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The Best Thing?

October 31, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” –John 16:7.

It is beyond most of us to understand fully why God would ask us to give something up. Especially when we don’t understand the reason why. When we don’t see the benefit or purpose in letting it go—of taking our hands off that—relationship, beloved friend, that job or home, city, or state we love. Deeper still, in being asked to give up some part of ourselves—a child or spouse, a beloved mentor, some long-standing belief, things we’ve come to love, rely upon, trust in, or appreciate about ourselves or others. Now, if you have any knowledge of who God is, His character, you may have already picked up on what is amiss with some of what I’ve just said? Go ahead, go back and reread it. Did you catch it? The “things we have come to love, rely upon, trust in, appreciate about ourselves or others” part?

Allow me to clarify.

In no way am I saying that we should not love people—that would be a deliberate contradiction to the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” –Matthew 22:37-40.

Neither am I saying that we should not enjoy our professions or homes, those relationships we have been blessed with, invested our love, time, and care into. Rather, what I am saying is this: Nothing, no thing, no one, must ever take primacy over God. Ever. Not even the best of things—the greatest of His gifts. Not our spouses, not our children or parents, job, or ministry, not where we live nor any-thing we have been allowed to have or use. Truth be told, most of us are still learning how to apply this Truth to our lives—I know I am. I’m much better at holding on than I am at letting go. And because of this, I am so very thankful that God is patient and merciful with me. He knows the weakness of my frame yet loves me still. I am thankful that He lends me His strength for the heavy lifting!

As I read and studied in preparation for this teaching, it became even more clear to me that we must be willing to continually position our hearts before God. Making room for, readying ourselves, for the ongoing refinement that takes place within them. Allowing all, any of those things that sully us still, to be removed, put away—that we might reflect more purely the One that has called us to Himself. After all, isn’t that a great part of the “why” God allows things to be taken? To refine us. I believe we are being asked to say yes to God, now, more than ever—before we even know or understand just what it is we are saying yes to. Out of love for Him—our deep-seated, abiding need for Him—in trust, we must say yes. Out of a profound desire to rid ourselves, our lives, of anything and anyone that we know God is putting His finger on, saying: Trust me on this, this person, this ministry, this home, job, relationship, this thought process, heart posture, this way your living, this expression, belief or ideal has outgrown its season—you must let go of it now. Left unattended, it will become a distraction that will blind you to where God is leading you next—and, possibly, to who. More, it is rebellion against God. It is saying you know better than He what’s best for you. “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” –Isaiah 45:9.

On our journey with the Lord, we must come to understand those things given to us by God must remain fluid in our hands. Seldom, outside of Christ Himself and the sure promises found in Him are His greatest gifts ever unchanging. This lesson, in part, is what Jesus was imparting to His disciples—to us, in today’s scripture.

They had eaten with Him, walked, talked, laughed, and cried with Him—slept by the fire beside Him. They were fed by His every Word, refreshed in His abiding love and compassion, His mercy. They were emboldened by His justice! They had witnessed miracles in His presence. The dead brought back to life, the blind given their sight, thousands were fed with 5 loaves and 2 small fish. Treacherous storms had been stilled, and the deepest of Truths were revealed with Words spoken so plainly, so frankly, that even the least of them within earshot were able to understand—and marvel. This band of brothers, these disciples, each heard Jesus calling them with such clarity and certainty, that, at His slightest behest, they left everyone and everything behind—and followed Him. Yet now, these few years later, after having done that, after having experienced all that they had by His side, after having become enmeshed with this Jesus in this most indescribable bond of oneness, this deepest mystery of love and loyalty this true “until death we do part” commitment—Jesus says He’s leaving them.

Stop and feel that for a minute before you read on.

Wait, what! Why? Why would you do this to us!! What have we done to deserve this betrayal? No way… No, you simply can’t leave us, not now! NO! NO! You simply can’t go. Not now! Things are just getting started! How will you restore the Kingdom if you leave us now? Why Jesus!

If you’re listening with your heart, you can hear their dazed, gutted cries. I can only imagine the thoughts whipping around in their heads—perhaps even spilling out of their mouths? For anyone who has ever suffered such a soul-crushing loss, who has ever stood in frozen disbelief, in utter powerlessness as you watched the center of your world go away, surely you have some small idea, some slight glimpse into what these men felt after hearing this news fall flat from the very lips of God Himself? These same lips that had smiled at them and called them His friends—His beloved. At that moment they had no idea of the profound love and purpose behind His leaving, His removing Himself from their physical presence—all they knew was this thick, deep grief. They didn’t know Golgotha’s Cross lay just around the bend—the birth of His Church either, they couldn’t get past the fact that He was leaving them. He was taking something they loved away from them.

And it’s no different from us, is it? When we’re told we must let go—give up something or someone—some-place or station in life, our health or husband, wife, or child—our parents or home.

Even after all the time they’d spent with Him, they still had no idea of who it was they had been doing life with these past three-plus years—not really. Truth is, neither do we. The enormity of God is unfathomable. He is so much more, so much bigger, and finer and far more Holy, Righteous, and far-seeing than a mere man can ever take in. Psalm 145:3 says it this way: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” His friends weren’t thinking about the fact that He stood over the dark void—seeing their beginning from their end. Seeing His plan unfolding from its end to its beginning. Knowing what is needed—and what isn’t, each step of the way. In each season and individual life—all at once. For as much as we believe we have come to know Him, there are whole worlds, universes chuck full of these deep mysteries pointing us towards just how much we don’t yet know, can’t know—at least not now, about this God we love. How can a spirit encased in this limited flesh fully take in the unplumed, boundless love of God? One who willingly offered Himself in our place that we might be afforded a way back to Him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” –John 3:16.

We were not created to hang onto anything given us by God, save Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. God takes away what we perceive to be good that we may grow in our dependence in Him, and in the realization that He alone is good. —Barnes. Beloved, nothing. No—thing, no one, must ever take primacy over God. Ever. Not even the best of things—the greatest of His gifts. Won’t you posture your heart today—your very life, that He might refine you? Purify you as precious gold. Won’t you trust in Him when He asks you to return—let go of your understanding of what you think is best, in exchange for more of Him and His will for your life? “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete” –Luke 6: 46-49.

Friend, if you do not know this Jesus who died to ensure that you might be restored into a right relationship with God, then know this. This same God has led you here today that you might know His great love for you and accept the absolute best He has to offer me and you–His Only Son, Jesus. Won’t you accept His best by asking Him into your heart right now as your Lord and Savior? You’re not here by chance…

Necessary Endings.

October 24, 2020 /
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth”

Some may find it odd that God would speak of new beginnings amid His farewell address to His disciples. Why speak to them of some future hello in the middle of His saying goodbye? In part, Scripture points us toward the “new thing” on its way. A return to the upper room and all that would soon be birthed from it was awaiting them—they simply couldn’t see it yet. Be that as it may, Jesus assured them that He would not abandon them, leaving them like some poor orphans. Instead, He’d leave a blessing behind—He’d send the unfathomable gift of His Holy Spirit to them, to encourage, empower, and, to lead them into all Truth. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” –John 14:18. God knows the weakness of our frames, knows just how easily we lose hope—even as we’re standing in His very presence at times, hope may ebbing out of us. Peter understood this better than most the very second, he felt himself sinking. He had taken his eyes off Jesus, looking instead at the swirling, raging sea around him—but I digress. God is always re-directing us towards a new thing. I say re-directing because being the dumb, stubborn sheep we are at times, we stray off course far more often than we ought and must be put right. Pointed, yet again, towards what lay just ahead—just over that next horizon, around that next corner, just beyond our seeing—not behind us or backward mind, lest it’s part of God’s plan for our edification. God is forever speaking to us of new beginnings, new hope for our future—at the Cross, in birthing rooms, gardens and graveyards, or anywhere in-between. Today was no different in that respect. Jesus was about to re-direct His confused and heartbroken friends that they might soon be fully prepared to partner with Him in the birthing of His Church. They’re pain and confusion used as a springboard then, to propel them into this new Way. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” –John 14:16.

Save God, nothing and no one on earth remain with us forever. Life is a million little lessons of letting go —of holding loosely to what God has allowed our hands to touch at all.

Just about everyone loves Spring. We look forward to the promises it holds. Its new-ness. Green buds, life, color, and the scent of the not-so-distant summer teasing the air. Spring is like a fresh coat of paint over last year’s lackluster walls—everything seemingly made new again. We all love the sound of hello, its promise, and the hope that simple little word offers us —goodbyes, not so much. Yet they are necessary at times to make room for what’s about to come. That’s the crux of what Jesus was sharing with His friends concerning their need to experience this necessary ending. We must always remain obedient and open, no matter how painful, to receiving God’s best for our lives, marriages, ministry, careers, friendships, etc.—even when His best is born from some painful ending we wanted no part of. To do otherwise is saying we know what’s best for us—not God—making ourselves gods. And Scripture is clear about what becomes of the one who thinks too highly of himself. “Pride ends in humiliation” –Proverbs 29:23. From Genesis to Revelation, we witness necessary endings—fresh spaces being made for some new plan of Gods to take root in. Every-thing alive is cyclical—bringing with it new life, hope, provision, protection—springing forth from what appears to be dead and gone. Parents die and children are born. A leaf buds and falls to the ground only to return in the next season fresh and new. Joseph’s brothers fully understood this the day they stood before Him. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute…” –Genesis 45:8-11.

And Ruth may never have fully taken in the plan behind all the necessary endings she had endured while in Moab, the loss of her husband and friends, her childlessness, and Orpah’s choosing to stay behind—nevertheless, God redeemed every drop of her pain and loss. Though Ruth would have no idea that both King David and King Jesus were future descendants born from her God-ordained union with her kinsman-redeemer Boaz, still, God was faithful to give Ruth beauty for ashes, nevertheless. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!” –Ruth 4:9-10.

It is not for us to always understand the why of God, rather, we’re simply to obey whatever it is He asks of us.

But back to Jesus and His broken-hearted disciples. Jesus had just washed their feet in this same upper room He’d soon send their Comforter to. The same room we witness them partaking in their very first Communion—and their very last Supper—here on earth that is. Flesh and Blood would soon be offered up that night that they may possess Spirit and Truth and wisdom, discernment and revelation, eternal life too—power from on High as well. How else could His Church withstand the barrage of attacks it was and will endure at satans hand? No mere man or group of men, no matter how loyal, could ever defend His Church alone—only the One who has been charged to stand guard over it is able to fully protect it. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way” –2 Thessalonians 2:7.

We each are temporary stalwarts chosen to stand our post for the few brief minutes that is our life. We are chosen makers, gatekeepers who do not leave their post until their relief shows up—and it always shows up, remember, every-thing in life is cyclical. Forty days, the time Jesus spent being tempted and prepared in the desert for His ministry. Forty days after He defied death by walking out of His grave, Jesus said goodbye to His disciples—yet His goodbye was pregnant with hello’s promise. And, soon and very soon, we will reap the joyful reward of this necessary endings “new beginning”—when Jesus returns! It had been ordained for Him to leave the world that He might return to it in such a way that all men will see Him coming on the clouds—and we’ll be with Him, those once broken-hearted disciples of His too!  So, friends, don’t hang on to what God is asking you to let go of. Remember, all life is cyclical, and God has a beautiful plan for the necessary ending He’s allowed to touch your life—even those you wanted no part of.

Friend, if you have yet to meet this Jesus, now is the time—today is the day. We never know when a moment may pass us by, never to return. Please, don’t let this be that moment. Scripture assures you that if you’ll simply and sincerely ask Jesus to come into your life, He will. Won’t you ask Him now? “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” –Romans 10:8-10.

Ever, Green…

October 17, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” –Jeremiah 17:7-8.

Because it is limited in its own essence. No tree has unbounded potentialities; though it live for centuries it will grow itself out, exhaust all its latent force. Not so with the soul. It has unending powers of growth. Because it is limited in its supplies the river at its roots may dry up; the nutriment in its soil it may exhaust. Not so with the soul; its roots strike into the inexhaustible fountain of life. Its leaf shall be green, — ever green. –Joseph S. Excell

To fully take in the rich imagery and deep spiritual inferences Jeremiah places before his readers in verses seven and eight, that ‘ever-fruitful tree planted by the stream’ mentioned above, we must go back and read verses five and six so that we might bear witness to another, this tree’s “ever-green” opposite—the barren, stunted, prickly heath. A dusty, fruitless thing fit only for wastelands and arid places. Side by side now, we can rightly assess them. And, as it with these two exemplars, so too is it with every man; thus a choice lay before us all. One, wholly reliant on God, desperate for want of Him. The other, stiff-necked, and self-reliant, stubborn, and resistant, it turns to anyone but God for sustenance, making gods then, of created things. This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives” –Jeremiah 17:5-6.

The Bible tells us that God “so loved the world He gave us His only Son”—yes, even to these rebellious ones determined to go their own way, no one is excluded. God provides for all His creation. Yet some are willfully barren, while others are joyfully well watered. Some choosing to live in their stiff-necked, empty self-reliance, just as Judah did, the spigot of their hearts rusted over now to God’s will, to His love and tenderest of mercies. They were unwilling, their choice made, they will not receive the Living water needed to thrive and flourish. These simply refuse to join the man who will not live anywhere other than beside this Life-giving stream. Instead, they drink in the fierce, fiery judgment they have brought down upon their own heads, shaking their fist at God all the while, as if they had no part to play in their own calamity. As well might bees try to get honey from a vase of wax flowers as we to draw what we need from creatures, from ourselves, from visible and material things? Where else will you get love that will never fail nor change nor die? Where else will you find an object for the intellect that will yield inexhaustible material of contemplation and delight? Where else infallible direction for the will? Where else shall weakness find unfailing strength, or sorrow adequate consolation, or hope certain fulfillment, or fear a safe hiding place if not in Christ alone, that Living water for our souls. –Alexander Maclaren, D. D.

“They will not see prosperity when it comes.” This ‘heath’ cannot receive, his will, like his heart, sealed shut to those things—those countless blessings that come from the merciful, bountiful, hand of the Lord. His eyes fixed instead on his own abilities and accomplishments, on self, on another’s—any others, input, or assessments of his self-worth. He does not need to acknowledge God for his everyday blessings, he is far too busy chasing after the gods of this world to waste his valuable time. Money, lust, more and stiller, and stiller. Judah was his teacher and he’s become an exemplary student. Hence, determined in his sin and hard-heartedness, he loses out on those blessings God had intended him. “The LORD says, “People of Judah, your sin is written with an iron pen; it is engraved on your hearts with a diamond point and carved on the corners of your altars” –Jeremiah 17:1. He seeks ‘things’ only, never their Creator. He has chosen to go his own way. He is root-less. Disconnected. Parched. Withered and brittle. A tumbleweed of a person tossed first here, then there, never at rest, never satisfied with his lot. This an example of one devoid of connection to the Source of Life-giving Water—the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus describes such a one as being able to do nothing of lasting or eternal value. “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.…” –John 15:4-6.

By comparison, the other “does not fear when heat comes…”  Why? Because he has been blessed to have fostered an everlasting connection to his Living Source. Conversely, the doors of his heart flung open, his entrance swept clean, wide, and welcoming. The teeniest of his root-hairs pining after more and more of this Living water—unquenchable. His very song one of wanting. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” –Psalm 42:1. This one’s everything, each blessing: from his very breath to his undeserved forgiveness he acknowledges having come solely from his Creators loving hand. He is filled with a wave of peace not his own, content to take his rest on this dewy bank he’s been planted on. He seeks no riches for himself, nothing silver or gold might buy; his worth found in God alone, this ever-fecund tree. And so, he sings: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day, their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever” –Psalm 146:1-6.

You, I, the poorest and humblest of men, will never be right, never feel in native soil, with appropriate surroundings, until we have laid our hearts and our hands on the breast of God, and rested ourselves on Him. Not more surely do gills and fins proclaim that the creature that has them is meant to roam through the boundless ocean, nor the anatomy and wings of the bird witness more surely to its destination to soar in the open heavens, than the make of your spirits testify that God, none less or lower, is your portion. –Alexander Maclaren

Friends, Jeremiah’s words assure us of two things: The promises God has made to those that are His: that we need not fear amid the fiercest of circumstances, the most trying, leanest, most arid of times—the depth of our Source cannot be plumbed. We are firmly planted in Him—by Him, our roots running deep and straight into our inexhaustible Source. Therefore, we shall not fear the drought, our leaves will never wither nor grow dry. Our strength found in worshipping our God. We possess this Life-giving Water the world knows nothing of—more, we are wholly possessed by It—by Jesus. Conversely then, you can trust in mere flesh, but you cannot have it both ways. To turn toward something other than the Lord is to turn away from the Lord. We can’t face both directions at the same time. And don’t be fooled dear friend, God will not be mocked! The man who chooses his own way has chosen to be planted in poisonous soil—nothing fecund or prosperous can ever be found in him. His the salty place where the heath grows—those whose shallow roots have difficulty reaching deep enough to drink from the Life-giving water just beyond their reach.

We each must choose. You’ve been made aware now, there’s a difference—God, in His infinite love for you, would not leave you unawares, uninformed, without a witness. Whom will you serve then? God or man? There is no middle ground, friend—no ‘other’ choice. I’m praying you chose wisely. I’m praying you chose the Lord and all that He’s had planned for your life since before the foundation of the world. I’m praying this Word to take deep root in your soul, and that it shoots forth tendrils that will affix you to Him, always.

Friend, if you don’t know this Jesus, I pray you to call out to Him today. Ask Him to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. Here is His promise to you if you will: “The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” –Isaiah 58:11.

The Living Stone and the Chosen People.

October 10, 2020 /
Stephanie Montilla



“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” –1 Peter 2:9.

The header to this passage is titled: “The Living Stone and a Chosen People” and something to single out, purely from fascination, is that the author of this epistle, Peter (Greek) or Cephas (Aramaic), was renamed by Jesus Christ—his name both meaning “stone” or “rock” (John 1:42). Right out the gate, Peter points to his intended audience, to God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout (1 Peter 1). For background and setting, under the governance of Emperor Nero, a great fire broke out in Rome destroying much of the city. The fire’s rage lasted approximately three days destroying homes, many of Rome’s religious elements, and ultimately devastating the Roman culture. Many died and those that survived the fire were left homeless, resentful, and hopeless. Emperor Nero’s scapegoat to blame for the fire were the Christians, who were already hated for their association with Jews, their growing influence, and their hostility towards the Roman culture. As Nero spread the word of this, with the pretext that Christians were the cause of the fire, vicious Christian persecution escalated, causing many to spread throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1). The apostle Peter penned this epistle to his intended audience, suffering Christians, to provide them with spiritual strengthening. Throughout Peter’s letter, he outlines several things.

To scattered, persecuted Christians, Peter exhorts steadfastness in the face of persecution and holy, virtuous conduct before unbelievers. He gives special importance to the body of believers in that they’ve been purified through acceptance of God’s truth and that they are God’s chosen or elect people, a comforting reminder to persecuted Christians. In this letter, Peter is reminding Christians that there is purpose in suffering for righteousness with the knowledge of their future victory and heavenly inheritance. Moreover, perseverance and unremoved joy, amid trials, is what God expects from His people and is the revealer of the genuineness of a believer’s faith. Christians have Jesus Christ as the model for how to respond when the world rejects and persecutes them. Peter’s counsel to the body of Christ then, remains applicable for Christians today and we ought to be refreshed by the revelation of what it means to be “God’s elect” as Peter penned in this opening letter.

It is a wonderful, astonishing revelation to be called God’s special possession, royal, chosen and consecrated for God’s unique purpose(s) – in that we “may declare the praises of our God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light” –1 Peter 2:10. Peter calls out the distinguishing marks of God’s people that separate us from the world (1 Peter 2:9-12).

Believers are a Chosen People:

Peter calls believers a chosen people. In the King James Version, the term peculiar is used instead—a “peculiar people” and, in 1 Peter 2:9, the original Greek meaning for peculiar describes someone or something as being private property. It can also mean exclusivity, belonging solely to a particular person. Today, one can interpret Peter’s verse to mean that believers are odd, peculiar people, however, we should consider this verse as referring to believers as those belonging to God; we are His special possessions. In the Old Testament, Israel was mentioned and described as a nation chosen by God (see Exodus 19:5-6, Isaiah 43:20-21, Deuteronomy 4:20; 7:6; 14:2). I love that Peter uses Old Testament terminology to describe the people of Israel and then applies that same connection to all believers. Just as Israel is God’s chosen people, the church stands as God’s chosen people too, a new branch grafted in. We must consider that we are chosen not because we are elevated higher in comparison to others, rather we are considered chosen solely because of God’s unmerited favor: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” –Ephesians 1:4-6. God does not choose people based on their giftedness, talents, or intelligence even. That said, regardless of our giftings, what unites all those chosen by God is that awesome responsibility of adhering to His instructions, being a light in this world, holding steadfast to God’s promises, and modeling to this world the fruitfulness that comes from following God (Exodus 19:5-6). To be chosen by God is not only a privilege given us via His incredible grace, but it’s also a blessing to be used when partnered with His Holy Spirit to help convey His glory. It remains astonishing to me that God chooses to partner with us!

As believers, we are connected to the cornerstone, Christ—chosen by God to receive his salvation. When Peter wrote this, Christians were being persecuted. Peter reminds them that they are a chosen people. In today’s climate, persecution (hostility, ill-treatment, violence) towards Christians exists in various forms too, and so what Peter reminded the persecuted Christians in AD 60-67 should serve as both a refresher and reminder to all Christians today as well. Just as Jesus Christ was “rejected by humans but chosen by God” (1 Peter 2:4), you also have to bear in mind that when man rejects you, it’s God who’s chosen you! We are in this world, but not of this world. History has proven that suffering is not new to the Christian who chooses God’s kingdom over culture – but take heart! God has already overcome the world and your citizenship is in heaven! And another marker that distinguishes the people of God is that they are a royal priesthood—a holy nation.

Believers are a Royal Priesthood and a Holy Nation…

Peter calls believers a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Once again, Peter uses Old Testament terminology to describe Israel’s priests, applying it now to all believers. In the Old Testament, the priesthood had the sole privilege of offering the sacrifice and approaching God in the temple. The priests were the only ones that could enter the Holy of Holies (a special room where God’s sacred presence dwelled) but thanks be to God, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we no longer have that blockade—that veil that separated us from God, removed now in Jesus’s obedience to the Father. Instead, we can go boldly now before the Father. We have accessibility to His presence, and, as royal priests, we are united with Christ! Romans 8:17 states that “we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” – we are therefore set apart for Christ in this world. As a royal priesthood, we have been entrusted with the same authority as Christ gave his disciples (Matthew 28:18). As priests, we can intercede in prayer on behalf of others and we fight spiritually, armored, to trample against the strongholds of the enemy (Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 6). Also, Peter refers to us Christians as a holy nation, “holy” meaning set apart – as God’s special possessions! “…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” –1 Peter 2:9.

Friends, whatever difficulties you may face in carrying out your faith in Jesus Christ, hold fast to Peter’s encouragement that we are a chosen people, we are God’s special possession and are called royalty. And while the world may reject us, God has elected us to play a vital role on earth for His kingdom and to declare His praises! You may ask yourself, “why was I chosen?” God chose you because of His great love for you because He desires to have a relationship with you, and, He chooses to reveal to you God’s unique purpose(s) designed specifically for you. While we co-exist with others that may not have a relationship with the Lord, we must remind ourselves that we are called to be set apart in that we’ve died to ourselves and have chosen Kingdom over culture, even if persecution, mockery, political outlaw or humiliation awaits us. God’s love is profound in part, in that it allows us, His creation, to either obey His commandments or to follow our fleshly desires and human reasoning. I love that God gives us this choice more, I hope and pray that you’ll use it to choose Him—your affirmative response then, your yes to Jesus, ensuring you too will be a part of His royal priesthood, the chosen that will share in the first resurrection and reign with Christ in God’s holy kingdom (Revelation 17:14, 20:4-6).

Proceed With Caution.

October 3, 2020 /
Kendra Santilli

Let’s face it. We’ve all been there. The coworker that knows exactly how to get under your skin; that kid in your class growing up who knew your weak spots and pulled the rug out from under your feet at just the right time; the family member who seems bent on sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong; and that friend who you thought would be there for you through thick and thin but who left when it mattered most. Disappointments happen to all of us at some point, they just may hit each of us a bit differently. These moments of great hurt often become our greatest teacher. I’m not talking about some single moment where the heavens opened to reveal a profound epiphany that changes the course of the future. I’m talking about the small moments in life that define us. Those moments when, consciously or subconsciously, habits and patterns begin to develop that will help to shape how we respond to life’s hurts and disappointments.

You see, when people hurt you, it’s easy to shut down, shut them out. It’s so easy to say “I forgive them” and yet with our next breath get angry at the mere mention of their name. The difficulty lies in matching actions with words. Time and experience are the teachers of those skills needed for living mindfully, not just reactively. Thankfully, the Word of God has practical guidance for us. So, let’s dig in!

Let’s start with the mind since we know that every action originates from it. In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul teaches us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The New Living Translation says it this way: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” And yes, you read that right. An old dog CAN learn new tricks! God can help us to change the way that we think and process! I don’t know if you can relate, but somewhere along the line, I developed this awful pattern of assuming the worst of people. It wasn’t until I got married and would express to my husband “they said that because…” or “they only did that because…” that he would ask me, “did they really say that? Or are you assuming that?” He helped me to learn a valuable lesson that I believe is a righteous one: thinking the worst of people only leads to anxiety within my own heart. I brought it to God in prayer and asked Him to help me to change this pattern, just like Romans 12 says, and I began catching myself mid-thought, remembering to think the best of people rather than the worst. Over time, I noticed that I no longer thought that way and, in turn, no longer spoke that way either. Maybe my struggle is familiar to you, or maybe yours is something else entirely? Either way, the mind is a powerful command center where you can either nurture life or choose to cultivate destruction. Thought patterns are formed from an early age. As humans, it’s easy to get stuck in the cyclical rut of these old patterns of thought and behaviors; they’re being dug deeper and deeper with every repetitive train of thought driving over them. Their tracks then setting up, and, left unchallenged, can easily misdirect us into believing that we’re always right; never stopping then, to question ourselves, our own thoughts, or motives. However, when we invite God into the equation, He begins to challenge those thoughts and behaviors, eliciting one of two responses from us: prideful stubbornness or humble change. As His creation, we are free to respond either way! God has blessed us with free will. My prayer is that you join me in choosing the humble response, the outcome is far more rewarding!

While Jesus was among us on earth, He set an example for us. An example that is quite contrary to the pattern of this world—often, one that’s self-serving. The culture of this world holds a “what’s in it for me” attitude; often manifesting in complaining and discontentment, arrogance, and greed. And, while these choices and emotions may “feel right” now, their presence in us will never lead to true fulfillment within us, or without. The Bible teaches just the opposite actually. We’re to “do everything without complaining so that you may become blameless and pure children of God” –Phil 2:14. When we live a life void of complaining (be it about things or people), we live a life of purity—one of a clear conscience. When we avoid complaining, we become blameless, no one can ever blame someone for not complaining.

This leads us to my main point… to walk humbly and love all men as Jesus wants us to. We can go through life placing veneers over certain areas of our lives that prohibit us from doing this, disguising the ugly truths laying just behind them but, these veneers are a cover at best; an illusion that only mask the impure thoughts and motives laying just behind their surface. What we cover-up, however, will eventually be revealed, no veneer lasts forever—the rot behind it then, exposed.

Our thoughts and actions must go through a refining process that only God can accomplish. If we think poorly of people and allow those thoughts to make ruts in our minds, we’ll eventually live a life devoid of any genuine expression of love for another. Instead, we must come to understand this: all people are precious to God. We were all valued at the Cross. “For God so loved the world…” –John 3:16. Being made in the image of God Himself, we’ve been afforded the often unplumbed capacity to love people with the love of Christ; the sort of love that carried Jesus all the way to Calvary’s peak; our sins nailed to that Cross that weighed on His shoulder.

There is a life-changing lesson afforded each of us the moment we come to understand that though we possess this unfathomable capacity to love—loves greatest power is often displayed not in how tightly we hold on to love, rather in how loosely we hold those we’ve come to love. Knowing they were a gift at best, and that nothing or no one will remain with us forever—save God. And so, we must learn to graciously release them when their time in our life is through, holding nothing against them in our hearts. It’s powerful when we can love people fully in the moment, all the while being fully aware that they may not be there tomorrow. Forgiving people from a place of understanding, knowing that perhaps they may have been working through their own struggles when they wronged you. In part, this is remaining in peace with all men—living in freedom. In Matthew 7:3, Jesus addressed the way we should view offenses when He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” So our answer is simple then: before opening your mouth regarding someone else’s wrongs, let’s first take a deep look inward, searching out the offense that lives in us; we may just be surprised by what we find there. Also, by acknowledging our shortcomings, we’ll grow in compassion for others! Through this process of redirection through prayer, you will see that your perspective begins to change; firstly within yourself, then outwardly, towards others. Jesus said in John 13:35, “… by this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” He didn’t say everyone would distinguish His followers by their wisdom, or by the way they pray. People would know us by our LOVE. Do you love well? Do you proceed with caution when you engage with people, knowing how precious they are to our creator? Can we stand before God one day and confidently say that we did our best? I pray your answer is, or becomes, a resounding yes! I pray, beginning with your heart and mind, that your perspective towards others continues to reflect more and more of God’s heart towards all men.

Friend, if you don’t know Jesus, I invite you today to ask Him into your heart and into your life. There is no sin too great that He can’t forgive, no life too lost that He can’t restore, no darkness too dark that He can’t illuminate, and no heart too broken that He can’t heal. Let Him lead you into a life of love for all those around you.

So Many Voices…

September 12, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” —John 10:28-29.

It was God’s word that made us; is it any wonder that His word should sustain us. Charles Spurgeon.

If we turn left, someone will have an opinion. The same will happen if we turn right. And if we stay the course, someone else will come along telling us we should have turned either left or right! We live in a world filled with talking heads. Some well-intentioned, others, not so much. So many folks just brimming with opinions on the topic de’ jour. So, who do you listen too? Whose voice rises above the kerfuffle—drowning out that great sea of voices vying for your attention, your heart, your peace? Speaking for myself, I listen to Jesus. In a world filled with people and their opinions—my own included, I am so grateful that I have Jesus to turn to for the Truth—as my due north. When all those voices that vie for my attention overwhelm or confuse me, His still small Voice comes, softly, and leads me back to the still waters. Back to that place of peace found in Him alone. Then, finally, my head laid against His chest once again, His lone heartbeat restoring me, the world then, with all its clamoring voices and opinions, melts away.

Within this Tenth Chapter of John’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus is our Good Shepherd—we also learn of the price He was willing to pay to be. “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep” –John 10:11. We hear Him talking about the thief, exposing him as the one whose sole mission is to steal, kill, and destroy Jesus’ sheep—that devil. “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]”—John 10:10. We hear Jesus explain the difference between hired hands who care little for the flock in their care—these Pharisees and teachers of the Law, and the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. There’s a certain irony here considering who Jesus is talking to, the Pharisees—most of them hired hands themselves. Some in it for the reward only, running then at the first sign of trouble, they are not invested in keeping the sheep in their care safe. “But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.  The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep” –John 10:12-13.

We hear Jesus explaining all these Truths to the spiritually blind. Those with their own opinions of who He is or isn’t—these Pharisees and some gathered around them. Continuing, Jesus reveals to this same crowd that He is their Good Shepherd. In the previous chapter, Jesus had just performed a miracle. He had restored physical sight to a man who had been born blind. Yet these teachers of the law (and others who stood with them) professing their ability to see did not recognize their long-awaited Messiah standing right in front of them, while this man who was born blind, saw and worshiped Him. And he said, “Lord, I believe [in You and Your word]!” And he worshiped Him [with reverence and awe]. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment [to separate those who believe in Me from those who reject Me—to declare judgment on those who choose to be separated from God], so that the sightless would see, and those who see would become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind [to spiritual things], you would have no sin [and would not be blamed for your unbelief]; but since you claim to have [spiritual] sight, [you have no excuse so] your sin and guilt remain” –John 9:38-41.

Jesus went on to tell them about these other sheep He has. Sheep who’ve yet to meet Him, though they know His voice somehow; those who will become one with this flock. “I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become one flock with one Shepherd” –John 10:16. Jesus is on the verge here of stating plainly that not only is He their Messiah, but He is also God’s own Son. And, in being His Son, God has granted Him the ability to both lay down and pick up His own life. He states boldly that this is His Father’s command—His will. Listen: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. 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 10:17-18. And it’s here that some Pharisees and those who stood with them nearly lost their minds! You can just imagine their holy indignation! Hear their piercing, pious screams! Visualize them ripping open their outer robes in horror and outrage! These self-professed holy, hand-picked leaders, these teachers of all things lawful and God-like. They had to stand there now and listen to this nobody from Galilee tell them that He was God’s own Son, never! Blasphemy! “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others” –Matthew23:5-7.

Yet there were some gathered there that did not share in the Pharisee’s feelings—nor the condition of their heart. They had left some room within themselves for hope—to receive what they knew to be Truth. The Living Word that had taken root within them rose-up, pointing them towards what Moses had spoken. Towards the hope that God would send their Messiah soon. They knew their Word. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” –Numbers 23:19. They recognized this Voice within them speaking, even though they didn’t fully connect it just yet with the One standing right in front of them. So, it’s here then that we hear their determined voices having the final say. “There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” –John 10:19-21.

We’ll close the circle here. Connecting both my opening words with today’s Scripture verses—linking them then, to all you’ve just read. For as long as you live there will always be some voice or another vying for your attention. Voices that will do all in their power to persuade you that their way is best—and, if you’d just listen to them, you’d be happier, more fulfilled, at peace, living your best life if you will. As I said earlier, some of these voices come attached to familiar faces, loving faces. They are the voices of our parents and spouses, our children, family, and friends. Those who are near and dear to us. So how do we know just who and what to listen to in a world filled with so many varying opinions? Again, as I said earlier, I choose to listen to only One voice. Jesus’ voice. I choose for His Word to have the final say in my life. In every decision, over my thoughts and wants and opinions, over those opinions of the very ones, He’s placed in my life to love and do life with. His voice must reign over everyone else’s. He alone is my God. Do I get it wrong at times, sadly I do? I fail Him. Yet even there, in my failure, it’s those very moments often, that I am ever so thankful that I serve a God who knew that I would fail Him—and chose me to be His child despite my failures. It’s then, in those moments that I hear Him say, I know you’re afraid you blew it, that it’s too late. It’s not, just come back. Your safe with me. I’ll never turn you away. Neither will the Father—we love you. I died for you so that you could be with me always. So let me talk with you a while. Trust me, I’ll straighten this out. I love you. I forgive you. Rest in me now, and just listen…

Friend, hear the Word of the Lord: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” –John 10: 28-29.

This is the only Voice that truly matters. You’d be wise to listen to it. Jesus’ Words, not my opinion…

If you don’t know this God yet, just the fact that you followed Him here tells me you soon might. Won’t you ask Him to speak clearly to you today? Now? To come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior. He will if you’ll just ask Him.

Priests of God…

August 29, 2020 /
“But you are His chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into His wonderful light –1 Peter 2:9

In our justification, God has declared us righteous in Christ through His blood. In our sanctification, God is working to make us righteous in what we do, say, think, and feel. As the Lord’s holy priesthood, we can be sure that His work to sanctify us is not in vain and that even though we might get discouraged at times, He will most certainly transform us into the holy priests He has designed us to be. –R.C. Sproul.

I hope you catch what Peter is saying to you here because it is deeply personal? Please, don’t just gloss over it. This is a love note addressed to you, written by the Holy Spirit. He has hand-picked you to receive it so that you’ll have no room to doubt who you are in Christ Jesus! You have been chosen friend, by the all-knowing, all-seeing Creator of the universe Himself! And His choosing you for Himself is neither random nor recent. Watch, I’ll prove it to you: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you a prophet to the nations” –Jeremiah 1:5. Did you catch that before part? It means that you have always been in Christ Jesus—just as He has always been One with the Father. I know, I know, who can fully understand such a mystery? Our finite minds can scarcely take it all in. Yet it’s true whether we can fully take it in, or not. Look to 1 John 5:20 for confirmation. God may not have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations, but He most certainly formed you in your mother’s womb and set you apart for His immense pleasure and use. As a child of God, election and purpose are a double portion blessing. You came into this world with their seeds planted deeply in your belly. And at the appointed time, God calls them forth. You have been chosen in Him, in part, for good works. Peter is revealing Truth here that will, should you grab hold of it, revolutionize your relationship with Jesus. Shifting you from being saved by grace alone, to being forever set afire for Christ!

Only then will you fully catch that you have been “brought out of darkness that you might proclaim—shout from the rooftop—the excellencies of Him who has called you out of that darkness, out of your sin, and into His marvelous Light.” Friend, God has chosen you to be a beacon of light in this dark world. Go forth and shine!

And by using the title royal priesthood, Peter is reminding you that as a child of God, you share in a sacred privilege that once was reserved solely for His firstborn, the nation of Israel. Those God has chosen to set aside as His special possession. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy ” –1 Peter 2:10. Having been grafted into this treasured branch then, you receive both the blessings and the benefits that flow through it. “For you [are] a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” –Deuteronomy 7:6. Yet, unlike the priests of old, you are no longer required to bring an animal sacrifice to God to be offered up in reparation for your sins. Because God so loved you, He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, once for all, to atone for the sins of the entire world. Instead then, as royal priests, we offer ourselves, our lives, wills, our plans, hopes, and dreams as loving sacrifices unto our God. All the while imparting His grace to others and drawing nearer to Him ourselves. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” –Hebrews 10:10–14. Peter is letting you know that because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, you are a royal priest who needs none but Him to stand between you and your Father as mediator. “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” –Romans 8:34.

The world needs us to take our mandate seriously and be a true priest of God so that we might rightly minister the things of His kingdom to all those He’s calling unto Himself, into His kingdom. –Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider.

Peter is also letting you know that you are a holy nation. “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners” –1 Peter 1:15-17. He is reminding you that you are not of this world. You’ve been called out of it, to live separate from all that it offers, that you might share in the eternal glory of the next—serving God nevertheless, while you’re still here. You are a citizen of a holy nation, robed in Christ’s Righteousness, washed clean in His shed Blood. Called to live a life that is pleasing to God. After all, being holy means: to be set apart, unique. “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.

You are not like those who belong to this world—this nation. They have no desire to be set apart for God, be used by Him. They’ve chosen instead, to serve themselves. To have at best, a form of godliness. Making their own rules, living however they so choose. But not you friend. You have been hand-picked by God. Plucked from the dark influences of this world. Your standard then must be higher, purer, aimed exclusively at pleasing God alone. Everything you do lovingly brought before the One who searches and knows the motives of each man’s heart. Trusting that He is fashioning you daily to look more and more like His Son—like where you’re headed, not where you’ve been. All that you might spread the seeds of the Gospel wherever God plants you—be it in your home, your workplace, the grocery store, or the privileged platform of your ministry. You must—each of us must, do all that we can as people set apart for His use to bring glory to His name.

How unfathomable the honor to be used by God? A vessel that allows His Truth and Love and Light to so shine through our cracked and flawed humanness, that all matter of men are drawn to what it is we possess wanting to possess it for themselves. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body” –2 Corinthians 4:7-11.

Dear friend, know that your being here is no accident. God loves you with a mind-blowing, unplumbed love—He has purposefully led you here. He wants you to know how deeply you are cherished, even if you find that hard to believe. He will show you if you’ll just invite Jesus in.

New Gardens…

August 15, 2020 /
Kendra Santilli

Can you imagine never being able to look into a mirror but, instead, relying on the people around you for how you look? I would imagine we would be looking a lot different than we would expect. We might even have things about our appearance that may be ok for others, but not for ourselves. Well, reading the Word of God is a lot like looking into a mirror. When we crack it open, we begin to see ourselves differently. It has the power to expose both the beauty of our hearts and the parts that need adjustment in a way that only His Truth can. God knows parts of us that we didn’t even know were there! If we just give Him the chance, He uproots the weeds and plants new gardens within our hearts.

The great Gardner removes what inhibits flourishing and replaces it with life-giving substance. When the roots go deep, the storms can come but the core of who we are remains planted and rooted in Christ. There is just something about complete trust in Jesus that says, no matter what life looks like, He is still on the throne. He is still desiring to make beauty from ashes.

In Matthew 13, Jesus shares a parable that helps us to understand the impact humbling ourselves has on our being able to truly receive the deep Truths of God’s Word. The keys Jesus shares in this parable are so crucial He made sure to explain them plainly, that we all might understand them. “3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they can only follow Him so far. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out the Word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the Word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding thirty, sixty or one-hundred times what was sown.

When anyone hears… Catch that, ANYONE! The message of the gospel is available to ALL. But, without possessing an understanding of what we hear, there will be no lasting transformation…

When I read this, I thought of times when people would share valuable information with me, which I would immediately forget it! I’m sure you can relate. I believe Jesus wants to ensure we all get it! That we don’t immediately forget. Rather, that it takes deep root. Hearing the word will only get you so far. If there is no application, the seeds of the Gospel will be snatched up from your soul instead of being firmly planted within it. Jesus goes on to describe rocky ground, places where seeds cannot form strong roots. Initially, when someone comes to the Lord, they may be excited about getting to know Him, yet may fall away quickly nevertheless, when difficulties arise because they are not truly rooted/ determined enough to endure difficulties for Christ’s sake. Pay close attention here- spending time with the Father is the most important ministry that you can be a part of. It is in the secret place that God is able to care for your soul and refresh your heart. THIS is where your roots grow deep. Desire more of God then. Or desire Him for the first time.

Don’t allow your heart to be a poor environment for growth…

Something occurs within us as we learn to endure. Tarrying with Jesus allows Him to replace our infertile soil with His good soil. When I bought my house, I learned that the soil on my land was not very conducive to growing new anything. The soil had been overtaken with roots of old bushes and weeds. I mean, what I thought was “soil” was a literal clump of old roots. Sure, I could have planted seeds, but I’m not sure if they would have grown. So instead, I got to work and shook out those old roots to release the healthy soil back to the ground. Then it was ready for me to fertilize and plant my flowers in. I believe God does the same for our hearts. Sometimes we find our hearts are like that rocky soil, a place the Truth of God cannot take root. We can be excited about Him and even desire to live rightly, but without roots, it’s easy for us to fall by the wayside. But the more time we spend with the Lord cultivating a relationship with Him, the more He will transform the ground of our hearts into a thriving environment.

Are you anxious? Confused? Filled with worry? Know this: those are seeds are not of God! While God certainly plant seeds in your heart don’t be fooled, so does the enemy. It is essential to your growth to know the difference! The enemy’s seeds are where the thorns come from! Remember, whatever you feed your heart and mind will grow. So, what are you feeding it? Feeding yourself seeds of anxiety, doubt, worry, fear, or confusion, will only reproduce more of the same. As I said, what you feed, grows. And the more you feed those harmful seeds, the less the wholesome seeds from the spirit of God are nourished; conversely, the more you feed the seeds planted by God, the less nourishment the unhealthy seeds will receive.

Spending time in the word of God nourishes your soul with the good things that come from Him alone.

The result: eventually, His seeds mature and produce “the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” –Galatians 5:22-23. Fruit takes time to mature, ask any gardener, but you will eat of this fruit and, it is good!

Friends, God wants to know you and to be deeply known by you. My hope for you is this: that as you get to know Him, your roots will become more firmly grounded in His Life-giving Truth; His Truth will firmly establish your purpose and water your very souls. Spending time with Him in prayer and His Word brings about a greater understanding of God, and that understanding brings transforms. There is no end to our being able to be transformed in Christ; no end to knowing Him; our roots then becoming immovable.

I pray that as you read this, you found yourself in this parable.

If you feel that your heart is just not good, you are in good hands. Surrender to the Lord today and allow Him to transform your heart into a beautiful new garden. Choosing the Gospel shifts us from depending on our feelings and moves us to live by the understanding that Jesus is our joy in suffering. We are, after all, the joy set before Him at calvary. If you are here today and have never asked Jesus into the garden of your heart, ask Him in today and watch what He can create in you…

He Wants It All…

August 1, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville




Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” –Matthew 16:24.

Have you ever felt led to watch something on television? A movie or some television show perhaps? I have too. Last night I felt led to watch The Passion of the Christ. It was during those first opening moments of the movie when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane with Peter, James, and John that Holy Spirit spoke to me and I began to understand why I was led to watch this particular movie. Knowing I would lead you here tonight, this is why I drew your attention to that Scripture earlier today. I wanted to open-up my Word before you. To show you: This is what it looks like to deny yourself. The standard I had in mind when I inspired Matthew to pen My Words.

Earlier this same day I had been reading Matthew 16. My eyes being repeatedly drawn back to those words “deny themselves.” He also drew my attention back to “take up their cross” too, but that is for another day. I knew Holy Spirit was enlivening His Word as only He can. He was calling us into a greater surrender of ourselves. A greater denial of our wills and wants—into surrendering ourselves to Jesus in these, our final hours. I knew the type of denial He was speaking of was far greater than just giving up coffee for a few days. Greater than sacrificing Netflix or television, sleep, or a meal. Those things a mere training ground for that deeper, more intimate denial.

In part, the Word makes clear we must be willing to give up even our best intentions. Bringing those acts born of love, even our deepest desire of wanting the absolute best for those we love—under the authority of our Father as painful as that may be. We are not God. We do not see all that He sees. Neither do we know a things intended end. And yet, it is so counter to our nature to not simply react without first taking a breath. Not automatically think and feel that we know best. Not defend, block, save from harm those we love. Or at least try to. Just ask Peter. What parent can’t relate to this feeling when left helplessly watching their beloved child headed for a stone wall at full throttle? Making a choice that runs contrary to every fiber of our being. However, this is the exact example of “denying ourselves” Jesus had just taught His beloved Peter, His Rock, a few verses before our own. Don’t take my word. Go and read Matthew 16:21-23 for yourself.

So then, using Jesus’ rebuke of Peter as our guide, we may feel confident in defining this “denying ourselves” to include in part, anything that not only hinders our walk with God, more, as any-thing that stands in the path of God’s perfect will being fully accomplished—period. Regardless of how we may feel about it. “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”–Isaiah 55:8-9.

This “denying” Jesus is speaking of is so much bigger than just the temporary giving up of “stuff”—even that stuff we need to live. Jesus Himself confirms this Truth in Matthew 6:31-33. “Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and our heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” And yet, it was not until watching that particular scene unfold in the garden during the movie last night, the scene where Jesus pours Himself out to the point of sweating blood before the Father, that I more fully caught what Holy Spirit was pointing me towards earlier in the day…

If we genuinely want to be His disciple, we must be willing to wring-out at the Father’s feet that very last drop of self-left in us. Lovingly, wholeheartedly, willingly, by the power of His Holy Spirit—just as Jesus did.

Using Jesus as our standard then, and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we must be wholly committed to surrendering every crevice of our lives where self may seek to sneak away and hide. Carving out for itself some little corner in which it may well set up a throne on which to sit, seeking its own will. It is time to let it go. It is time to surrender those habits—those not-so-holy vestiges of ourselves. It is time to “put up or shut up”, as the saying goes. That shaking you have been sensing, that is an inner sifting taking place. A separating of wheat and chaff. Holy Spirit is letting you know you need to dig deeper, ridding yourself, once in for all, of what does not align with God’s will for your life. Complete surrender is the standard our hearts must be willing to reach for. Not perfection. Surrender. Withholding no-thing. This is the mark set before all who will seek to follow Jesus, the will of the Father…

Let me ask you, friend: “What is Satan trying to stop you from laying down? What is he attempting to keep you from fully surrendering to God?” Is it a spirit of religion? Is it drugs? A Savior complex? Are you full of pride? Control perhaps? Is it sex outside of marriage? A homosexual lifestyle maybe? Are you drinking too much? Maybe food has become your god of late? Whatever it is, I encourage you to follow Jesus’ example and pour it out in obedience at the Father’s feet now—don’t sleep on it. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” –Matthew 16: 25-26.

Friends, remember this as you lay in all down before the Lord, Love has won in every garden He has ever entered. Both in Eden and Gethsemane. Allow this to encourage you. Give you the strength you may be lacking in yourself.

If we were paying attention back in Eden, we would have caught our first glimpse of this moment, of this Living definition of denying oneself unfolding now, in Gethsemane. A foreshadowing of what must unfold, be sacrificed, that God’s plan for His children is fulfilled. Our first glimpse of this final sacrifice then, those bloody skins that were thrown over the naked frames of Adam and Eve back in Eden. “And Jehovah Elohim made Adam and his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” –Genesis 3:21. In each garden, Jesus went before us—our Guide, our Good Shepherd demonstrating just what it is this “denying ourselves” must look like. This all or nothing commitment, even unto death. And in each garden, Love won. Give it all to Him today friends. Jesus demonstrated for us that holding back any-thing, even unto the laying down of our very lives, is as withholding back every-thing.

There is no such thing as halfway in…

I encourage you today brothers and sisters; if you are struggling under the weight of denying your flesh, get up! Try again! Cry out to God again and again and again if need be. He is faithful to respond to the cries of His children. The Israelites will testify to this Truth! Do not allow Satan to use that one thing God is asking you to entrust into His care to stop you from fully surrendering all-of-you to God. Even your love for another. Even your “best” thing. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” -2 Corinthians 4:7-9.

And know, new friend, that your being here today is not by accident. God has led you here. He is asking you to deny yourself—those feelings, struggles, and situations that have been ruling over you—and follow Him, instead. Won’t you say yes to Him? If you have never asked this Jesus to be Lord of your life, ask Him now. He wants to help you to surrender into His care every-thing that stands in the way of the two of you being as close as He desires to be with you.

Restoration…

June 20, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it”–John 21:6.

A consciousness of our powerlessness should cast us upon Him who has all power. Here then is where a vision and view of God’s sovereignty helps, for it reveals His sufficiency and shows us our insufficiency. Arthur W. Pink

This week, as with last, our focus will be on Jesus and Peter. Their relationship. Will we dig a little deeper into what has happened between them—and within Peter, since Jesus last commanded him to “Follow Me.” –Matthew 4:19.

Peter had met Jesus on the shore once before. His nets chock-full that day too, bursting at the seams. His heart had been pierced through and through—he had been driven to his knees in awe of what Jesus had done. Both divine appointments taking place within three short years. Years that felt like a lifetime ago now. Long before this fitful day filled with angst and anticipation—waiting to see if Jesus would show up. “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing”. They said to him, “We will go with you”. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. –John 21:3.

It was the dawn of Peter’s great fall. That night in the garden, the night of Jesus’ arrest. The night Peter, in his rash attempt at stopping the soldiers from arresting Jesus sliced off Malchus’ ear with his sword. Before Peter had ever denied the One, he loved three times, He declared during their last meal together that he would never deny Jesus. “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same”–Matthew 26:35. And yet he did –deny Christ that is. As mentioned above, not just once—but three times. Yet as soon as Peter’s eyes locked onto Jesus’ in those early hours before dawn, after His mock trial before Caiaphas—in one fateful nanosecond, Peter felt the overwhelming weight of his betrayal crush him. Felt everything within him implode under its treacherous weight. “…Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times”. And he went outside and wept bitterly. –Matthew26:75.

His heart torn asunder. His once grandiose ego, shattered. His duplicity had just crushed him. Peter knew in that instant he was not the Rock. Peter knew instead that he was a sinner who desperately needed the Savior he had just denied. Whatever he had mistakenly believed of himself, died this fateful morning. Now He was exactly where he needed to be. Moldable. Pliable. Humbled. Was it all for naught? Was it too late for Peter? Having your destiny shaped by the hand of God can be an agonizing process. Death to self and pride usually are. Self-reliance and ego struggle to surrender their grip on us all. They certainly did in Peter’s case. But in the end, God’s plan for Peter’s life was accomplished through his suffering and submission both. We serve a merciful God! There are times nevertheless, God must strip us down to our very foundation that he might sure-up the cracks that have formed within it. Cracks that will inevitably cause us to topple over under the weight of the calling He has placed on our lives. His firmly establishing us then, to withstand the weight of the calling He has on us, is paramount to our growth. Paramount to our ongoing relationship with Him and for the sake of those, He has called us to serve.

We expect our leaders to be flaw-less. Not so with Jesus. Jesus calls those He has chosen to lead exactly as they are—then, He begins their reshaping. A pulling out and a putting in. Drawing out of their brokenness—humility, and an obedience to Him, trust too. All the while removing self-reliance, pride, and ego—and all their other grainy bits…

Peter had experienced some profound, life-changing events during his three-plus-year walk with Jesus. He had a front-row seat for the Sermon on the Mount. He drank in the Beatitudes. The lesson on being Salt and Light, about the law and anger, adultery, and divorce, about vows and revenge, and loving your enemy. Peter heard about giving to the needy and he learned how to pray. He learned about money and possessions, judging others, and who Jesus considers true disciples to be. Peter was an eyewitness to a man being healed from leprosy and the faith of one Roman soldier that was so great, Christ Himself was amazed. It was his walking on water, his divine revelation of Jesus’ being the Messiah, the Son of the living God, his witnessing Jesus’ transfiguration. It was all these instances, and so much more—the private conversations and corrections we are not privy to—that had been poured into establishing Peter’s foundation. Each of these above lessons can be read in their entirety in Matthew Chapters 5-7;14-17.

Now, after the worst days of his life, John’s Gospel tells us Peter is fishing once again. Doing what is familiar, using his reasoning. That is until he hears a voice tell him to cast his nets to the other side of his boat. Did Peter wonder to himself, “Why does that sound so familiar…?”

Once again, his nets were suddenly bursting at the seams! It appears from Scripture that it was at that moment John recognized the man standing at the shore as Jesus. And as soon as he shared that news with Peter, Peter jumped off the boat and headed straight to Him. This is not the first time that Peter has seen Jesus since His resurrection. In Luke’s Gospel, we hear of Peter’s encountering Jesus soon after His resurrection. Those disciples who had encountered Jesus on the Emmaus road returned to Jerusalem—to where the disciples were staying. And after sharing their story of meeting Jesus and breaking bread with Him, the disciples confirmed for them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead! “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon”. –Luke 24: 33-34.

Now, the fish cooked, the nets washed and put away, once again Jesus directs the conversation to where Jesus had intended it to go from before the foundation of the world. To Peter’s mission and calling. But first, restoration needed to happen. Jesus could have easily done this when He showed Himself to Peter that first time, and perhaps He did? Scripture is silent on this matter. Perhaps that is where Peter’s restoration started? Perhaps that is why Peter’s feelings are hurt the third time Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him? Or perhaps it is because we need to be here as a witness too. Perhaps we need to witness Godly restoration that we might one day extend it just as Jesus did? When a leader falls publicly, as Peter did, for any to follow him again—for others to be able to trust that God has chosen to use him in ministry once again, He must be publicly restored. This is in part what Jesus is doing here in John’s Gospel. Publicly reinstating Peter as the Rock on which His Church will be built—in front of the very ones who witnessed Peter’s fall. Christ is far more interested in our character being right before Him then He is with our title or position being restored to us. Remember that whole shoring-up Peter’s foundation I spoke about earlier? Jesus is doing that here. Godly correction brings about healing and restoration to our relationship with God—above all else. “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” –Galatians 6:1-2.

In closing, listen to what one writer shares with us concerning Peter’s restoration: After they were finished eating, Jesus addressed Peter with a question he would ask him three times in a row, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:15, 16, 17). Simon was Peter’s name by birth, Peter (which means “Rocky”) was a nickname Jesus gave him. The first time Jesus asked this question, he asked Peter if he loved him “more than these” (John 21:15). What does Jesus mean by this question? Scholars think Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Jesus more than any of the other disciples loved Jesus. Remember, this is what Peter claimed in Mark 14:29 (and in Matthew 26:33). Before the arrest of Jesus, Peter boldly claimed to love Jesus better than anyone else. Peter’s answer demonstrates that he has been chastened and humbled, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:15). Jesus repeats the question two more times, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16-17). Peter was hurt that Jesus kept asking him the same question. Peter admits that Jesus knows his heart better than he does. Peter answers, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you” (John 21:17). Peter has lost his arrogance. He knows that Jesus knows his true heart. Why did Jesus ask him this question three times? The three questions echo the three denials Peter made of knowing Jesus after his arrest (see John 18:15-18, 25-27). Jesus was reinstating Peter and restoring him to public ministry within view of the other disciples.

Friend, if you are here today and do not know this Jesus who knows you better than you know yourself, who loves you beyond what you could ever imagine possible, then I encourage you, please, ask Him to show Himself real to you now. There is nothing you have done that will prevent His coming. But you not asking Him to come may. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” –Acts 4:12.

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