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Unwavering Faith: Trusting God’s Perfect Timing.

October 5, 2024 /

One of the greatest challenges in our spiritual journey is learning to trust God’s timing. We live in a world that celebrates speed. From instant communication to same-day deliveries, we’ve been conditioned to expect immediate results. Waiting has become something we dread, whether it’s waiting in line at a store or waiting for God to answer our prayers. But here’s the truth: God’s timing is never late. It’s always perfect—and that’s what we need to learn and hold on to as we walk by faith.

Today, let’s explore what it means to trust in God’s timing. How can we grow in patience, surrender, and strengthen our faith when it feels like nothing is moving? And what can we learn from the Bible about how God uses time to shape us and reveal His plans?

1. God’s Timing Is Not Our Timing

In Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us plainly: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God operates on a completely different level than we do.

We often live day-to-day, focused on immediate circumstances, but God sees the complete picture—from the beginning of time to eternity. While we might experience frustration in our current season, God knows exactly what needs to happen and when it needs to happen. What may seem like a delay to us is often God working behind the scenes, orchestrating something greater than we could ever imagine.

Think about the life of Abraham. In Genesis 12:1-3, God called Abraham (then Abram) to leave his home and go to a land He would show him. “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. But here’s the catch: Abraham was already 75 years old. Can you imagine how impossible that must have seemed? Yet, Abraham obeyed and trusted God. As the years passed and no child was born, Abraham’s faith wavered at times, but he continued to believe in God’s promise.

In Genesis 15, Abraham is now in his mid-80s, still without a child. He asks God, “What can you give me since I remain childless?” God reaffirms His promise to Abraham, telling him that his offspring will come from his own body and that his descendants will be as countless as the stars in the sky. Despite the delay, Abraham believed, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Here’s a question: What promises are you holding onto today that seem impossible?

Are you waiting for healing, a financial breakthrough, a restored relationship, or the fulfillment of a dream God placed in your heart? Like Abraham, you might be tempted to doubt. You might wonder if God has forgotten. But just as God was faithful to Abraham, He will be faithful to you. His timing may not be yours, but His promises are sure.

2. Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands

Sometimes, when God’s timing doesn’t match our own, we’re tempted to take matters into our own hands. We think we can speed things up or force outcomes, but this usually leads to more problems than solutions.

In Genesis 16, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, grows tired of waiting. She’s now well past childbearing age, and the promise of a child seems more distant than ever. So, she decides to take control of the situation. She tells Abraham to have a child with her maidservant, Hagar. Abraham agrees, and Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. But this wasn’t part of God’s plan. Ishmael’s birth leads to conflict and tension within the family, and it creates a situation that still impacts the world today.

How many times have we acted out of impatience, thinking we knew better than God?

Maybe we’ve rushed into decisions because we felt like God wasn’t moving fast enough. Perhaps we’ve taken shortcuts in our careers, relationships, or personal lives because we were tired of waiting.

Taking control when we should trust God can lead to regret, unnecessary pain, and lasting consequences. Just as Sarah and Abraham’s impatience led to complications, we, too, experience consequences when we step outside of God’s will.

This is not to say we should sit passively, but there’s a difference between proactive obedience and forcing outcomes God hasn’t ordained.

God is not asking us to figure everything out on our own. He’s asking us to trust Him in the process. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

3. God’s Timing Requires Patience and Faith

Patience is not passive waiting—it’s active trust in God’s faithfulness. In Romans 8:24-25, Paul tells us: “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Waiting on God requires a posture of faith and trust, even when we don’t understand why things aren’t happening on our timeline. Patience isn’t easy, especially when facing difficult situations or seeing others around us receive the answers we’ve been praying for. But faith teaches us to trust God, knowing His timing is perfect.

In fact, patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” –Galatians 5:22-23.

It’s a characteristic that God develops in us as we grow in maturity. Patience is not something we can manufacture on our own; it comes from a deep place of trust in God’s goodness. The more we learn to rely on Him, the more we can wait with hope and expectation.

James 1:2-4 encourages us to “consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

God uses seasons of waiting to refine us, to develop our character, and to draw us closer to Him.

The delays we experience are not wasted time; they are growth opportunities. We may not see what God is doing behind the scenes, but we can trust that He is working all things for our good. We need to remind ourselves of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

4. God’s Timing Brings Glory to His Name

Another key aspect of trusting God’s timing is recognizing that He often uses delays to set the stage for a greater demonstration of His power and glory.

Look at the story of Lazarus in John 11. Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus, falls gravely ill. His sisters, Mary, and Martha, send word to Jesus, expecting Him to come immediately to heal their brother. But what does Jesus do? He waits. By the time He arrives, Lazarus has already been dead for four days. Mary and Martha are heartbroken, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” –John 11:21.

What they didn’t realize was that Jesus had a greater miracle in store.

 Instead of simply healing Lazarus, Jesus calls him out of the tomb, raising him from the dead. This miracle was far more significant than a simple healing—it displayed Jesus’ power over life and death. Sometimes, God delays things because He is preparing to do something far greater than we could imagine. His timing not only fulfills His promises but also reveals His glory. What may seem like a setback is often a setup for a greater miracle that will point others to the power of God.

When God comes through in ways that defy human logic, it’s a testimony to His greatness.

It shows that His ways are higher than ours and that His power is limitless.

5. Surrendering to God’s Perfect Timing

Finally, trusting God’s timing requires surrender. Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” We often have our own timelines and expectations, but we must recognize that God’s plan is always better.

Surrendering doesn’t mean giving up on what we’re believing for—it means trusting that God knows best and that He is in control. It means letting go of our need to control every detail and allowing God to lead the way.

We can have control, or we can have peace, but we can’t have both.

Peace comes when we relinquish control to our Sovereign God. As we surrender our desires, plans, and timelines to God, we can experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Surrendering to God’s timing frees us from anxiety. It allows us to live in the present, trusting that God is working for our good.

We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

Conclusion: Trust, Wait, Surrender

So, where does this leave us? It leaves us in a place of trust, waiting, and surrender.

We trust that God’s timing is perfect, even when it doesn’t make sense to us. We wait with patience and faith, knowing that He is working all things for our good.

We surrender our plans and our need for control.

When we align our hearts with His will, we find strength and courage, as Isaiah 40:31 reminds us: “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

“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.

Have You Set Your Face?

August 31, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” –Hebrews 12:2.

It’s not that Jesus wasn’t aware of or chose to ignore whatever adversity or circumstance in which He found Himself—He is, after all, Omniscient. It’s more that, unlike Peter, Jesus emphatically refused to be distracted by waves of tumultuous feelings or the oft-roaring winds of adversity and descent that swirled about Him, doing their best to deter Him from His sole mission—doing His Father’s will.

Speaking prophetically in his third Servant Song, Isaiah describes the Source of Messiah’s determination and His purpose this way: “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” –Isaiah 50:7.

And in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 9, verse 51, we hear  Isaiah’s words echoed this way: “Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up [to heaven], He was determined to go to Jerusalem [to fulfill His purpose].”

No amount of pushback or rejection, no personal loss or tragedy, no hunger, homelessness, opposition, nor any amount of physical or emotional pain, no betrayal at the hands of those He loved, would ever deter Jesus from ushering in the Father’s purpose for His coming: A New Covenant—making way for us to return to the Father. “Now as they were eating Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the [new and better] covenant, which [ratifies the agreement and] is being poured out for many [as a] substitutionary atonement] for the forgiveness of sins. –Matthew 26:26-28.

No temptation in or of this world did or will ever be strong enough to lure Jesus’s focus away from fulfilling the Father’s will. Remember, beloved. Christ will come again to rule and reign over His world. “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

From the beginning, God’s focus has been singular in its intent—to receive glory from—and have a loving, intimate relationship with—His children. “Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” –Revelation 4:9-11.

To fulfill this plan conceived between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternity past, Jesus took on flesh, becoming fully human while remaining fully God. So that, when He had finished the work, the Father had given Him, He would return to His rightful place of honor at the Father’s right hand. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” –Hebrews 14:14-15.

Beloved, we have a high priest then—a heavenly Intercessor who fully understands all of what it is like to be human and yet, being fully God, is able to show us that through Him and by Him, we can be washed clean of our sin if we agree to clothe ourselves with the Holy, Blood-stained garments of Jesus’ Sinless Righteousness. “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” –Isaiah 61:10.

From His birth to His death and resurrection, because of the joy set before Him, the hope that you, friend, would one day say yes to His unfathomable gift of salvation, Jesus remained tunnel vision-focused on fulfilling His singular, yet multifaceted task: “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” –John 6:38.

What have you set before you, beloved?

 What are you laser-focused on, friend?

Like Jesus, are you determined to do the will of your Father?

Or, as Jesus pointed out to His friend, Peter, have you allowed the raging storms around you to draw your attention away from Him, His plan for your life, losing heart? “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” –Matthew 14:30-31.

Wars and rumors of wars, nation fighting against nation, and people group against people group. Perhaps it’s your siding with this political party or that one that’s distracting you? Is the rising food, gas, and cost of everything why you’ve lost focus?

Friends, I’m here to remind us:  We “get to” choose what we set before us.

I encourage you, then, to make wise use of your choice. To set righteous living before you—living to please God. To choose Jesus, living with a flint-like, sold-out faith, hope, and belief that Jesus is the only Way to the Father, letting nothing in this world distract you from hearing Jesus say to you, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'” –Matthew 25:23.

Friends, the Father allowed Jesus a set time to accomplish His will. He’s allowed you a set time as well. Be a good steward of the time God has entrusted you and His plan for your life. Not sure what that is? Your finding out begins with you saying yes to Jesus—having a relationship with Him and saying yes to God’s will for your life. Then, set your face to follow Him wherever He made lead you. God is faithful. Trust Him to give you the grace and strength you need to fulfill His will. “He gives power to the faint, and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength.” –Isaiah 40:29.

Fading Light

August 17, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.” –John 12:35-36.

If we are paying attention, we’ve noticed it’s getting darker earlier than when the first light of summer stretched wide its arms, pushing back the cover of night ever so slightly at first. Then, widening its reach, it gradually offered us all an unkeepable promise: more time, and as humans do, we want that: more time. In our flesh, we long for the stretched-out days and longer nights of a never-ending summer. But beloved, if we are paying attention, then that check in our spirit, that something deep within us knows that it knows summer’s promise is deceptive—because the Light is in fact, fading.

As it is in the heavenly realm, so too on the earth.

At the same time, while there is Light, we must not allow ourselves to be lulled into the false promise of a never-ending summer—lazy days of all play and laughter. Instead, we must work and all the more while it is day. We must put our hands to the plow with a fresh grip and a new determination. We must consciously live holy and pleasing lives, faithfully doing the work God gave us, created us to do before the foundation of the world.

We must consecrate ourselves anew to Jesus while it is still day, beloved of God. Working with renewed diligence, knowing: “the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but it is restrained] only until he who now restrains it is taken out of the way.” –2 Thessalonians 2:7.

A lot of “musts,” I know. Still, we must—because the Light is fading. A mystery as wholly unknowable in totality as God Himself, yet equally real.

God uses His creation to speak to us, pointing us toward more profound Truth—facets of Himself, revealing slivers of His “It Is Finished” plan. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse–Romans 1:20.

As Christians, we get to watch God’s Word unfold before our very eyes: a Living message of hope and comfort pointing us toward our eternal reward. The Light of Christ and the radiance of God’s Glory. “But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word.” –Hebrews 1:2-3.

We are privy to God’s master plan—if we’ve chosen to open and study it—allowed it to lead and guide us as God intended. Our Creator ensured we would be prepared for all that would come—more, He ensured we’d have a survival guide that would help us navigate the fading of the Light and a sure promise that we would and will overcome darkness by placing His Spirit in us as our Guide. “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].” –John 16:13.

Friends, as the light God blesses us with recedes and the seasons change in obedience to their Creator, let’s follow their example of gracefully surrendering that which we were never meant to hang on to—created things. Things like the fading light of summer. Instead, as instructed, let us look to the City that will not need created light because the Uncreated, Self-Existent God Himself will be its eternal Light, forever banishing this current darkness. “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the glory (splendor, radiance) of God has illumined it, and the Lamb is its lamp and light.” –Revelation 21:23.

Beloved, the world is getting darker and darker indeed, but fear not!

As we understand it, God has had a plan from before time. Every second, every event in time—across time, mysteriously interwoven into a glorious, majestic, Royal fabric far too tremendous and vast for our simple and finite minds to take in. His name? Jesus, Light of The World. Listen as the Prophet Isaiah shares with us a sliver of God’s plan. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14.

Immanuel: God with us.

God so wanted us to be with Him that He sent His only Son, Jesus, The Light of the world, into this world so that by Him, through Him—through a relationship with Him, we might one day soon and very soon once again behold the glory of God our Father with unveiled faces.

Summer has made us an unkeepable promise, friend, but not God.

Don’t mourn the passing of summer’s temporary light. Instead, as Jesus instructs us in today’s Scripture, run to, seize, grab hold of Him with both hands—while it’s still day.

Every man must choose for himself. Choose, then, to live in True Light.

Scripture assures us our ability to do this will end suddenly one day. So, I encourage you to—pray, that you will embrace, welcome, and drink in the Light of Life while He may be found.

Summer lasts for a season. Your life is eternal. Where you’ll spend it, in darkness or Light, is before you today. The choice is yours, friend. Choose the unfading Light. “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:8-10.

Who Is Worthy?

August 10, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. This is what I command you: Love one another.” – John 15:16-17.

I am so blessed to be back with you, my Sonsofthesea family! I truly have missed doing what our Lord has called me to do and connecting with all of you. God is very merciful and, like a good father, will chasten those He loves. We serve a God that will never leave you in a pit of doubt, loneliness, and depression. So, I need to be very transparent with you, brothers and sisters; I have been wrestling with the above in my heart these past few weeks away.

These very thorns in my flesh were slowly digging into my heart.

I felt that I was drowning in a sea of self-pity. Jealousy and strife were not only in my heart; they were taking root. These horrible works of the flesh were becoming manifest. Then, one day, as I was feeling sorry for myself, the Holy Spirit directed me to this Scripture, a checklist of my heart. The apostle Paul writes to the church in Galatia:

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds,  strife,  jealousy,  outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar,  I tell you about these things in advance-as I told you before- that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” –Galatians 6:19-21

My heart sank as I read this, and I felt sick to my stomach.

As a Christian, having just one of these sinful works of the flesh at work in you is terrible, but I could check off at least seven of these sins in my spirit. I fell on my face with tears, “Lord, how can I worship You when I am such a mess right now? How could You ever see anything in me? How am I worthy to be called you child?”

As I write this, the question returns: who is worthy?

What human is worthy to be in the presence of the Holy and Righteous Sovereign God?

After reading those verses in Galatians 6, I thank God that scales fell from my eyes, and I saw no way any Christian could, I could, boldly stand in God’s presence with all of that junk in our hearts. No man can receive the Kingdom of God in such sinful flesh. They must be born again. They need the Spirit of the living God. Jesus makes this clear in John 3:3, “I assure you; unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

My brothers and sisters, we all need Jesus!

Please hear me, friends: if you think the enemy won’t fire his fiery arrows at you or that the dark night of the soul that overtook me could never overtake you, then you are truly letting your guard down. I once said the very same thing: “My eyes are always on Jesus. That won’t happen to me.” I’d forgotten the Truth I so love. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” –Proverbs 16:18.

Friends, as long as we live in these earthly vessels, we are prime targets for Satan’s attacks.

In 1 Peter 5:8-9, the apostle Peter warns us of this: “Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary The devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.”

Are we worthy to receive the forgiveness of God?

Humanly speaking, the answer is no if we look at it through the lens of the flesh or human ability.

We are not worthy to receive anything from a Holy and Pure God. Jesus alone is worthy! “The Lord is great and worthy of our praise; no one can understand how great he is.” –Psalm 145:3.

By nature, humans are selfish and self-centered.

We are always thinking about getting ahead or getting that next best thing, keeping up with the worldly standards of “success.” Such striving causes us to walk in fear and doubt, asking ourselves what the next day will bring before the day ever comes. Yet God still proves Himself to be a loving Father! “But God proves His love for using that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” –Romans 5:8.

God will never stop loving us, loving you, brothers and sisters. He cannot. God is Love. 1 John 4:16 reminds us of this. “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” He wants a relationship even with His most stubborn creations, you and me. “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” –1 John 4:10.

In today’s verse, Jesus reminds us: “you did not choose Me, but I chose you.”

 Let that sink in for a moment. God chose you—in your imperfections, in your anxiety, in your mess.

But, Jesus also tells us to repent our sins and believe He is God’s Son.

We’re able to stand righteous before God only by Jesus’ finished work—His life, death, and resurrection.

It wasn’t Matthew Botelho who solved his mess. If anything, I was making things worse for myself and my family. Not to mention all those who stood beside me during this challenging time. Only the love of the Father set this servant free from all that bitterness and selfishness. And though I am not worthy of such forgiveness, Jesus said, “For God loved the world in this way; He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16.

I am an “everyone” who believes. I have been set free by the One who sets His children “free indeed!”

Brothers and sisters, If you are going through a trying season, please know you are not going through it alone. We at Sonsofthesea are praying for all of you. We all walk through the desert at some time or another, that dry place where our enemy can take us out if we’re not careful. But with Jesus beside you every step of the way, you will leave your valley., just as I did.

And friend, if you are reading this and you feel the pull of the Holy Spirit moving you closer to God, follow His leading. Do not harden your heart, but allow the Presence of God to saturate every part of you. Repent and believe that Jesus washed away your sins with His precious Blood. Ask Him into heart and life as Lord of all. Amen. “As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” –Hebrews 3:15.

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.

Everlasting To Everlasting.

June 22, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” –Psalm 2:12.

From Genesis to Revelation, one single, tenable thread establishes and unites Truth. God is Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end. He is Triune and Co-Eternal. As He was in the beginning, He will be in the end. It’s this very constancy—this “sure foundation” upon which every Blood-bought believer, starting with Moses and reaching to you and me, then locking fist and faith with that final believer, has anchored our faith. As Scripture makes plain, all else is shifting sand. “And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.” –Matthew 7:26-27.

Truth is Living. Immutable. Inerrant—contrary to the many jockeying voices who clamor otherwise.

“In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.” –Colossians 2:3-4.

But more to my point, Truth is a Person:

 “Who is Truth?”  

Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. “In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God.” –John1:1-2. Firmly establishing this Cornerstone of Christ as God’s Living Truth is paramount so that all else built atop it is sure, lasting—able to bear weight.

Jesus is God’s Living Word.

And so, I’ll lay the beginning and end of Truth side by side, exposing us to its whole counsel.

First, from the Old Testament, is Moses, who, under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, says this of Truth: “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” –Deuteronomy 32:4. From the New Testament, Truth Himself speaks: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6.

Go back and trace the Scripture references within this teaching, and you’ll notice a consistent interlacing theme—the Words: He, Father, Son, Mine, I, etc. As we will soon see, the “Person” they point to is our Linchpin, our Bridge, The Truth, Jesus. “I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30.

Jesus is Eternity Past and Eternity Future, being perfectly One with the Father, spanning time as we understand it. God simultaneously birthed and fulfilled His plan and purpose for creation through Jesus. And Jesus accomplished God’s purpose through obedience and Love for the Father. In Jesus, everything is held together: every jot and tittle of Scripture, you, me, the cosmos, every molecule of our world. “And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]” –Colossians 1:17.

We witness Jesus, the Eternal Presence, foreshadowed in Eden—when sinless, innocent blood was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin and guilt. Yet let’s remember, Jesus has always existed, and so, through Scripture, we also witness Him Pre-Garden as The Lamb.

God’s Sinless Sacrifice—prepared before God’s the foundation of the world. Waiting. Willing. “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.

Before Christ’s Perfect sacrifice was a time when, over and over again, the blood of bulls, sheep, lambs, and rams were sacrificed, their lifeblood spilled on alters—blood is the substance God required to rid man of his sins. “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. Blood, smeared on door posts and lintels that death might pass over those who, by faith alone in God alone, Trusted Him—another foreshadowing.

Those who ate their meals in haste behind those bloody doors knew God, but not the name of His slain Lamb—not yet.

Moses, Abraham, Noah, Joseph, and David worshiped God and served Him. Leaving behind their old way of life to follow “YHWH.”   They’d heard His Voice and came to know Him via His Spirit and Word. These men believed God to be far Greater than themselves—eclipsing all other gods they had worshipped before Him—out of custom and ignorance.

From eternity past, the Father’s plan centered around Jesus:From Genesis to Revelation, we witness this Truth repeatedly: Jesus’ eventual substitutionary death on the Cross, His defeat of sin, death, and the grave.

Even in the nascent Church, this Truth became so firmly entrenched in the hearts of Jesus’s disciples that men freely gave their lives for Him. “But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family].” –Galatians 4:4-6.

Later, as the Church grew, through the only Scriptures they knew, New Testament writers would heavily pepper the Word with Old Testament references to Christ. The birth, life, ministry, miracles, and mentions or inferences of Jesus’ Lordship, His Blood, death, and future reign all reference the will and work of God’s Holy Spirit; God’s Word is one single, seamless Truth.

Some scholars say these Old Testament references constitute as much as 33% of the New Testament. Said differently, roughly 2606 Old Testament Scriptures are directly quoted or referenced within the New Testament, every one pointing toward Jesus. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” –Romans 15:4. This hope is part of God’s plan for all of His children—all those chosen in Christ, for Christ, before the foundation of the world. “For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.” –Galatians 3:26.

Though none from the Old Testament had heard the name Jesus—they knew God—believed in God.

And because of such faith—His Blood, the Blood of Jesus, God incarnate, The Father’s Perfect, Sinless Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world, washed them clean, saving them. “Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” –Mark 12: 26-27.

We have looped full circle, ending where we began: with Jesus, our Co-Eternal, Triune God; The Father’s Spotless Lamb, whose All-Powerful Blood is far-reaching enough to simultaneously save Moses, Abraham, Isacc, Jacob, me, and you, if you’ll invite Him into your life as Lord of all. Trusting, as did Abraham before you, as I and every other believer on the planet have, that Jesus is who He claims to be—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.

Friend, before the foundation of the world, Jesus knew you.

And if you say yes to Him today, that is evidence you’ve been chosen in Him.

Yet if you reject Him, which, unimaginably, is your God-given right, then Gentle Christ that He is, Jesus will not force Himself nor His forgiveness upon you.

He will honor your choice to reject Him.

But understand this.

From eternity past, that is never God’s choice nor His heart toward any of us—towards you. Your relationship with Jesus is personal. “Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace. And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those in Christ Jesus so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus.” –Ephesians 2:5-7.

Purpose and Faith

June 15, 2024 /

Pastor Maria Braga

Often, we wonder if God is hearing our prayers. We believe in His Word and promises but still wonder if He hears us when challenges present themselves. We begin to tell ourselves things, and we begin to think those things are true. These things often turn into mountains, and we feel overwhelmed and discouraged in our spiritual walk.

Scripture teaches us there was a time when famine struck Canaan, and the patriarch, Jacob (Israel), sent his eleven sons to get food from Egypt. When his sons arrived in Egypt, something unexpected was awaiting them that startled them. Joseph, the brother “they” had sold into slavery many years prior, had now become the second in command in all of Egypt and had been ordained by God to provide food for the brothers who had sold him into slavery years before. These brothers caused Joseph much anguish and pain. You can read Joseph’s complete story in Genesis, Chapters 37-50.

When jealousy caused these brothers to rid themselves of Joseph, they could never have imagined God’s plan for him—and them. The brothers had operated by what they felt and saw, but God was working it all together to fulfill the plan and purpose He had designed for Joseph’s life. As time passed, various Pharaohs came into power and died, and the Israelite people who had once journeyed from the land of Canaan into Egypt also faded into history. Their physical presence had vanished, but not their faith or traditions; they endured as a testament to the everlasting power of their trust in God’s Providence.

Four hundred years passed, and God’s people never heard His voice. God had been silent. There were no prophets, no signs, no direction.

What happened?

Where was God?

This great silence spanned the 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the birth of the New Testament, known biblically as the Four Hundred Years of Silence.

God had promised His people that a Deliverer would come to liberate them, but He didn’t let them know when.

It was a promise to be believed by faith alone!

 After four hundred years of silence, faith thrived still among the people of God, people who had endured severe treatment and abuse under different Pharaohs, including the Pharaoh then in power—a Pharoh who was insecure and weak. He was fearful that God’s people were too great and had become more numerous than the Egyptians.

One couple, Amram and Jochebed, married and were about to have a child during Israel’s dark days. “Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.” –Exodus 2:1-2. The king of Egypt issued a decree that every baby boy born to a Hebrew woman was to be killed. You can read this tragic account in Exodus, Chapters 1-2. Imagine being pregnant in those days! Jochebed’s faith inspires us still, primarily because she handled her pregnancy and her child’s birth with such faith! She knew the son she’d given birth to was exceptional, anointed by God to do a particular work. By faith, scripture tells Jochebed weaved a basket, insulated it with papyrus grass, covered it in tar, and sent it down the Nile River. “When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.” –Exodus 2:3.

Phew. Now what?

What great courage! As a mom, she must have had a million “terrifying thoughts” and “what ifs” running through her mind. She must have been horrified! But Jochebed had faith in God!

Jochebed’s story is one of grace and faith! Of how she trusted in the One she knew held the plan for her life and her sons! “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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” –Jer 29:11-12.

How long have you been in your challenge?

Sometimes, not even a month into the challenge, we start wondering, murmuring, and complaining.

There is a Scripture that many believers quote: “Be still and know that I AM God” –Psalm 46:10.

However, often, when push comes to shove, our minds stray, and, as many of God’s people did in those dark days of Israel, we begin to wonder what is happening to us and we say things like:

Was it really God’s promise?

Do I deserve God’s grace?

I am not good enough, etc.

We must be aware and hold tight to the fact, the Truth. God’s time and promises are perfect.

God often waits to fulfill His plan for our lives until we are ready because He has appointed and written its time according to His plan. God does not align with our plans. We must align with His. Like Jochebed, we need faith to deliver whatever promise God has put inside of us.

But it is the Lord who destines, the Lord who brings to pass, and the Lord alone who gets the glory in the end.

Even though four hundred years of God having been silent had gone before them, this couple still held tight to their faith in their God. Jochebed went through intense hardship, as did her husband. They had to hide their baby; they could lose their lives for not obeying the king, but they chose instead to obey God and hold onto the promise.

They believed God was on their side and He would somehow bring victory to this situation. They believed God was still in control. They had a promise, they held onto the promise, and they trusted the God who made the promise.

Do you know your promise? How do you hold onto your promise without wavering?

In Jochebed’s case, God used a heathen princess, a woman with a mother’s instinct, to nurture, care, and love Jochebed’s baby as only a mother can. God precisely positioned Pharaoh’s daughter at the right place at the right time to find Moses’ basket floating in the river; Miriam, Moses’ sister, was also at the right place at the right time. “Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.” –Exodus 2:3-6.

This Egyptian princess, now stepmom, pays the biological mother to nurture her baby. “Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.” –Exodus 2:7-9.

How awesome is our God!

When we choose to be still, know that He is God, and partner with His plan, God works out every detail.

We must have the kind of faith Jochebed had:

A) A FAITH THAT STANDS TRIALS

B) A FAITH THAT HAS A STRONG FOUNDATION

C) A FAITH THAT MUST BE EXERCISED AND GROW

D) A FAITH THAT GOD RESPONDS TO

E) A FAITH THAT GOD REWARDS

When it gets hard, don’t give up! Stand the trial. Stand on Christ’s foundation. Read God’s Word, serve in your local church, and have a community of believers to help you grow, a community that will encourage you in times of trouble—brothers and sisters who remind you that God answers prayers. And that God will bring your reward at the right time, His time.

Father, in the name of Jesus, Increase our faith in you. Bring us deeper and closer to you. Give us unwavering faith. A faith that stands the test of time and connects us to you so that we will not look to the left or the right. A faith that leads us to the well that is deeper than us. We love You and thank You for the gifts of faith and grace, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” –1 John 4:9. If you have not asked Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, follow the faithful example of Jochebed today and do it now.

Repent! The King Is Coming.

June 8, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will—.” –Ephesians 1:4-5.

Sporadically, over the past months, my team and I have shared teachings focusing on sin, sinning, and our need to repent. I believe God’s Holy Spirit birthed each of these teachings to remind us all of the effects and repercussions of sin and our need to repent daily. All to lead us to Truth—The Truth—His name, Jesus. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6.

So today, to bring these peppered teachings on sin full circle, to offer hope, and to prayerfully guide those whom Jesus is calling to follow Him into the fullness of Truth, where God’s Love and plan for such a Love has always existed—in Jesus. Through Scripture, we’ll witness that somewhere in the “eternal past,” God knew you; equally, He created you to fit purposefully and uniquely into the grand tapestry of His eternal plan.

God’s Inerrant Word speaks of the time “before the foundation of the world.” When all that existed—was Yahweh: “The Uncreated, Self-Existent One.”

That place where you, me, and everything in the seen and unseen worlds began. In God.

As finite beings, we recognize the abovementioned time as the eternal past or time everlasting. “Before the mountains were born Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.” –Psalm 90:2.

Notice that this Old Testament Scripture says of God, “You are,” present tense. Yet it also gives evidence of God’s eternal existence with its; “Before You had given birth to the earth and the world…”  

And in Revelation 1:8, God says of Himself. “I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].”

Brothers and sisters, I took pains to lay a sure foundation for God’s irrefutable, eternal existence for the primary reason of re-minding and confirming for you that you were indeed chosen in Jesus. Sealed untouchable in Christ—who is God and was with God before the foundation of the world; your eternal destiny secured in Jesus—for Jesus, in the everlasting past.

You are chosen, set apart, sealed in Christ, unlike those creations God foreknew and gave the same opportunity to grab hold of, cherish, and accept His free Gift of Love, yet they rejected Him.

And so you are not that one, friend, one who will reject Jesus; I’ll pause here a moment to remind you that the Author of Life, Christ Jesus, is extending His Hand of forgiveness and Life to you.

Continuing, listen to how the Apostle Paul explains our being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. “For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.” –Romans 8:29.

Scripture is clear, friend: there is no middle ground to stand safely upon. Either we’re all in, or we’re out. Unimaginably, God Himself has afforded us this unfathomable freedom of choice. Now, it’s up to us to choose wisely because God has made His choice clear: we choose Him, surrendering our will freely in exchange for His. “And just as Moses in the desert lifted up the brass replica of a venomous snake on a pole for all the people to see and be healed,  so the Son of Man is ready to be lifted up, so that those who truly believe in him will not perish but be given eternal life. 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 3:14-16.

Yet God is patient, knowing the hearts of each of His creations.

Perhaps, to build our faith in Him,  Jesus allows us to believe that He has forgotten us for a time—that He doesn’t see our great need for His strength and intervention to come swiftly and pull us out from the thick mire we’ve been wallowing in for so long that we’ve made our mess our home. Falsely believing there is nothing more for us than the crippling consequences of our sinful choices. “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

Friend, the enemy of your soul, would like nothing more than for you to falsely believe that where you find yourself now is as good as it gets.

Please, don’t fall for his lies!

You were not created for sin; to live in sin. You, dear friend, were lovingly and purposefully created in the Image and Likeness of God—for God—to be loved and protected, cherished by God as a precious child of God. Scripture makes clear: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”  

This Scripture alone demonstrates the Truth of Jesus’ Words shared with His doubters—those supposed wisest men of their time who stood poised to kill Him for making the assertion “I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30.

By Jesus saying this, these Jewish priests and scholars understood just enough to realize Jesus was claiming to be God—and they could not abide by what they assumed was a blasphemous claim. So, in hardening their hearts, these so-called wise men rejected Jesus—and sought to kill Him and anyone or anything associated with Him.

Sadly, not much has changed since then. “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” –John 10:33.

Jesus’ heart for His chosen people is Love.

In the eternal past I’ve spoken of today, the fullness of the Father’s love was continually poured out on His Son—Righteous, Holy, and Pure. According to God’s Inerrant Word, He is The Lamb slain before the foundation 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.

This verse not only testifies to the Truth of God’s plan to save mankind somewhere in eternity past, before Adam and Eve or God’s earth were ever created, but equally, it makes clear God foreknew those who would reject His offer: His free Gift of salvation: His only Son’s Life given in exchange for theirs.

My prayer for you, for us all, today is this: that you are not like those who, being wise according to the world’s standards, become so like those so-called wise men before you that you reject Jesus, Savior of the world, to your eternal peril.

Although no sin is acceptable before our Holy God, Jesus Himself assures us there is one unpardonable sin—rejecting God’s Holy Spirit.

And since His Holy Spirit is God, those who reject Him reject the Triune God Himself. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” –Matthew 12:30-32.

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Jesus proclaimed it. As did John the Baptist. And though not popular nor feel-good, now, concerning the deadly wages of sin, in obedience to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit, so too have me and my team. Friends, Jesus loves you. He is patiently waiting for you to accept His Love and forgiveness. If you haven’t done this, what are you waiting for? “Heaven’s kingdom is about to appear—so you’d better keep turning away from evil and turn back to God!”–Matthew 3:2.

Dear God (A Letter of Thanksgiving.)

June 1, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” –Psalm 34:1-3.

Dear God,

 I must boast in You!

I thank You because I would not be where I am today without You. You have blessed me beyond measure; I have more than enough. You have done it all, and You alone are worthy of all my praise. You have blessed my marriage and my family. You have brought me to a place of plenty, and we grow richly in You. My family humbles itself under Your Mighty hand. When I was at my lowest, You were there and loved Me. You saw me in my blindness and removed the scales from my eyes. I was a mess, wallowing in the pit of my sin, but You reached down and grabbed me, pulling me out.

I was a lost sheep who had strayed, You left the others to rescue me. You said, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find more it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”-Matthew 18:12-14

Jesus, You did not leave me desperate in my sin but forgave me.

I am reminded of Your prophet Isaiah. What You spoke through him regarding Judah’s wickedness, saying, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” –Isaiah 1:18.

As Your people once worshipped idols, so did I. Praise was kept only for me. I sought the approval of man, yet You loved me anyway. I am washed clean by Your Blood, Jesus; I can walk holy and set apart because You are holy.

In 1 Peter 1:13-16, You said: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but He who called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Your patience with humanity speaks volumes of Your love for us.

You know what’s in our hearts before we do. We are wicked when left unchecked by You, and yet Your eyes do not miss a thing. Proverbs 15:3 reminds us: “The eyes of the Lord are every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

 I asked You: “Why do you keep us around, God? Truthfully, we are often self-centred, prideful, ignorant, spoiled children. Yet, John 3:16-17 answered my question: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Your Words are the keys to setting us free from the darkness of this world.

Lord Jesus, help us burn brighter as the days get darker. Remind us that victory has already come for those who call You Lord and that death no longer holds us captive.

Jesus, thank you for remembering me in my times of distress.

You have promised that You would never leave nor forsake me. You have never failed me, Lord. You do what you say You will do, exactly, and accomplish what You set out to do, precisely. May my praise always be for You alone, my Lord Jesus. Amen.

Friends, there are times when we must stop and simply thank God for everything He has done—just as David once did. David took time to thank God for His Sovereignty and His protection. So today, be reminded to go before the Throne of God with a humble heart, seeking only His Presence. As His child, remember, you can enter boldly into His Throne room of grace, filled with awe at how genuinely Magnificent your God is. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne room of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” –Hebrews 4:14-16 

We have received our salvation through Jesus alone. The Blood of our Lord, Jesus, has washed our sins away, and we are free!

Jesus lived a sinless life yet died a sinner’s death. He did this for you, me, and for everyone in every generation after us who will believe that Jesus is the Son of God! That the Word became flesh and walked this earth. Having done this, Jesus can sympathize with us. He alone is God, able to save humanity from its sin. Having come in the flesh, Jesus knew what it felt like to be a living, breathing man. Still, Jesus also understood the heart and will of His Father because, throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus never lost Oneness with His Father. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” –John 5:19-20.

Maybe you can see yourself and how you feel about Jesus in this letter.

We all come from diverse backgrounds, and our testimonies will be different. But what unites us, what we share, is this: we each have had an encounter with Jesus—if we are His, that moment when we came to the “end of ourselves.”  Amen?

How can we honestly look back at our past lives and not say, “How did I make it this far? How is it that I am still alive?” Because many of us can say, “I shouldn’t still be here because…” 

Our answer: But God!

Whatever the addiction or mindset was, in His Mercy, Jesus set you free, my brothers and sisters. It wasn’t by your own understanding or anything you did or could have done; your freedom came solely by the Spirit of Almighty God. He alone brought you through it. “Where can I go from Your spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold You are there; If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your right hand shall hold me.” –Psalm 139:7-10.

Friends, today, I hope you’ll praise the Lord Jesus. Worship Him with all that is in you; He is worthy of your praise. Get undignified! Dance around! Sing a new song to Jesus!

If you are reading this for the first time and want to know Jesus, experience this freedom and joy, then ask Jesus to come into your heart. Repent of your sins, be washed by Jesus’ Precious Blood, and receive His free gift of salvation. Friend, Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” -John 14:23.

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