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

Category: Truth (Page 1 of 5)

A New Order.

October 26, 2024 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.” –Hebrews 10:1.

The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. –C.S. Lewis.

The prophets foretold of His coming—this King like no other— a foreshadowing. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” –Micah 5:2.

Year after year, the people had brought their lambs, rams, and doves, each one’s throat formulaically slit by the high priest. He spilled its lifeblood to atone for their sins. According to what God had told Moses, blood would always be required for the remission of sin. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” —Leviticus 17:11.

“Rid me of my sin! “Accept this animal’s blood as my atonement!”

It worked—for a time. But only for a time.

New blood would need to be spilled next year and the next.

The spilling of innocent blood was a stopgap only. A foreshadowing, pointing straight to the One spoken of by the Prophets of old—evident to those whose eyes would be opened—yet missed by those who, despite the myriads of detailed pieces of evidence painstakingly laid out for them by the Prophet Isaiah alone, refused to see entirely. “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.” –Hebrews 9:7-10.

Read for yourselves just a few sentences of Isaiah’s words concerning the One foretold of. He who would come to do what no amount of blood shed from even a herd of animals ever could. “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” –Isaiah 53:2-3.

Friends, it was God Himself who stepped down from heaven.

God took on flesh: helpless, dependent, human flesh, all that He might fully experience our weaknesses, helplessness, and dependence firsthand, in all its forms and fashions—yet even in His taking on our flesh, He sinned not. This sin-less Jesus would die in your place and mine—we who were born in sin—so that we might “get to” experience His eternal life within us. Should we accept His offer of salvation, that is. “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 4:15.

This unfathomable, Divine exchange—Jesus’ innocence swallowing up our guilt. Father God willingly offered up His only Begotten Son, who then freely laid down His Life so that we might gain eternal life. “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.” –Galatians 1:4-5.

His Revelation declares He is named Faithful and True.

He’ll come again wearing a robe dipped in blood, and His title is the Word of God.

This King’s name? Jesus, Son of God—our Savior. King of kings and Lord of lords. “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.” –Revelation 19:11-13.

He alone, the Perfect atoning sacrifice. His Spotless Blood alone is able to wash the filthiest of sinners white as snow. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” –Isaiah 1:18.

“But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings  you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'” When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” –Hebrews 10: 3-10.

This same Jesus foreshadowed in the Old Testament, spoken of there as self-existent, eternal—having no beginning nor end, is confirmed to be God in the flesh in the New Testament by the Apostle John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 1 John 1:1.

Soon and very soon, this same Jesus will come again.

Jesus, speaking through the Apostle John, assures of this.

Jesus came to John when he was exiled on the isle of Patmos and revealed to him all of what was yet to come in such startling detail that if you’ve read news headlines this week, you’d swear the Apostle John got his information from that same news source. In Truth, He did.

Jesus, Omniscient God He is, shared with John all that is to come.

By default, that would mean this one statement made by Jesus must be Truth as well: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:1-6.

Jesus is coming back; that is a fact, believe it or not.

But here’s the thing: that “place” Jesus has gone to prepare is for those who believe in Him, those He knows intimately, those He calls friends. Those who have a relationship with Him. Is that you, friend? If not, it can be

Jesus certainly wants it to be.

Jesus gave His life solely for you to ensure that it might be. “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” –John 3:16.

You need only ask Him into your life as Lord. His Holy Spirit will take care of the rest of what needs to happen. Please, don’t allow men to complicate what Jesus made so simple; even a child can receive Him. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

True Protection Is In Christ Alone.

October 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

MaryEllen Montville

“But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” –2 Corinthians 11:14.

A recent online communication from a well-recognized U.S. bank warned their customers of a significant increase in phishing scams in the banking industry; this, they say, is due to the rise in both online and bank app usage. They said that in 2023 alone, a staggering $10 billion of Americans’ money was lost to phishing scams and online fraud. That’s an increase of 13.6% over 2022. Many of you, or someone you know, have either heard or fallen victim to one of these insidious schemes perpetrated at the hands of those on the dark web—who hide in the shadows. Their sole objective? To rob and deceive you.

Sound familiar?

I am not making light of these insidious schemes or their devastating monetary losses.

Still, it would be negligent of me not to point out that these dubious schemes are mere child’s play compared to the plans of a far more lethal, stealthy, and insidious foe—Satan.

The Father of lies himself, whose sole intent it is to rob us, saved and unsaved alike—here and now and, if possible, from an eternity worshipping God.

Much like the increase in these banking scams made possible by widespread online and app usage, so too is the level of spiritual deception being perpetrated on so many today by those who freely use their pulpits, social media, YouTube, and any other platform available to them to spread false doctrine—deceiving many. “Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.” –Romans 16:18.

Christ Himself reveals Satan’s sole purpose, nature, and intentions toward us in using such people; We’d be wise to pay attention.

While speaking to the Jews and Pharisees in John 8:44, Jesus said this of Satan: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the Father of lies.”

In John 10:10, speaking of this insidious foe, Christ Himself makes Satan’s intentions so plain that even a child can understand them: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Period.

Friends don’t skip over “only” in the above verse.

This one-word packs a powerful punch.

Webster’s Dictionary defines ” only ” as exclusively, solely, or alone in a category.

If you are a child of God, Satan’s only delight comes from robbing your lives of joy, happiness, rest, peace, and communion with God. And if you are not, he desires to kill any possibility you may have of having a relationship with Jesus by keeping you bound and blind—by any means necessary.

He’ll use chains of religion, deception, false doctrine, fear, and anxiety as tools to keep you so distracted, so blinded to true Light. You’ll continually spin your tractionless wheels, chasing after anything that shines.

And he’ll use anyone he can to accomplish his sinister plan—those in the pulpits or that well-meaning brother or sister sitting next to you in Church—even your mom or dad. There’s a reason Jesus said: “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” –Matthew 10:37.

Is it any wonder, then, when asked by His disciples what would be the sign of the times and the end of the age, knowing how insidious, cunning, and manipulative, what a copycat and contortionist Satan is, how much he loathes God and God’s people, one of the very first things Jesus told His disciples weren’t words of comfort, he offered them no reassuring come back.

 Instead, Jesus warned them, and through them, us, to be mindful and not be deceived. “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.'” –Matthew 24:3-4.

And after Jesus, in writing to his beloved brothers and sisters at the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul cautions them of deception as well: “I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of Gospel than the one you believed.” –2Corinthians 11:2-4.

Deception enters the individual or Church in numerous ways:

  1. It is tolerated. “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” –Romans 6:15-16.
  2. It will go unrecognized: As with Jesus’ own family or that brother sitting beside you or even yourself, those who have seen and been with Jesus can, at times, be spiritually blinded by deception. They fail to accept the Truth by faith, the Truth of His Gospel message, making it almost impossible to believe what they cannot see until Christ’s Spirit alone opens their eyes—removing their blindness.
  3. It enters in via false religion/beliefs:  What better example of this Truth than the Apostle Paul himself?

Known as Saul then, the Apostle Paul once was deceived—spiritually blinded by a powerful false religious view. But thanks be to God, there is no spirit more powerful than God’s own Spirit. The Spirit of Truth. Saul had plenty of head knowledge but he did not have a genuine relationship with Jesus. Until that is, Christ caused this brother to see clearly. “So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” –Acts 9:17.

Within the email from the well-recognized U.S. bank I referenced earlier was a list of recommended steps their customers take to help safeguard themselves against becoming victims of phishing scams.

We will do all we can to safeguard our finances.

How much more should we do to safeguard our relationship with Jesus by ensuring we are both hearers and doers of the Gospel message? By measuring everything we think we know, hear, and see, all we claim to believe is truth, against the Truth of God’s Word. Safeguarding then our most valuable treasure, our relationship with Jesus. “I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 619-23.

Are you safeguarding your heart and faith against those who will do their best to rob you of Truth?

Friends, your only protection from spiritual deception is found in Christ alone.

God’s Word tells us there is only one way to the Father: through His Son, Jesus. Don’t be deceived. Don’t let those who use darkness and perpetuate lies rob you of the Truth and a real relationship with Jesus. “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” –Matthew 24:42-44.

Remain In Me.

September 28, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.” –1 John 2:24.

In his first Epistle, John the Apostle admonishes us four times within four verses to “remain” both faithful and in fellowship with Christ Jesus, and he adds our doing this is a sure sign of our love and obedience to God and His Word. “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.” –1John 2:3-5.

Perhaps, as John was writing this portion of his Epistle, he was reflecting on earlier times.

Those days when he and his brothers spent drinking in every Word that fell from Jesus’ lips as they walked, talked, worked, ministered, debated with, and questioned Him so as to know and learn everything Jesus had to teach them. I pose this question because, upon reflection, the heart of John’s words in his Epistles concerning remaining connected to Christ—obeying Him, abiding in Him, could easily be interchanged with those spoken directly to him by Jesus in his Gospel. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” –John 15:5;8.

At their core, each verse points to how crucial staying connected to Christ truly is.

This cardinal precept of “remaining,” of spiritual intimacy with God, was a point Jesus emphasized the importance of repeatedly with His friends—and through them, to us. This precept of abiding is repeated throughout the Gospels—particularly in John’s.

Yet how? How do we “remain” faithful to what we’ve been taught from the beginning when nearly every day we hear of some new theory, new doctrine, some new “Word from the Lord” splashed across YouTube or social media, from the pulpit or whispered in our ear from a “well-meaning” yet albeit naïve believer. How do we “abide” in Christ when we’re being pulled this way or that by family members who demand, we choose between being with them or following after “this Jesus of yours.” When that addiction we thought was long behind us, the habit that had all but destroyed us, seems to be calling to us. A vague yet familiar siren song emanating up from our memory.

When your marriage is in crisis and, no matter of counseling, prayer, or late-night raging at the pain of disappointment and betrayal seems to heal it. How? When your wayward child is drifting further and further away, duped by a culture filling their heads with lies and confusion. When that stinging church hurt, or the betrayal of a life-long friend threatens to grow roots of bitterness in your heart. When the boss says that you must work on Sunday or participate in some office practice, that goes against your faith and principles, or it’s your job.

Thankfully, as believers, the answer to these questions isn’t complicated.

The process of our overcoming may be muddy and challenging, but the answer itself is straightforward. “…remain in my love.” –John 15:9. Jesus assures us, the solace and strength we need to overcome any trial is not only readily available to us, but found only in Him.

Equally, a prolific seed of Truth is found inside this simple verse: our unequivocal need for absolute Oneness with God. “Without me, you see, you can’t do anything. –John 15:5.

Sounds simplistic, I know. Maybe even trite to some.

However, absolute Oneness with God is what our relationship with Jesus must be built upon for us to flourish—to overcome and thrive spiritually.

We must have a resolute, watertight bond with our God. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” –Matthew 7:24-25.

And yet beloved, when we’re the ones facing the mountain before us, the death, terrifying diagnosis, betrayal, break-up, or loss, this simple Truth of abiding in Jesus, clinging to Him, placing a measure of faith we didn’t even know we possessed in Him, can feel not only daunting, but down-right impossible for some of us to swallow. And yet, swallow we must. Staying connected to Truth—to Jesus, we must.

Our feelings will fail us, so will our hearts, courage, and minds—our friends, too, as well intended as they may be. In times of trials, only Jesus can help us. Save, heal, deliver, strengthen, enable, make a way through or restore us.

Only Jesus.

Actually, this is true every day. For most of us, unfortunately, we only become aware of this when the winds and waves are threatening to take us out.

Each verse in today’s teaching is intended to harken us back to Jesus. To Remind us we can do nothing apart from Him—not even those things we so readily take for granted, like drawing our next breath.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly states that He came not to exercise His own will but to do the will of the Father who sent Him. To say what He’d heard the Father say only. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…” –John 5: 19-20.

At the core of all Jesus did was an ever-present determination to obey God and His Word to the utmost, even unto His death on the Cross.

It was this burning love for the Father, this fixed determination that was such a part of who Jesus is that nothing and no one could lure Him away from oneness with the Father. This absolute oneness caused and enabled Jesus to do what the “fully man” in Him momentarily stumbled over. “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” –Mark 14:35-36.

We would do well to imatate Jesus by remaining in, trusting in, the love of the Father for His children.

Beloved, you have a Great High Priest who knows how hard it is for you right now. He not only sees you but that all but unbearable weight of pain you’re carrying—He’s been there. It’s why, in part, He sent me to remind you to stay connected to Him—your True and Only Source of Strength. Abide in Him. Trusting that the strength, healing, rescue, answers, or freedom you need—have been praying for— is found only in Jesus—that He has you.

Your trial, the “hour” that has come upon you, is safe in God’s Hands.

No matter what things look like, regardless of how dark it may get, trust God, beloved, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.” –John 10: 28-30.

Friend, Jesus made connecting with Him simple. Here’s how: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10. I encourage you to call out to Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, become one with Him—abide in Him.

How the Poor Man Became Rich and Mourned No More.

September 21, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.” –Matthew 5:3-4.

If we are saved, we have a testimony of where we were when we met Jesus. That very place of despair, trapped. We were feeling like we were in a cage. Pacing back and forth, unable to set ourselves free. Our very souls were crying out, “Is there any hope for my suffering, my lust, my addiction!”

Think about this for a moment: The moment you said, “My suffering” or “My addiction,” you claimed something that is no longer your portion in this life. Because when you became Christ’s own, you were born again, washed clean of the sins that once held you captive and led you into states of depression and self-loathing. “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat it’s fruit.” –Proverbs 18:21

Everything changed when we received revelation, and the Light of Christ pierced our hearts. Only then could we truly see.

Many of us did not see or understand what we were speaking over ourselves before we accepted Jesus because we were blind, walking in darkness. “There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” –Luke 12:2-3

Friends, we will not see the Kingdom of God as long as we stay in our sins. “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Do not be deceived; No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s Kingdom.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Reading the above scripture made me wonder how anyone can live a “carefree life.”

Have you ever heard someone say, “Oh, they are such a free spirit?” But they’re not really a free spirit if that freedom will cost them their soul. If any of the sins listed above are present in their “carefree” lifestyle, then I assure you they’re not living so carefree. Jesus is the only one who can bring life, not some “carefree” counterfeit spirit. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”- John 14:6

The person’s life may look good from the outside, but looks are deceiving.

Such people are living a lie—just as we all once did before Christ. We all tried to fill a space within ourselves that made us feel good. That eased our pain or loneliness. But it was just a placebo. Something that made us think we felt better, at least for a while. The truth is, we were still sick.

In my last teaching, “Cleansing A Leprous Heart,” I said sin was a sickness. And I likened sin to leprosy. Sin is a spiritual sickness that starts on the inside and works its way out. “Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand: It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”– Matthew 15:10-11

Though only God knows a man’s heart, you can see how a person thinks, what they live by, and their morals and beliefs by observing their life. Be still and listen to them talk. You will know them by their words and how they speak to others. Watch their walk. Scripture says: “You will know them by their fruits…” –Matthew 7:16.

We all carried the sickness of unrepentant sin with us at one point.

Jesus is the great physician who cured our sickness by separating our sins from us as far as the East is from the West, never to remember it again. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” –Psalm 103:12.

Listen to how Jesus explained why He’d come to the Pharisees. “When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was sitting with sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:16-17

Jesus used the word “righteous” to make evident to the Scribes that their “righteousness” came only by knowing the law and then pointing out what other people cannot or should not do. The Scribes couldn’t see that these people were lost in their sins with no one to help them. They couldn’t understand that these people were the very reason Jesus came.

My friends, don’t fall into a place where you claim yourself to be so righteous you won’t help out a brother or sister when they are having a tough time, afraid you’ll dirty yourself. Instead, remember Who showed you mercy and love when you were at your lowest. Lest we forget what the apostle Paul wrote: “Carry one anothers burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” – Galatians 6:2-3

Jesus told the Pharisees, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.” –Matthew 23:23.

Jesus came for sinners. The “Whosoever’s.”  “And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.” –Acts 2:21. He dined with them that night because He was about His Father’s business, to meet the poor in spirit and to show them the way into the Kingdom of heaven.

Friends, we no longer need to mourn our sins, but we can rejoice because Christ Jesus’ has clothed us in His Righteousness. He has comforted us in our time of need. “And when you were dead in trespasses and in uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespass. He erased the certificate of debt, with it’s obligations that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.” –Colossians 2:13-14

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

 We were once poor in spirit, but God made us rich. We were prisoners of our sins, but God set us free. We mourned in our trespasses, but God filled our hearts with joy. Jesus died so that you and I will live for all eternity and be coheirs in the Kingdom of God. Jesus loves you so much.

We at the SonsoftheSea ministry are continually praying for every one of you. I invite all who feel the stirring of the Holy Spirit to open their heart and come to Jesus in complete repentance. Repent and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” – Romans 10:9-10.

I pray you receive Him and His gift of salvation that cost Jesus His life. Be washed by His precious Blood, and your every sin will be washed away in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

“Cleansing A Leperous Heart”

September 7, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“While traveling to Jerusalem, He passed between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, men with serious skin diseases met Him. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And while they were going they were healed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at His feet, thanking Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn’t any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” –Luke 17:11-19.

As stated, these ten men had a severe skin disease, which Scripture hints at being leprosy, a chronic but now curable infectious disease mainly causing skin lesions and nerve damage. The Law of Moses stated: “The person afflicted with an infectious skin disease is to have his clothes torn and his hair hanging loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out ‘unclean, unclean!’ He will remain unclean as long as he has the infection; he is unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.” –Leviticus 13:45-46

To make a point, I’ll use this metaphor. Just as leprosy deteriorates the flesh, unrepented sin will deteriorate your soul, causing you to live removed from God. It may even cause your death.

Brothers and sisters, before we came to Christ, we were as unclean spiritually as these poor men were physically.

Our hearts were diseased and riddled with sin.

Our minds were saturated with the things of this world, the lusts of the eyes. “For the mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” –Romans 8:7-8

And we know that the longer a person chooses to live a sinful life, the more the evidence of their sins radiates outward. Their outward man becomes a reflection of their inward sins. “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable–who can understand it?” –Jeremiah 17:9.

As with the ten lepers in today’s Scripture, your sin will cause you to live apart from God.

Man cannot rid himself of sin, but God made a way for all men to be free and be cleansed of all inequities through His son, Jesus. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 6:23.

Concerning the lepers: “He told them, Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And while they were going they were healed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at His feet, thanking Him. And he was a Samaritan.” –Luke 17:14-15.

These lepers cried out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us!”  and a repentant heart is what God wants. You may have been cast out, friend, but know that God still sees you, even though your sin has distorted your heart. Jesus still knows you and loves you.

They cried out for mercy and acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Master over their sickness and hearts. God does not want you to remain in your sin. He wants you to be all He created you to be: holy and full of purpose. In Mark, Jesus reminds us of this: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!” –Mark 1:15.

 When these ten lepers heard Jesus say, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Something stirred inside them. Having lived as cast-outs, it must have been a while since they had felt this stirring of hope inside themselves.

Their disease had plagued them for so long they had forgotten what it felt like to have hope and faith. But because of Jesus, their faith had been stirred up, and, in obedience to His command, they ran to show themselves to the priests.

But why did they have to show themselves to the priests?

Showing yourself to the priest was written in the Law of Moses, and Jesus never contradicted His Father’s Word. “But if the raw flesh changes and turns white, the priest must pronounce the infected person clean; he is clean. “–Leviticus 13:16-17. Also, the local priests must have known about these ten men and their condition. Their all being healed together was Jesus’ way of sending a message to these priests that the Messiah had come. Surely, they would remember what the prophet Isaiah had said about Him: “He Himself bore our sicknesses, and carried out pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.” –Isaiah 53:4.

Ten men received healing from something that had taken everything away from them, and then, each man was restored because of their encounter with Jesus—there must have been some head-scratching happening by those local priests.

Friends, instead of sorrow and living as cast out from God because of your sin, you too can come to Jesus in complete repentance and cry out, “Jesus, save me! Have mercy on me!” Because of His mercy and great love for you, Jesus will change your heart and heal your inner man. He’ll redeem you, making you holy and clean by forgiving your sins and giving you new life! “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” –John 3:3.

Once restored, Jesus, our high priest, declares us clean and in right standing with the Father!

We read only one leper returned to Jesus and gave glory to God, a Samaritan, which the Jews hated. He was that one who needed a touch of God; the others got what they came for and then went their way. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn’t any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” –Luke 17:17-19.

We should not take God’s blessings for granted, especially His gift of grace. “Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” –Psalm 2:12.

Friends don’t be like the nine who got what they came for and then forgot to thank Jesus for what He had done for them. Instead, raise your hands in joyous admiration and thank Jesus for His true gift of salvation! The Blood of our Lord Jesus has cleansed our leprous hearts.

Like the ten lepers, Jesus has made us new creations.

As I close this week’s teaching, know that we at Sonsofthesea are praying you know God’s love and the Truth that salvation is found in no one but in His Son, Jesus.

Do not harden your heart or turn away if you hear His voice calling you. Today is the day of salvation. Repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart. Believe His promise to you: “Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him and he with Me.” –Revelation 3:20.

Amen.

Fragile Vessels

August 3, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7.

Chosen vessels, ministers of the gospel, as appointed to bear the glad news of salvation to others; called also earthen vessels, on account of their weakness and frailty. – Noah Webster.

Servant of the Living God, be reminded that we who carry within us His Spirit, called to proclaim His Gospel, are blessed yet unworthy vessels handpicked by our Father for such a weighty privilege. Yet compared to our Omnipotent God, we are infinitesimal creatures, like hummingbirds in a vast desert; we are small, fragile winged creatures called to carry the transplendent and incalculable weight of the Glory of God into inhospitable places on fragile, gossamer wings. “But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty].” –1Cor.1:27.

That God alone, not we, His earthen vessels, receive the glory. “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. –Isaiah 43:10-12.

We were not created to steal God’s proverbial thunder if you will. We are image bearers only—likenesses created to carry the thirst-quenching Presence of our Omnipresent God into a dried-up, arid world. “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.” –Isaiah 41:17-18.

And again, concerning God’s reviving Presence, Jesus said of Himself: “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” –John 4:14.

As Jesus’s disciples, we are called to lay down our lives as living sacrifices: our wants, desires, hopes, dreams, bodies, minds, wills, and emotions. Each surrendered fully at the feet of Jesus—each subject instead to His will, plans, and purposes. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? 20 You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.” –1 Cor. 6:19-20. Though Paul specifically references sexual sin in this passage, it contains a broader Truth that applies to Christians.

You and I will undoubtedly fall and fail the moment we allow ourselves to see what God has called us to do as separate, somehow, from “our lives”—as though each thing is not inextricably one. This fallacious notion is deadly to the Christian because: “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” –Gal.2:20.

The second we fail to remember that we are not our own but have been called instead to be glory carriers for the Most High God, sin, as the Scriptures tell us, will have gained a toe hold in us.

By the power of this same Truth, that we are not our own but Christ’s, we mere earthen vessels, small, gossamer-winged, fragile creatures, are empowered to carry the weighty, life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ into a parched, arid world. “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” –2 Corinthians 4:5-8.

And so, by dying to our bulky, sin-full, and heavy-laden flesh, we are, by God’s amazing grace, made free by Christ, in Christ, to carry within us His Spirit, to proclaim His Gospel.

To be used by God to pour the Life-giving Water of God’s Inerrant Word over that one He is calling to Himself—cleaning them of those sins that “so easily beset them.”

As was done for us, we, too, must bring this same hope of new life into the most inhospitable of places. “…Freely you have received; freely give.” –Mathew 10:8.

We, frail friends, get to be used by the Omnipotent God of the universe, in whose image and likeness we were created.

May we, by His grace, both never forget and be ever grateful for this extraordinary, weighty privilege.

May God, in His loving kindness and tender mercy, remain ever mindful of our hummingbird-like frailty as He causes us, His Glory-carriers, to thrive in this inhospitable place—a world in which we, which you, beloved of God, are merely passing through. “The same way a loving father feels toward his children—that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you. You know all about us, inside and out. You are mindful that we’re made from dust.” –Psa.103:13-14.

Dear friend, are you the one I have been called to? Are you feeling dry? Are you uncomfortable living in a world that no longer feels welcoming? That is God calling you to come out of this world. To live free. Free of the weight of sin you’ve been carrying around—free from the weight of its shame and guilt. You were created for so much more. Won’t you cry out to God today, asking Him to make you His child, allowing you to carry His Glory to your family and friends—into this inhospitable world? “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.” –Ezekiel 36:25-27.

Decision 2024: Who Is Jesus To You?

July 20, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” –John 1:29.

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such importance. –C.S. Lewis

Friends, this post is not political. Though I pray your upcoming vote in November aligns with Godly principles and statutes. Still, in light of the horrific events that recently took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, my heart is nonetheless burdened for the nation and, indeed, for the families of the victims, living and deceased. Corey Comperatore—now in glory. In contrast, David Dutch and James Copenhaver are still fighting for life from the injuries they sustained. And though burdened for our nation, these victims, and their families, how much more my heart—our hearts, be burdened for all unsaved souls in light of just how quickly a person’s life can, without warning, be taken?

I’m sure if we asked the wife and daughter of Corey Comperatore, whose earthly life was ended by the sniper’s bullet, they would agree. Mr. Comperatore had given his life to Jesus, and so is far more alive now than he was that nanosecond before the bullet struck him. Though his being with the Lord is a great comfort to his family, I’m sure. We grieve with them nonetheless as they were maliciously thrown into learning to navigate the agonizing valley of loss. Thus, today, I felt led to share the Truth found only in God’s Inerrant Word.

A Word I pray that will help steady and realign our hearts and minds as we move forward individually and as a nation. “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” –1 John 5:20.

Jesus Christ is our only hope, Beloved.

Earthly leaders are powerless to save us. Only Jesus Christ has the Absolute Power to save.

John the Baptist knew this. So do I. And for the sake of your earthy life and your eternal destiny, I pray you do as well. No matter the outcome of “decision 2024”, the Lord Jesus Christ will remain forever on His Throne, Ruler over Life and death. And believe it or not, agree with it, or not, like it or not, your knee will bow before Him, and your tongue will confess that Jesus alone is Lord. “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” –Philippians 2: 9-11.

I pray you’ll freely do that now while the choice is afforded you.

Because every man, from those whom God appoints to hold the highest office in the land to, as Jesus lovingly calls them, “the least of these,” must choose whom they’ll serve. King Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, or the little g god of this world, Satan. There is no other choice on man’s proverbial ballot. No “other” box for us to check.

The instant John the Baptist caught a glimpse of Jesus walking amongst the crowd who’d gathered to be baptized, to choose Jesus publically—we hear John boldly proclaim words that had been put in his belly back when God was knitting him together in his mother, Elizabeth’s womb. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” –John 1:29;27.

The words John spoke that day marked the beginning of the end of his life work —making ready the Way of the Lord.

John knew his place. He never pointed to himself but rather to Jesus only.

John knew he was never meant to be the Groom—but the groomsman. “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.” –John3: 29.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, John recognized Jesus as the Messiah through Divine revelation.

John knew Jesus to be God’s Passover Lamb, come to be sacrificed. To once and for all take away the sins of this world and so, destined to reveal Jesus to the world, John joyfully cries out: “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!” 

Child of God, pause hereto remember that moment you first believed.

Close your eyes and feel the joy and excitement that flooded through you when it really sank in that Jesus was with you and had chosen you as His. That in an instant, He’d pulled you from eternal death to eternal life, lost to saved—creation to beloved child.

Let the memory of that pure joy wash over you—overtake you.

Might that same joy have been the feeling coursing through John? Unable to contain it, he just had to let fly that darkness-piercing, literal life-changing revelation God dropped in his belly. Why? Because the Inescapable, Supernatural Truth, which had always existed in John’s peripheral vision,  stood clearly before him now, in the flesh!

Now, in Jesus, the days of sacrificing goats and sheep, of spilling their blood as an offering to God to wash away Israel’s sins temporarily, were over. This Spotless Lamb—God’s Perfect Son, came to accomplish what no animal sacrifice ever could—save the lost, to save you, specifically, if you’ll but accept His free gift of salvation.

Jesus’ sacrifice and death, His resurrection, all of it, everything Jesus did while on the earth, and continues to do as He intercedes for us while seated at the right hand of God, is personal and intentional because Jesus has had you in mind specifically, from before the foundation of the world. “From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.” –Pro.8:23.

Friend, the question before you is:

Who is Jesus to you?

Remember, professing Jesus is your eternal choice. I pray you’re not passive in that choice, friend. Because to not choose is your choice; it’s either God or Satan. There is no “other” box available to any of us.

In both the Old and New Testaments, Scripture makes that abundantly clear.

There is no “other” box to check. “By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.” –Isaiah 45:23.

God or Satan. Those are the choices before you today. Who will you choose in 2024?

Take a stand for Jesus now.

Choose Him to be the Lord and Savior of your Life.

Friend, what recently happened in Pennsylvania is a sure reminder that no man is promised tomorrow. Jesus is the only sure hope you have of eternal life. Repent of your sins and welcome His Pure, sinless Blood to wash away your every sin because only Jesus is able to cleanse you. He freely laid down His life so that you might have life eternal. Won’t you accept His free gift of salvation today? “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10.

Clean Your Lenses.

July 6, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“And he looked up and said, “I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.” –Mark 8: 24-25.

Have you ever felt like this blind man, perplexed by God’s actions or lack thereof, disoriented, unclear, questioning, even? Not questioning God, precisely—instead,  asking why something you’re positive God’s given you just doesn’t seem to be shaping up into all you thought or hoped it would be. You’re operating in it, walking by faith, using every drop of this God-given gift, and yet, there’s this inescapable thing in your belly telling you there’s so much more available to you. “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”

Maybe, like the blind man in today’s Scripture, that incomplete feeling concerns your healing or that of a loved one—that ailment, insecurity, or spiritual affliction, that addiction you’ve been praying God would remove altogether, deliver you or them from. But still, it lingers—it’s 50% gone, just not 100%.

Friends, I’ve come to remind you that God’s plan is always perfect and complete—even when we perceive it to be otherwise. God’s Word promises He is faithful in finishing what He has started in us. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” –Philippians 1:6.

It is we who must remember we operate on God’s time. He doesn’t operate on ours.

In studying today’s verses, various commentators and theologians weighed in as to why, based on Scripture, this man did not straightaway receive his sight. After all, throughout the Gospels, Jesus’ other healings were immediate—except for this lone, unnamed blind man.

Why did he require a second touch? Jesus undoubtedly intended to restore his sight fully, lest he continue to see men who “look like trees walking around.”

Those of us who know Jesus as Lord believe God is unchanging. That with only one touch from Him, this man’s sight could have been restored immediately. In fact, Scripture teaches Jesus didn’t even need to be in the same room with the one He was healing. He need only speak a Word and the person was healed. “When he (Jesus) was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.” –Luke 7:6-7;10.

But in this instance, offering us only brief glimpses of clarity, the encounter between Jesus and this unnamed blind man is shrouded and unclear, much like this blind man’s first glimpse of the world.

But was it his first glimpse of things?

I ask this to point us toward the oft-overlooked obvious.

Our blind friend instantly recognized and knew the difference between a person and a tree.

Scripture doesn’t come right out and say it; rather, it eludes to the obvious: our unnamed blind man was not born blind.

So why the double touch from Jesus?

Why didn’t this blind man’s miracle result in instantaneous healing? After all, every other healing Jesus performed did.

What is Jesus trying to teach us? Get us to see?

This is where, within the context of this seemingly brief encounter and, much like the coming together of our blind man and Jesus, the details of why Jesus chose to heal this man in the location and manner He did is shrouded in the unspoken and seemingly unfinished.

One potential answer backed by Scripture that some commentators offer up is:

  1. Jesus chose to perform this miracle for the benefit of His disciples—for us.

In Mark 8, Jesus had just fed the masses—some four thousand men, besides women and children, with a few pieces of bread and a few fish. After this, Jesus and His disciples get into a boat and head to Dalmanutha, where they go ashore only for Jesus to encounter the Pharisees, who immediately demand He show them a sign from heaven.

He assures them He will by no means perform such a sign. He returns to the boat with His disciples and heads toward Bethsaida, where a conversation between the disciples almost immediately catches Jesus’ attention. The topic? Lack of provisions—the disciples had only brought a single left-over loaf of bread. After watching Jesus take a few loaves and as many fish and feed some 10,000 men, women, and children, His disciples saw only their lack of bread! Like the blind man, they, too, saw only in part. While unbeknownst to them, it appears Jesus had been ruminating on the Pharisee’s demand for a sign from heaven because, seemingly randomly, Jesus warns them to “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Why? Because at this point in their relationship with Jesus, His disciples still saw Jesus much as our blind friend’s first glimpse of the world—kind of, in part, “like trees walking around.”

 They believed, yet did not fully possess a clear understanding of Jesus. That would come later. “Jesus, aware of this [discussion], said to them, “Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember,  when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They answered, “Twelve.” “And [when I broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they answered, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you still not understand?”—Mark 8:17-21.

Bewildered and thinking only in the natural, the disciples immediately do what so many of us do: lean on their own understanding. And as a result, they miss entirely the more significant spiritual implications our Lord is trying to get them to see.

The deeper Truth Jesus wanted them—and us, to see clearly. The dangers of unbelief. How just a little can blind us to the whole Truth. In time—God’s time, each man would see clearly. So clearly, whether by martyrdom or natural causes, each would give his life for Jesus: “We [who were with Him in person] have seen and testify [as eye-witnesses] that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” –1 John 4:14.

So be encouraged, brothers and sisters, if what you thought would happen has yet to happen, God is not finished with you. Clean your lenses by asking God to touch you—again. Trust His timing and plan for your life until all is clear and you are at peace with who God is—Lord of all.

Friend, if you want to see Jesus clearly, your first step is to ask Him into your life as Lord and Savior. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and give you eyes to see so much more than what surrounds you in the natural. None of us deserves to be forgiven of our sins; such forgiveness is a free gift from a loving and mercy-full God. “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” –Titus 3:5.

There Were Witnesses, Part 2.

April 13, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” –2 Peter 1:16.

Each Apostle had witnessed Jesus’ life and ministry during the approximate three-plus years He was on earth. And each was so convinced that Jesus was indeed who He’d professed to be while with them, they were willing to die a martyr’s death rather than deny Him—including Matthias, the Apostle chosen by lots to replace Judas’ Iscariot after he’d hung himself. “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” –Acts 1:21-26.

Historians say only the Apostle John, believed to have been the youngest of Jesus’s twelve Apostles, lived to see old age, having died at Ephesus of natural causes. Tertullian, a historian, wrote that Roman Emperor Domitian intended for John to be martyred by being boiled alive in a pot of oil. But God had a different plan for John’s life, so what had been intended to kill him—failed.

Perhaps Jesus was alluding to the way Domitian would attempt to kill John when he spoke these words in answer to John and his brother James’ request to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in His Kingdom. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” –Mark 10:38-40.

Because concerning Peter’s death, Jesus was the first to tell Peter that, like Himself, he would also be crucified. Directly after reinstating Peter within that now famous dialogue found in John 21:15, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Jesus says this: “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

And Peter did follow Jesus—straight to his cross.

Early church historians, such as Eusebius, Clement of Rome, and Tertullian, have each given us extra-Biblical accounts detailing by whose hand and what methods of torture were used to kill all twelve Apostles.

Of Peter, it’s said that when Emperor Nero ordered him to be crucified, he asked his executioners to be crucified upside down, having claimed to be unworthy of being crucified in the same fashion as his Lord. Only God and Peter’s executioners know whether this account of Peter’s final hour is valid.

We do know each Apostle followed their Master’s example as best a sinful man could, including Paul, who, though not an eyewitness of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, was chosen by Jesus Himself to be His Apostle to the Gentiles and who—and chose death over denying His Lord, And in Romans 5, reminds us:– “Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die.”  Then, in the next verse, this humbling and incomprehensible Truth is shared: “But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Concerning the Apostles, below are some shared accounts of how each man chose death, to be martyred rather than deny their Lord and Savior. Each took to heart more, with a final act of unwavering certainty and a profound demonstration of unmitigated love; each put legs beneath the Words their Lord had spoken concerning the selfless sacrifice both true love and Life require. “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”—Matthew 10:38-39.

  1. James, John’s brother: the first of the twelve to be put to death. His martyrdom is verified in Scripture. King Herod had him killed by the sword in Jerusalem (Acts 12:2).
  2. Like Peter, his brother Andrew is said to have been crucified by a Roman Governor in Patras, Greece. He was scourged, then bound with leather straps to his x-shaped cross, a “crux decussata,” which, when turned on its side, was intended to mock Christ’s Cross and discourage His followers.
  3. Historians share two different accounts of Phillip’s martyrdom. One account has him beheaded while in Hierapolis, Greece, while another has him and two other Christ followers, possibly Nathaniel, being crucified. This account has Phillip preaching the Gospel as he hung on his cross.
  4. As with Phillip, there are two accounts of Nathaniel’s martyrdom. One says he was skinned alive, while another claims he, too, was crucified while preaching in northern India.
  5. Matthew is said to have been martyred in Ethiopia by the sword.
  6. Mark was martyred in Egypt, having been drug through the streets by a team of horses until he was dead.
  7. Historians say Simon, The Zealot, was sawed from head to toe in Northern Africa.
  8. Jude, or Judas Thadeus, aka “the other Judas,” is said to have been martyred somewhere in Lebanon, having been shot by arrows.
  9. Luke, it is said, was hung from an olive tree.
  10. And Matthias was crucified.
  11. John survived, having been boiled in oil and died of old age on the Isle of Patmos.
  12. Lastly, Peter is said to have been crucified upside down.

And though not eyewitness ourselves, if we profess to be believers, to have received Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, acknowledging Him as sole Owner and Master of our lives, then we, like all twelve of our brothers mentioned above, and others, like John the Baptist, who, also chosedeath over denying His Lord and Savior, we too, must do as they did—choosing Christ over our own lives. “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.” –1 Peter 1:8.

We’re living in dark days, friends, “perilous times,” as the Bible refers to them—lawless days, where far too many professed believers live in the shadows, running away from taking a bold, fixed stance for Jesus, their faith, and commitment to our Lord.

What about you?

Where do you stand with Jesus?

Do you boldly profess Him as Savior, Lord, and Master of your life?

Like your brothers before you, are you so thoroughly convinced of who Jesus is that you’d lay down your life for Him rather than deny Him?

I pray you will. Because I believe to the very bones of me that if you genuinely believe Jesus is who He said He is, then if asked by Him to face such an hour as our brothers once did, His grace would be sufficient to silence every fear we’d have in the natural.

How can I be so sure of this?

One, my God is not a liar. And two, He has promised us—promised me, it’s meant to be personal.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” –Deuteronomy 31:6.

Since Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today, and forever, what He promised to Moses, Aaron, and others throughout Scripture is my promise as His child. Yours, too, if Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

And if you don’t yet know Him as Lord, His Word assures you that you can do so today if you ask Him into your life, acknowledging you are a sinner in need of a Savior. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”—Romans 10:9-10.

There Were Witnesses.

March 30, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.” –John 10:18.

We are a step away from Resurrection Sunday, the most glorious, life-affirming miracle this world has ever witnessed. And yes, there were witnesses to Jesus’s Resurrection. God’s Inerrant Word assures us of this. Some would keep silent about all they’d seen and heard early that Sunday morning. While others would run and share the news of that dizzying, inscrutable miracle with their brothers. So, let’s identify the witnesses; first, those who chose silence—the guards. Right before their eyes, God’s angel descended from heaven like lightning and rolled away the stone used to seal Jesus inside the tomb they’d been charged to guard. “And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.” –Matthew 28:2

Were these a cohort of Jewish, Temple Guards, Roman soldiers, or both? After reading the Gospel accounts and commentary, I agree that both were present at Jesus’ tomb. “The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” –Matthew 27:62–66.

After witnessing that awe-inspiring, improbable occurrence, they ran back, not to Pilate, but straight to the chief priest, informing him of all they’d seen firsthand. And, it was the chief priest and elders who schemed, covered for, encouraged them to lie, and ultimately paid them off for their silence. “…some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.” –Matthew 28:11-15.

Also, John 18 informs us that the leading priests and Pharisees sent a contingent of Temple Guards and Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. “So Judas, having obtained the Roman cohort and some officers from the high priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.” –John 18:3.

Still, I’ll leave the debate on this topic to far more learned minds. Instead, we’ll turn our attention to the heart of today’s teaching…

To help aid and abet those spurious religious leaders in keeping the Truth about Jesus, His miracles, and now, this most unfathomable, sure fact silent, that Jesus must indeed be the Messiah, some if not all of those soldiers, Jews, Romans or both, who witnessed Jesus Resurrection—chose silence over truth.

They opted to shut up, to hide in plain sight. To be paid off, rather than speak up—a woeful decision ripe with eternal consequence if ever there was one. “But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” –Matthew 10:33.

Then there were the women—the other witnesses:” And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.” –Mark 16:1.

Like the guards, these women were afraid and bewildered by the inconceivable miracle they’d just witnessed. An empty tomb! He’s Risen? An Angel! And yet, unlike the guards, something within these women would not be silenced. An unseen, inexplicable force propelled them ever forward.

Upon finding Jesus’ tomb empty, they ran with abandon to where they knew they’d find their brothers. They couldn’t help but share this paradoxical Truth. “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” —Matthew 28: 5-8.

They chose to run toward, not away from, this undeniable Truth—however inexplicable.

One group of witnesses sided with those who sought and thought they’d succeeded in exacting the last drop of hope the people had that Jesus was, in fact, who He claimed to be.

While the other group ran to boldly proclaim the unexplainable, undeniable Truth that Jesus is who He claimed to be—the Messiah.

He is the One True God who has defeated sin and our final foe, death, and the grave!

So sure, of this Truth were His Disciples—all Twelve Apostles willingly died brutal deaths defending the fact that Jesus is the Christ. ” That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” –1 John 1-4.

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword”. –Hebrews 11:35-37. “The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison.” Matthew 14:9.

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.” –Acts 12:1-3. (Killed by the sword here is understood to mean beheading).

Thousands of years have passed since the dawn of that first miraculous, hope-infused Sunday morning.

Yet one thing has stayed the same: only two groups of witnesses exist.

Those who’ve encountered Jesus and been eternally changed—made new, emboldened—unstoppable witnesses for Christ in the here and now—witnesses who will worship Him for eternity.

Then, there are those like the guards.

Exposed to Jesus’ miracles and power, His Words of Life. Words unlike any they’ve ever heard, drenched in power, Love, forgiveness, hope, and Life. And still, they’ll choose to walk away from what they’ve witnessed unchanged, unphased, and life-less—hiding away in plain sight instead. “This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” –John 3:19.

As I said in my opening, we are a step away—hours really, from Resurrection Sunday.

God’s Inerrant Word has been proclaimed: Jesus Christ has defeated our final enemy, death, and the grave. And on His Cross, just days before, He spoke three final Words that seal the promise of all who believe that Jesus is the Christ—the only way to the Father. “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.

There will only ever be two groups of witnesses.

Those who walk away unchanged, unphased, unbelieving still, and make no mistake, life-less.

Or those who will go forward and tell anyone who will listen about Jesus.

Which will you choose?

Friend, Jesus loves you. I’m praying you’ll accept the promise of New Life He offers this Resurrection Sunday. “I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” –Isaiah 43:25.

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