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

Category: Relationship (Page 7 of 14)

Foreshadowing.

October 22, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” –Nehemiah 8:10.

In Chapter Eight of Nehemiah, while reading from the Book of the Law of Moses, Ezra, the priest, reminds God’s people of the festival known as Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. A feast God commanded the Israelites to observe. A feast of which those Israelites who’d recently returned from Babylonian captivity had long forgotten.

Sukkot is over now, but just. It ended at sundown, October 16th. God’s divine will and timing caused this verse in Nehemiah to leap off its page as I read it. Why? Perhaps God wanted to remind us, Jew and gentile alike, to “remember and rejoice.” And if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, that’s all the reason you’ll ever need to do both!

Now is the time to remember—to reflect. To re-consider how your loving, merciful, patient God delivered you from your “Egypt.”

And then, dear brothers and sisters, rejoice, thanking God afresh, this day, for His election of you. Sincerely repent of having drifted away, certainly. Then let your tired hands take a fresh grip on your faith and press on—despite your past sins. “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees” –Hebrews 12:12. Wipe your eyes, rejoice that God has restored you like the prodigal and Israelites before you. Remember, too, that God’s hands continue to rest above and below you, hemming you in, Beloved. The Spotless Blood shed for you, protecting you now; you are loved with an unquenchable love. “You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” –Psalm 139:5-6.

Sukkot is a yearly feast God commanded all Israel to observe. It’s one of three “pilgrim feasts” Jewish people are commanded to celebrate, bringing their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you” –Deuteronomy 16:16.

Sukkot follows the Day of Atonement. A day when every observant Jewish person rests from their labors and all pleasurable activities. Instead, they wholeheartedly fast and pray, repenting of their sins before the Lord. It begins at sundown and concludes at sunset the following day. We read of its origin in Leviticus 16. And it’s in this same chapter that we learn of the term “scapegoat.” “Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat” –Leviticus 16:7-10.

No, this isn’t a lesson in Judaism or its feast days. And yes, I am going somewhere with this.

We’re headed straight to the foot of the Cross, to Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God. Jesus, our Advocate, seated at the Right Hand of the Father. God’s own Son, who put an end, once, for all, to any further need for scapegoats, animal sacrifices, and feast days. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” –1 John 2:1-2.

Jesus has always been. From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, we see Jesus. The Alpha and the Omega, beginning and the end.

The foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, the shedding of His innocent, atoning Blood, understood in the imagery of the animal’s God slew in the garden. Innocent blood, shed—their bodies broken, stripped to cover Adam and Eve after they’d sinned. “The LORD God made tunics of [animal] skins for Adam and his wife and clothed them” –Genesis 3:21. God has always had a plan. From the time of man’s fall, before, really, somewhere in eternity past, Jesus was at the ready.

And as “way too big as that is for our limited, finite minds to fully take in,” God surely foreknew every detail of every life that ever has or ever will exist. He knows our every sin, thought, the decisions we’ll make, every word we’ll speak, well before we speak them!

My point? I have a couple.

Firstly, as one who has felt the weight of their sin, been convicted by God’s Holy Spirit for allowing myself to stray from my Father.  I empathize with why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. The reality of their desperate state had seeped into their hearts and minds; God’s Word ought to cause true repentance to pierce the heart of those who hear it. Remember, the Israelites knew God. They’d once walked in His ways, obeyed His commandments. Yet they’d drifted from Him. Instead of clinging to God, holding fast to His commands, they’d instead taken on the world’s ways—the pagan practices of their captors. They’d become almost indistinguishable from them. God’s people had become so immersed in the culture and comforts of Babylon that many decided to stay put—leaving God and Israel far behind them. Why?

Because leaving behind the world and all it had come to mean to them would have required sacrifice—and sacrificing their comfort, what had become familiar, was a price they simply weren’t willing to pay.

Secondly, I understand why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. They had been restored, forgiven, were home now, returned to the land God had promised their ancestor, Abraham. Covenant had been restored. Not that God had or could ever break it. Man alone does the breaking; God alone restores. Those Israelites gathered before Ezra had repented of their sins, and God, merciful Father He is, had washed them white as snow—a foreshadowing. I, too, have experienced this with God, at least partly—the washing as white as snow. Like so many of you, my brothers, and sisters, I’m still waiting. I’m hoping, looking forward to walking into my promised land. An eternity spent worshiping Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God I spoke of earlier. Soon and very soon, like the Israelites before me, I will once again and forever be at home with my Lord, my Savior, my Great Love.

Dear reader, I understand that for one who does not yet know and love Jesus in the way I’ve spoken, asking you to ask Him into your heart as Lord and Savior might seem a strange request. But I’ll ask it of you, nevertheless. Why? Because I know Jesus loves you. Not like people you’ve known, who’ve loved and hurt you. Jesus’s love is pure and good. It restores and washes clean. Jesus’s love gives you hope and joy, and freedom. I know this not because I write about it but because I experience it, daily.

Jesus loves you. He wants to have a relationship with you. I pray you’d want that, too. Don’t stay stuck in the ways of the world. Come home to Jesus instead. How? By being born again. “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” –Romans 10:8-11.

Awaken!

October 15, 2022 /
Matthew Bothelo

Blessings, my brothers, and sisters in the Lord; I pray God’s peace continues to pour over everyone who takes the time to read this teaching. May we all grow in His knowledge, and may His Holy Spirit bring wisdom to all who cry out for it. God is so worthy of all our praise!

So, before we get into this week’s teaching, permit me to share what has been stirring in my heart for a few months.    

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

The Lord helps me to be steadfast and ready

Awaken all these dormant gifts

Resurrect my soul for You

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

Refill my heart with only You

Refill my heart with new wine

Strengthen my bones

Strengthen my soul

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

For my Lord will save me in times of trouble

He is always for me. He alone goes before me

He shows me the path to take. He anoints my eyes and allows me to see

For He is victorious overall, He has laid waste the enemy

He alone reigns. I fall to my knees

For He is holy and righteous, our Lord will never fail

My soul cries out to the one I love

He has awakened me from the dead. He has resurrected me by His blood

He has strengthened my bones. He has saved my soul

He has awakened me. My soul is awakened

My Jesus has awakened me!

This word “awaken” has been stirring in my belly for many months. The Church that once was asleep is coming alive now. And the Light of the gospel will be preached in its sanctuaries. Those men of God Christ have appointed will not shrink back but will boldly preach in the name of our Lord, Jesus!

Indeed, friends, times are dark. And it can be hard to see clearly. Yet remember the reminder our Lord shared with the people during His Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. “In the same way, let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” –Matthew 5:14-16. As Christians, we have been set apart from the world. We are that light in our homes, in our places of work, and in our schools.

Our Lord Jesus has given us the great commission. He gave it to His disciples then, and He reminds us of it today! From the greatest to the least, we are appointed. “Then He said to them, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name, they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes; If they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well” –Mark 16:15b-18.

If you have a relationship with Jesus, know Him as your Lord and Savior; You are a new creation. Your sins have been forgiven. And you ought to be walking in a manner the world is not used to seeing.

We may live in this world, but we do not have to think the way this world would have us think. The Apostle Paul writes, “For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims” –Romans 6:5-7.

Many right now are walking into churches searching for answers, seeing if there really is hope, a Light that will shine bright. Their lives are seemingly endless, void of any light. Yet Jesus calls us to be that Light. This world is dark, my brothers and sisters, and it will only get darker. But God’s Word will remain—shining evermore brightly! Jesus has come for those who are blind and roaming around in the darkness. And as they place their faith in Him, they will see clearly!

Deception equals darkness. And today, one such deception leading many astray says being a “good person” somehow equals salvation. But Jesus asked, “Who is good?”

Firstly, salvation is found only in God’s Son. Every good work, then, is the fruit of your salvation. “I am the vine; you are the branches, the one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me” –John 15:5. Just because you do good does not mean that you are good. Even an evil person can be nice to their own. But when it comes to someone else, they can be devious; their heart is not in the right place. God knows the heart, brothers, and sisters. The Holy Spirit is reminding many today that salvation does not come through their works. Instead, they must be awakened in their spirit and be firmly rooted in God’s Word. Without seeking God and knowing Him, they are still in darkness. To do God’s work, you must seek His will. We are called to partner and be in a relationship with our Lord.

Friends, the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of John 15:5, and so I’m reminding you. You have been called out, set apart to be God’s Light.

To remain where there is no light and life will only bring you spiritual stagnation and death. Do not let the ways of the world back you into a corner, intimidating you. Persecution will always be there for the believer. Jesus said, “Remember the word I spoke to you: a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy whispering and trying to remind you on who you once were. Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” –John 10:10.

God also gives us the peace and assurance to know that no matter how bad things may get, He is always with us. “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” –John 10:10.

As I close dear friends, the Holy Spirit is revealing many other scriptures on this topic. If I were to continue, many of you would go cross-eyed, and my editor would have a thing or two to say to me later!

So instead, may God’s peace blanket your every negative thought, and His Word be sealed in your hearts. I look forward to our next meeting, God willing. And, if you’ve read this far, I pray this teaching is the confirmation you have been praying for.

And if you don’t know Jesus, have a real relationship with Him. Let this be the day our Lord Jesus calls you out of death into life. Declare that your sins are washed away by His precious blood. Do not harden your heart but be renewed in your mind and your spirit. Awaken to the freshness that is found in Jesus Christ alone. Amen. “Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life” –John 8:12.

The Compassion of Jesus

October 8, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

What does it mean to be compassionate? Compassion is the ability to share in the sorrows of another. It is a mixed passion, composed of both love and sorrow. It starts with God the Father, and it also ends with Him. God’s reputation of mercy is reiterated several times by the Psalmists. “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” – Psalm 103:8. It was also spoken of in Exodus after God had freed His people from their captors. The prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and Isaiah also reference God’s compassion. It continues into the New Testament at the advent of Jesus and into the early church.

Scripture tells of God’s compassion from the beginning of time, but through Jesus, who was God incarnate, we witness the manifestation of God’s kindness. Jesus is the greatest physical example of compassion we will ever know.

Certain seasons of life can render us weak, left to our own sorrow. These agonizing times are often the best teachers of what it means to rely on something or someone greater than us; for the believer, that someone is Jesus. When we can’t make any sense of a situation or feel God’s presence with us, God often uses those moments as opportunities for the promise of His Omnipresence to be felt and experienced in very real and tangible ways. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” –Psalm 46:1-3.

In John Eleven, we read an account of the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus and his sisters were dear friends of Jesus, so when Lazarus died, Jesus felt the weight of their grief. Taking time to weep with Lazarus’ sisters, Jesus shared in their sorrow. He also felt the sting of losing a loved one. Everyone knew that if Jesus had intervened earlier, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. “Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You”…. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” – John 11:21-22, 25.

Those gathered at Lazarus’ graveside were yet to realize they were standing face to face with Resurrection Himself.

Jesus, in obedience to the Father’s will, raised Lazarus from the dead. He did this not just for his friend’s gain but to display the Glory of God. God had a plan, and Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead was part of that plan. At that moment, Mary and Martha’s faith in Jesus, the Son of God, met God’s perfect will, and Jesus, so moved by compassion towards His friends, called Lazarus from his grave.

And throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus performing miracles for a twofold purpose; He moved in obedience to God and had compassion for the people He served, whether deserving or not. Jesus performed miracles so people could believe in the One True God.

We see this again in Matthew 9:36. Jesus was moved with compassion toward the crowd. Walking among them, He was healing every sickness and disease. Still, when He paused to look at the crowd, the Bible says, “When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” – Matthew 9:36. Jesus was the Good Shepherd the people had long awaited, whether they realized it or not. He knew that He was their deepest need. Time and time again, the scriptures describe Jesus’ acts as acts of compassion towards mankind.

I remember a time when I felt incredibly lonely, as if loneliness itself was my only companion. My car’s dashboard had a front-row seat to my sorrow. A moment alone meant a moment to release my anxieties and sadness through tears as I sat with loneliness in my passenger seat. I couldn’t see, hear, or understand where God was in the midst of my pain. Loneliness would respond to my beckoning cries with more profound sorrow and reminders of my inadequacies.

I had to read His Word when I couldn’t “hear” God. I could think of nothing else to do. After all, these Words are His penned message to us! By washing my mind with His word, I began to feel the presence of Jesus once again. The Jesus that had compassion on my sick mental condition. He started getting into my passenger’s seat first, so loneliness had to find another ride. Over time, Jesus healed my mind. He was moved with compassion toward me, personally.

So, whatever you may be going through today, Jesus’ compassion for you has not run out. He prayed for you right before He went to the cross for you. “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” – John 17:20. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, shared in your same sufferings, and He knows your very human struggle. He understands them. Jesus once experienced them in His humanity as deeply as we do now. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” –Hebrews 4:14-16.

Whether you’re weeping or rejoicing, Jesus has promised never to leave nor forsake those who believe in Him. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” – Matthew 17:20. So even if you don’t have much faith right now, I invite you to ask Jesus to guide you as you navigate difficult seasons of life. “Lord, I pray I would experience your compassion and grace even when it doesn’t make sense. Help me to look to you as I walk through this life, and give me a compassionate heart, just as you have. Amen.”

We Do It By Remembering.

September 24, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised” –Hebrews 10:36.

I know, I know, Christian Soldier, you’re weary. Battle fatigued.

“My arms are tired from the seemingly endless fight.”

I’ve heard this same statement from many brothers and sisters of late. A few weeks back, in her teaching entitled “Fading Out,” Kendra briefly touched on the effects of weariness. She said, and I quote: The cycle of living can feel exhausting. Wake up, eat, work, take care of the house, sleep, repeat. I think we can agree that at one time or another, we have all understood, related to this reference from Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless.” We try our best to be good people. Yet leaving a mark on the world feels like a futile effort many days.

If you haven’t read this teaching in its entirety, I encourage you to do so.

I understand feeling weary; I do. Recently, I’ve been wrestling with the spirit of discouragement. Yet by God’s grace and in His strength, that thing has not been allowed to win the fight—try as it might. I thank God that we, as Blood-bought believers in Jesus Christ, are called, equipped, and sustained to live by faith, not by our flighty, one-minute-up-the-next-down, feelings. And when we forget this fact, I thank God for His eternal Word—our sure foundation. “But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” –Matthew 4:4.

Being God, and like any good father, Jesus knows not only what to say to us but equally how to speak to each of His children effectively.

Jesus, the Living Word, in the Person of His Holy Spirit, shows up in what sometimes feels like the very last second of our midnight hour. Yet, faithful Father that He is, He always comes as promised. “…and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be)” –Matthew 28:20.

And most often, God speaks to His children through His inerrant, eternal, written Word; yet at other times, He speaks just as plainly through His creation. I love both, each an ever-present reminder of God’s faithfulness. From Genesis through Revelation, I find peace and security, assured that God is indeed the same today, in my life, as He was in Adams or Moses’, Miriam’s, or the Apostle John’s. He is the same God who shows Himself anew every Spring, as nascent buds take over bare winter branches. Giving us a foretaste of what’s to come in the fullness of time. “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” –Revelation 21:5.

God is always speaking to us. The question is, are we listening?

Know this, child of God. The Holy Spirit can and will speak volumes through sunbeams flashing across treetops, making each leaf appear lit from within—afire somehow. He’ll change every leaf’s color in season to catch our attention, taking our breath away. When we witness thousands of sparking, tiny, diamond-like bits of that same Sun dancing wildly atop the surface of some pond, lake, or sea, God is essentially saying, “Here, look over here, at Me. Marvel over how I can make sunlight dance!” Listen to how King David described this same Sun. “It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course” –Psalm 19: 5.

I Am here, brilliant and captivating. I cause everything I touch to pulse with life. I AM ever consistent yet ever-changing, both Alpha and Omega, yet all the while able to show Myself uniquely to each of my children through every thing I have created.

God speaks of His character and love through His creation. He shares glimpses of His person, beauty, brilliance, and consistent nature with us. With His rainbow, God demonstrates He’s a promise keeper—throughout the generations. God will speak to us of change and changing through tides, both in their ebbing and flowing. He’ll talk of trusting Him—even as the seasons change. In winter’s stark, cold barrenness, God teaches us to draw near to Him for comfort and warmth. And with Spring’s promises of newness, God reminds us that hope never fails. Summers heat seeping into our pores reminds us that our God is in us, closer to us than our own breath, help in our hour of need. “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” –Psalm 46:1.

God uses such moments found in nature to arrest our attention.

Redirecting us, resurrecting what has been lost, our focus, back towards Him—imbibing us with new hope, we are refreshed, made new. I love that God is so diverse! How He uses a sunbeam or leaf, some dizzying sight, to capture our attention, arresting it. God speaks through these as loudly and with the surety of His written, Thus Says the Lord. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” –Psalm 19:1-4.

God’s Word, written or spoken through a sunbeam, renews us—in the twinkling of an eye. The needle of our compass ceases to spin wildly at will. God has restored True North. And with it, a heavy dose of much-needed encouragement. Encouragement is, after all, that spiritual elixir Jesus uses to refresh us along our long trek back Home. A font of Living Water bubbling up afresh from within, washing away our battle weary-ness. And, just like that, season after season, day after long day, we are reminded that we serve a loving, kind mercy-full Father. More, this same God who caused the Sun He created to light up the leaves He created—desires fellowship with us—with you. God is nothing if not personal. Jesus loves you. Mind-blowing, right?

The Sovereign God of the universe, Creator of heaven and earth, wants to be the Lover of your soul—your One and only True Love.

Jesus assured us He would stick by us until the very end. And we know that He is not a man that He can lie. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” –Isaiah 40:30-31.

We must hold tight then to His every promise, His every Word. We must fix our eyes on Christ alone and keep them there. We must battle weariness head-on. And we do this by remembering God’s faithfulness, paying attention when He sends some ray of light our way, causing it to glimmer and shine just so. By trusting that if God did what He said He’d do in days past, He’ll surely do it now, today, and in the coming days. Life is not rinse and repeat, Beloved. Life is Christ, in us. Never forget that.

Friend, if you have yet to ask Jesus, the One who sticks closer than a brother, into your heart as Lord, please, do it today. To those who are faithful, God shows Himself faithful. And, unlike those who may have left you, Jesus never will. It’s His promise, and He cannot lie. “He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” – 1 Corinthians 1: 8-9.

“Walk Into It.”

September 17, 2022 /
Matthew Botelho

What an amazing, loving God we serve! I am so excited to share the conclusion of “Crossroads” with you all. If you have not read Part One of this teaching, I encourage you to go back and read it now. The last time we met, we discussed the crossroads God sometimes brings us to. Those significant points in our Christian walk where we must decide to take that step of faith, walking our faith out with Him. God knows the heart of every one of His children. So I’m titling the close of this teaching “Walk into It.” Because when we walk in the anointing God has poured out on us, God will bring us to a place of honor. It’s all about that first step of faith. And after the first comes the second, the third, and so on. Next thing you know, you are walking on water with Jesus right in front of you!

Yet there will also be times of waiting, preparation, and equipping, times when it’s just you and the Lord.

Every child of God eventually finds themselves in those moments spent in the wilderness. Now I can almost hear the groaning! Many of you might say, “but I do not want to be in the wilderness! How is this a good place to be?!” And I agree. The wilderness is a place we don’t run and sign up for; however, the wilderness experience is necessary. “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end” –Ecclesiastes 3:11 (HCSB).

My brothers and sisters, we are all unfinished works. Be patient, then. God is still working. He has not forgotten you.

So, let’s dive into this lesson by looking at a young man who will be the greatest king Israel has ever seen. His name is David. A warrior and worshiper of God. This young man started out in a field caring for his father’s sheep, fighting off bears, lions, and other dangers that would harm the flock. But most importantly, David had a heart for God. He saw the importance of having a relationship centered on worship and time with Him. His heart was for the Lord.

I cannot stress strongly enough David’s heart for the Lord.

Yet David was overlooked by his very own father and brothers when the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. From the very beginning, God tells the prophet Samuel: “…Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” –1 Samuel 16:7 (HCSB).

So why was David anointed king out of all Jesse’s sons?

A large part was David’s genuine heart for God. 1 Samuel 13:14 says David was a man after God’s own heart. David’s true love for the Lord was one of the things God used to bring David out of the fields and into the throne room, but not immediately. Now here comes that wilderness moment we all love. Not! First, Saul was already Israel’s king. Secondly, although Samuel anointed David King, David still had some growing up. He had to learn to walk in the anointing and what it was to run a kingdom. In part, which meant humbling himself under a very jealous king Saul.

David’s crossroads moment came only after being anointed king.

 Scripture tells us it happened when Israel battled an enemy known as the Philistines.

David’s older brothers had volunteered to battle the Philistines. They were on the front lines defending the land God had given them. Now, for those who know the story of David and Goliath, you may be saying, isn’t that the moment David went to face Goliath? Yes, but no. To defeat something, you first need to show up. And David was still tending his father’s sheep. Goliath’s defeat would soon follow. “One day Jesse had told his son David, “take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these 10 loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to the camp. Also take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring conformation from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him” –1 Samuel 17:17-20 (HCSB).

David’s father had sent him to bring provisions to his brothers. David’s time of waiting had ended. He left behind the flock and the fields. Everything David had known, he now laid aside. It was time to go into the battle. As David arrives, he hands off the provisions he’d brought and runs to meet his brothers. Seeing all the men, he runs up to them. Scripture tells us that as David spoke to his brothers, the champion named Goliath came forward and started shouting and profaning the God of Israel. “David spoke to the men who were standing with him, “what will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” – 1 Samuel 17:26 (HCSB).

After David spoke these words, his older brother spoke out against him, claiming that David was arrogant, and his heart was evil. At that point, David could have said nothing. He could have just walked away and returned to his father’s house. Instead, it’s here, brothers and sisters, where we witness David step into what God had chosen him to do. But know this: whenever one of God’s chosen is walking in obedience to God, stepping into their calling, there will be resistance. Even from your very own family. Follow David’s lead. Do not be discouraged, my friends.

Like David, your time of waiting will end. And no man can stop what God has for you when it does! Just abide in Christ. John 15:5. Assures us of this. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” God’s Holy Spirit in you will lead you into all Truth, so remain in Him and, like David, chase after more of God!

When you get to those crossroads’ moments, know that the Father is right there with you. He wants the best for you. He wants nothing more than to have a relationship with you.

My brothers and sisters, as we close, let me remind you of the amazing, loving Father we have and serve. How He sent his Son into the battlefield called the world. And how Jesus went willingly and triumphantly to the Cross for you and me. By Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, we are forgiven of all our sins, and because of His resurrection, we too shall see eternal life. Call out to Him today if you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior. He is standing at the door of your heart, ready to make his home in you. Amen. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” –Revelation 3:20.

Fading Out

September 8, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You Are Mine.

September 3, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out” –Ezekiel 34:11.

God knows them that are his and can call his own sheep by name; he knows the places where they are; for he has fixed the bounds of their habitation, and was delighting himself in the habitable parts of the earth, where he knew they would be, even before the world was. –Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible.

It started in the Garden. God’s searching out His own, that is. Draw to His image and likeness; He sought communion with His creation. He’s seeking fellowship with you now, Beloved, even as you read this. God has always desired to be one with you through Christ Jesus. That started way before the Garden. Somewhere in eternity past. When Eden was but a seed yet planted and you, a mere sketch, some faint intersecting lines in God’s mind, waiting to be created.

Yet be sure of this one thing, God knows where you are.

Nothing and no one are hidden from Him, even when we think we are, especially when we may want to be. “When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God” –Genesis 3:8.

We serve a God whose very nature is Love. He is relational—desiring intimate communion with His children. To walk and talk with us, talk with you, friend. God’s love is personal. He knows you by name. And God loves you. Jesus lived as a man and died as one, just for you. The fact that the Sovereign God of the universe, Holy and blameless, desires to know us, be in a covenant relationship with us, with me, borders on incomprehensible. Something just too good to be true. Yet as mind-blowing as that is for this writer to take in at times. I know it to be true. God, Himself has told me so.

He is an intimate, personal Father. One who desires an open-door invitation into our hearts and lives that He might walk through them at will. Listen to how John Eldredge states this truth: Jesus came to reveal God to you. He is the defining Word on God—on what the heart of God is truly like, on what God is up to in the world, and on what God is up to in your life.

Tell me, friend, have you dared to ask God what He’s up to in your life?

Have you afforded God, His Son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit an open-door invitation?

Have you invited them in—made room for them?

Do you seek, want to know more of, or at all, this God who thought it not too great a sacrifice to send His only Son to die in your place?

Has it crossed your mind that no one else but Jesus ever made such a sacrifice just for you?

“Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for Love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine, declares the Lord GOD” –Ezekiel 16:8. As surely as God’s covenant with Israel stands—and it always will. So it will be with you, child of God. Having been grafted into His everlasting promise of Love and devotion, your loving Father will continually fight for you. Woo, you. Desire you only.

God wants, more; He chooses to be active in your life. He longs to be the center of your every waking moment, invited into and consulted about your dreams and decisions.

“Even those decisions I may consider far too dull, too trite to “trouble” God over. Isn’t it too much to ask of God that He help me make decisions? Listen as I talk about my dreams. Bring clarity to my confusion and doubt. After all, He’s God! Isn’t He too busy overseeing the entire planet, to say nothing of knowing the heart and thoughts of every single person—simultaneously? Doesn’t God have too much going on to be bothered with my thoughts and troubles,” you ask?

The answer, friend? Absolutely, emphatically, No! Nope. Not at all. Never.

Psalm 139 makes it plain God already knows everything about you. He’s just waiting on you to bid Him welcome into your life, heart, and your “boring” daily concerns. “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.

You are not faceless, nameless, nor aimless in God’s eyes, Beloved. God created you on purpose, for a purpose. “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything” –Ecclesiastes 11:5. You are no mistake. God sees you. God’s way is so much higher than our own. So far beyond our finite ability to take in, friend. You’ve been created to touch lives no one else can. Why? They don’t carry in them what God has placed in you alone. You are as unique as your fingerprint!

So regardless of what you’ve been told, think about yourself. Contrary to your feelings, God loves you and desires to have a relationship with you. Yes, you personally. He wants to make His home in you.

Now please hear my heart. I’m in no way trying to minimize your pain or any trauma you may have suffered at the hands of another. I remember the sting of such wounds all too well. I’m just speaking the Truth in love here, sharing something that can save you. The Truth that can and will heal your pain. With the full authority of one God has healed, I can say that healing from such wounds is possible—no matter how nasty or deep they are.

All things are possible with God.

Friend, God is so acutely attuned to His world. His creation, to you, personally, that even when a sparrow, some little chick somewhere, falls to the ground, it doesn’t escape His notice. “Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice” –Matthew 10:29.

God created you. He has a plan and purpose for your life. Still, despite the lengths this magnificent, Sovereign, Loving, relational God can and will go to reach you, the one thing God won’t do, can’t do, is violate the free will He’s given you, died to provide you. You must then choose to say yes and welcome a relationship with God.

The choice is yours. God has done His part. Ask Jesus into your heart today, as Lord, Father, and Friend. He’s waiting for you to say welcome, come in. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” –John 3:16-17.

But I Thought…

August 20, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“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” –Isaiah 55:8-9.

We need God’s grace to surrender our wants, our ought to be’s, and should, into His Sovereign hands. God’s grace enables us to stop playing god and start trusting Him instead, putting legs beneath our professions. Without God’s grace, we are power-less. A dead branch disconnected from the Vine. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” –Philippians 2:13.

We are called, instructed, commanded to surrender our fragile, ever-changing thoughts to God—all of us, in exchange for making room for, more of Him. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” –Philippians 4:8.

To “put on” the mind of Christ—is a choice we must make—daily. Over and over and over again. Sunup to sundown. A laying down that we might take up. Intentionally tearing down, destroying, every idol self has dared set up in opposition to God. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” –2Corinthians 10:5.

Yielding to God then, our desired outcomes and how we thought our lives were supposed to look and progress. Whether in our marriages, parenting choices, ministry, Christian walk, prayer life, or how we thought deliverance or transformation might look. Surrendering our every expectation on the “how or when,” God, in His Divine timing, will transform us—our hearts, lives, and attitudes; confidently trusting that He will never break His promise. He can’t. “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” –Numbers 23:19.

We are called to understand, recognize, surrender to the fact that He alone is God; we are not. He alone is Sovereign; too often, we are little more than a fly-by-night people.

Many of us love a person, place, or thing, even God’s blessings, today, yet lose our desire for any more of them tomorrow. We witness this Truth unfold before our very eyes when reading Exodus 16. In it, we read about a group of Israelites suddenly freed from their oppressor’s exacting grip. And we read of God’s miraculous power flowing through one man He’d been preparing in the Midian wilderness—his name, Moses. “In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” –Exodus 16:2-3.

Shortly after the dancing and rejoicing over freedom gained had stopped, the grumbling began in earnest. So did the suspicious glances and doubting. Seemingly gone from their memory that moment when Moses stood, lifting his shepherd’s staff high in obedience to God’s command. The water responded by standing erect, solid as any wall. Gone too, it seems, the memory of how they’d crossed between that wall of water from slavery into a land promised them by God on a bone-dry sea bottom no less! Talk about an oxymoron! Not so much as one person getting stuck or being left behind, nor did one cartwheel sink into what should have been little more than muck. The Israelites suffered no loss that day. Some scholars say more than half a million people stepped onto that dried-up seabed as slaves, yet every single one of them stepped out the other side free men—more, sons and daughters: a chosen people, God’s own.

And as incredible as all that is, I am not here today to exalt God’s ability to deliver a race of people from oppression—though He has and can, nor to tout that He is the God of miracles—though He is.

No, today I’m here to cast light on just how easy it was for the Israelites, is, for you and me, to forget not only who and Whose we are but also about our ignoring God’s great mercy. “Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.'” While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God” –Exodus 16:9-12.

Brothers, God’s Sovereign Hand is covering us daily—a Pillar of fire by night and a Cloud by day, still: protection and provision.

Somehow, the Israelites soon forgot how Moses had “suddenly” shown up, used by God to deliver them from Pharaoh’s deadly grip, and how every plague sent upon Egypt failed to reach them, their livestock, or households. Having left the bloodied door posts from a Passover past far behind them, they forgot God had been shedding innocent blood since the Garden that He might save His people. In their grumbling, they forgot God was still in their midst. That He still loved them, was guiding them, and showed Himself faithful, that He might save them—despite their failing Him. “The [presence of the] LORD was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night” –Exodus 13:21.

Yet the Israelites just couldn’t see it.

But now, before you go thinking, “how could they have missed God? He was right there with them, for Pete’s sake!” Remember, child of God. He lives within you, and you still miss Him daily, too.

The Israelites missed God because He wasn’t their focus, “lack of” was their focus. Self, that little g god, was their focus. All of us will miss God. His presence in our lives. His instruction, mercy, His move. We’ll miss the blessing obedience offers as we submit ourselves to those Godly shepherds, He has placed over us as long as we are focused on our flesh. As long as we live in “, but I thought it should,” look like, come

package as, even feel a certain way, instead of living as Jesus taught us, in complete submission to God. “In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” –Ephesians 4:22-24.

Beloved, Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that our thoughts, how we think, life ought to go, look, and feel are not God’s thoughts or ways—far from it! They’re not the way God, who created and sealed us in Himself, has planned for our lives to go. “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” –1 Peter 1:17-19.

I encourage you to surrender yourself afresh to God, Beloved. Leaving behind your every, “but I thought….”

And Friend, I encourage you to ask this All-Knowing God, whose ways are far above your own, into your life as Lord. Know this: God can and will deliver you from any situation, bondage, addiction, from the exacting grip of any lie spoken over you or any lie you’ve believed about yourself. Trust that He knows what’s best for you. I know this to be Truth—because He did it for me. “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.

Fixing Your Heart on God.

August 13, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

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

In Jeremiah, Chapter Two, God describes Himself as the fountain of Living Water, reminiscent of how Jesus referred to Himself in John 4:13-14. Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Could this have foreshadowed who God’s Holy Spirit would be to us?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God wants your heart.

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

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

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

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

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

Night Vision

July 23, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters” –2 Samuel 22:17.

It had always been God’s own Spirit at work in David. Wooing, shaping, molding, chiseling away, enabling David to see His God clearly, affording David a relational understanding of Himself few men possessed. It was God who had empowered David to press on amid unjust treatment, persecution, and betrayal.

David’s natural eyes failed him, as every man’s will—think Bathsheba here. Only God’s Spirit at work in David could enable him to see beyond the lusts of his own flesh and into the Spirit realm, discerning God’s will. It was God’s Spirit, His power and ability from which David drew strength, saw clearly, was given direction—enabling him to live by faith, not by sight, feelings, or faulty human judgment.

God’s Holy Spirit gave David something he did not possess in and of himself—night vision.

That ability afforded God’s children, by the power of His Holy Spirit, to see beyond their natural ability. David had it. And, if God’s Holy Spirit resides in you, so do you.

From youth through old age, David praised the faithfulness of his God. I say his God because David’s relationship with God was nothing if not personal, intimate even. Reading through the Psalms, First and Second Samuel, and various other Scriptures, makes this truth plain.

While tending his Father’s sheep, David spent days and nights serenading God with songs of love and adoration. David extolled God, glorifying God’s goodness, love, mercy, kindness, and power. He sang of God’s protection and tender care for him. David exalted God’s creative abilities and awesomeness.

David was a man who lived in awe of his God! There is much we can learn from David.

Whether we have been walking with the Lord for one year or fifty, our learning and determining to keep the flame of our love for God ablaze should be our primary focus, our number one goal in life. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” Deuteronomy 6:5. David took God’s first command to heart, and God took notice of David’s heart. “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will'” –Acts 13:22.

Yet nothing David accomplished for the Lord, not one thing, was done his own power, no. Hear the Word of God on this Truth: “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” –Zechariah 4:6.

It is impossible to carry out God’s plan and will in our own power. The Lord has made this abundantly clear throughout Scripture.

David was not a perfect man by any means—none of us are, save Jesus. “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin” –1 John 3:5.

Yet, despite his many sins and shortcomings, God favored, protected, loved, and inclined His heart and ear towards David. God alone pulled David out of deep waters—and David knew it. He loved God for it. For saving him from his adversaries, those too powerful for David to overcome. And why did God do this for David? Love.

Yes, David undoubtedly loved God unashamedly, but never forget that it was God who first loved David. God who chose Him, anointed him, empowered David to do the work He had planned for him before the foundation of the world—and, as it was with David, so too with you and me. God has chosen us in Christ Jesus for His good pleasure, plan, and purpose—pulling us, pulling you, specifically, out from deep waters.

This mystery is far too great for this finite mind to take in fully! And yet, having been chosen in Christ, saved by Him, I am literally, eternally grateful to God. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you” –John 15:16.

Friends, David was God’s choice long before one song of praise or word of love had ever formed on David’s lips. “Now the Lord said to Samuel, “…Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward” –1 Samuel 16:1; 13.

And, as it was with David, so too with you and I, Beloved of God.

Like David, we too have been afforded the high honor of having been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, sealed, eternally, in Jesus. His Spirit alive, at work in us, assures us of this Truth. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” –Hebrews 2:14-17.

Having purchased us with the unplumbed price of His shed Blood, He is jealous of us, His Bride, wanting our love, undivided devotion, praise, ardent worship, and adoration; just as God wanted David’s. Any devoted husband rightfully expects his wife’s undivided love and affection. How much more than does our faithful Husband desire for all of us to want all of Him?

So let me ask you, friend, when is the last time you spent time just lavishing the Lord with love? When did you last set time aside to spend with God alone?

Now I’m not talking about an hour spent in route or rushed morning devotions. I’m talking about going for a walk or drive together, speaking and listening, admiring God, His creative ability in nature, and giving Him praise for it? When was the last time your heart was so filled with love for God that you had no choice but to cry? Not in sadness, in awe. In gratitude. How about the last time you spontaneously praised God? Just sang or danced before Him, worshipped simply because He is God and deserves your praise?

Now hear me, child of God. I don’t ask these questions to shame or chide you. Know that I ask them of myself before posing them to you. Confessing firstly, I am guilty of falling far short of the above. I am sure that is why, in part, God has placed this teaching in my own heart.

Instead, I ask these questions that we might course correct, returning wholeheartedly to our first Love—seeking out our Beloved, wooing Him.

God isn’t asking us to spend our days doing more and more for Him, family. He’s asked, asks still, that we love Him fervently. Not circumcised in the flesh only, hearers of His Word, but in our hearts, being doers of God’s Word. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” –Revelation 2:2-4.

Have you asked Jesus into your heart? Welcomed Him into your life as Lord and Saviour? Have you asked God to pull you out of the deep waters threatening to pull you under? If not, friend, why wait any longer? Call out to Jesus right now!

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