Category: Purpose… (Page 1 of 12)

Home Renovations…

October 10, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” –Psalm 127:1

I was awakened to this one Word in my Spirit: Renovations, plural.

Now, I love a good home renovation episode as much as the next guy: replacing outdated countertops and hardware, giving aesthetically unpleasing or ill-functioning cabinetry a fresh, latest look. Updating what is outdated and ineffective, watching it transform into something that changes the home’s function and atmosphere, and breathing new life into what no longer worked is fulfilling to watch unfold. And not only for the owner, but for everyone who gets to experience that transformation.

But the Holy Spirit didn’t show me an aesthetically pleasing renovation.

The houses He renovates often involve a far more labor-intensive, “deconstruct-to-reconstruct” process, spiritually speaking. The Lord Jesus often reconstructs, “a job at a time,” lest the homeowner grow faint under the meticulous work of the Master Builders.

Holy Spirit’s renovation work focuses on the building’s structure—what upholds, supports, and covers the home—not simply upgrading its cosmetic flaws. His deconstruct-to-reconstruct renovation process made sense to me, as I understand God is far more concerned with our character, our “support beams, roof, our pilings and the footings of our foundations” than He is with how aesthetically pleasing to the eye, if you will, our “house” is.

God’s heart, His desire from eternity past, is that His children walk uprightly in obedience and fellowship with Him, that He might bless those who do. “For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows [present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” –Psalm 84:11. What earthly parent doesn’t want their child to grow up strong, confident in their parents’ love, living a good life built on an unshakable, righteous character—how much more than does God desire this for His children—and those He is calling to become His own even now.

God desires our proverbial house to reflect the righteous character of His Master Builder, Jesus, character placed in it the moment He took possession of it: Love, joy, kindness, goodness, self-control, patience, peace, faithfulness, and gentleness. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” –Galatians 5:22-23.

God made it possible for our homes to be “constructed” with these incalculable materials through Jesus’ sacrificial life, death, and resurrection—summed up aptly in Jesus’ final words: tetelestai, “It is finished.” The deed to your house, paid in full. Man’s sinful debt satisfied by Jesus’ sinless death.

Each man’s proverbial house is his soul, and only God can reconstruct a soul, returning it to its intended condition. “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” –Psalm 23:3

Future homes will continue to be renovated: “deconstructed-to-be-reconstructed” until Jesus calls us all home. “For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.” –Romans 5:19

For our houses to be brought into right standing with God, some of His children will endure a far more intensive renovation process than others.

Because God loves them less?

Not possible!

No. It’s because of Jesus’ great love that some of His children will experience the more intensive renovation needed to keep their proverbial house standing, ready to pass inspection by its Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnificent Owner.

New girders will need to replace unstable main beams, and new floor joists will need to be laid to help carry weight straight to its foundation. Why? God knows the weight this house will carry—and how it must be built to withstand the storms of life, year after year…

Other homes may need new shingles to replace leaky patches on their roofs, keeping the elements out and protecting the work He’s already completed within. If the roof is faulty or leaky, it will eventually damage what lies beneath it—the walls, beams, and wiring—things essential for a safe, solid, well-built home. Additionally, mold and mildew can grow quickly in such conditions, causing this house quite literally to make its owner sick.

Thus, God repairs what’s faulty to make this house safe not only for its owner, but for all who enter…

In other homes, God sees the need to dig out the foundation and pour a deeper, far more stable footing that will undergird what He is constructing for years to come; God will use this major delay in the home’s construction to teach its owner patience and endurance.

Other homes still need to learn to rely on the Master Builder’s plans and materials rather than employing outside builders or employing inferior “do-it-yourself” materials in their own handy work, so-called. God will allow fiery trials to burn away the faulty tools and materials of self-reliance and put a stop to such building practices entirely.

Others have been built to face the vicious storms of adversity head-on; God has fortified their structures with indefatigable materials to withstand the warring storms that will rage against them and protect those God has called to enter them. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” –Matthew 7:24–25

And then there is the home of the prodigal.

Faulty materials were used when its owner cut corners and squandered the precious resources the Master Builder provided during its construction. Instead, they rejected the Master Builder’s offer of supplies, relied on their scant building knowledge, or hired less trustworthy builders who used shoddy materials to build their house. “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!” – Matthew 7:26-27

As a result, they may taste the Master Builder’s severe mercy. His rigorous gutting of whole sections of their house, rebuilding them afresh, and shoring up their foundation, enabling them finally to withstand the Master Builder’s future additions. The Patriarch Jacob could easily attest to this Truth…

Beloved, only God Himself, the Good, Loving, Master Builder of the house, knows why He’s chosen and appointed some houses and not others for such rigorous deconstruct-to-reconstruct renovations.

The following Scriptures, however, point us, in part, towards an answer. “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” –Romans 5:1-5

Be sure of this, dear homeowner: whatever the trial Jesus allows to touch your house is for your good, to strengthen, purify, fortify, or refine your house and its reliance on Him, and it will result in your good and God’s glory. “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” —1 Peter 1:7

Who has built your house, friend? Was it the Master Builder, or have you taken matters into your own hands and built it yourself? Before you answer, consider the weight of today’s verse. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” –Psalm 127:1

Friend, it is never too late to invite the Master Builder to renovate anything that needs updating in your house…

That’s Not For You…

September 26, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com / 0 Comments

Maria Braga

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” –Mark 10:43

The less of Jesus this world has, the louder people cry out for personal recognition, status, power, and prestige. But throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we see patterns of generations marked by godlessness and evil, followed by later generations who are good—for instance, King Hezekiah, “who trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him” –2 Kings 18:5.

Then there is King Josiah, who became king at eight years old and reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years (2 Kings 22:1). Both of these kings were righteous. Yet their sons strayed into terribly ungodly behavior (2 Kings 23:32).

Eli was a priest whose sons were “worthless men.”

“Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.” –1 Samuel 2:12.

Similarly, Scripture accuses Samuel’s sons of corruption: “But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, selfishly taking bribes and corrupting justice.” –1 Sam 8:3. Not much has changed!

Many children today are still raised by Godly parents, raised in the ways of God, yet because of their free will, they choose their own path. It is not the parents’ fault, but the child’s free-will choice. Parents cry over their child’s unpredictable choices, but all they can do is pray.

In the opening Scripture, Mark, the Author of the Gospel, reveals an issue with the human heart: “pride and competition.”

Many today, consciously or unconsciously, cry out for power.

This longing can harm their spiritual well-being. Ungodly motives lead to pride, and, like the kings and priests of biblical history, some men begin to desire other people’s victories instead of pursuing their own. Man desires what he does not possess. They step out of their designated roles, mistakenly believing they can achieve greatness by doing someone else’s work, job, or ministry “better than” the one God has chosen. This principle is unchanged for the saved and the unsaved alike: John and James asked to sit next to Jesus on thrones, in places of honor. Danger lies in not fully understanding what we are asking for, and in operating out of our natural selves rather than as the spiritual beings we truly are.

When we read Mark 10 in context and consider the conversation in the verses before Mark 10:43, we learn that even John and James, the sons of Zebedee, Apostles of Jesus, had fleshly motives: a desire to sit on a glorious throne with Jesus. Jesus’ answer to them is astounding to me: “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” –Mark 10:38.

This is the same conversation Jesus would likely have with many today.

God is not looking for something new we can offer Him; rather, He wants us to use wisely what He has already bestowed upon us. We must grasp this fundamental Truth by accepting the fact that Creator God knew us before we were formed in our mothers’ wombs. “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 1:5.

Jesus is seeking hearts willing to embrace the commands He gives and the destinies He has ordained. He desires a people with open hands, unafraid to cultivate the spiritual fields around them without expectation—obedient and ready to surrender all they possess, as Moses did in Exodus 4:2, when the Lord asked, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied, “A rod.”

Today, God asks each of us the same question: “What is in your hand? What have I given you already? And are you willing to use it for My glory?

Like Moses, our answer matters.

From birth, some are told how beautiful they are, or how good they are—how much they deserve the best, to be first, to win. Often, by age ten, many children believe they have “arrived” and begin to demand things they have no right to because of words spoken over them. They, in turn, start speaking to their parents and teachers with a sense of entitlement, creating a culture where so many children and adults alike today feel like they’re owed something.

Society struggles to learn God’s valuable lessons because it often refuses to recognize or believe in Jesus’ existence.

Self-evaluation is a good spiritual practice to do from time to time, checking where we are spiritually. In our humanity, we are creatures of habit, and habits are sometimes hard to break. We must retrain our minds in the ways of the Lord. If we belong to Jesus, we must start new practices and habits, so we begin to live as the “new creation” we are.

This new life is a gift from God to us that the enemy often tries to snatch from us.

Beware of the thief!

Today, few want to be servants; the term has taken on negative connotations. Instead, many compete for power and position, as our opening text points out.

Yet God is still seeking those who will pick up the towel and basin. Despite being in proximity to the Source of Living Water, even Jesus’ disciples, who walked alongside Him, debated who would sit at His left or right hand in the Kingdom. They too longed for seats of power and recognition.

I find it interesting that, while they sought glory, Jesus offered them the path to servanthood.

The greatest test for every Christian is learning that true greatness is found in the humility to serve. In a kind yet firm way, Jesus tells His disciples that seeking to be served is not the path He has chosen for them: “Among you, it’s not so.”

We understand in this that Jesus measures a servant’s greatness by humility.

Love is expressed through service to others. The universal language of God’s Kingdom is that of service, a concept understood across every nation and tongue. Can serving with a pure servant’s heart bring us as close as we can come to living heaven on earth—giving without expecting anything in return?

A believer who reaches this point of selfless giving has achieved a great measure of maturity. Serving is often a quiet, unseen act that leads to our rejoicing when we see others flourish. It may mean washing the feet of someone undeserving or showing love through our actions rather than mere words. Serving is a spiritual, sacrificial act!

No position is more esteemed, no ministry purer, no calling higher or holier than when someone responds as Mary, Jesus’ mother once did: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” –Luke 1:38.

To serve others is to die to self a little each day, so that Christlikeness can grow within us, allowing all who meet us to be touched by His greatness, not our own. Whoever wants to become great must first learn how to be a servant. Seek first God’s Kingdom, trusting in the promised result that everything else will come.

Here’s the principle: there is only One who is the Great I AM – Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. He is our Great Creator God, Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit. His position is taken; it is not for you.

Father, I pray that everyone reading this today finds fulfillment by accepting you as Lord and Savior of their lives. May anyone hungry or thirsty for you find comfort and peace through your Word. May your Spirit touch and save all who are seeking to find you today. Bring each person the satisfaction and fulfillment they need. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

You say, “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest” –Matt 11:28.

The Lag…

August 22, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” –Psalm 27:14

It would be a gross understatement to say I’m not much of a sailor. Because I’ve sailed with someone who is a world-class sailor does not mean I’ve been afforded their firsthand knowledge or experience vicariously. Being a passenger on their boat does not mean that I am in any way qualified to sail it. Beloved, wisdom dictates that when one’s future is at stake, before you begin a thing, count the cost. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.'” –Luke 14:28-30

Respect boundaries and heed the instructions and warnings of those who are far more experienced, trained, and capable of navigating the waters on which you find yourself sailing. Demonstrate humility by acknowledging your limitations and by remembering you are a passenger on this ship called life, not the Skipper… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” –Proverbs 3:5-6

That said, you’ve heard the Lord. As He did with Father Abraham, God has called you to leave behind all you know—home, family, friends, ministry, some possessions—or maybe all, and set sail with Him into your “next.” Where exactly? He’s given you the destination: the city, state, or town, just not the actual address. Now, you’re waiting on God to fill in the details and timing…

And though heavy-hearted in leaving behind those you love for a season, or maybe until you meet again in heaven, you feel honored God has called you; frail and fragile vessel that you are—the least qualified of His kids—to partner with Him for yet another new adventure; or perhaps this is your first?

Either way, you’ve been reenergized—reawakened.

Fresh air, you had no idea you needed, billowed in, reviving you and exposing what had become rote and repetitive in your life. You had no conscious awareness that your energy and vitality had waned until God opened up this new course before you. Was the season past a good one? Yes. Ordained by God, absolutely; it was a privilege and an honor. It was also part of God’s plan for you to bless others and meet their needs, all the while being trained and prepared for your next. “See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” –Isaiah 48:10

So why has what started as smooth sailing seemingly stalled?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Lag as follows: a noun referring to a delay, gap, or time difference between two related events.

The forward momentum gained after Jesus’ initial invitation to follow Him into this “new thing” feels sluggish now—stalled somehow, more like rowing through molasses than sailing open waters. Has God changed His mind? Did you eat too much pizza and confuse indigestion with God’s voice? Was it all wishful thinking on your part? Some subconscious longing you mistakenly labeled as a call from God. It’s possible, certainly. You would not be the first child of His to be led off course, mistaking His voice for your own. There is a reason God’s Word cautions us to test everything: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” –1 John 4:1.

And though John was speaking specifically of false prophets misleading and deceiving the people within his following verses, the spiritual principle itself is sound. It ought to be applied to any Word, so-called, given us by God directly or spoken over us by another. God will always confirm His Word by His Word and by the peace His Holy Spirit will provide your spirit, and through wise, Godly counsel—even when, especially when, what God is calling you to do is too big—a seemingly impossible feat for you to accomplish.

Yet, after weighing it all, dare I say nothing out of the ordinary has happened to you, my bewildered friend? What you are feeling is exactly that: your feelings. The angst, perhaps, that often comes from thwarted control; incomplete knowledge, our human, limited vision, and frustrated wrangling over our own self-imposed timelines or outcomes…

I posit the lag you’re experiencing isn’t, perhaps, you having mistakenly heard God’s call; rather, it is God Himself just being God.

Let me explain…

Oftentimes, when He calls us into that next assignment He has for us, it is not at all uncommon for Him to allow us to experience what “feels” like lags, delays, or us having lost sight of a shoreline that was clear and seemingly laid out plain before us, just a short time ago.

God will often allow such lags, as with so many other things He allows to touch our lives, to help build in us trust, humility, perseverance, endurance, and patience. Abraham experienced God’s lag. As did Moses, Daniel, David, Joseph, and so many other of His servants.

In what felt like silence, and even God’s absence, He was, in fact, at work on their behalf, fulfilling the promise and all that was in their lives. God is far more concerned with our character than with timing: “But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.” –James 1:4

God hasn’t forgotten you, or His call on your life, beloved; He is building your reliance on Him.

He’s sharpening your abilities, your hearing, sight, and trust in His ability to “Captain” your ship—follow His voice, even if you hear it calling you to do what “feels” impossible. “But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].” –John 16:13

There is a reason you and I need an experienced Skipper at the helm of what we oft refer to as “our” ship, beloved, setting the pace and charting our course. Trained eyes that can, in an instant, scan the horizon of our lives, knowing not only where we are at any given moment, equally important, where it is He’d have us go; knowing precisely how to get us there safely.

Left on our own, however, we’d search and strain to see a shoreline that promised a destination to which God has called us, floundering and anxious, oars floating in the water, because we’d lost our way…

If what you heard was indeed from the Lord, friends, then I caution you to sit tight, and, as David reminds us in today’s Scripture verse: “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Remember: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” –Numbers 23:19

Father Abraham believed God even when the promise God had given seemed to have stalled, and then Isaac was born. “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the exact time God had promised him.” –Genesis 21:1-2

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He has called you, anointed you for some future work, to partner with Him in winning souls for His Kingdom, serving or strengthening His people, teaching, evangelizing—whatever His call on your life will be, if Jesus is truly calling you, then assuredly it will come to pass. “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please'” –Isaiah 46:10

This same Jesus is calling you to be His today, new friend, to know and trust Him as your Lord and Savior. I encourage you to say yes to His will for your life. Let Jesus guide you through the turbulent seas and challenges of this life. “This is what the Scripture says: “Today ·listen to what he says [L if you hear his voice…]. Do not ·be stubborn [L harden your hearts] as in the past ·when you turned against God.”–Hebrews 3:15

The Lord Is My Shepherd…

August 15, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You’re still here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You Have My Word On It…

August 8, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King David understood this.

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

David’s dynasty and life were ending.

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

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

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

But for now, let’s stay with David…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I didn’t forget about Daniel.

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

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

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

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

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

Walk This Way…

July 18, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

“Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.” –Mark 8:25-26

Some are sensing a stirring in their spirits. They’re believing God is calling them to a “new thing, a new season, their next.” Maybe God has revealed to some of you what, exactly, that new thing is, making it plain, or plain enough at least, that you have a fairly firm grip on your next assignment. While others sense it, see it — just not quite as clearly as you, yet — for those, it’s more like seeing men as trees— just there, before them, that much is certain, …But I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” –Mark 8:24

The Word of God tells us that Jesus touched the blind man’s eyes twice in today’s Scripture before the man could see clearly. “Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly.” –Mark 8:25

So does your not seeing everything clearly straightaway mean that you haven’t truly received a Word, a new assignment, a “touch” from the Lord? I don’t believe that’s true, personally. Moreover, today’s Scripture seems to refute any misconception about this way of thinking. That said, Scripture does, however, caution the believer to test every spirit, because not everything we believe we’ve heard from God, or a word from God so-called, spoken over us, is truly from God. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.” –1 John 4:1

Above all, does what you believe to be from the Lord align with His Word? “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” –2 Timothy 3:16-17

Secondly, if it does, are you seeking Jesus’ timing rather than stepping out on your own? “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” –Ecclesiastes 3:1

Beloved, if you genuinely believe God has placed a new assignment on your heart, that He’s calling you to a new location, into a new ministry, or maybe a marriage, then, before you take one step toward it, you must first ask Jesus to confirm it’s from Him. Then, wait on Him for His answer to each of these fundamental questions before you act—lest you fall. “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” –Proverbs 19:21

Holy Spirit will never go against God’s Word or timing—He can’t.

Circling back then, we definitely know Jesus had already touched this blind man once, so why wasn’t he healed instantly? His vision was made whole the first time? Surely, Jesus had healed others instantly; why not this blind man? “Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?” The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” –Mark 8:23-24

What’s the reason behind Jesus having touched this man’s eyes twice?

To gain a fuller understanding, we have to take a few steps back—for context’s sake.

A few verses earlier, friends of this blind man had led him to Jesus. Soon after, Jesus had rebuked His own disciples for their lack of sight. Nothing was physically wrong with their eyes, mind you, yet in certain ways, they were just as blind as this man who was physically blind. “You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?” Mark 8:18.

The issue with Jesus’ disciples wasn’t physical; it was spiritual: forgetfulness had rendered them spiritually blind.

Scholars tend to agree the story of the blind man needing to be touched twice by Jesus is a metaphor used in Scripture to help demonstrate how Jesus’ disciples’ spiritual sight took time to develop: become “clear,” if you will, even after their having lived, eaten, slept, walked besides, and witnessed many of Jesus’ miracles by the time they’d encountered this blind man. One such miracle was the feeding of four thousand with just seven loaves of bread and a few small fish they’d found, after which Jesus rebuked them for their lack of “sight.”

“At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said. “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said. “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

Perhaps many of us don’t yet fully understand, either?

How thankful then we ought to be to serve such a patient, loving Father. A Father who understands our weaknesses and does not condemn us for them; rather, like the much-loved children we are, Jesus corrects our blind spots, bringing clarity and realignment so that we will see clearly.

So could seeing clearly be part of your “next”? Maybe Jesus wants to clear up your vision? Remember, unlike the Pharisees, who chose not to place their faith in Jesus despite all they’d heard and “saw” for themselves, if you’re His, you did.

Still, Jesus loves you too much to leave you seeing “men like trees.”

In His lovingkindness, perhaps part of your new includes Jesus touching your eyes yet again, as he did with that blind man. After all, His desire is for you to see clearly, so He must rid your ‘sight’ of whatever “yeast of the Pharisees or Herod” is affecting your ability to see clearly—compromise, desire for worldly comfort, lack of faith, stubbornness, or self-reliance; none of which we’ll be completely free of until we are with Jesus. “As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” –Mark 8:15

So for now, we must keep going back to the One who first gave us our sight, asking that He touch our eyes again and again, repenting of the “yeast of the Pharisees” we’ve allowed to dim our vision. Jesus doesn’t want us to take the sins of the past—those things that, to date, have blinded us—into this new thing, new season, assignment, He’s leading you into. “As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” –Mark 8:15

Friend, God wants you to see clearly, too. To see Him clearly more than anything else, so that you can follow where He wants you to go. Won’t you ask God to give you eyes to see Him and His will, clearly? “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:11; 13

Why didn’t he see clearly straightaway?

What’s the reason Jesus touched this man’s eyes twice?

Could seeing clearly be part of your “next”?

The Thorn In Your Flesh…

June 27, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thank God I don’t have that thorn!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who? Me, Lord…? Yes, You!

June 20, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

“And the Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.” –Judges 6:16-17

Before Gideon had offered up a single word of protest to God, one single, “I’m not qualified,” in God’s Divine Providence, the Midianites were defeated foes; still, God used Gideon to accomplish this. Likewise, God uses you and me today to do the same, fulfill His will. “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” —Isaiah 55:11

Have you ever had a Gideonesque conversation with God?

Have you ever told the Creator of the universe—the One Scripture says, formed you in your mother’s womb and knows your every thought before you even think it, what it is you are or are not, capable of doing, being, or becoming? Shamefully, I have! Yet I now recognize the futility of ever having had such a conversation after its being held up to the Truth of God’s Word: “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” –Psalm 139:1-4

Yet that’s precisely what had happened with Gideon…

God had appeared to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in a wine press; threshing wheat where grapes, typically, are pressed to make wine because one: Gideon was hiding, and two: Gideon was afraid. From whom and of what? Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, who were attacking Israel at that time and stealing their food stores.

Gideon hid in the winepress to thresh wheat out of fear he’d be seen threshing by the Midianites, and they would come to steal his remaining wheat. These few details are a whole teaching in themselves, but they’re for another day, maybe a part two to this teaching?

What we’ll focus on today is that part of Gideon’s story where God appears to him, calling Gideon what he did not—could not—see in himself.

Only God knew who Gideon would become, because God Himself had foreordained Gideon’s life, imbuing it with a perfect purpose and plan—and that wasn’t to hide out in some winepress. It’s this part of Gideon’s story I felt led to focus on today. “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” –Judges 6:11

Like Gideon, I believe some of you have heard God calling you by a name you also don’t yet recognize. “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” –Judges 6:12

Who? Me, Lord…? Yes, you!

God is asking you to step out in faith, beloved, into a new season you feel woefully unprepared for—totally ill-equipped and wholly unqualified to take on, if you’re being honest. Like Gideon, you keep asking God for a sign that it’s really Him who is asking this of you. Him who’s put this desire in your heart. “Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” –Judges 6:36-37

Despite all your questioning, beloved, hear this: it’s already here. Remember, in God’s Providence, the Midianites were defeated before God called Gideon to do battle with them, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” –Matthew 6:10

So this new name is commensurate with the calling God has placed on you—remember, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and, so as He did with Gideon, God calls each of us according to how He sees us, which, typically, is not how we see ourselves. “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” –Ephesians 2:10

Before you know it, you too will be walking into God’s next for your life, whether that’s a brand-new relationship with Jesus or into the new thing Jesus has placed on your heart to do. Then, I pray, your questioning and self-doubt will become little more than a memory. Because if God planted that God-sized vision, desire, or calling on your life, then God will bring it to pass.

Remember, friend, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” –Numbers 23:19.

What God has predestined for your life and mine, beloved, what He calls us—who we are, right now, but can’t yet see in ourselves, will come to pass. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” –Psalm 43:19

Still, you hand God every excuse for why He’s gotten it all wrong, how what He is calling you to do is simply impossible; you’re not alone, Gideon made that same mistake. Maybe you’re thinking, “Surely God’s forgotten my past! What I’ve done, who I’ve been—how I’ve failed Him?”

Maybe you feel weak as water, in character or faith?

So, out of fear or shame, you make excuses—you hide, but God will always find you out, beloved! “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” –Judges 6:11-15

Friends, God’s Word is filled with stories such as Gideon’s.

Accounts of people much like you and me, ordinary people doing ordinary things, and then God showed up and transformed their ordinary into the extraordinary; events and the feats we read about throughout His Inerrant Word. Think of Noah, Father Abraham, Elijah, Esther, or the Apostle Paul. So it’s here then, I’ll remind you, the one hiding out today, or you, who’s feeling inept, inadequate, the very least of His children—that nowhere in God’s Word do we witness God call a person to do anything He did not fully equip them to do. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” –Philippians 2:13

You’re right to feel the way you do, beloved, because the Truth is, apart from God, you and I are indeed woefully inept, completely ill-equipped. But with God, in the power of His Might, you and I can and will do all that He has foreordained us to do. “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” –Ephesians 6:10

Have you asked Jesus, this same God who once called Gideon, a man who felt unworthy of the call God had on his life, to come into yours? To give you a new beginning in Him. If you will, and you mean it sincerely, Jesus will come and make you a new creation; old ways will pass away, and Jesus will make all things in your life new again. God promises: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

The Courage To Walk Away.

May 23, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

“How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” –Proverbs 16:16

Wisdom will instruct us when to walk away, and from whom—if we avail ourselves of her wise counsel; we will flee, leaving behind us everything that is not God’s best. Even those “good things” we in fact know were God-given in seasons past. Those people, places, and abilities that served us well then. Still, they’re not God’s best for us now. They’re familiar, sure. Comfortable, you bet.

They’ve become so comfortable, in fact, that you’ve settled into them—moved in, lock, stock, and barrel, if you will, to a thing God intended to be temporary, a time of refreshing only. Or maybe it was intended as a time and place meant to build you up; that person or relationship meant only to bless you, then move on. The place you’re in now was hand-picked by God to settle you in for a season while you healed from the cutting away of those things He needed to remove from you. “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” –2 Timothy 2:21-22

So here’s the question: are you willing to walk away from whatever God is asking of you?

Will you freely let go of everything—anything, God is putting His finger on in this hour, or will you white-knuckle your way through, grabbing onto the familiar like a drowning man to a life -ring?

Have you fallen for the enemy’s lie, beloved?

His deceptive whispers telling you what God has promised you —that seemingly impossible vision He’s given you, that dream or desire He’s placed in your heart and continues to confirm time and again, no matter how many fleece you keep throwing out—really isn’t possible, so how can it possibly be His right-now will for you?

Has what God promised you become just too impossible for you to hope for?

Did you fall for the lie of the enemy with his annihilative whispers, those same lies meant to challenge and thwart God’s Word, His promises? As if! Satan has been recycling his same trickery since his days in the Garden. “If you let go of what’s right in front of you now, you’ll surely risk going home empty-handed?

Hear me, friends: Those things, whatever they be: the best of people, that home, the city or State, that relationship, friendship or partnership may indeed have been God’s will for you in seasons past, but are no longer His Perfect will for you now. Recall Solomon’s sage words: “There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.” –Ecclesiastes 3:1;5

Don’t mistake your right now for your forever, friends.

Seek God for His plan and purpose for your life, for how He would best use the gifts He has bestowed upon you for His glory—according to His will and plan for your life. “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” –Romans 12:2

How do you do that?

You do it by surrendering and by remembering this crucial Truth: You are no longer your own—you’ve been bought at an exceedingly high price.

If you belong to Jesus, then Christ now has the only say that matters in your life.

You choosing to white-knuckle it in an attempt to hang on to your will over Jesus’ Perfect will for you is to kick against God’s Perfect plan and Divine purpose. That’s not only foolish but selfish. Not everything that glitters is gold, beloved of God; fool’s gold still exists, and fools continue to mistake it for the real thing by choosing their own will over God’s.

Being the loving Father God is, wanting only to give His absolute best to His children, is it any wonder that Abba forewarned us to be on the lookout for said fool’s gold? “There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, But its end is the way of death.” –Proverbs 14:12

Friends, apart from my own, I don’t know whose heart God is knocking on today.

Who needed this Word of confirmation: it’s time to let go, finally; whose fear God wants to wash away—patient Father that He is, by Him using this one more reminder that: “the season is over. The time has passed. You’ve gleaned from it all I have willed. “It’s now time to move on, my child.”

I’m praying God gives you the courage and wisdom you need today to walk away when you hear Him say, “Go.”

Friend, if you don’t yet know this Loving, Kind, Patient, All-Knowing, Sovereign Jesus who, out of a love too big to wrap our heads around, gave His life for us, won’t you invite Him into your life today? “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” –Acts 4:12

This same Jesus wants nothing more than to love you and show you what He, the One who created you and knows you better than you know yourself, has for you—right now. “Cry out to me and I will answer you. I will reveal to you great things, guarded secrets that you never could have known.” –Jeremiah 33:3

Yesterday is done.

Tomorrow isn’t promised to us.

Jesus wants to do a new thing in you—a “right-now” renewing in your heart and life. Washing away completely all that was so that He’ll lead you into all that is and can be—if you’ll let Him. Hear Jesus’ heart and intentions toward you. Friend: “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11

But I Didn’t Mean To…

May 16, 2026 / ministermaryellen@gmail.com

MaryEllen Montville

“Then the Lord’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.” –1 Chronicles 13:10

What had Uzzah done so wrong that God would kill him on the spot? At first read, it’s hard to understand why God would have done this. More so, I believe, if you have an intimate relationship with Jesus, whom you know to be Love itself. Hard, that is, if you’ve let slip your mind the fact that this same, Loving Jesus hates sin and is just. That He is to be revered as the Majestic Glory He is. Exalted as Creator of all things, seen and unseen. Awed, being the only Person who ever said, “Let there be,” and there was; from solar systems to ants to acorns, each was birthed into existence simply because Jesus willed it. Jesus is Lovingkindness Itself, and He’s just; they’re inseparable.

Thus, God has the inherent right to do whatsoever He will with His children and His creations.” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” –Romans 9:20-21

Yes, Jesus freely lavishes grace upon us; still, He abhors sin.

We’ve all fallen short, friends. We sin.

We’re guilty of forgetting how worthy Jesus is of our utmost respect, obedience, and reverence. Do we forget intentionally?

I certainly hope not—otherwise, we ought to question if we’re truly saved…

But what if unintentionality and familiarity are what make us and Uzzah akin in our sin of forgetfulness?

We did it. We committed the sin; we’re definitely guilty, but we didn’t mean to.

To even begin to wrap our heads around why God killed Uzzah for what some earthly parents may have forgiven, we must be open to witnessing God’s Love for us through the lens of His Holiness—which is inextricably linked to His justice; they’re inseparable—we cannot pull them apart.

We can’t choose one but not the other as though it belongs in the enemy camp.

God’s Holiness and His justice are kin—

Scripture proves it to us…

Hand in hand with John 3:16, God’s Love and justice, His Holiness, are perfectly displayed in Romans 5:8-9. “But God demonstrates his own Love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”

God’s Love and justice are foundational elements of His salvation:

His justice demands that sin be punished, atonement be made, and moral order be kept—punishment is a judicial requirement. While His Love is beneficent: Love spares, forgives, defends, covers, protects, blesses, goes to bat for, if you will. And nowhere in Scripture do we witness a greater example of the conjunctivity between God’s justice, Holiness, and Love than at the Cross of Christ.

There, the jurisdictional requirements God demands be kept that justice be served, and moral order maintained were met when Jesus’ Perfect Love willingly offered His sinless life in exchange for our sin-filled lives; satisfying God’s demand for justice, all the while sparing humanity through His perfect atonement. Hence, protecting us from the wrath of God, which our sins so justly deserve. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” –Romans 6:23

Now you might be saying, okay, with you so far, but how does all of what you laid out connect to God killing Uzzah?

Regarding Uzzah specifically, he and his clan had been chosen by God to carry the Ark of God using specified carrying poles—the Ark should never have been placed on a common cart. In addition, Uzzah was not a priest; he was a Levite, meaning he had no business touching Holy things. This included his reaching out to steady the Ark of God—however well-intentioned he was. God had forewarned His people that anyone who did such a thing would die. “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all its furniture, as the camp sets out, after all that [is done, but not before], the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them [using the poles], so that they do not touch the holy things, and die. These are the things in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) which the sons of Kohath are to carry.” –Numbers 4:15

The Levites (Uzzah’s tribe) had hosted the Ark of God for two years. Had Uzzah’s proximity to God’s Presence inadvertently allowed him to become too comfortable being around God? Had he forgotten the great honor which had been bestowed upon him—forgetting then God’s Holiness? Maybe, his sheer proximity to the very Presence of God had bred a certain irreverence in Uzzah unawares?

Here, brothers and sisters, is where you and I have far more in common with Uzzah than we’d care to admit.

We, too, forget—however unintentionally—that we serve a Holy God, and that His Commandments, those “guardrails” He’s lovingly put in place to protect us, aren’t suggestions, they’re commands that, when broken, bring consequences.

Perhaps, like Uzzah, we’ve gotten so “familiar” with Jesus that we’ve forgotten—I forget, because God knows, ashamedly, I’m guilty—just how Holy our God is.

Maybe because we live within a culture—even some church cultures, sadly—that stresses “God is Love” and He is, but fails to teach and remind us that, because God is Love Itself, it doesn’t mean He’s quit being just and moral. God hates sin.

The fact that Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother doesn’t change that.

Will we see Uzzah in eternity? I believe so.

God seemingly used Uzzah, as He did Pharaoh, as He can with anyone He so chooses, as a vessel through which He displayed Divine retribution and instilled Godly fear in His people. “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills”. –Romans 9:18. God reminds us to keep Holy what is Holy —God also, according to His Word, knows the heart and secret thoughts of all men—Uzzah’s included. “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.’ So then God’s choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He chooses—it is His sovereign gift]. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “I raised you up for this very purpose, to display My power in [dealing with] you, and so that My name would be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills.” –Romans 9:15-18

Uzzah stood on the very ground God used to teach His people the ultimate lesson on the importance of obedience and keeping Holy things—Holy; of not forgetting His Word or the laws He had already given them—those guardrails given to protect them from His judgment and His wrath.

So, is it possible that the ground where God struck Uzzah dead was a place of foreshadowing, pointing us towards that place where Jesus’s finished work would, one day, appease God’s wrath—that ground where heaven met earth, where every Blood-bought believer is grateful exists—I know I certainly am. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” –Galatians 4:4-5

Some may find this teaching hard, perhaps questioning why I didn’t just skip to the part where God’s love for Uzzah saves him.

My reply is simply this: I must be obedient to share with you what God places on my heart, to not shrink back because it may be hard for some to take in—I leave God to touch your minds and hearts as only He can. As for me, I will say as Paul did: “For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God.”

God loves you, friend, and He wants a relationship with you. He’s made a way to have that with you through His Son, Jesus. Have you accepted Jesus ‘ unfathomable free gift of salvation? If not, ask Him to come into your heart today—mean it, and He will. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” –Romans 5:8-9

Category: Purpose… (Page 1 of 12)

Home Renovations…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

That’s Not For You…

Maria Braga

Like this:

The Lag…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

The Lord Is My Shepherd…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

You Have My Word On It…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

Walk This Way…

MaryEllen Montville

“Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.” –Mark 8:25-26

Like this:

The Thorn In Your Flesh…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

Who? Me, Lord…? Yes, You!

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

The Courage To Walk Away.

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

But I Didn’t Mean To…

MaryEllen Montville

Like this:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Sonsofthesea.org

Verified Services

Recent Posts

Search for posts here

New Teachings Every Saturday!

Meta

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

Maria Braga

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

“Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.” –Mark 8:25-26

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

MaryEllen Montville

Share this:

Like this:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Verified Services

Recent Posts

Search for posts here

New Teachings Every Saturday!

Meta