrath” kind of Love.

From the beginning, beloved, God created you to have intimate fellowship with Him. He has always wanted you to be with Him, not languishing in Lo-debar. It never even occurred to Him that one of His children would live in a place that, when mentioned, is automatically associated with “the place where nothing thrives, where the near-dead dog trembles, cowering in constant fear of their master’s tempestuous wrath.”

God who loves you. He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die in your place. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16. He didn’t send Jesus to kill you but to offer you a new life now and for all time, along with the sure knowledge that the crumbling kingdom of this world, Lo-debar, has lost its power over you.

Trust in Jesus, the One God sent to seek you out and save you. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” –John 3:17. Hear the Father’s heart toward you, Mephibosheth.

Dear child, don’t be afraid. If you feel Me knocking on the door of your heart right now, trust that My Holy Spirit is doing My will; if you say yes to My invitation to be one with Me, you will eat at My table forevermore. I will not deceive you. In this world, you will still suffer hardships, but take heart, I will be with you, and I assure you that soon, and very soon, you will suffer lameness no more. “And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.” –2 Samuel 9:13.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” –Revelation 19:7-9

We’re Not So Different.

March 29, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” –Acts 5:3-4.

There are many ways in which men try to cover their sin. By pretext and presence, apology and self-vindication, they acquit themselves of all criminality, and put a fine gloss upon every foul delinquency. Excuse-making is the commonest trade under heaven. –Charles H. Spurgeon. (An excerpt from a sermon entitled “Two Coverings and Two Consequences.”)

From the beginning, it has never been about “stuff” or our having it—God loves to bless His children. Instead, it has always been about the condition of our hearts: allowing ourselves to be possessed by our possessions. Our putting created things above the One who created all things; allowing this to happen means we have broken God’s First Commandment. “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me.” –Exodus 20:2-3.

Regarding His 2nd Commandment, God spoke explicitly to Moses about idols of any kind, our not making, possessing, or worshipping any carved or graven images. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” –Exodus 20:4-5.

We can trace these two foundational Truths to the Ten Commandments God gave Moses.

The first, if not heeded and obeyed, leads directly to the breaking of the second.

With this in mind, let’s examine a couple we meet in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira. Through their deliberate actions of lying and lack of faith in God, we’ll witness a perfect example of how breaking God’s First Commandment opens us up to breaking His Second Commandment.

How?

When anything other than God is given first place in our hearts—the moment we put anyone or anything above God—that act is the very definition of idolatry. Ananias and his wife were guilty of idolatry and lying to the Holy Spirit. By holding back some of the proceeds they’d received from selling their land “for a rainy day,” Ananias and Sapphira deliberately put faith in money above their faith in God—worshiping the created thing over their Creator. “Now a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s full knowledge [and complicity] he kept back some of the proceeds, bringing only a portion of it, and set it at the apostles’ feet.” –Acts 5:1-2.

With this one duplicitous act, they lied to God. Essentially, they said, “Lord, we’re saying we believe in You and Your ability to care for us and meet our needs, but in case we’re wrong, we’re holding back a bit to look after ourselves.” 

They also lied to Peter and all those within the community of faith by deliberately putting their needs above everyone else’s and the newly agreed-upon ethos established for the benefit of the nascent Church community: “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.”  –Acts 4:32;34-35.

Hence, Ananias and Sapphira broke not only the First but also the Second Commandment, demonstrating that money was not only their God but, by definition, their idol. “And Peter said, ‘How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this?” –Acts 5:9.

Some may say, “But wait, money is not a graven image.” Their assertion would be wrong.

Both then and now, currency has borne the engraver’s mark. Whether the face of an animal, the depiction of a city or ruler such as Ceasar, or, in the case of more modern currency, Presidents such as Washington, Lincoln, or Frankin. Each image was carved or etched to produce its ancient or modern likeness. As King Solomon assured us: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9.

Others may say, “But wait, Ananias and Sapphira didn’t have the full council of God like we do. Will God blame us for being prudent?”

Ananias and Sapphira were not prudent. Saving money is not a sin, but that’s a teaching for another day.

They were liars who bet against God. They were part of the New Testament Church and, like the Apostles and all their brothers and sisters within this new community of believers, had heard the Gospel preached. Moreover, the Spirit of the Living God was at work in them. They knew that lying and deceit were wrong. “The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.” –Acts 4:33.

But let us not think more highly of ourselves than we ought, saying, “That was then and this now, we have God’s Word. We know better!” Unlike Ananias and Sapphira, we would never do such a thing!

Then, let me ask you: When was the last time you held something back from God, or, more to the point, put something or someone ahead of Him? Yourself included?

I ask this not to bring condemnation but rather conviction.

I ask that it might cause you, as it did me, to pause for a moment and seek the Holy Spirit’s answer, not our own. We can’t trust our heart to answer this rightly because it will always oppose God’s Spirit by its very nature. “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” –Galatians 5:17.

Truth be told, beloved, we are not so unlike Ananias and Sapphira.

Not fully surrendering to God whatever we have pledged to give Him means that we have robbed God just as surely as they did. Being a covenant people, made one in Jesus in the New Covenant relationship, means we have agreed to put God first in all things. Surrendering even our very lives to Jesus, having claimed they are no longer our own. And the moment we break God’s First Commandment, we also break His Second.

Knowing this about ourselves, that selfishness that lurks within us, has lurked within our brothers and sisters before us, how grateful and thankful we ought to be to our Bridegroom, Jesus, for being the atonement for our sins. And to our Father, who washes us clean of them all, remembering them no more because of Jesus and the Sinless Blood He shed to wash us clean from all our unrighteousness.

And we know and rejoice in the Truth that Jesus’ Blood is no match for our sins, beloved, even when we let Satan into our hearts, breaking God’s Commandments—just as Ananias and Sapphira did. “But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” –Romans 5:8-9.

God’s Word assures us that all men have sinned and fall short of God’s Perfect Standard, but He also assures us that His heart is that none perish—that means you, dear friend. Like me and the rest of those who call Jesus Lord, you too can be saved by repenting your sins and asking Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life. Don’t follow Ananias and Sapphira’s example by betting against God; they lost their lives! Today, God asks that you call out to Him that He might save you. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

Faith That Makes You Whole.

March 22, 2025 /

Pastor Samuel Cordeiro

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” [KJV says, “thy faith hath made thee whole.”] –Luke 17:11-19.

In Luke 17:11-19, we encounter a powerful story of ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for mercy. These men, outcasts of society, were desperate for healing. Yet, out of the ten who were miraculously healed, only one returned to give thanks—and Jesus declared that his faith had made him whole. This passage is more than a historical account; it is a call to deeper faith, obedience, gratitude, and worship.

1. The Power of Crying Out

“Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” –Luke 17:13.

The lepers knew they had no hope apart from Jesus. They cried out in desperation, recognizing Jesus’ power to heal. How often do we hesitate to cry out to Jesus in our struggles? Whether it’s physical illness, emotional pain, or spiritual bondage, our wholeness begins with acknowledging our need for Him. Jeremiah 32:27 reminds us, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”

No matter what we face, no situation is beyond God’s reach. He desires for us to call upon Him in faith, trusting in His power and love.

Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Have you cried out to Him today?

2. Obedience Precedes Breakthrough

“When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.” –Luke 17:14.

Jesus told the lepers to act in faith before they saw their healing. They obeyed, and as they went, they were made clean. Many times, God calls us to step out in faith before we see the evidence of His work. Imagine their situation. They could have doubted, “What if we walk and nothing happens? What if this is just another disappointment?” instead, they chose faith over doubt. In the same way, our obedience often unlocks our miracle.

Is there something God is calling you to obey today?

Is He asking you to trust Him in a new way? Your obedience may be the key to unlocking your miracle.

3. The Heart of Gratitude

Only one of the ten lepers returned to thank Jesus. This act of gratitude set him apart. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” –Luke 17:17-18.

How often do we receive blessings and forget to return thanks?

A heart of gratitude acknowledges God as the source of all blessings. It shifts our focus from what we lack to the abundance of His grace. Gratitude keeps our hearts aligned with God and guards us against complacency.

Many times, we become so focused on the next thing we want that we forget to appreciate what God has already done. But gratitude is more than a feeling—it’s a lifestyle. It shapes how we pray, how we worship, and how we live daily. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

4. Worship Leads to Wholeness

The one leper who returned didn’t just thank Jesus—he fell at His feet in worship. Jesus told

him, “Thy faith hath made thee whole” –Luke 17:19, KJV. Wholeness is more than physical healing; it is the restoration of the soul. Many seek miracles, but few seek the Miracle Worker.

 Are we pursuing Jesus only for what He can do, or are we seeking a relationship with Him?

True wholeness means more than just getting our prayers answered. It means being transformed from the inside out, having peace beyond understanding, and living a life surrendered to Christ. John 10:10 says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

 True wholeness is found in surrendering to Christ completely. Worship is not just singing songs on Sunday. Worship is a posture of the heart—one that acknowledges God’s goodness, submits to His will, and delights in His presence. When we worship, we shift our focus from our problems to the One who holds all things in His hands.

Do You Want to Be Made Whole?

This passage challenges us to evaluate our own faith. Are we crying out to Jesus? Are we stepping out in obedience? Do we live with a heart of gratitude? Are we seeking Jesus for who He is, not just for what He can give?

Wholeness begins with a cry for mercy, moves through obedience, overflows in gratitude, and is sustained through worship. Will you be like the one who returned to Jesus? Will you seek not just the blessing but the Blesser? Today, Jesus offers more than a temporary fix—He offers complete restoration. The question is: will you receive it?

Let this be the day that you fully surrender. Let this be the day you choose wholeness over temporary relief. Let this be the day you stop chasing quick fixes and start pursuing the One who makes all things new. Perhaps you’ve been searching for healing, peace, or fulfillment, but nothing seems to satisfy you. The truth is true wholeness begins with Jesus. He didn’t just come to heal your body; He came to save your soul.

If you’ve never given your life to Jesus or drifted away, He is waiting for you with open arms. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But the good news is, Romans 6:23 assures us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and rose again so that you could have eternal life.

All you need to do is believe in Him, confess your sins, and invite Him into your life. Your journey to wholeness begins with a heart of surrender to Jesus Christ with a simple prayer like this: “Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of Your grace. I believe You died for my sins and rose again to give me new life. I surrender my heart to You today. Forgive me, change me, and make me whole. I choose to follow You from this day forward. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! I encourage you to get connected with a local church, read God’s Word daily, and seek Him in prayer. Your journey to wholeness has just begun!

Bloodline.

March 8, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision. ) After that, the Lord left him alone.” –Exodus 4:24-26.

On the biblical timeline, Moses followed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and was aware of the Lord’s command that every Hebrew male must be circumcised. So, though the placement of today’s Scripture reads as odd, like an aside, the fact that God was wrathful and confronted Moses shouldn’t surprise us. Why? Moses knew better. He knew all male children were to be circumcised. Yet, this man God had chosen to lead His people to freedom—into the land He’d promised Father Abraham—had not obeyed the command of the Lord by circumcising his own son.

So much of today’s passage of Scripture leaves me scratching my head. It takes someone far more versed than I am in biblical history and its rites and rituals to more fully understand these “say what!” verses.

Why hadn’t Moses circumcised his son?

How did the Lord confront Moses?

And what are we meant to take away from God wanting to kill Moses but not following through with it? Scripture doesn’t give us much to go on, so we must be good Bereans and find the corner pieces to this puzzle before attempting to fill it in.

Our first and most noteworthy corner piece is obedience—or the lack thereof. Today’s verses make it abundantly clear Moses had not circumcised Gershom, his son. “But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son.”

 Why did Moses disobey a command He knew was from God?

Had Moses considered acquiescing to the Midianite, pagan tradition of circumcision to appease his wife or father-in-law, perhaps, neglecting entirely the command of God given to Father Abraham? The Midianite tradition of circumcision had likely been explained to Moses or was one he may have seen carried out by Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of Midian. A tradition apparently well known to his Midianite wife, Zipporah, as she was the one who broke with this tradition and circumcised their son, to assuage the Lord’s anger by touching Gershom’s bloodied foreskin to Moses, marking him as not only her husband but as a bridegroom of blood. “But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.”

With all its question marks, one thing we know for sure is this: Had God wanted Moses dead, he’d have killed him. So, was God’s confronting Moses meant to scare him straight, so to speak? Zipporah too? Since these two were now one flesh in marriage, was this threat by God a wake-up call for Moses, making no bones about Moses needing to obey Him above everyone—his wife and wife’s family included? “Be faithful in obeying the Lord your God. Be careful to keep all His Laws which I tell you today.” –Deuteronomy 28:1.

So much is seemingly lost to us in this ostensibly placed verse. And yet, if we search the Books of the Bible, we’ll see a pattern emerge surrounding the shedding of blood and circumcision.

The shedding of blood.

This same Moses, who Zipporah smears with the fresh blood from their son’s circumcised foreskin, was commanded by God to smear the blood of a sacrificial lamb on the doorposts and lintel of every home the Hebrews would stand inside while eating its roasted meat along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. “That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord” –Exodus 12:8-12.

They ate poised and at the ready as the angel of death passed over their homes, sparing the firstborn of every Hebrew family. “Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants.” –Exodus 12:22-24.

There are times when looking back is necessary. It helps us connect past events to those yet to come; Hebrews 9:22 is a prime example of the connection between the old and the new. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Some scholars say between 1000, and 1500 years separated Moses and Jesus’s lives. No one knows with absolute certainty the exact times between the end of Moses’ ministry and the beginning of Jesus’, but what they all seem to agree on is the blood of that slain Passover lamb whose blood was smeared over the doorposts and upon the lintel of every Hebrew home, was the foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, Jesus. Emmanuel, God with us, who, being fully God yet fully man, was Himself circumcised on the 8th day, according to the law. “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” –Luke 2:21.

This sinless Lamb of God, willingly slain to atone for the sins of the world, whose Blood washes the most sin-stained of hearts white as snow; it’s through this Bridegroom of Blood—our Kinsman Redeemer—that we, His Bride, are saved. Our lives are spared from the wrath of God that will be poured out on a God-rejecting, sinful world.

Now, in order to trace this atoning Blood, you’d have to return to the Garden of Eden. Because if, as you read, you’re paying attention, you’d recognize Jesus’ sacrificial death foreshadowed there. Adam and Eve have sinned. So we read in Genesis 3:21, God kills some innocent animals and uses their bloodied skins to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness. “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” In contrast, the shedding of the blood of these innocent animals foreshadows the shedding of Jesus’s Innocent Blood to atone not only for Adam and Eve’s sins but for the sins of the whole world. “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:2.

Yet if we truly want to trace Jesus Bloodline, we’d have to go back to a time that stands outside of time as we understand it—back to the place where our Triune God has always existed, because it’s there, in that timeless place, where we first read about the Spotless Lamb who’d be slain for the sins of the world. “And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] from the foundation of the world.” –Revelation 13:8.

How blessed are we, His Bride, to have been washed in the Spotless Blood of Jesus—our sins, removed from us and remembered by God no more, made right with God by Jesus. “Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:9.

Are you of Jesus’ Bloodline, friend? Have you invited the One who died to give you New Life into your heart? Jesus loves you and is waiting for just such an invitation. Won’t you invite Him into your life as Lord and Savior today?

God of The 11th Hour?

February 8, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montvile

MaryEllen Montville

“The people of Israel had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all of the Lord’s people left Egypt. It was a night to be remembered for the Lord for having brought them out of the land of Egypt.” –Exodus 12: 40-42.

Many Christians believe they’ve experienced Jesus as God of the 11th hour. I, too, had often thought the same of Him, of Jesus showing up at what certainly felt like the last minute, or dare I say, when I thought the moment had passed me by when all hope appeared little more than a barely there dot on a gray horizon.

Perhaps that’s how the Israelites once felt.

Maybe—that’s how you’re feeling right now.

We, His children, are often guilty of seeing Jesus as the One who comes just in time.

Yet, I encourage you to allow the opening verse of today’s chapter to challenge what you may believe about God’s timing—maybe it’s time for a fresh perspective—more, for a proper Biblical perspective.

Why?

So that you might, we might rightly align our hearts and wills with God’s. Sinking it, like a weighty anchor to the sea floor, to become one with His will, His plan, total submission, and acceptance—come what may. Ceasing your striving, conscious or otherwise, to bend God’s will to meet your own. “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make” –Proverbs 3:5-6.

Throughout God’s Word, we are assured of one fundamental, unchanging Truth—God is never late as we think of lateness. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” –Ecclesiastes 3:11.

This plain Truth has existed since before time, as man understands it. We witness God exercise this Truth in His plan to deliver His chosen children, the Israelites, as He had foreordained, arranged for the Israelite’s deliverance and the utter eradication of their enemy in His appointed time. “While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron.” –Exodus 12:1.

This one verse challenges our finite understanding of time—God’s time, that is. It uncryptically details that while the Israelites were yet experiencing the tip of the taskmaster’s whip across their sun-scorched backs, God already had their deliverance mapped out. Did you catch that? Before one Israelite had so much as sniffed their impending freedom in the air, God had already made a way out of Egypt. The Israelite’s exodus from under Pharoh’s exacting grip was already mapped out and waiting in the wings to unfold in the form of two lowly servants—Moses and Aaron.

In God’s economy, His children were already free—their liberty a done deal.

Their shackles and hopelessness, though weighing them down still in the natural, had, in God’s Providence, already been left in the dust of an Egypt that had been bent on robbing His people of the now tattered vestiges of the “sure promise” God had made to their forefathers Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob. All of this was done before one person’s foot took its first step into freedom, already theirs. Again, concerning God’s timing, we must remember it is not our own. Still, the lot of us so long to captains of time. Thinking, foolishly, how we would do it, whatever the “it” may be, so much better, or at least far more expediently than God is!

I can hear the Apostle Paul screaming across time, “How foolish of you, you short-sighted fools! You possess no such vision!”

God alone sees the end from the beginning as a masterful, finished piece of art. While we, short-sighted mortals, see it as some willy-nilly, nonsensical drawing-board scribblings. Is it any wonder that the Lord says to us: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” –Isiah 55:8-9.

Much like his descendants, the Israelites, their Father Abraham knew something about this God who provides “a ram in the bush”—an unseen, unknown, yet preplanned way out of afflictions for His own. Unnoticed and unknown until that is, the fullness of time is revealed. But Abraham’s story is for another day.

For today, suffice it to say, if you’re feeling stuck in your own version of Egypt, God has undoubtedly heard your cries, just as He did the Israelites before you. As with them, He has a plan to deliver you. “The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.” –Exodus 3:7.

So If you’re bent low in despair, feeling drained, beaten down—the joy of life and all hope seemingly little more than a memory, or if the enemy—or your seared conscience, is taking the whip to your back, then like the Israelites before you, you too must cry out to your Father—your God.

Trust that Jesus hears you and that He has a good and hope-filled plan for your life that will unfold in His time. How? According to His Word. Listen: “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless [he is forced] by a strong hand. So I will reach out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. And I will grant this people favor and respect in the sight of the Egyptians; therefore, it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. In this way you are to plunder the Egyptians [leaving bondage with great possessions that are rightfully yours].” –Exodus 3:19-20;22.

This God who did not fail the Israelites in their seemingly forsaken wilderness will unquestionably not fail you, chosen and sealed in Christ. By His Spirit at work in you, you will emerge from your “captivity” stronger, more resilient, and better supplied than when your enemy first laid hold of you.

Just as Exodus 3:19-23 assures you of God’s faithfulness to His beloved, chosen Israel, there’s yet another promise from this same God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, made to the Israelites while they were yet in exile in Babylon and through them, ingrafted one, to you, if you are God’s child. It speaks to His yet future plans for them, good plans indeed, again, while they are, in their own eyes at least, still in bondage. “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper– Jeremiah 29: 4-7.

Here it is, beloved, the promise you must white-knuckle cling to come what may, by remembering God makes all things work together for your good and His glory—in His time. “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” –Jeremiah 29:11.

According to Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” So here’s what that means if you have yet to ask Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Today can be the day of your exodus from whatever Egypt has been holding you enslaved. Is it drugs? Alcohol? Porn? Adultery?

 Whatever your personal Egypt, Jesus is waiting to set you free if you confess your need for Him and admit that you’ve sinned and need Him as your Savior. Then, according to His Word, Jesus will save and wash you clean. “If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].” –1 John 1:9.

All, In One.

January 18, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” –2 Corinthians 5:14.

Reading just one sentence written in a daily devotional and then searching for the Truth of it in God’s inerrant Word can often usher in a whole new level of awe and understanding. It happens the instant His Logos, God’s written Word becomes Rhema, God’s Word made instantly alive and understood. Made personal by His Holy Spirit. If you’ve ever experienced this, you know precisely what I’m talking about.

I quickly recognized I was having an “I prayed, and God answered moment.” 

God responded to my prayer with just one click of His heavenly kaleidoscope, just as He promised us in Jeremiah 33:3.” “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”  You see, just moments before reading an incroyable sentence in my devotional, I had asked God to show me more. More of Him. Deeper things. More of His goodness, character, and heart—supernatural things, all the while knowing such revelation would be far beyond my purblind understanding. Still, I want more of God and fully believe He alone can open our understanding of who He is—His deeper recesses. So I asked. And God answered.

The sentence in the devotional I was reading: “Jesus was all people in one person.”

As I read and reread that one sentence, His Holy Spirit began opening the eyes of my understanding, leading me straight into His Word. “Yet look at you now! Everything is new! Although you were once distant and far away from God, now you have been brought delightfully close to him through the sacred blood of Jesus—you have actually been united to Christ! Our reconciling “Peace” is Jesus! He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ. Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over—forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together in himself!” –Ephesians 2:13-15.

At first glance, I got it. Kind of—in part. We were all inside of Christ as He hung on His Cross—before really, in eternity past, while He was waiting to be born and die for us, in our place—so that we might one day live for or reject Him; Jew and Gentile alike, no division between us “For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.”  –Romans 8:29.

In the truest sense, Christ hung on His Cross, the Sinless substitute for every guilty man who was, is, or is yet to come; for you, me, Abraham, Moses, and that one who wants nothing to do with Him.

His sacrifice—the innocent in place of the guilty—is world-inclusive.

It’s Jesus’ “I’ll die so that every single one of them will have the opportunity to choose Me—to choose Life,” demonstration of love. According to John 19:30, every soul, saved and unsaved alike, has been caught in God’s eternal “It Is Finished” net.

That we, the guilty, should be offered such a choice as to accept or reject our Creator, our Pure and Sin-less Savior, is mind-boggling to me.

Jesus is the only atonement God would accept for every man’s sins—past, present, and future; His willingness to take upon Himself the sins of the whole world meant Jesus would be brutally beaten, crucified, and die, even for those He foreknew would reject, deny, and despise Him and His offer to experience new life in Him.

This part of the “Jesus was all people in one person.” I understood.

After all, Christ’s substitutionary atonement is a pillar of—a massive chunk of the very bedrock upon which our faith—my faith, is built. The other chunks? The fact that He was born of a Virgin, Fathered by God’s Holy Spirit, born fully God and fully man—sinless. And this same Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, defeated death and the grave, resurrecting on the third day, are some of the other massive chunks of the bedrock of our faith.

Transfixed, feeling more was yet to come, I sat meditating on that one sentence: “Jesus was all people in one person.”

Then, suddenly, the Holy Spirit opened it up a bit more.

Those seven words put parentheses around the Gospel message. Around those, Jesus foreknew would accept Him and those who never would. It put parentheses around God’s justice and His Love—His judgment and forgiveness.

Being fully God, Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. Yes, the tiny babe the angel Gabriel once proclaimed as the world’s Savior to some shepherds; being one in nature with God—being God, was all men in one man in the sense that Jesus knew those the Father had given Him before the foundation of the world. From eternity past, it has always been about far more than Jews and Gentiles, about there being no division between us. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” –Colossians 1:15-18.

The “all people” has always been about every man. “All men.” Period. Regardless. All men include the pedophile, the murderer, and rapist, the abortion doctor, the thief, the drug-addicted mom, the sloppy drunk dad, and that homeless guy begging for change on the corner—those “surely not that one, Lord!”

Those the sanctimonious have labeled unworthy and shady; Jesus foreknew each of them in heaven as they awaited their birth, just as He foreknew you.

Jesus foreknew those who would accept Him as Lord and Savior and live—and those who, like Satan, Judas, and countless others, would rebel against Him and die because, like their father, they have chosen to harden their hearts. Refusing to believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father—the only way back to where they came from. “You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel” –Isaiah 48:8.

Just as surely as God foreknew every lash His only Begotten Son would take upon His sinless body, He also foreknew every soul who would despise and reject Him. He foreknew the very men He was sending Jesus into the world to save would savagely and quite literally beat the flesh off His sinless Body, maliciously press a crown of thorns into His head, spit on him, strike Him with their fist, and then taunt and demean Him. And at any time, God could have stopped it, but He didn’t.

Jesus, at any time, could have said, “Enough,” but He didn’t. Instead, He endured death on His Cross. Why? Because in the truest sense of the word, hanging on His Cross, Jesus was all people in one Person—knowing who will be with Him always and those who would choose to live apart from Him now and forever. And had God loved us so and decided to let the cup of suffering pass Jesus by, Had Jesus not drank that bitter cup down to its dregs, all men would die in their sin, having no righteousness of their own, no Way back to the Father. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6.

What will Jesus say of you, friend? “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” or “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  Concerning these choices, God Himself says this to you: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, you shall choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” –Deuteronomy 30:19. Jesus loves you enough to have left heaven, been born as a man, lived, died, and conquered the grave, the firstborn of the dead so that you might choose Him, belong to Him, and live.

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