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

Category: Transformation (Page 1 of 9)

New, Not Renewed.

September 13, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” –Lamentations 3:22-23.

The global wake of destruction that has hit us, the likes of which would make a category five hurricane blush, has been savagely unleashed on our world, our emotions, and on countless poor souls’ lives. Leaving them in utter shambles. Gaza and Palestine. Africa and India. Russia and Ukraine. China, Taiwan, and the list goes on—wars and rumors of wars. Souls, lost, many eternally. Someone’s mom or dad. Husband, wife, and the children—children, dead now as they sat in prayer. An assassin’s bullet to the throat has seemingly silenced the voice of a young man in the prime of his life. But God!

A young wife and her children left now, without her devoted husband and adoring father. Then, there are the multiple school shootings that have resulted in the deaths of our most innocent, our children. All of this and so much more, every nameless faceless soul that has been killed, many with no one ever having so much as heard their names. Souls who, quite literally, have had the proverbial rug ripped right out from under their feet, believers and unbelievers alike. Leaving us all staggering and a bit numb in disbelief.

 Then, here I come, sharing a verse that reminds us all of God’s mercies. Mercies? Really?

Absolutely!

That’s the thing about God, He never changes. Never. Neither chaos nor death can cause God to change—to go against His very nature. James 1:17 says it like this: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].”

This teaching isn’t intended to be insensitive or callous. Instead, a “just as shocking reminder of Truth.”

Because amid what certainly looks and feels like a world about to spin out of control, just when we think we’ve reached the point of not being able to hear of one more tragedy, one more death, God’s Holy Spirit steps in and redirects us. Recalibrates hearts and minds and families who have lost their sense of up and down, bringing peace and redirection where chaos and madness, where evil, are doing their level best to rob them of Truth and peace.

The early Church experienced such a moment when Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death. What the enemy thought would put an end to God’s Church—His Gospel message, His people—was instead used by God to galvanize His people and to spread His Word to the four winds!

Notice, beloved, that God’s mercies are plural, not singular. We serve a “Pressed down, shaken together, and running over” God whose mercies are fecund, original, unique, explicitly designed to more than meet today’s one-of-a-kind needs.

Mercies that are dewy, refreshing our weary, worn-out souls.

Mercies glistening with the love and care Jesus has for you and me.

A love and care that falls upon each of His beloved children, upon you, daily, regardless of what may be swirling around our feet or front door. Saturating your life and mine as specifically and purposefully as His tender mercies and care bathe each flower’s petals and every single blade of grass.

God knows we need refreshing. He knows we need what only He can give us, hope that His sure promises will stand, no matter what it looks like at the moment. Regardless of how much the enemy of our soul appears to be stealing from us—God is giving us so much more. “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.” –Matthew 6:30-31.

Jesus is infusing your life with newness and the resilient strength needed to face each new day—never forget that Truth, beloved. No assassin’s bullet, no bomb, war, or rumor of war will have the final say—that’s Gods. So even if standing is all you can do today, know that you’re doing it in God’s strength. His loving kindness towards you and me is enabling us to take tentative, baby steps forward. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” –Isaiah 40:29

God’s mercies are not like the transient things of this world, here one moment, needing to be replaced the next.

They’re not like that prescription bottle on your night table, something that needs renewing because it’s about to run out. God Himself has promised us, “for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” –Hebrews 13:5.

Nor are His mercies like the milk, bread, or cream for your coffee that needs to be replenished every few days or so. In a world where the words “renew” and “renewal” have become commonplace, the concept of anything new being afforded us daily has become almost obsolete.

Our parents, perhaps, and surely our grandparents, had a far better grasp of receiving new things daily than you or I ever will. We, the so-called more modern generation, must intentionally pause to make room for such a concept, allowing God’s Holy Spirit to unpack it for us. “The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” –1 Corinthians 2:14

Even then, until we come to know such newness—God’s plethora of mercies for ourselves, intimately: having kissed them on the mouth, eaten with, slept and woke beside them, belly-laughed til we cried with them, until, as with Jesus’ nearness, His “new” mercies has quickened the beating of our hearts, til we, parched and dizzied souls that we are, have had their dewy refreshing dripped onto our parched tongues, until God’s fresh mercies, like His Life-giving Word, our daily bread, has filled our bellies, we will never have truly experienced the newness God has awaiting us every-single-morning. His “new mercies” will remain some imagined experience, like a dream vacation on the bucket list map of life.

I know it’s hard to reach for hope right now, to keep putting one faith-full foot in front of the other, no turning back. I know it might be difficult even to hear the word mercy standing next to a child’s grave, a husband’s casket, but please, beloved, allow God’s Truth to rip you open right now. Let it pour new mercies, fresh hope in buckets full over your nearly dried-out, bone-weary faith. Let God do what only God can do in you and me. “But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” —John 3:12.

Leave room for God to cause faith to arise as you and me and them and they get mad at hell for its thievery, galvanizing us, uniting us just as it did the early Church, as we remember that Satan’s relentless barrage of hate and hurt, murder and death are no match for God’s unending love, mercies that are new every single morning, come what may, and a 3rd day power that raised Jesus from the dead. Hang on, beloved, soon, all of this pain, this feeling of being caught in the headlights of this life, will end. In peace and celebration—no more tears. No more death, wars, or assassins’ bullets. Just unending love and an eternity with Jesus, all because of God’s mercies. Soon, beloved, soon. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” –Revelation 21:4.

Fan The Flame.

July 26, 2025 /

Pastor Maria Braga

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” –Hebrews 10:24-25

Often, when a storm passes through our neighborhoods, we experience a loss of electricity. If it’s dark, we are unable to do all the things we do when we have power. We, believers everywhere, share a similar experience in our faith walk. We love Jesus and do our best to stay connected to Him throughout our lives. However, sometimes we fall out of fellowship with our Lord and Savior, and this connection is severed, leaving us without power.

If we are secure in Jesus, have a strong walk with God, surround our lives with God, and have this inexplicable excitement about our faith, how can we fall out of fellowship with Jesus? Is that even possible?

Yes.

And it can happen quicker than we think!

Here’s how: We stop stirring ourselves and one another in our faith through God’s Word, prayer, serving, and fellowship, and we disconnect from our spiritual practices. As time goes by, we become increasingly parched. We begin to slip away and fall into old routines, which quickly take our joy and rob us of the new life Christ has given us. We start to feel like we’re back in the old life—the life we once desperately despised and were so tired of.

What are we to do at this point in our walk of faith?

Can we return to Jesus?

Of course!

By quickly repenting, turning, and renewing our focus. By stepping back into the Life Christ offers, and progressing in our spiritual growth. By deciding to return to our Spiritual practices, which we found in Christ, having tasted and seen how good they are.

Hebrews teaches us to stir one another up in our faith.

To stir means to provoke or promote with intention and purpose.

Proverbs 27:17 teaches us: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” The Scriptures encourage us to do this because it is essential to maintaining a vibrant faith and to keeping our walk with God as our top priority.

A continual stirring of our faith is necessary for our growth.

This “new life” we have been afforded is like a road leading us to a destiny. What destiny? Our ultimate destination, heaven. We are to be sure of who we are, believing the promises of God, and continually renewing our minds each day, to stay spiritually ablaze and unmovable.

A believer in Jesus Christ isn’t supposed to be an Island, alone, deserted. When we become isolated, it is like a coal that falls from a heap of burning coals. Left alone, it dies out. It needs the heat and flame generated by the other coals to continue burning hot.

John 15:1 tells us that Jesus is the true Vine and God is the gardener. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” When we come to this new life in Christ, we must connect to the Vine, continually bearing good fruit, and we must stay connected, thriving in the same faith.

As we read God’s Word, God speaks to us. As we pray, God sharpens us, and God quickens our spiritual understanding. As we serve, God strengthens our compassion for others. After all, God, being the Great Gardner, tills the soil of our hearts and produces a harvest as we avail ourselves of these faith principles. Whenever we position ourselves to connect with God in any of the above ways, He partners with us, filling us with all we need. Words are not enough to describe this at times; it truly is a heavenly experience.

Hebrews 10:14-16 says: “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them  after that time, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.”

As believers, the sacrifice witnessed at the Cross is always before us. We know there is a God who sent His only beloved Son to die, so that God’s children don’t perish, but instead, when we depart this earth, we live in heaven with Him forevermore; this is no small matter. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” -2 Cor 5:17

How wonderful to know that we are made new.

How wonderful to enjoy lives that are purified, sanctified, and set apart, because the Holy Spirit is living inside of us. Our sins God sees no more. Psalm 103:12 reminds us, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

We are now living new lives; our old life is gone.

To best experience this “new life,” the Apostle Paul instructs us, just as he did the 1st century church, on what steps to take: 1) As new creations, we must accept that our time zone has changed. We must understand the time in which we live: meaning, God’s timing is not the same as man’s time. So we learn to wait on God. 2) Being a new creation means living in a new community of Bible believing, with others who have been saved by grace and are now spiritually washed by the Blood of the Lamb. 3) As a new creation, we live in the freedom of the Spirit rather than by the laws of men. 4) As new creations, we live a transformed life. A life that reflects Christ. A life that has been changed by Love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” -John 13:35

As we navigate these exciting changes and experiences, not only in our natural person but also in the Spirit, we must stir ourselves up in the most holy faith to continue marching forward, assured of our heavenly destination, loving one another. We must look at those coming up behind us and encourage them to join us. We are to care for their souls because we now understand the value of the human soul. We know the price Jesus paid to save their soul, His precious Blood. And, we share the Gospel, inviting everyone with ears to hear into the Kingdom of heaven with us for all eternity.

We don’t forget to encourage one another.

To stay the course of our calling by reminding each other of this journey we are on: one of the Word, prayer, fellowship, and service to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, until He calls us home. When it gets tough, we never quit, we never give up, and we never stop following the One who loves us unconditionally, because He holds us through our valleys and is beside us on our mountaintops.

We are never alone. We are walking in victory, even when we don’t feel like it.

Father, today, I pray You touch my heart in a new way. Please give me the courage to continue this walk of faith and give me the desires of your heart. I align my heart to yours and surrender my will to yours. Please remind me to stir myself spiritually and to encourage those around me to do the same. Let my heart reflect yours, my Lord and Savior, in Jesus’ name, amen.

“God again designated a certain day as ‘Today,’ when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” –Hebrews 3:15.

What Really Matters…

June 28, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.” –Philippians 1:10.

Within one short verse, Paul uses “you” twice. He’s making it plain to each Philippian believer he’s addressing, and to us, that our relationship with Jesus is not only personal, more, that it matters to God how each of us walks out our faith. “I want you to understand.” Why? “So that you may live pure and blameless lives.”

Just because?

No!

Your Christian walk matters because you have been chosen in Christ, set apart, called to live a holy life, even as your Father is Holy. You are God’s Ambassador, beloved. You have been chosen both to carry and spread the Light of the World! “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” –2 Corinthians 5:19-20.

God is using Paul’s voice to speak His Truth, to His people—the Church.

Jesus, the Living Word of God, points anyone with ears to hear toward the Father. Directing them to emulate His own walk by doing His Father’s will. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” –James 1:22-25.

Still, God knows that we, like our Philippian brothers to whom Paul was speaking, are incapable of living pure and righteous lives; that we, like they, cannot be filled with the fruit of the Spirit apart from the ongoing, sanctifying work of Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, you cannot talk, walk, think, or love like Jesus. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” –Philippians 2:13. God’s Holy Spirit is at work in us to shape, mold, and remove the dross of your sin, shame, brokenness, and guilt, so that as we cling to Him, we might look, walk, talk, and think more and more, like His Son, Jesus. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” –2 Corinthians 3:18.

In Malachi 3:3, God makes it clear that He is a Refiner. “He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.” As He was with Israel, His chosen people, so too with His Church—we’ve been grafted in after all, in Christ Jesus. “He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” –Galatians 3:14.

It is God’s Holy Spirit at work in us, smelting and purifying, forging, molding, and shaping.

In the fire of affliction, we’re made soft, pliable, usable—more Christ-like in our reliance on the Father. And so it’s there that God does His work of remaking us. In the Refiner’s fire, our lifelong journey of cycling through times of fire, forging, and water begins to burn off the dross of the world that has covered us over—encased us, really, like some molten shell—blinding us from seeing who we were created to be before time existed. Before, as His Word calls it, “The foundation of the earth,” hence, the need for our refining. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will.” –Ephesians 1:3-5.

God’s Word is Pure.

Thus, as we drink it in, it has the power to refine us—renewing our minds, imparting wisdom, depositing joy, and purifying our hearts. “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.” –Psalm 19:7-8.

Yet knowing holiness isn’t something we could ever achieve apart from Jesus, in one inconceivable act of love so pure and unfathomable, God sent His only Son into the world to die. Why? Because only a Holy, Perfect, Sinless God Himself could atone for your sins and mine. “For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.” –2 Corinthians 5:21.

Child of God, having sacrificed His only Son for you, remember, your salvation is personal. God wanted you to be restored into right relationship with Him through Jesus’s death and resurrection, able to receive New Life; is it any wonder then that God used Paul to remind you of ” what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.“

Still, the very God who created you knows your frailty, beloved, your inability to “remain in Him” apart from Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one abiding in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you are able to do nothing.” –John 15:5. Hence why, from that same pool of unplumbed love, God promised you this: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10.

If you have strayed from the narrow way, beloved, repent. Return to the Father who is waiting to receive you, arms wide open, eyes already watching the horizon to catch a first glimpse of you, and then. “…live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.”

Jesus is the only One who can enable you and me to live that pure and blameless life He requires of His children. He’s a good Father who gives His children the supernatural ability to do all things through Christ. “I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]” –Philippians 4:13.

You dear friend, yes, you. The Lord has led you here today. It’s no accident that you’ve read this teaching all the way through. That stirring you feel in your belly, that’s God. It’s Him saying that He loves you and wants a relationship with you. Won’t you welcome Jesus into your life now by acknowledging your need for Him? Listen to what He promises if you do: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” –Matthew 7:7-8.

Reflections of Mephibosheth.

April 12, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chased is what David showed Mephibosheth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Start With The Ending?

April 5, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” –Philippians 3:13-14.

It’s been said that if you want to see a thing to completion, don’t focus your attention on its beginning or what you see; instead, fix your eyes on the finished product or “the prize,” if you will. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the haughty in spirit” –Ecclesiastes 7:8. Like Paul, we must remain hope-filled that our “heavenly prize,” our end, will far outweigh any challenges or setbacks we may encounter along the way. Believing whatever you put your hand to, your first step must be complete faith in God—believing in His desired end for your life, despite how things currently look. Fixing firmly in your mind and heart your desired result, the finished work. “For we live by faith, not by sight” –2 Corinthians 5:7.

Your unswerving faith in Jesus Christ, in His Spirit at work in us, sanctifying, renewing, strengthening, pruning us, completing what He alone started in you, is how we, like Paul and all those of the faith who went before us, will finish our race. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may seize the prize” –1 Corinthians 9:24.

This spiritual principle also applies to things you set your hand to do in the natural world.

Starting backward sounds all wrong, doesn’t it?

Seeing the finished product before you begin the work.

Yet this plan originated with God. We first witness it being implemented in eternity past so that you and I might be saved. “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun” –Romans 8:29-30.

By employing this same plan, Jesus, being God in the flesh, never once lost sight of His intended purpose: why He left heaven, took on flesh, and lived amongst us. “And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!” —Philippians 2:8.

Although Jesus healed many and performed numerous miracles so that faith might arise in those who witnessed them and the Father might be glorified, Jesus was born that He might die as the Perfect, Sinless Atonement for the sins of this world.

From the beginning, the Father’s intended end for Jesus was obedience unto death.

Jesus’ death and resurrection is the final victory over sin and death. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” –1 Corinthians 15:54-57.

Being Alpha and Omega, God saw the end from the beginning, and in Jesus, He never once wavered. He never once took His eyes off His intended end. The result? God afforded us new life in Christ Jesus. “For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life” –John 3:16.

Now, you might say, “But that was Jesus; of course, He never wavered, never lost sight of why He began the work the Father had given Him to do. He is God; I am not God!”

And you’d be right.

And yet, Scripture informs us of Twelve other men like you and I, fishermen mostly, who, by never wavering in their determination to take God’s Word to the ends of the earth, telling anyone with ears to hear about Jesus—how He lived and died and rose again that they may have new life in Him. God used these twelve ordinary men mightily to turn the world upside down! And like you and me, they, too, were chosen to finish their work before the foundation of the world. Listen to how the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, explains this: “He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began” –2 Timothy 1:9.

Paul and all the Apostles understood this concept of finishing their race by keeping Jesus ever before them, preaching and teaching His Word, leading others to Him, and, equally, keeping the hope of their eternal reward at the forefront of all their hands touched. Their ultimate goal was to make Jesus known, bring Him glory, be obedient to Him, share His Word, and see Him face-to-face, yet again, spending eternity in adoration of their Lord and King. They achieved this by following the model laid out for them by Jesus Himself: “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. ” Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” – Hebrews 12:2.

Jesus’ disciples emulated what they saw Jesus do: start something with a desired end in plain view and never waver. “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” –1 John 2:6. They learned by example how to plan this way, having walked, lived, and learned from Jesus firsthand, except for Paul, whom the Spirit taught after Christ’s resurrection. “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ” –Galatians 1:11-12.

So you see, brothers and sisters, something can be said for starting a thing backward; it’s the way Jesus instructs His followers to live in His Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps backward is how we are to live our lives, with Jesus first and ever before us and everything else in this life coming after. “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success” –Proverbs 3:6.

Seeing the end of man’s state from its beginning, long before God scooped up some dirt and fashioned Adam, God saw how it would all end. Jesus, being God, also plainly saw the end from the beginning, all the while waiting in the wings to affirm and complete the plan of salvation God originated—long before the first sin had been committed. Backwards, right? But oh, how I, for one, thank God for backward! “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” –John 15:11.

Are you ready to begin living backward, friend?

If so, welcome Jesus into your life, the One True God who knew and loved you in eternity past. He’s been waiting for the fullness of time to come to pass in your life, to reveal Himself to you, and today is the day! Jesus longs to love you and offer you a new life in Him. You don’t need to do anything to earn His offer. Just say yes. For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” –2 Corinthians 6:2.

Faith That Makes You Whole.

March 22, 2025 /

Pastor Samuel Cordeiro

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

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

1. The Power of Crying Out

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

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

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

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

2. Obedience Precedes Breakthrough

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

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

Is there something God is calling you to obey today?

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

3. The Heart of Gratitude

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

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

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

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

4. Worship Leads to Wholeness

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

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

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

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

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

Do You Want to Be Made Whole?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bloodline.

March 8, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

Why hadn’t Moses circumcised his son?

How did the Lord confront Moses?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The shedding of blood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bridge The Gap.

March 1, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

“And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.” –2 Kings 9:1.

I have a challenge for all who are reading this today. As I was reading this passage of Scripture, I was thinking about the relationships we share with others in the body of Christ. The question that came to me was, “Are we, the older generation, pouring into this younger generation?” This made me stop and think about all my relationships with the younger group, the Gen Z crew. I watch these groups of young adults, and I can see the hand of God moving in each one of them; what also amazes me is that half of their parents don’t attend Church with them, yet they have decided to lay it all down for the Gospel of Jesus Christ regardless. They are starting to wake up and seek the Truth. And what is Truth? “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6

This generation is so hungry for the Truth, seeking to be filled with Christ, something that is a void in their lives. It seems that nothing in this world is satisfying them. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My will find it” – Matthew 16:24-25.  

Then I started thinking about the older people coming into the Church who have never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What about them? Yes, those of us who have been walking with the Lord need to pour into the younger generation and the new believers arriving at our Churches for sure, but let’s not forget others among us need Jesus and direction.  

Throughout His ministry, Jesus saw the same types of people as we do, young and old, milk and meat believers. If we strive to follow Christ’s example, let us have the same compassion for all who come through our doors as He did. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest.” –Matthew 9:36-38

 What does any of this have to do with my opening scripture?

Discipleship. As with today’s Scripture, the older teaches, directs, and instructs the younger.

We are unsure about Elisha’s exact age when he gave these instructions to this younger prophet; I assume that Elisha is older and has gained some wisdom by this time. Biblical scholars believe Elisha was about 20 years old when God told Elijah, the prophet, to anoint Elisha. This can be found in 1 Kings 19. “So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle in him.” – 1 Kings 19:19. Just as we do not know Elisha’s exact age, a Biblical account in 2 Kings 2 suggests that Elijah was significantly older than Elisha.

Elijah leaves where he is to go and find Elisha. As he walks, he finds Elisha working hard to prepare the field for planting, breaking up the solid ground to bring up the good soil. As Elijah sees Elisha, he walks by him. Then, taking off his mantle (a covering or shawl), Elijah throws it over Elisha’s back, signifying that God has chosen Elisha to be Elijah’s disciple and successor. Did you catch that? Elisha is now to follow the man of God, Elijah, and learn from him. God has completely changed the direction of Elisha’s life, but he needs guidance.  

Everywhere Elijah went, Elisha followed, learning, and serving God.

Are we pouring into this next generation of believers and instructing them on how to carry out their own faith walk? Those of us older in our walk with Christ need to pour into those God is leading us to. Elisha tells the young prophet, “Get yourself ready.”  This is a mandate from Jesus for all of us.

We are to make disciples of all nations and make ready a people for the kingdom of God. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

How will this next generation of believers get ready, or that older generation who needs the same guidance as the younger?

My friends, we are called to make ourselves available to spend time with those in need. Read the Bible together, pray, and meet them where they are. Remember what Paul writes to the Church in Rome: “How shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” – Romans 10:14

Jesus is returning soon. There is more of an urgency now than ever for the Church to unite in one accord. “And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” – Revelation 22:12-14

Stand up and pour into someone today, friends. Amen!

If this message has genuinely pierced your heart and you want more of a relationship with Jesus, invite Him into your life now and repent of your sins. Ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior over your life. “If you confess with your mouth and the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10

Is Your Ear Pierced?

February 22, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” –Exodus 21:5-6.

I read not only the above verse but the entire chapter, and I remember thinking. “Thank You, Jesus, that because of You, because of grace, we are no longer under the heavy burden of the Law.” Now hear me, I know and believe every Word of God brings Life—it is Life. It was spoken and inspired for a purpose—God’s Holy Spirit enlivens it: yesterday, today, and forever. Logos turned Rhema so that it may continue accomplishing all God sent it to do. On this one Truth, I stand firm. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  

I should not have been surprised when, while reading the prayer that accompanies my morning devotional, a prayer seemingly unrelated to Exodus 21—some of the very words I had read and foolishly thought so burdensome—”…take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl…” dropped in my spirit. On their heels, the words, “Is your ear pierced?”

Now, God does not ask us questions because He needs an answer.

So what is Jesus desiring to accomplish by questioning us? And what effect ought such questions have on our hearts? As His children, those who seek greater Oneness with Jesus, we ought to reflect on the reasons behind the more profound implications of His questions.

Being Omniscient (all-knowing), Jesus knows the answer before asking the question. Why, then, does Jesus ask rhetorical questions?

For Correction & Redemption:

“Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, God loves us too much to leave us the way we are but His hands also heal” –Job 5:17-18.

 “To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” –Galatians 4:5.

I am not the only child of God to be asked a question; Scripture assures me of that. A well-recognized example of God asking another of His children a rhetorical question is found in the Book of Genesis. God asked Adam, the first man, “Where are you?” –Genesis 3:9.

God knew precisely where Adam was and why he and Eve hid from Him. “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” –Genesis 3:8.

God asked Adam, “Where are you?” for Adam’s benefit, not His own.

Perhaps in asking Adam this question, God wanted Adam to confess what had just happened to him and Eve, why they were hiding, and how they knew, suddenly, that they were naked. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” –Genesis 3:6-7.

The devil, that accuser of God’s children, will use unconfessed sin in our lives, anything we choose to hide from God, against us, accusing us before God night and day. “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.” –Revelation 12:10.

God wanted to restore Adam and Eve, forgiving them of their sin.

So, did God ask Adam, “Where are you?”  to bring about Adam’s confession and repentance and usher in God’s redemptive plan? Remember, God had a far-reaching end game in mind, if you will. God was looking past the garden to the Cross and beyond, to a Bridegroom and His bride. Did God desire Adam, one small part in His inscrutable plan, to follow His lead and not miss the eternal lessons repentance and forgiveness teach and the blessings each brings?

Though God foreknew our every sin in His Omniscience, we must still choose to humble ourselves before Him, seeking His forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” –1 John 1:9.

To test us: That we might examine ourselves and know, with decided certainty, in Whom and what we believe. “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” –2 Corinthians 13:5.

Another well-recognized question Jesus asks of His children was once posed to His disciples—and through them, to each of us: “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29).

There are a plethora of reasons for Jesus to ask this question of those who profess faith in Him, who claim Him to be the One True God—Savior of the world—of their world. Our faith and salvation are nothing if not personal. Amongst the greatest of reasons—being forgiven of our sin and guilt before God, and our ability to have a loving relationship with Jesus here and in the Life to come—in asking this question, was Jesus doing something a loving Father would do: protecting his child?

When asked what the signs of His coming would be, Jesus first tells His followers not to be deceived. Jesus knew how easy it could be to be deceived—swayed, drawn away from faith in the One True and Only God, Jesus Christ—if we do not know for ourselves who He is to us—in us.  Jesus, the Good Father He is, desires His children to know experientially the place He undeniably holds in their lives. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” –John 15:5.

Because of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I can confidently answer the Holy Spirit’s question of me; “Yes, Lord, my ear is pierced!” I love my Master and choose to serve Him freely all the days of my life. “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” –Psalm 73:25-26.

Having chosen me in Himself, God, in His unfathomable love and mercy, nailed my ear to the Door that is His Son, Jesus, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” –John 10:9. God granted me the privilege of calling Him Abba, Father, Lord and Savior, Comforter, Sustainer, my only Hope.

In closing, I’ll follow my Lord’s example in asking you the very question His Holy Spirit asked me: “Is your ear pierced?”

And if not, why not? Friends, today is the day of salvation or rededication, backslider. Invite the One who died that you might live into your heart and life. Today, Jesus is asking you the most important question of your life: “But who do you say that I am?”

“He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].” –2  Corinthians 5:21.

God of The 11th Hour?

February 8, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montvile

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

Perhaps that’s how the Israelites once felt.

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

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

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

Why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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