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

Category: Teachings From The Word… (Page 9 of 16)

A weekly teaching series designed to encourage, challenge, and better inform those seeking a relationship with the Lord, or those who want to simply just come and hear what the Lord is saying to His people

The Truth Is…

March 12, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

“For where I found Truth, there found I my God, the Truth itself; which since I learnt, I have not forgotten.” – Saint Augustine.

Like many of us, Saint Augustine had an entire life of inquisition and soul searching before he found God. While his mother was a devout Christian, he did not share her values. She prayed for his salvation, and although she did not see the fruits of this prayer, his salvation came after her death. He accepted Jesus and became a prominent figure in church history. Augustine’s revelation on truth is reminiscent of King Solomon’s realizations after searching high and low for the meaning of life. Solomon concluded, “everything is meaningless” –Ecclesiastes 1:2.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/augustine-of-hippo.html

What is truth? This question is not new. It has been a question that has shaped generations for thousands of years. The definition of truth may change as each generation passes. For example, one generation may be religious, finding truth in sacred texts. The next generation may define truth as relative, coming from within oneself. I do not have a seminary dissertation for you on the answer to this question, but I can share, in part, what I have found in the scriptures regarding what God, our Creator, says about Truth.

Let’s start with the dictionary. Truth (as defined by Miriam-Webster dictionary) is conformity to fact or reality; correct opinion; honesty; purity from falsehood. We can refer to truth as “the truth,” meaning the opposite of a lie, or “truth” as a noun meaning a moral position. The former is a factual statement or account; the latter can become an abstract idea, requiring a gauge for measurement. We cannot count our mere perceptions or emotions as truth because they change daily. What we feel today may not be the same tomorrow. We must have a standard that is unshakable by which we measure our position.

That standard is the Word of God.

While the world constantly changes its definition of what is morally right, the Word of God continues to stand the test of time, being uninfluenced by the shifting shadows of this world. During His ministry, Jesus boldly addressed this question of Truth by giving a simple answer for those who pursued truth. In John 14, Jesus was describing the kingdom of heaven to His disciples. “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the Way to where I am going.” “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the Way?” Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” – John 14:1-7.

There is far more to our lives than meets the eye. Jesus is God in the flesh. And by telling His disciples that they knew the Way, Jesus introduced Himself to them yet again, by this new name—Truth. He follows it up again with an incredibly profound statement. I am the Way, the truth, and the life. You see, in those days, the Jewish people knew “I Am” as one name for God. God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush as “I Am.” Jesus said, “before Abraham was, I AM”– John 8:58. What Jesus claimed could have been taken as a blasphemous statement; Jesus was saying He was God! But understand this: “I Am” is just one of His many names! And by saying, “I am the way,” I also read this passage as Jesus describing Himself as:

I Am (the infinite one) who is the way to the Father, the [everlasting] truth that outlasts generations, and the life that gives vigor and makes you move and breathe.

Truth is not what we say, and it cannot exist independent of the standard by which we gauge it. The world says, “live your truth,” but they are really saying, “stay comfortable in your ideology.” Just because we think or believe something to be true doesn’t make it a truth; believing the sky is green doesn’t make it true. Your reality allows you to take the easy route, remaining in your old or current patterns that may or may not be healthy, while God’s Truth—His Word, requires sacrifice and change.

Biblical Truth requires you to be uncomfortable, making changes that reflect God’s character and result in blessings in your life.

Reading just a few chapters earlier, in John 8, Jesus instructs His followers how to live, walk out, Biblical Truth. The world has always been a confusing place, but God has not left us alone to figure it out. Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” – John 8:31-32. So now we know Jesus as The Truth. Jesus is The Truth. He tells his followers here in John 8 to know the Truth, and in John 14, He reveals that He is the Truth! The One they have talked and walked with, known as Jesus, reveals Himself by this new name—I Am the Truth!

The first step in learning the Truth is to continue in The Word of God. Read your Bible and know what it says. Let it be your gauge, your compass, as you commit yourself to understand it, living it, not just being a harbor for its Words. Ask God to help you to know what the scriptures mean. The more you know His Word, the more you will know Him (The Truth), and Jesus (The Truth) will set you free!

If you’re anything like the people of that day, you’ll say you’re not a slave and have nothing from which to be “set free.” But according to Jesus, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. Yet if the Son sets you free, you indeed be, free. –John 8:34, 36. Sin has you in bondage, whether you realize it or not. The good news is that while Jesus exposes this harsh Truth, He also provides a way out. He can set you free, and you will begin to see things so differently. The lens of a sinful lifestyle is focused afresh that you might now see yourself living in sonship with God—being part of His family.

And while the world will tell you that you can live and thrive in “whatever truth works for you,” the eternal Word of God says otherwise. It assures us only Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Only He can fulfill you; everything else will leave you hungering for increasingly more. Like Saint Augustine and King Solomon, I pray that just as the Holy Spirit has led you here today, He will lead you into the understanding that Jesus, Yahweh, is the Truth you need for fulfillment and freedom. If you don’t yet know Him, I invite you to ask Jesus into your heart. Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you as the Truth today. Why wait another day? Repent of your sins, ask Jesus to set you free and bring you into sonship with the Father.

It’s Personal

February 19, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]” –John 16:7

While speaking to His disciples, Jesus said the above. His point? Not even death will keep Him from being with those the Father has given Him—His Beloved Bride. His disciples. You and me. “…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” –Matthew 28:20. He is the eternal One: The Alpha and Omega, God’s Logos. Bound by no-thing, nor anybody. He is our Promise Keeper—All-Seeing and All-Knowing. Time cannot constrain God, nor can flesh and bone, angel nor demon hide anything from Him who stands outside of the very time He created. Nothing is hidden from He who imagined and fashioned the flesh and bone, blood, cells, and sinew that uphold us. “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.

This Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God exists at once, within all His children.

Jesus had to look His beloved friends square in the eye and tell them; He would soon be leaving them, physically, that is. Have you ever stopped to consider how Jesus’s disciples felt hearing such news? Jesus knew His return to the Father would bless His friends. Being fully God and fully man, He knew the pain His words brought to His friends. I can only imagine that Jesus took some measure of comfort in knowing it was for their betterment. But sitting there in what indeed may have been a moment of slack-jawed silence, fear, and pain, Jesus’ disciples, had not one clue that soon and very soon, His Holy Spirit would be living within them, always.

In my anemic imaginings, I can almost feel the leaded gut-punch of Jesus’ statement landing squarely against His disciple’s defenseless hearts, lacerating them. And while pausing to imagine my brothers’ emotional states, I was reminded of yet another brother who had experienced similar pain, King David. I was reminded of his desperate anguish before the Lord. David had an illicit affair with Bathsheba then ordered Uriah, her husband, to be sent into a fierce battle, ensuring he would die there on the front line. David’s sin was great, and God had temporarily withdrawn His spirit from David. So, in a desperate, heartrending plea, David cried out to God r forgiveness, not to take His Holy Spirit from him—remember that? Unrelated to Jesus’ disciples, but akin in similar emotion; the fear of losing God.

I can empathize, can’t you? In allowing myself to imagine my life without God’s Holy Spirit living in me, at the helm of my life, a desperate panic grips my heart.

How could I live without the Holy Spirit’s comforting? His Ever-present-ness? His leading and guiding, opening, closing, correcting, and realigning, without His whisperings? His merciful, unmerited kindness? Without His friendship and unfathomable love? Even allowing myself to examine these vain imaginings is unnerving. Losing God’s Holy Spirit is as inconceivable to me as losing some piece of me; a leg, arm, or eye—being struck mute suddenly or going blind. Yet far more piercing even than any of these. I could live minus anyone of them. I would be the walking dead minus God’s Holy Spirit alive in me. And I experientially know this because I was the walking dead in my not-so-distant past.

Yet despite the pain I know Jesus’ disciples experienced, I, for one, thank Him for His unswerving obedience to our Father. For His physically coming into this world and physically leaving it as well. If you are God’s child, His Holy Spirit alive in you, then I am sure you are thank-full as well. We, my true brothers and sisters and I, scattered across the globe, millions each united as one now in Christ, by His Holy Spirit alive in us. Jesus loved us enough to leave us—bodily, that is.“…And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” –Matthew 28:20.

As our Great High Priest, Jesus accomplished His work here on earth through His sacrificial death and resurrection. The Blood of God’s Perfect, Spotless Lamb, shed for the sins of the whole world. Having resurrected, He is our Great High Priest forever, seated now at the Father’s Right hand, as Intercessor He pleads our cause and presents our offerings before God. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what 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” –Hebrews 4:14-15.

Back now, to Jesus and His disciples. We will continue looking at John, Chapter Sixteen, digging a bit deeper. But before we do, to recap: Jesus had just told His disciples He was leaving. It was time for Him to return to the Father. Not leaving them hopeless, Jesus promised them He would send a “Helper” His Holy Spirit. Jesus knew the work the Father had sent Him to do was nearing completion—His Cross before Him now.

In John Sixteen, starting in verse Eight, Jesus begins to unfold “why” the Holy Spirit is coming.

In part, He is sent into this world to convict it—of its sin and God’s righteous judgment, also, of the coming judgment. And in verse thirteen, Jesus reveals even more of the “why.” He goes on to say that when the “Spirit of Truth” comes, He will guide us, you, me, every Blood-bought believer in Jesus Christ, into all Truth. Seemingly, and in part, this Truth is the “so much more” Jesus spoke of in verse twelve? While in verses thirteen and fourteen, Jesus assures His friends that when the Holy Spirit begins to reveal future events to them, they can trust His voice—His leading, counsel, His revelation. Why? Because the wisdom of the One to come flows directly from Him. Jesus is His Source. Remember, up to this point, Jesus’ disciples have only known, trusted, relied on Him, Jesus’ voice, His teaching. So Jesus assures his friends that the Holy Spirit only speaks what He has received from Him, and that Jesus speaks only from what He receives from God. Triune Unity. “I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it” –John 12:49.

Perhaps penning the Revelation from Jesus while exiled on the Isle of Patmos, John remembered Jesus having spoken these very Words? But I stray.

In verse fifteen, we witness Jesus make plain the greatest mystery ever shared with humanity: The mystery of The Trinity. Here, Jesus makes plain yet deepens the Truth He has been speaking to his disciples from the beginning, He and the Father are One. Jesus now broadens their understanding of this marvelous mystery by including the Holy Spirit in this Oneness.

For the past three and a half years, His friends have solely depended on Jesus. Relied on Him to reveal, teach, expound on, point the way toward the Truth. Towards God and His Kingdom plan. They have witnessed Jesus’ miracles, healing the sick, lame, and blind, bringing the dead to life. Yet the disciple’s pain and disbelief, coupled with their yet limited spiritual understanding, momentarily prevents them from fully understanding that Jesus is not deserting them. Instead, He is passing the proverbial baton to the Holy Spirit. The One who will be with them now, living in them, always. They yet to understand that the work of the Holy Spirit is, in part, to point them, and all those who will come to belong to Jesus, “into all Truth.”

That He will spread God’s Truth globally, by revealing Christ, God’s Logos, person by person; the work of the Holy Spirit is nothing if not personal. And being one of those to whom He has revealed Christ, I thank God for my very personal encounter with the Holy Spirit. I thank God for the engagement ring Jesus slipped on my finger in the person of His Holy Spirit alive in me. Christ’s assurance He will fulfill the promise He made me, returning to bring me to where He is, eternally. And so, I wait. We wait, family. Assured and hope full—we are never alone. “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me [as Your gift to Me], may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world” –John 17:24.

Friend, Jesus died that you might have eternal life, live each day with His Holy Spirit alive in you. Leading and guiding and strengthening you—regardless of sins you may have committed. Won’t you ask Jesus to be Lord of your life today? Confess your sins and be saved!

Moments.

January 29, 2022 /
Pastor Maria Braga

“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” –Deuteronomy 8:1.

As it was with God’s people in days past, so it is today. Born-again believers continue to make like decisions and choices, operating similarly to those who came before us. We won’t always understand our spiritual seasons unless we continually communicate with the Father. Are we faithfully reading His Word, fellowshipping, and gathering with like-minded brothers and sisters? Scripture teaches that “iron sharpens iron, so we sharpen each other” –Prov. 27:17. Our part in helping usher in the revelation of our unique destinies is by seeking God’s presence daily through His Holy Spirit at work in us. We must be intentional and vigilant to catch this revelation. We must ready ourselves and be careful to follow the commands of the Lord. These revelations will often come when we are at the feet of Jesus, just as Mary, Martha’s sister, once was. “As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message” –Luke 10:38-39.

Wilderness times of testing are inevitable! They will come. And God will humble us that we may come out of this testing refined, polished, and ready for what He has before us.

Typically, these “God moments” we experience happen when something meaningful happens in our lives. Often, our emotions are tied to these moments. Deuteronomy Eight tells us about one such moment in time.

The Israelites had to experience a season of testing before God allowed them to enter their “Promised Land.” This season of anticipation, of inheriting God’s promise,  a promise that had been spoken of and handed down for generations, was now before them. The moment of their liberation was in reach. Yet knowing the oppression they had endured in Egypt; the Israelites had never anticipated that God’s promise to give them the Promised Land would be attached to a test. A test of their faithfulness—forty years of preparation, wandering in the wilderness.

As anticipation grew in the Israeli-Camp, they expectantly waited out what they thought would be eleven days of preparation before entering in. They were thrilled that finally, after what felt like forever, they’d be ushered into the fulfillment of God’s promise. Yet it would not be eleven days but forty years before they’d walk into their promised land.

God had warned the Israelites to follow His commands carefully, yet they could not obey even this one command. So, it wasn’t the physical distance between Egypt and The Promised Land that had delayed their taking possession of it. It was their disobedience, their grumbling, which had delayed their access. They thought they knew better than God. Disobedience, pride, grumbling, bitterness is what delayed the Israelites from taking possession of God’s promise. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it, this human condition? Our thinking we know better than God? It is so hard, even impossible, to obey God’s commands on our own, trusting God and not ourselves or our ideas. To be quiet and simply obey God. “Be still and know that I am God” –Psalm 46:10.

Before coming to know the Lord, this concept of simple obedience was foreign to me. It seemed unattainable. I was too busy, and “time was gold.” My prayers were quick, and everything else came first. Now that I’ve aged some, I call this time spent waiting on God a gift from my Father to me. I have learned that it is in the waiting that the Lord prepares me for my “moments.” I have assignments to fulfill. Every child of God does. And often, they’re scattered throughout our mundane, daily lives.

Also hidden within the mundane are many distractions. “The Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” –Luke 10:41-42.

While working at a previous job, I remember when the Lord allowed me to share His love with someone, and I totally missed it. For days, I felt guilty for not obeying God. A seemingly small thing, yet it marked my life significantly. It was a missed moment. I was disobedient. I had been saved about five years at that time, yet I was paralyzed still by anxiety and fear; so intimidated, I withdrew. I lived a quiet life, not speaking up or out when I should have.

I was so torn by the fact that I had missed the moment. But I thank the Lord, He set me free from this oppression. From the fear, anxiety, and intimidation that once held me captive. Just as He had for the Israelites before me, instead, that missed moment became a memorial of sorts; it caused me to step out bravely, sharing His love with others instead of being quiet. It was part of my deliverance from these demonic forces that once had a grip on me. I have determined to share my experiences more openly and boldly as the opportunities present themselves. And in making that decision to be bold for Christ, my life was never the same.

Moments can grow, inspire, bless, and transform us as we walk out our faith. Romans Eight assures us of this.

God created us. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:27-28. Because of God’s Agape Love for us –aGreek term used to define a particular aspect of love. Love without condition, sacrificial, gracious, and underserved God is the source of agape love.God will allow what He knows is necessary to touch our lives, bringing about these moments that mark us—Think about God’s servant Job here.

And the key to not missing these moments is to spend quiet time with God in our prayer closets.

There is always a reason for all that God does or allows. But, as I said earlier, we must be ready, tuned in to His voice, prepared to receive so as not to miss our moment. As Scripture makes clear in Ecclesiastes: there is a time for everything under heaven. “a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build” –Ecc. 3:2-3.

Let us all pray this prayer throughout our New Year: “Lord, I Trust In You.” Regardless of what may happen, my eyes will stay focused on your promises and the command You gave to follow You. So I say yes, I will trust in You alone!”

Proverbs 3:5-6 says this same thing this way: “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.”

Typically, we only want to hear what we want to hear, yet it’s in those quiet moments spent alone with our Father where God whispers the plan He has for our lives, what He is testifying to within our hearts. It’s here too, where we must choose God’s way or our own. I pray, fast, refocus in my wilderness, and my moment appears after pressing, pushing, and standing. It is as though the Lord is saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Here is your reward” –Matthew 5:23. My previous test prepares me for the one to come. And I’ll face it with greater confidence, knowing that what I have seen God do before, He will do again – in more excellent ways. There are no limitations with God.

The mission is spiritual, but the victory is supernatural! Victory typically follows our wilderness experiences. It was no different for the Israelites. We witnessed Joshua lead his people into The Promised Land and conquer Jericho.

So be encouraged. Continue trusting in God alone. Follow and obey His commands.

Remember that His promises become our reality. Being one in Him, we will enter the Promised Land awaiting those that love Him and are called by His name. A Land flowing with milk and honey. “On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” –Joshua 4:19-24.

I encourage us all to make the following our New Year’s prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. I give you my heart and make you Lord of my life. Making this decision for the first time takes a measure of faith. And Jesus strengthens us. He makes us new. He promises never to leave nor forsake you. So, march forward into your Promised Land with confidence. Be assured that Jesus will cause “moments” of revelation, the fullness of joy, peace, and abundant life to follow you! May His Love fill your heart as you embark on this spiritual journey! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Cor 5:17

A very blessed New Year to you!

The Dawn Is Breaking!

January 22, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

I left for work during the wee hours of the morning before the sunlight could break through the night sky. About 30 minutes into my commute, the world began to manifest its colors. The light of day began illuminating the road before me. Amid the morning beauty, I thought, “the dawn is breaking.” While it may have been a sort of narration in my mind, the phrase had a hopeful prophetic undertone. That phrase reverberated within me for the remainder of the week, provoking the wonder of possibility. I began to contemplate venturing into new rhythms of life.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace” –Ecclesiastes 3:1.

There is a rhythm to life that expresses itself as seasons. This rhythm has surrounded us since the dawn of creation. The sun rises every morning and sets every evening. The moon makes its appearance, getting outshined by the sun in the morning once more, resetting our 24-hour day. The seven-day week begins fresh every Sunday, followed by the fast pace of work and family, ending every Saturday. A year has twelve months divided into four seasons, each ushering in its divine purpose. Sowing, reaping, resting, and rejuvenating. Ecclesiastes describes how every individual also developed a rhythm for what fits our pace of life.

But what happens when it seems as though our rhythm has failed us?

While we love that consistency gives us a sense of security, this passage in Ecclesiastes assures us that our environment is ever-changing. I believe that God, the originator of rhythm, was the one to build this desire for consistency into us because only in Him He can it be fulfilled. What happens when you must take an unplanned pay cut? A family member gets ill, and you have medical bills and schedule changes that your rhythm is in no way in sync with your current rhythm?

You see, it is these moments that build our faith in God. We must accept that the rhythm of life is constantly changing and adapting to whatever comes. If we expect things to stay status quo and refuse to move with the shifting seasons, discouragement will set in, leaving us filled with doubt and fear. As the seasons of life change, we must trust that the One who remains constant and is unchanging is the same One who knows our end from our beginning and will see us through.

Scholars believe that the writer of Ecclesiastes was King Solomon, the king of Israel. He had a philosophical mind, always searching for the meaning of life beyond what his wealth could buy him. If anyone in his time could have shifted anything for his benefit, it was King Solomon. He was the son of David, heir to the throne. The Old Testament describes him as “having wisdom that surpassed all the men of the East and all of Egypt” –1 Kings 4:30. Solomon was incredibly brilliant and wealthy, able to obtain anything he wanted. Some believe that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes after amassing his kingdom and possessions at the end of his life. He acknowledges that just as there are seasons in a year, there are seasons, or rhythms if you will, to this life; a time for everything.

You may be in a building season, where the future is bright, and you feel hopeful for what lies ahead. Conversely, you may find yourself in what feels like a tearing-down season where everything is seemingly falling apart. You may be mourning, but remember, “weeping only lasts for a night, but joy will come in the morning” –Psalm 30:5.

The dawn is breaking. There will be a new day, and what you are experiencing is only for a moment. Fix your eyes on God through every season.

When you begin to shift your perspective from the here and now to the big picture, you will become much more resilient in times of trouble. When I’m ill, I remind myself that I may be sick this week, but I have the whole rest of the year to be well! Or weeks when I am busy working nonstop for days on end, I step back and look at the big picture. I take a deep breath and realize that I am exhausted this week but remind myself there are still 51 weeks before me. I can rest next week (and believe me, I do). I choose to fix my eyes on the Lord to give me the strength to get through whatever I may be experiencing. I know that it is only through Him that I can persevere with unexplainable joy and peace that brings me through to tomorrow—because the dawn is going to break soon.

At the end of Ecclesiastes, we read these words.

“When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity” –Ecclesiastes 12:13.

You and I have our rhythms. We have our predictable schedules, but this year, let’s make a point of aligning our every step with God’s commands. The commands to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), even in a world that encourages turning off anyone who disagrees with us. It is the command to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9), even when our circumstance is scary. It is the command to trust God with all our hearts (Proverbs 3:5) in the face of financial need. It is knowing, on principle, that the dawn is breaking soon; that your circumstances are just that- circumstances. And circumstances are temporary. Hold on to hope by looking ahead. There is a new day approaching, and it just might be your breakthrough.

If this seems impossible, it’s because it is without the help of the Holy Spirit. I invite you today to make God the center of your life, leaning on Him for direction and fulfillment. He will give you life and life in abundance. I pray you are filled with joy as you walk with the Lord through your life, knowing that He will carry you through the trials and rejoice with you in your victories. If you have not asked Jesus into your heart, please, do it today. The dawn is breaking, and we are not promised tomorrow. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” –Revelation 3:20.

Right Before A Shift.

January 15, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” –Genesis 12:1.

My walk with the Lord has taught me, and Scripture stands as my most noteworthy witness. That often, just before the Lord is about to open a new way before you—before He calls you to walk a bit further down the path of the “plan and purpose” He has for your life; a shifting of sorts must occur. And, sometimes, that shifting feels more like a typhoon than some gentle welcomed breeze. Suddenly, everything that was stable and ordered just moments before is somehow swirling wildly in the winds of change that just ripped the roof of your proverbial house!

And yet not every season is ushered in by such a cacophony of change. There are seasons where the shifting is gentle and slight, measured, almost imperceivable. Yet irrespective of its size, God’s purpose behind these seemingly sudden shifts is to shepherd you into releasing those things, those habits and defaults that no longer serve you. Nor will they work where God is taking you.

God is making room for Himself to usher in “a new thing.”

And newness often can make little or no sense—except in hindsight. Particularly when said newness in no way coincides with the plans, you have for yourself! What you had running with Swiss watch proficiency in your life starts falling apart, unraveling overnight. Where surface certainty once lived, safe and seemingly snug, you now find yourself living literally on a minute-by-minute prayer!

Some call it a season of crushing. Others still, all hell breaking loose in their lives.

It’s a series of events, sudden or lingering, meant to propel you to a new level of being and walking with the Lord—into a deeper faith. Of the greater revelation behind “the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” –Jeremiah 29:11. And though this typhoon of change may seem willy nilly, cause you pain and discomfort, separate you from friends, family members, ministry, the city or town in which you live, your job. Though it may upend life as you’ve known it, the Truth is, everything is falling into place. You are on the very precipice of a forward projection. The exact spot where God would have you to be—precisely positioned for your next leap of faith. God is changing your trajectory, just as He did Father Abraham’s.

God doesn’t always announce when He’s about to shift or shake our lives.

Ruth had no idea the plan—the new life, God had waiting for her on the other side of Moab. While standing on that crossroad of decision with Naomi, Ruth didn’t know that the path she was about to take would lead her to be King David’s great-grandmother—through whose line Messiah would come. And Esther, or Hadassah as she was known, certainly didn’t know when she was being rounded up with all the other beautiful young Jewish virgin girls in her province that she would become King Ahasuerus’s next queen—destined to be used of God to save a nation. Nor did David, that overlooked shepherd boy, know he’d be crowned Israel’s King while he was out protecting the sheep in his charge from a lion and a bear—then Nathan, the prophet, showed up. And suddenly the trajectory of David’s life was forever changed. And Moses couldn’t have known that some 40 years after he had traded in Pharaohs’ opulent palaces for the arid backside of the desert, God would choose him to deliver His people from Egypt, that once familiar cradle Moses had called home.

Beloved, Scripture is replete with evidence of God suddenly allowing the lives of those He’s chosen for Himself to be upended somehow.

God is ever building our character—our staying power, our faith. “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” –Hebrews 12:7-11.

Even Father Abraham experienced more than one of these “shifts” with the Lord; divine turnarounds each. Each projected him further and further into God’s plan for his life. Step upon unwavering step of faith eventually led each of these giants of the faith to be precisely positioned where God would have them to be.

One day, Abraham is working and resting at his family home, and the next, God tells him to pack it up and move away. Leave behind the familiar and go instead to a land where God would lead him. To drop the full weight of whatever faith Abraham possessed into His loving, Sovereign hands—then trust Him to use that faith to guide him to his purpose. “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” –Genesis 12:1.

God had a plan for Abraham’s life. A future that would see trials and testing, separation and loss, a wealth of faith was being birthed in Abraham. After all, how unwavering a faith Abraham must have possessed to believe that even if God allowed him to take the life of Isaac, his only son, God would indeed restore Isaac—resurrecting him.

Nations and peoples would be born from Abraham’s loins, from his tenacious belief in the immutable faithfulness of God. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested [that is, as the testing of his faith was still in progress], offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises [of God] was ready to sacrifice his only son [of promise]; to whom it was said, “Through Isaac your descendants shall be called.” For he considered [it reasonable to believe] that God was able to raise Isaac even from among the dead. [Indeed, in the sense that he was prepared to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God] Abraham did receive him back [from the dead] figuratively speaking” –Hebrews 11:17-19.

Father Abraham, Ruth, Esther, Moses, and David. And beyond, to Peter, Paul, and so many stalwart brothers and sisters who share and shared this immutable faith. Not faith in self. They did not trust in their own abilities or intelligence, wealth, health, beauty, or even place confidence in their God-given abilities. Their faith was in Christ alone, as it must always be. In His strength and mercy. His abilities and Sovereignty. In His grace and justice and Truth—our Due North. Each knew God held their next breath in His Sovereign hands—a gift—as was their destiny and length of days. Dropping then, the full weight of their measure of faith squarely on Christ. No matter what happened, they lived and died for Him. Believing in Him alone—until their last, no turning back. No plan B in place.

And if we are to survive more, thrive, in the coming season of shifting’s and siftings that God will allow to touch our lives—testing us, refining our faith in the fires of affliction as with pure gold, we must be shackled, trussed, to Christ alone. To His Word. His Truth and strength.

Like the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us, we, too, must believe that God is. Minus this elemental belief, we cannot hope to please God. We must believe that His every Word is True, contrary to what we may see happening around us or feeling within. Willing to give up any-thing, even unto our very life, that we may hold tight to Christ. Otherwise, we might not survive the shifting and shakings that are happening now nor those to come.

Don’t believe me? Next time you’re in Church, notice the empty seats. Recall the missing faces—those there last year, who aren’t there now.

We must be rooted and grounded in Christ, my brothers, and sisters. Holding firm to Him alone, come what may. I’m encouraging you, in love, Beloved. Hold fast. A shift is coming. “Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood” –Ezekiel 33:5-6

And friend, if you have yet to give your life to Christ, I pray you’ll ask Him to show Himself real in your life this day. Time is short, and none of us are promised tomorrow. The times we are living in testify to what I’m sharing with you. Ask Jesus into your life. He loves you. “Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” –Revelation 3:19-21.

The Light of Life.

December 25, 2021 /
Kendra Santilli

Jesus is so powerful—yet kind. Just—yet wildly compassionate. Mighty—yet gentle. He has no beginning and no end; He cannot be measured. He is the Originator of all things: time, space, light, earth, you, and me. He is everywhere yet ever near to us, simultaneously. God left Heaven and came to earth, for us. I have experienced a new sense of expectation surrounding celebrating Jesus’ birth this year. I have spent extra time reflecting on what this joyous day, the whole of advent, really, truly means for humanity—for me.

Losing the wonder of Christmas can happen quickly amid the business of the season. So now that the card writing and gift-buying are finished, and Christmas dinner has been enjoyed, I invite you to pause and breathe in the joy and privilege we have been afforded simply to celebrate the birth of Jesus! I invite you to slow down now, and allow the true meaning of Christmas to take its rightful place in your heart. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5

The Gospel of John speaks about the dawn of creation. It tells us that Jesus was with God—in the beginning—before the earth was formed. That He spoke all things into existence- standing over the dark void. And in this same Gospel, we receive the most beautiful revelation; John identifies Jesus as “The Word.”  The same Word who spoke time and light into existence. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness”. – Genesis 1:2-4.

The Word was God. He was the very Word that brought the light that we see with our physical eyes into existence. “…all things have been created through Him and for Him.” – Colossians 1:16.

However, when sin entered the world, the light of the soul was quenched, leaving humanity in the darkness. In Genesis 3:23-24, we read of the moment that man was banished from the Garden of Eden. “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Adam and Eve sinned. They disobeyed God. And their sin of disobedience disqualified them from walking with, being in direct communion with, a holy God. Holiness and the depravity of man cannot coexist.

And so, after the fall of Adam and Eve, God, for the most part, spoke to mankind through His prophets. No longer was man free to walk with God in the cool of the day—Genesis 3:8. But having been made in His image, created to love, worship, fellowship with, and serve Him, God could not let our story end there—in sin and separation. And so, He sent Jesus into the world. Not as a flashy king or powerful ruler but a humble baby. He sent Jesus to us, as one of us, fully God yet fully man. That He might experience life as we do yet live it without sin. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16.

And being God, Jesus loved us enough to leave the majesty of Heaven, His Throne, to come to us. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). —Matthew 1:23.

Jesus alone is worthy—God’s spotless Lamb restores us into right standing with God.

Sin hovers over the darkness of our hearts, but God loves His creation too much to leave us in this state.

The Word present at creation, the One who spoke everything created into existence, came as God in the flesh. In His great compassion and mercy, God, no longer able to walk with us in the garden of Eden, came instead as a babe wrapped in milk rags, found by shepherds laying in a manger. He came to restore us—to experience life as we knew it and to change life as we would know it. The Word by which light came forth became the Light of Life –John 1:4. No longer must we wander in spiritual darkness, aimless. Jesus came to restore light to our souls, illuminating the dark places that have somehow become all too comfortable for us. Jesus came to save us. To restore us into right relationship with the Father. To our place in His family. Jesus made a way for us to be in God’s presence, the best place to be. And while we can enjoy being ushered into God’s presence in solemn moments set aside for Him, days such as today, let us never forget Jesus is with us in our day-to-day moments as well. He is with us while we work, clean, drive, in our staying and going. We can spend time with Him and worship Him freely every day.

There is constant worship before the Lord in Heaven, we read about it in Luke’s Gospel. Heaven came to earth, and the angels appeared to usher in His presence with worship. The Angels came to Jesus’ birthplace, rejoicing! Jesus, the King of Heaven, the Lord of Angel Armies, the very Word of God made flesh, now dwelt among mere men. – “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” –Luke 2:13-14.

When looking at this scripture, I imagine that while the angel’s rejoicing was primarily due to their announcing God’s royal presence among us, I had to wonder if the angels also rejoiced because the Light of hope now dwelled amongst God’s creations once again?

I wonder if part of the rejoicing were the angels knowing God’s restoration plan for His children would now be fulfilled? Once again, God’s Light might enter the human soul, exposing every wicked instinct to sin against Him. Now, through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has restored a way for us to live our lives in God’s presence once again. I am so grateful that you and I do not have to wait to get to Heaven to talk to God, to thank Him for sending us His Son; we can do it right now, thanks to Christ’s birth—the first advent. And while we wait for his second advent, or coming, we can worship Jesus in spirit and Truth right now, for it is in His presence we find our purpose and the fullness of joy! “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” –John 4:24.

If you do not know Jesus yet, I invite you to receive His free gift of salvation today, for Christmas. Open your heart to Him and make Him the Lord of your life. There is no pain too deep or sin too great that God cannot forgive. May He fill you with abundant joy this Christmas season. And may this next year be one of new life for you as you walk with Him every day. “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” –John 3:3.

Merry Christmas! What an honor it has been to share my heart with you on this beautiful holiday.

Through Love, Part 2.

December 18, 2021 /
Stephanie Rogers

In Part One of “Through Love,” I shared a specific prayer request with you. I had asked God for more opportunities to share the Gospel at my workplace. With my colleagues, I shared the Truth of Jesus amid workplace Halloween activities. While I was not necessarily preaching to them, I did uncompromisingly share the truth of how God’s nature conflicts with a holiday that does not point to the love, light, and peace of who God is.

In my workplace environment, I am often reminded of the bible verse found in 1 Peter 3:15-16, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander’.” As a follower of Jesus Christ I must be prepared, suited in the armor of God, ready always, to defend my faith with gentleness and respect. Moreover, I must be bold in sharing the Truth of God’s Word, even if it makes those who yet believe feel uncomfortable. It has become clear that the profession and defense of my faith in Jesus will not always be easy and will be met with challenges more frequently than not. Yet if I fix my gaze on an eternal perspective, however challenging any situation may feel in the moment, the challenge in no way compares to the possibility that God’s Truth may turn someone’s heart, leading them to faith in Jesus Christ.

Another way the Lord responded to my prayer request concerning ministering in my workplace was when He instructed me to connect with others during lunchtime. There are times; frankly, I do not enjoy breaking bread with my colleagues at work because the conversations too often revolve around gossip. The bible states, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” –Ephesians 4:29.

For instance, during lunchtime with a group of work friends, I began listening to one coworker gossip about her dislikes of an executive leader in our company. While everyone jumped in in agreement, I gently challenged them by asking, “Have you considered the possibility that this person may be going through something at home and brought it into work? Or they are making decisions from business pressures we may know nothing about? Before we judge, I think it’s good to know the source.” The conversation certainly shifted because my questions did not come from a place of agreement, rather a position of challenge. Hopefully, one that allowed them to see how a thrilling chat about someone while feeling or seeming harmless carried judgment with it instead. Proverbs 18:13 says, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”

In other more positive instances during lunch, just being in contact and available to break bread has led work colleagues to approach me for advice or with their questions about the Bible. In those moments, I think about Jesus Christ and how His contact with so many folks in the Bible led them to receive His life-changing grace. We can preach all the Truth in the Bible; however, it is essential to come in contact and draw close to those who have not learned or experienced the gospel message. We draw near in the hopes that they may be drawn in.

I think about how Jesus encountered Mary Magdalene, a woman possessed by seven demons. In comparison, the Pharisees skipped over those like Mary. But not Jesus. He knew of her situation, who she was, what she had done, yet He was nonetheless compassionate towards Mary. He saw her. Mary Magdalene was not passed over with disgust by Jesus. Jesus proved His love, healing power, and care, which radically changed her. Mary became one of Jesus’ followers. And `      I think about how Jesus, aware of Zacchaeus being a tax-collecting thief, had dinner with him. “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” –Luke 19: 5-7.

No one wanted to dine with a tax collector, yet before addressing his sin of stealing, Jesus did eat with him. The Bible tells us that after his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus gave half of his goods to the poor. “And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” –Luke 19:8. And I think about the woman at the well. She was a foreign woman, living in sexual sin, yet before addressing her sin, Jesus first offered her His living Water. And immediately after her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman ran back to her community, exclaiming her experience with Jesus. Her faithfulness led others to believe in Jesus.

In each of these biblical accounts, I realized Jesus, being fully aware of their sins, first proved His love and compassion towards them before He addressed their sins. “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinner, Christ died for us” –Romans 5:8. And, through these accounts, the Lord has reminded me that the opportunities I so desire to share about His good news at my workplace are often linked to my sitting down and first connecting with people.

Regardless of what I know of the person or how I may feel towards them, only the Holy Spirit is fully aware of their hearts. Yet, our genuine connection with others makes room for the Gospel to enter and be at work in their hearts. Sharing the Gospel is not about insisting on being correct like the Pharisees, not on being theologically right; instead, it is about demonstrating genuine care, compassion, dignity, and a listening ear. It is incredible how the teachings of Jesus were always modeled on love. And how they teach us about the power and effectiveness of how far a gentle, compassionate, and respectful response can go.

Sharing and demonstrating the Good News of Jesus Christ is at times challenging; however, as Christians, we are commanded to tell others about Jesus Christ. And it is His Holy Spirit at work in us who empowers us to do the work with which we have been entrusted. Honestly, the more I share, the more confident I become. “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety” –Proverbs 29:25.

The Lord called me to Himself through someone who showed this compassion when they spoke to me about God’s love. Instead of judging me, they showed compassion, allowing my heart to be receptive to the gospel message. If you are a believer, I pray that you will not hold back from sharing Jesus with others. Be confident, be obedient, be loving. If ever there was a time to speak about the One who is The Light in the ever-increasing darkness, it is now!

If you do not have a relationship with Jesus, ask Him to reveal Himself to you now. Admit and confess that you are a sinner in need of His rescue, guidance, and love in your life. Ask Him to send godly people into your life to support and encourage you. And pray that He opens your ears and heart to be able to understand His Word. God is inviting you to come to Him. Open the door of your heart to the One who loves you and created you in His image. Who died for you—has a purpose and plan for your life. I pray you fully commit your life to Jesus! Trust me; it will be the best decision you will ever make!

His Love Transforms.

December 11, 2021 /
Maryellen Montville

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” –Romans 12:2.

This Advent, let us call to mind the true reason for celebrating the Christmas season. As you wrap your gifts in festive, embossed papers, in like fashion, allow your heart and mind to be enveloped in this Truth:

At just the right time, God stepped across time as we understand it and wrapped His Holy Majesty in human flesh—in the person of His Son, our Lord, Jesus; giving this world, giving you, the most precious, costly gift you will ever receive. Then, being wrapped in milk rags, He was laid in a manger, Emmanuel—God with us. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” –John 14:9.

And why this gift of Emmanuel—God with us? John 3:16 makes abundantly clear God’s overarching reason for His freely giving us His only Son “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16.

Simply put, God loves you.

And because He loves you, today, right now, right where you are in your addiction, in your hotbed of adultery, in your homosexual lifestyle. In the middle of your messed up relationship and dysfunctional family mess. In your inability to decide whether you are male or female, white, brown, or black. Wherever you may find yourself today, regardless of how far removed you may feel from God—He wants you back. He wants to have a loving, committed relationship with you.

You see, sin separates us from actively partaking in a loving relationship with God.

Our sins create a barrier of sorts, a gaping divide separating us from God and prohibiting us from reaching out to the very One who can save us. Only God, being drawn to the one whose heart is crying out in sincere repentance, can break through, closing off such divides—sealing them shut, eternally, with His eternal Love, forgiveness. His healing, cleansing, and restoration. “I will ·forgive them for [be merciful with regard to] ·the wicked things they did [their unrighteousness/wickedness], and I will not remember their sins anymore”—Jer. 31:31–34; Luke 22:20. Accepting Jesus as Lord is the only way for a relationship with the Father to be restored. Jesus’ Life, death, and resurrection are what make this restoration possible. We, sin-full man, must sincerely say yes to God by accepting the free gift of His Son, Jesus. At that moment, an exchange occurs. Jesus’ Righteousness, His Right standing with God, is placed over us, covering our every sin, and we are, our Spirit man, made new—washed clean in Jesus’ Pure Blood. Jesus’ Righteousness covers us, much like the robe the Father wrapped about the shoulders of his prodigal, wayward son.

Now, when God looks at us, He no longer sees our sin; instead, He sees Jesus, the Spotless One sacrificed in our place on Calvary’s Cross. “The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet” –Luke 15:21-22.

So, what does all of this have to do with us, now—today?

Simply put, it means the same thing it has always meant. God is Immutable—unchanging; giving and transforming is part of His character. God’s Living Word assures us of this Truth. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” Hebrews 13:8.

Scripture makes clear that God so loved you and me that He could not stay away from us one second longer. He chose to come, the Bible says, “in the fullness of time,” and give us, provide us with, a clearly marked path back to Himself. How exactly? Through our acceptance of the free gift of His Son—Jesus. “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons”—Galatians 4:4-5.

Hence, why we celebrate Christmas, the day the Lord declared “the fullness of time” had come, and in fulfillment of the Scriptures, a God-man was born to a virgin named Mary and His earthly father, Joseph. That holy night, a host of angels broke through a thick night sky to proclaim the birth of this long-awaited Messiah to lowly shepherds tending their sheep in a town most assumed nothing good could ever come from—Bethlehem. It means “house of bread.” How fitting then that the Bread of Life be born in that place. And a star unlike any other led those lowly shepherds and Three Wise men from afar off, to the very spot this newborn babe lay, in a manger. “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh” –John 6:50-51.

But what about today’s Scripture verse? How does Jesus’ birth connect to our minds being transformed and renewed and our relationship with God restored?

In part, I will answer the second part of this question; rather, Scripture will, before looping around to answer the first, where I will close out this week’s teaching.

As I touched on earlier, Scripture makes plain that the only way we can be restored into a right relationship with God the Father is by accepting His Son, Jesus, into our hearts. When we recognize we are sinners and are willing to humble ourselves before a holy God, asking His forgiveness. Then, as with the prodigal, God will wash us clean of the filth we have allowed to cling to us. Surrendering our will for His in that instant, we are made new. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants”‘ –Luke 15:17-19.

The moment we accept Jesus, God deposits within us His Holy Spirit—God slips an engagement ring on our finger, in you will.

His unbreakable promise that we are His Bride forevermore. Snatched out of the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of this world, forever to reside in the Kingdom of our God. This is the heart of the Gospel—The Good News! That we, sinful men, have been afforded the unfathomable privilege to partner with a Holy God, through Jesus’ Life, death, and resurrection, to carry this Truth, a Light in this present darkness, to all men, just as Jesus did. “Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”—John 14:6.

You just read that the very moment we say yes to Jesus, God deposits His Holy Spirit within us. God takes up residence in us. We are now one with God. His residing in us a mystery far too great for finite understanding to fully take in—but it is, nonetheless, True. “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him” –Ephesians 1:14.

Since Jesus is The Truth, alternately, there must be a counterfeit.

This leads us to the Bible’s answering just how our minds are renewed. God’s Holy Spirit living within us enables us to test, to challenge, as Romans 12:2 states, every other spirit and voice that attempts to come against us—attempts to speak into our lives, to misdirect us, leading us astray. “…that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” Jesus Himself attests to this Truth. Listen now, in John Chapter 10, Jesus uses sheep to illustrate this powerful Truth to His disciples, how those who are His can hear and discern His voice, that they will know and follow Jesus—only. “After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:4-5;27.

Friend, if you celebrate Christmas yet have not asked “the reason for the season”—Jesus, into your heart, I pray you do that right now. I can promise you, as one who has asked Him into my own heart and life, that you will receive the most Life-changing, extraordinary of Gifts –a relationship with Jesus now. His Spirit living in you, and eternity spent in His presence. The Precious Gift of God’s Holy Spirit at work in you is the only gift that truly keeps on giving

“Let Us Give Thanks.”

November 24, 2021 /
MaryEllen Montville

“Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD” –Psalm 107:43.

God told us—commands us, to give thanks in every circumstance. God’s Word reminds us that this is His will for us in Christ Jesus. We can read this for ourselves in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse eighteen.

When we choose to “thank” God in every circumstance—we are saying, in fact, “God, I trust you, no matter what. Your will, not mine, be done.”  And then we’re meant to take our hands off the thing and leave it wholly in His care— we did, after all, just tell God we trust Him. No matter the pain we may feel as a result of said trust. Despite the losses we may suffer because of it—whether we understand what God is doing—or not. As Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: But I will maintain mine own ways before him”–Job 13:15.

Our joy in this life, our ability to offer God thanksgiving, depends not on our fickle feelings or ever-changing circumstances. Instead, our thanksgiving springs forth from the knowledge we possess of God’s character—His Immutability—and, from our ongoing love affair with Him. From His fixed Truth that no matter what happens, He loves us, and will never leave us until He has fulfilled all that He has promised us. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” –Genesis 28:15.

Our God is a promise keeper; therefore, we can hold fast to every promise He’s ever made. “God can’t break his Word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek” Hebrews 6:18-20 MSG.

Now I don’t know about you, but knowing God loves me, chose me, protects me, fights for me, will never leave me, nor forsake me. That He cannot break the promises He’s made to me—has everything to do with thanks-giving, today, and every day! Friends, there are countless reasons for you and me to thank God. Starting with “we were worth dying for.” If I stopped there, we’d never need another reason to thank Him. And yet, God didn’t stop there. God blesses us still; via the million things He bestows upon us daily—minute by minute, really.

Beloved, don’t let today pass without thanking God, simply for who He is to you…

From our partner, Highland City Church, and each of us at Sonsofthesea, we wish you and your family every blessing and the very Happiest of Thanksgivings! “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” –Psalm 100:4-5.

Through Love.

October 16, 2021 /
Stephanie Montilla

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” – 1 Peter 3:15-16.

Two weeks ago, I gathered with friends from church to catch up on what God is doing in each of our lives, to share the struggles we’re trusting God to strengthen us in and lead us through and, to reflect on that Sunday’s sermon. Before we left to drive home, my friend Kendra asked everyone in attendance if they had any prayer requests? I shared that I would like prayer for more opportunities at work to share the gospel. It didn’t take long for God to respond! A few days after my prayer request, while at work, one of my colleagues shared some Halloween ideas to do as a team. I don’t specifically remember the haunting-themed ideas she proposed; however, my response was, “I don’t enjoy haunting things, and I also don’t celebrate Halloween.” One of my colleagues asked, “Is it because of your religion?” I replied, “Yes.” I explained that Halloween is steeped in rituals and other things that cater to the realm of darkness—trick or treating, pumpkin carvings, costumes, etc. And while I understand its origins and how traditions change over the years, the essence of the holiday doesn’t point anyone towards the light of God’s nature.

I shared with my colleagues that God is love, He is light, He is peace, and He is life.

The bible tells us that God is love, “Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love” –1 John 4:8. God is light, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” –1 John 1: 4-5. God is peace, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant…” –Hebrews 13:20. God is life, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” –John 8:12.

I wasn’t exactly sure how my response was received, with shock, uncomfortableness, confusion, or understanding? But what I do know is that it was received. And I know this, too: that I wasn’t expecting my prayer request to share the gospel at work to be answered in quite the way it was. Most definitely not in the middle of a Halloween-themed conversation!

As I went back to my seat, my mind was flooded with questions: “Did that really just happen?” “And what will the next opportunity the Lord provides look like?’ “Did I come across as boring or defensive?” And amid my overthinking, the Lord quieted my mind and said, “You spoke about the Light.” And through His reply, I learned that a soft, gentle response goes a long way. And, that If an opportunity to share your faith opens up, like the one I had just experienced, discussing your position with a heart bent towards pointing others towards the light, rather than attacking the dark, is amazingly effective. The thing about light is this: the smallest of one drives the darkness away.

From my previous writings, you may have noticed that God is truly revealing and helping me see the depths and powerfulness of His love. How His love is transformative, giving us a new heart. His love is guiding us like a compass. It directs us to live set apart in a world entangled in sin. And His love empowers believers to demonstrate it to those we may feel are undeserving of love. Ultimately, the breath of His love is indefinable. Mere human feelings cannot perfectly articulate it; His love is a verb that far exceeds our feelings. And, while my colleagues were receptive and actively listening to my defense for choosing not to participate in their Halloween activities. It was only afterward, as I reflected on that moment, hindsight allowed me to see just how unreceptive they may have been, had I shared my beliefs with a righteous spirit or in an angry tone of voice.

The bible says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander’ –1 Peter 3:15-16. As I read this verse, the words that jumped out at me were gentleness and respect. Why? While the authoritative Words in the bible are all-powerful, our delivery of the gospel message can impact how they’re received. When fully understood and accepted, the gospel message is the most incredible and powerful Truth known to man. Yet our tone, our deliverance, can influence its impact on whether someone receives it—or not. God cares about our deliverance, how we share His Word; hence, He instructs us to defend our faith with gentleness and respect.

And while my colleagues may not entirely agree with me on my Christian worldview and life decisions, as an ambassador of Christ in my workplace, I’m nonetheless intentional about treating them with the same kindness and gentleness the Lord extends to me daily. And I thank God in advance for every opportunity I will be given to speak about my faith, about the gospel, in my workplace, and for the deeper connections I will make with others. God revealed to me, so clearly, that we don’t deny the gospel message of Jesus Christ by dining or conversing with sinners; instead, we do it by avoiding sinners out of fear or dislike.

So I hope you’ll take every opportunity God gives you to share the gospel wherever you go, with whomever God places in front of you. And if you don’t know this God I spoke to my colleagues about; I hope after reading this you’ll ask God to show Himself as real in your life as He is in mine. I’m praying for you!

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