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

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Rending Your Heart.

July 5, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” –Joel 3:12-13

God was speaking to the nation of Israel through His prophet, Joel, telling them to return to Him because of His unending love. But God’s people were sin-full, and our Holy God did not, does not, cannot, abide sin. God is holy and just. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.” –Habakkuk 1:13

To be separated from God is spiritual death; we’ll read about this Truth in just a moment. Separation from God means our spirit man is sleeping. Ephesians 5:14 tells us to awaken! “Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'”  Man was cut off from God the very moment he rebelled against God in the garden. Sounds kind of harsh. But was it harsh or just? Let’s read in Genesis 2:15-17: “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

When God gives us a command to follow, it is best to adhere to His commands. They’re meant to protect you from harm. But if we use our free will rebelliously, choosing not to obey God’s commands, that one choice can be the undoing of us.

Genesis 3:2-6 shows us just how easily this can happen. “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” –Genesis 3:2-5

Envision this: the serpent comes and tempts you. Whispering that if you sin this one time, it won’t harm you. Instead, it will be to your benefit—you can almost hear him saying,  “Do it! Enjoy it! Don’t worry about what God said; He’ll forgive you.”

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” –Genesis 3:6

Satan is a liar and a thief! He hates us, plain and simple. Both Adam and Eve, man and wife, were deceived by Satan. Before God had even created Eve, He commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had given Adam everything good to eat, that he might eat freely and tend the ground. “And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” –Genesis 2:17. Both the man and his wife knew they should not eat from the tree yet they went against what God told Adam not to do and decided to listen to the serpent.

Ever notice that when you are busy doing something with God, spending time with Him in worship and prayer, you have a lower chance of doing something foolish?

James writes in his letter, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” –James 4:7-8. When you are distracted by other things, such as scrolling through social media or playing hours of video games, you become spiritually weak and drained—spiritual embers may still be burning, sure, but there’s no longer a white-hot flame. Now, I won’t deny that I have issues with scrolling on Facebook. Ten minutes can turn into an hour and a half, or maybe longer if I let it. I’m spending the limited time God has afforded me, the time He wants to spend with me, on mindless scrolling instead. “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” – Exodus 34:14

Do not let distractions become an idol.

What you feed on is what you will be full of: junk in, junk out.

If you spend your time watching pornography, you will be consumed with lust. If you spend it watching the news all the time, you will be consumed with sorrow, fear, and anxiety. The world is a dark place, and it is getting darker. Instead, carry the Light of Jesus into a dark and dying world desperate for hope. Jesus said,” Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” –Matthew 5:16

Do you not know how much Jesus loves you?

Do you not remember the unimaginable agony, suffering, and humiliation Jesus endured on His Cross for you and me? Being sinless, He chose to bear the weight of our sins on Himself. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

We are no longer of this world because Jesus has separated us from the world. Listen to Jesus’ heart not only for His disciples but for you, child of God. “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” –John 17:16-19

You have been and are being sanctified by the finished work of Jesus Christ and the Truth of the Gospel of His Word. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” –1 Corinthians 6:11. We are all sinners, but through Christ Jesus, God has made a way for us to be set free.

Such freedom begins with you having a relationship with Jesus—accepting His invitation to be your Lord and Savior by allowing Him to do the work of transforming your life into what He created it and you to be. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” –Ephesians 4:22-24.

Freedom also entails God cleansing our hearts (our minds, will, and emotions) by bringing them into submission to Jesus Christ. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” –2 Corinthians 10:5.

In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? Or what will a man exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Repentance means turning away from your sin. To rend your heart means to tear it in sorrow for your sins. Sin is a condition of the heart that only Jesus can heal, forgive, and wash away, leaving you spotless, regardless of your past sins and failures. Hear God’s promise to you in Isaiah 1:18: “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 like wool.”

We here at SonsOftheSea pray that you will rend your heart today and receive Jesus as Lord Savior and be washed clean of all your sins. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” –Mark 1:15

Amen.

What Really Matters…

June 28, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

Just because?

No!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God’s Word is Pure.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Present In His Peace

June 21, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” –John 14:27

Jesus says the above while meeting with His disciples the night before His crucifixion, during the Passover Supper. When Jesus spoke these Words to his disciples, they must have been wondering, “What do you mean ‘peace I leave with you?'” He had walked with them and taught them for three years, and now He was saying He was leaving “His peace” with them? What?! “Where’s He going?” must have been the question circling the table. Surely, none of the disciples felt very peaceful when Jesus spoke those words to them. His words were probably met with confusion, as the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about—yet.

I know I have felt like the disciples must have a few times in my walk with Jesus.

Not knowing what would happen or where to go when a problem arises. And in my humanity, I forget who I have with me, that I am never alone. The reason for that? I took my eyes off Jesus and focused instead on how big the problem in front of me looked. Has that ever happened to you, friend?

 I needed to be reminded that Jesus is and always has been with me during my times of trouble. And when we read John 14:26, Jesus says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom My Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you.” –John 14:26

At the moment of our salvation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit; He indwells us now. From that moment until God calls us home, His Holy Spirit helps us through every trial. Listen to how Jesus describes this indwelling. “If you love Me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide in you forever–the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him, nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be with you and will be in you.” –John 14:15-17

We know God’s Holy Spirit is forever with us, in us, because when Jesus told His disciples He had to leave them and return to the Father, He promised them this: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” –John 14:18

The Holy Spirit lives in us to empower us, lead and guide us, and remind us that God is always with those who believe in their heart and confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

The Holy Spirit is with us through every problem and in every storm we face.

He is the peace of God that reminds us that no matter what we face or whatever happens, God is always with us.

We’re the ones who need to remind ourselves,” God is with me!”

Even when you don’t see evidence of that unchanging Truth, “God is with you!”

Even when you don’t feel it, “God is with you!”

 I pray this Truth is a comfort to someone reading this today.

There is an account in the Gospel of Mark where this peace was tested in the hearts of all the disciples. At that time, they were all figuring this out through the teachings Jesus was sharing with them. They were trying to understand who Jesus was, really. In Mark 4:35-38, it reads: “On the same day when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the wind and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.” But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing!” –Mark 4:35-38

Ok, so there are at least four experienced fishermen in that boat who must have been through many storms, but this one seems to hit a little harder than the others. They were trying to do what came naturally to them by allowing their knowledge and experience of sailing and the sea to take over. Yet, no matter how much experience they or any of us may have with small storms, unknowable, more powerful storms will always rise up. It is in those moments that we tend to forget Jesus’ promise to be with us always, and so fear and anxiety “fill our boat.”

Jesus’ disciples forgot who was with them in their boat, that Jesus was sleeping peacefully, unbothered by what was going on around Him. I wonder, have you ever experienced the type of peace that allows you to sleep soundly when all hell is breaking loose? That was most certainly not the level of peace the disciples were experiencing. Instead, His disciples asked, “Don’t you even care, Jesus?!” How many of us have asked that very same question?

In our humanity, we yell, “Don’t you even care, God, that we are suffering?”

Yet, all is not lost, beloved in Christ Jesus.

Scripture continues this account. “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and the sea, “Peace be still.” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” –Mark 4:39

When God hears the cry of His children, He rises up and rebukes the wind, bringing us peace in the storm. The apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:6-7

God is not asleep as the world may believe.

He is fully aware of your present circumstances. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are we present in His Presence?” If God is speaking during your storm, are you listening?

Be assured, beloved, that you can have peace in the storm. Jesus will give you this very peace to all who call Him Lord. He promised it to us. “My peace I leave with you, My peace I give you.”

Let this be the day you ask Jesus to give you peace in your storm by asking Him into your heart. Repent of your sins and be made new by His precious Blood shed for you. “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” –Isaiah 41:13.

We at Sonsofthesea are praying for you all. Amen.

God Remembered…

June 14, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.” –Genesis 8:1

Are you still waiting to be remembered? You know you heard the Lord; you’re sure of it. You felt it the instant His promise dropped in your belly, impregnating you with hope. But then, time wore down your resolve, like water dripping on a rock. Delay has taken its toll on hope. Caring little for the weeks, months, and even years you’ve been waiting. Thus, time is giving birth to moments of questioning instead of your promise. Did you really hear God speak, or, speaking proverbially, had you just eaten too much pizza? Proverbs 13:12 sums up waiting and delay this way: “When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.”

And then it happens. Confirmation and relief arrive, joyously welcomed as long-lost friends. God sends a powerful whiff of hope wafting through the air. Having smelled this before, you’d instantly recognize that scent anywhere. It’s the scent of God-sent hope as familiar to you as the long-ago smell of your favorite thing cooking in your mom’s kitchen, and, having caught its familiar aroma now, you’re instantly filled with new hope as the memory of God’s promise floods every fiber of your being as wholly and fresh as the day He first spoke it.

Noah had caught the familiar scent of God’s promise on the air the day the dove he’d released flew back to him with the fresh sprig of an Olive twig in its beak. “After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again. This time the dove returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone. He waited another seven days and then released the dove again. This time it did not come back.” –Genesis 8:10-12.

Now, you might be saying, “Okay, not too bad. Noah only waited 2 weeks for his promise to come to pass.” But wait, there’s more.

“After 150 days, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks became visible. After another forty days, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat and released a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the floodwaters on the earth had dried up. He also released a dove to see if the water had receded and it could find dry ground. But the dove could find no place to land because the water still covered the ground. So it returned to the boat, and Noah held out his hand and drew the dove back inside. After waiting another seven days, Noah released the dove again. This time the dove returned to him in the evening with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that the floodwaters were almost gone. He waited another seven days and then released the dove again. This time it did not come back.” –Genesis 8:3-12.

So, doing the math, it wasn’t 14 days, but some 279 days or roughly 9 months, but wait, again, there’s more to Noah’s story: “Noah was now 601 years old. On the first day of the new year, ten and a half months after the flood began, the floodwaters had almost dried up from the earth. Noah lifted back the covering of the boat and saw that the surface of the ground was drying.”

Another two months passed before, at last, the earth was dry.

So, that means nearly a year had passed before Noah would witness the fulfillment of the covenant promise God had planted in his belly. “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.” –Genesis 7:17-18.

So, what’s the point of my sharing all of this with you?

It’s simple, really.

Hope.

I’m here today to encourage you. Consider this a new line on which you can take a fresh grip with your tired hands. Then remind yourself God hasn’t forgotten you, beloved.

God is at work in your life, even amongst the flood waters.

If God has given you a promise, and He has, His Word is filled with His promises; you can rest assured that God will see that promise come to pass in your life. “People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” –Hebrews 6:16-20.

You know you heard the Lord; you’re sure of it. You felt it the instant His promise dropped in your belly, impregnating you with hope. Rejoice, beloved! You’re in good company. Noah heard the Lord’s promise as well. As did Father Abraham, Sarah, King David, Joseph, and the list goes on. Yet, despite their certainty of having heard God’s promise, it’s said that Abraham waited 25 years after hearing God’s promise before Isaac was born. Joseph had to wait some 13 years before he was released from prison and became the second in command over all of Egypt. And Moses waited for 80 years while God readied him for his calling.

Why the wait?

God was at work behind the scenes, working all things together for good—for His glory and the good of each of them, and He’s working things out for you as well.

In the end, each of those listed above beheld the fulfillment of God’s promise:

Sarah, once barren, bitter, and ashamed, held her newborn, Isaac—God’s promise to her and Abraham, in her arms. –Genesis 21:1-8 NLT.

King David, anointed by Samuel as a boy to be Israel’s next King, waited, some say, 22 years before he took the throne. –1 and 2 Samuel NLT.

Joseph played a crucial role in helping to save his people and many Egyptians from famine—to say nothing of the joyous reunion he experienced with his long-estranged family. –Genesis 45-47 NLT.

Yet each of them waited on God’s promise to be fulfilled in their lives—I know it’s been a long time, and you’re getting discouraged. That’s why I’ve been sent to you today—to say hang on! God Remembers you! “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” –Numbers 23:19.

And new friend, one of the most life-changing promises that will ever be made to you personally is found in the Word of God.

What is this promise?

That a simple prayer said from a heart that believes Jesus is real—that He is the Living Son of God—even though you may not fully understand why you believe, will, in an instant, take you from the kingdom of darkness, this world, and make you an eternal citizen of heaven—God’s own child, made clean, new, you are forgiven now, of your every sin. That’s God’s promise to you and to whosoever will believe. And God cannot lie. “If you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10.

Upsets To Setups.

June 7, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day.” –2 Corinthians 4:16

Paul reminds the church at Corinth not to lose heart when the “troubles of this world” arise. What our outward man, our fleshly self, sees may look overwhelming to us, but it may in no way be how our inner man, our spirit, sees things. Today’s Scripture reminds us that our inner man is renewed day by day, meaning that if you are in Christ, you are daily gaining more and more spiritual strength and insight. In verse 17, Paul continues by saying, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

What lies ahead of the believer in Jesus Christ is the exceeding and eternal weight of being in the Presence of Almighty God forever.

This means no more pain, no more suffering, no more sadness —all the physical pain and illness we experience in this world, all the emotional pain and abuse the world throws at us, will be gone forever. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” –Revelation 21:4

Whatever you are going through at this moment, God is working it out in your favor, so be encouraged! “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” –Romans 8:28.

That job you lost, or the relationship that ended, may look like a huge upset. But let me remind you today that God uses upsets for setups!

God used a devastating upset as a setup with Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery.

Joseph endured it. He walked with God even when his immediate circumstances seemed hopeless and working against him. Joseph had this hope, a key in his heart, which would be taught a thousand years later to people listening to Jesus giving His sermon on the Mount. What is the key that gave Joseph and gives us hope? “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33

Through everything Joseph went through, the favor of God was with him. “The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” –Genesis 39:2

Now, slaves did not stay in their master’s house; they had their own accommodations. They lived separately, but not Joseph. Joseph remained in his master’s home. How was this possible? “And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did prosper in his hand.” –Genesis 39:3

The favor of God far surpassed anything the world could throw at Joseph. Why? Above all, God had chosen Joseph and enabled him to do what was right in His sight. Joseph set his mind on obeying not only his earthly master but, more importantly, God, the One who had shown him such favor.

Just as Joseph had an enemy out to destroy him, we do too.

Satan wants nothing more than to derail your faith. He will always try to throw a wrench into the good works God has for you to do. He knows how to distract you and sidetrack you because he studies you. He patiently waits for the moment to strike you when you’re at your weakest, perhaps when you’re paying more attention to the “light affliction” happening around or to you instead of keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus despite it.

Peter warns us about Satan’s stealthy attacks in his letter, saying, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” —1 Peter 5:6-8

In Joseph’s life, Satan used the wife of his master, Potiphar, to try and seduce him not once but twice. The Bible says, “That it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with Me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look my master does not know what is with me in the house, and has committed all that he has to my hand.” –Genesis 39:7-8

Joseph, a God-fearing man, being sober-minded, saw that it was not right even to consider such a wicked thing. He had dedicated himself to Potiphar as a servant, knowing that his position was granted to him by God. Knowing his great position and privilege, look what else Joseph says to his seductress, “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.” –Genesis 39:9-10.

Joseph acknowledged that all favor had been given to him from God.

He makes that plain when he says, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

When you are tempted or at a low point, remember God’s promise found in 1 Corinthians 10:13 to provide a way of escape from the temptation or affliction you are facing. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Jesus had been led into the wilderness by God’s Holy Spirit, where he fasted and prayed and was tempted by Satan for 40 days and nights. “Again the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “all these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ –Matthew 4:8-10

Whoever Jesus spoke to, He pointed them back to the word of God, giving glory to the Father, even Satan himself. Jesus openly acknowledged all authority, and honor is due God the Father alone.

As believers in Christ Jesus, like Joseph, we are to seek the kingdom of God first.

How do we do this?

By acknowledging Jesus as Lord over our lives. We do it in our worship, in prayer, and in our quiet time reading God’s Inerrant Word. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” –John 14:6

If you are God’s child, when troubles come, remember that you have a God who truly cares for you. Jesus says, “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

We at Sonsofthesea are praying for you. Take a moment today to thank God for everything He has done and continues to do in your life. And if you have not yet asked Jesus into your heart, I invite you to repent of your sins, confess to God that you are sorry and mean it, and receive Jesus as the Lord of your life. Jesus will wash away your EVERY sin by the power found in His Precious Blood, shed for you. Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” –2 Corinthians 5:17 Amen.

My Hiding Place.

May 17, 2025 /

Pastor Maria Braga

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4.

In life, there are times when we feel on top of the world, everything is going well, and the mountain top becomes comfortable and highly appealing, but it can also often become a place of forgetfulness. When we are there, we forget that there are places opposite the mountain tops called valleys; when something suddenly happens, and we see ourselves descending from this fantastic “mountain” to those “valleys,” we are not even sure what’s happening because we forget in those moments that valleys even exist. That can be scary!

The question is: How do we handle such complex challenges when we suddenly face them?

There’s an interesting story in the Bible that King David talks about—a place he probably traveled through many times as a shepherd. David uses this place as a metaphor for difficult times; it appears to be a place he is very familiar with and one He compares hard times to. We, too, can compare our difficulties to this lesson or this visual King David shares, remembering that, like him, many of us have gone through similar trials. The place is called “The Valley of the Shadow of Death,” located between Jerusalem and Jericho.

The only time you can see sunshine at the bottom of this valley is at noon, when the sun is straight overhead. Sources say that it is still there today. It is a steep, winding road made narrow by rocks, with a massive cliff on the right side, 800′ in depth. It is a place of danger! David chose this place as his place of suffering and endurance during many of his trials; it was his hiding place.

There are three things I want to point out about valleys:

1- Valleys are temporary but a part of life.

Deuteronomy 11:11 says, “But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.”

Valleys are a sure thing. Everyone goes through them at one point or another in a lifetime. As you read this text, you may either be coming out of a valley, entering a valley, being in the middle of a valley, or heading to another valley. These valleys are inevitable in life; they are part of it, and we know they are coming repeatedly through our journey. The best thing to do while in the valley is to pray and learn to listen to the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit there, and know that despite the magnitude of the valley, you are never alone. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” –Heb 13:5. God’s love is with us as it was with David! Hold onto Him, and He will help you cross each valley.

Remember, you are never going to the valley; you are going through it, and that everyone encounters valleys: “The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in everyone” –Psalm 34:19.

2- Valleys are at times unpredictable but fruitful by divine design.

Valleys can be a consequence of something we did, didn’t do, or something that happened to us outside our control. Valleys appear in many forms – a loss, a disappointment, a setback, an illness, trouble within a marriage, or finances. All forms are valid, but the question for those of faith is: How will you go through those valleys and still hold onto your faith?

Remember, valleys happen to believers as well as unbelievers.

Being a believer doesn’t spare us from the troubles this world brings. The difference between the believer and the unbeliever is that the person of faith goes through the valleys with Jesus. The unbeliever doesn’t have Jesus to carry them through those difficult valley moments when they can’t stand alone.

In the hiding place, being alone with your Maker is crucial. Some valleys can really bring you to a place of losing your joy! “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” –Matt 28:20. For the believer, God intends some valleys to grow our faith. The Lord takes us there to stretch and increase our endurance; we bring other valleys on ourselves.

Every choice we make, whether believers or unbelievers, will have consequences.

3- Valleys feel lonely, but we are not alone; God is with us!

I feel lonely, abandoned, and sad in a valley. I’ve learned to accept by knowing in the depths of my soul that I am not alone. Jesus’ promises to me stand forever. Yes, it feels lonely because the work God is doing in me cannot be done in public by anyone else; God is doing it in secret, in the valley “Our Secret Place.” God is chiseling pieces off to make me look more like Him. He is transforming me from areas that have been formed in my life over the decades I’ve lived, and things I’ve learned. He reserved this time just for the two of us. In these valley moments, like David, I say: “Even though I walk through” the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” –Psalm 23:4

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2022.

Cancer was something I never thought would come to me. No one in my family has ever had this atrocious thing. At first, I was numb and couldn’t understand or accept what was happening. My first chemo treatment was a shocker. My hair falling out was a shocker. The pain I experienced was unbelievable. Amidst all of these valleys, God spoke to my heart at the very beginning. Thank you, Jesus. The day of my biopsy was tough for me. I was lying down, and so many student doctors were around me, poking me with needles, with the head doctor watching them. I couldn’t speak; I was in pain. Suddenly, in the depths of my spirit, I heard: “You shall live and not die.” My heart and my spirit leaped. The doctor noticed a sudden change in me and asked if I was ok. I said yes!

They continued the procedure, and I was now in my spirit, I believe – because I felt like God was right there with me, carrying me through this valley of agony. At another time, I took an injection within 24 hours of the first chemo, and I reacted horribly to it. My whole body felt like one big pulse, pulsing from head to toe. That entire day and the following night, I was literally in agony and felt like all my bones were being crushed. Amid it all, I kept calling Jesus. That was my prayer.

I heard the same voice I had heard before from the depths of my soul, but this time, His Words were “I AM.” These Words brought me such peace. I knew God was with me, and regardless of the suffering, He was carrying me, and I would be ok. Today, I share my healing story because He graciously and surely healed me in “My Hiding Place.”! Our Hiding Place can be the mountaintops of sweetness or the valleys of bitterness. Either way, we must stand firm and hold onto the promises of God for our lives.

Father God, I pray for every person reading these words today. Wherever they are in life, whatever valley they face, please give them the strength to endure it. To see You, and hear Your voice in their process. Touch their mind, body, and soul, and heal, encourage, bless, and carry them through their challenging valleys. I pray that if anyone doesn’t know You, Jesus, that person opens their heart and comes to salvation. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen

A Cultivated Heart.

May 3, 2025 /

Matthew Botelho

Praise God! We finally made it through the wintery months here in New England. Spring is here, and the renewal of life has begun. Trees are budding, and birds are chirping in the early morning. Spring is also when my oldest son starts preparing to plant his garden. I can’t get him to clean his room, but when it comes time to prepare his garden, he’s all for it. My son loves to grow plants and has a real knack for it. To this day, I am still not sure where his love for gardening comes from. Neither his mom nor I has any experience growing plants. Yet, every mid-spring, my son goes out into his garden and starts tilling the soil, breaking up the hard ground from winter passed.

As I watched him last year, I noticed the dirt he was breaking up looked nothing like the hard, dried-out topsoil. The soil he was turning over was much darker and richer. My son told me that if he didn’t turn the soil over, he would be unable to sow any seeds in the ground because plants wouldn’t grow in the hard topsoil. So, he cultivates the ground to prepare it. It takes work to prepare the ground for sowing.

Seeing this made me start thanking God for His Son, His saving work on the Cross, and how He changed my once hard heart.

You see, spiritually speaking, the heart is not that fleshy muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies; the heart is our mind, will, and emotions. Jesus desires to bring each of these under obedience to His life-changing power, softening them. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” –Proverbs 23:7

Everything changes for the better when we submit our hearts to Jesus; this happens only because of God’s grace. There is no other way to receive salvation and redemption (being saved from sin, error, or evil) but through Jesus. He alone knows what’s in men’s hearts, and like the rich soil my son exposed, only Jesus can turn a man from a life of sin and death to one made clean, new, ready to receive Him, rich in abundance.

Jesus is the only answer for a man’s deceitful heart; He is the Sower, and our heart is the ground He desires to till. “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up right away, since it didn’t have deep soil. When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have root, it withered. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop. Still others fell on ground and produced a crop that increased 30, 60, and 100 times that was sown. Then He said, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” –Mark 4:3-9

This scripture says the sower went out and sowed seed, which fell on the rocky ground. After a while, tender little sprouts began to grow, but the soil was not suitable for them to thrive in. The roots needed to grow and get nutrients from the ground beneath that rocky soil had no place to sink into. So, too, the Word of God cannot take root if it’s sown in a man’s hard heart (mind, will, emotion). Perhaps some rocky soil is caused by heartache or words spoken in anger. As a result, the heart closes itself off from allowing anyone in. But God! Jesus is the only one who can change that heart of stone, turning it into a heart of flesh, making it whole again, ready to receive once more.

After Jesus was taken down from His Cross, He was laid to rest in a garden tomb, and a large stone was used to seal the tomb. “Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.” –John 19:40-42

But that stone was supernaturally removed on the third day, and Jesus walked out alive!

Jesus is the Seed sown into the hearts of all who declare Jesus as Savior by God the Father. These hearts will not only have new life, but will also help to reproduce new life. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” –John 12:24

The thorns, those wicked thoughts or anxieties that whisper, “You don’t need God.” Or “Nothing will ever change; you’re just a hopeless case.”

Such thoughts will choke the Word of God out of you if you allow them to. “Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out.” –Matthew 13:7.

Jesus is the only Person who can remove these thorns from your life.

He alone bore a crown of thorns on His head for you. Those wicked thoughts, those lies people have told about you. Jesus’ Holy Blood covered His crown of thorns, freeing everyone who will receive Him as Lord and Savior from the curse of sin and death.

The fall of man took place in the Garden of Eden, where the human heart was forever changed the very second sin entered the world. Still, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, in another garden, Jesus accepted a cup of suffering which contained the sins of the whole world.

Man’s salvation is made possible because Jesus died in our place, after drinking every drop of that bitter, sin-filled cup. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” –2 Corinthians 5:2.

But before Jesus was betrayed and taken away, He prayed to the Father, saying, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” –John 17:1-3

Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, my dear friend, proves His love for you.

Jesus was so determined to see you free that He came as a willing ransom, paying in full the price sin demands. He did this for anyone who would proclaim Him as Lord. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” –Romans 6:23.

I invite you to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior into your hearts. Let Him break up any hard ground He finds there—by repenting your sins. Invite Jesus to plant a new thing in the turned-over soil of your heart. Jesus loves you, and He is so willing to do this for you. “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.” –John 3:16 Amen.

Even If.

April 26, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” –Daniel 3:16-18.

There is a hymn most Christians would instantly recognize; moreover, whose hearts would joyously and with complete abandon declare. I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back. Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow, no turning back, no turning back. Some say this familiar hymn was composed in 1959 by hymn editor William Jensen Reynolds using what is said to be the last words of a Christian convert of the mid-18th century as he and his family were being martyred for their faith. Other sources say these final words of the martyr, Nokseng, of the Garo tribe in Assam, India, a tribe looked upon as bloodthirsty savages, were turned into a hymn written by the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh.

Whoever you may credit, this most sincere declaration is indelibly etched on our hearts. No question, each devout word took flight from Nokseng’s lips. This man was so in love with Jesus, so thoroughly convinced that Jesus is who He claimed to be and will do all He claimed He would do, that not even death, his own, nor that of his two sons and beloved wife, would deter him from turning his back on Jesus.

When Nokseng said there’d be no turning back, he meant it.

I pray the same can be said of you and me, beloved.

Mirroring Nokseng’s heart and flintlike faith, the Apostle Paul echoed his own fixed determination never to turn away from Jesus approximately 15 centuries later: “Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ’s sake. Yes, and I look upon everything as loss compared with the overwhelming gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I did in actual fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ. For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ. How changed are my ambitions! Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by his resurrection: now I long to share his sufferings, even to die as he died, so that I may perhaps attain as he did, the resurrection from the dead” –Philippians 3:8.

If you have decided to follow Jesus, I pray the height and depth of their words and determined following burn as white-hot in your own heart, no turning back.

You may ask, “What do this song and the apostles’ words have to do with today’s Scripture verse?”

To which I’ll reply, “Everything.”

Much like the martyrs Nokseng and the Apostle Paul, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego each made a firm decision never to turn away from following Jesus. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” –Daniel 3:16-17.

Long before the moment came when each would face the very real threat of dying for Jesus, each had long before determined in their heart that his life was no longer his own. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]” –Matthew 16:24 Amp.

How blessed are you, dear Christian, to follow the One, True God, Jesus, who does not ask of His disciples something He is unwilling to do. How blessed we are that our Jesus goes before us in all things pertaining to faith and commitment to God, and by modeling how it is done, Jesus, our Greatest example, was willing to lay down His life in obedience to the Father’s will. “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” –John 10:18.

Resurrection Sunday is just an arm’s length behind us.

Yet, the same “ever-before-us” decision asked and answered by those who have given up their lives for Jesus remains. “Brothers and sisters, together follow my example and observe those who live by the pattern we gave you. For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, who live as enemies of the cross of Christ [rejecting and opposing His way of salvation]” –Philippians 3:17-18

As we plainly witnessed here today, those who claimed they followed Jesus did, in fact, do just that—even unto death.

Beloved, recognizing our life is a living sacrifice, we too must decide to follow Jesus’s ultimate example of obedience and love for the Father, knowing with unwavering certitude that, no matter what happens, believing what awaited Jesus on the morning of the third day awaits us as well. “Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer captive to sin’s demands! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did” —Romans 6:6-11.

So, new friend, have you decided to follow Jesus? No turning back? I’m praying you will. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” –John 11:25-26.

Bread, Not Bunnies.

April 19, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

“I alone am this living Bread that has come to you from heaven. Eat this Bread and you will live forever. The living Bread I give you is my body, which I will offer as a sacrifice so that all may live.” –John 6:51

Men might be willing for Christ to save them, but not for Him to reign over them—Charles Spurgeon.

Tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday. A day when some will celebrate with their perhaps bi-yearly visit to church, wearing their new, or new-to-them, Easter outfits. Sadly, they’ll celebrate the day God defeated death and the grave as just a fun-filled day, complete with chocolatey treats instead of what it truly is: A Life-giving day that changed everything! The day Jesus, the sinless Son of God, took their sins and ours upon Himself, His once-for-all sacrifice, dying the criminal’s death we deserve so that all men might have New Life in Him and a restored relationship with the Father. For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” –1 Peter 1:18-19.

Still, knowing this, many will give Jesus His 45 minutes tomorrow, then consider their duty done; sadly, they will go on to celebrate the Easter bunny’s arrival with their children. Celebrating how he brought them baskets filled with jellybeans, toys, and chocolate bunnies, sometimes real ones—making him the hero of the day. Perishable trinkets will take the place of the Pearl of Great Price. Heaven’s kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it” Matthew 13:45-46.

They’ll give their children baskets full of candy but not share the unfathomable sacrifice Jesus made just for them. Instead of telling their children just how much Jesus loves them, or the immeasurable lengths He went to ensure they could be His, instead, they’ll take them on the hunt for that well-hidden golden egg—the prized egg, the reward for all their hunting efforts! The Apostle Paul had something to say about those who write Jesus out, replacing Him with idols, man’s thought-up imaginings, their “Easter best” efforts: “For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.” –1 Corinthians 1:18.

How thankful we are, dear Christian, that our hunt is over!

Jesus has risen, hallelujah! And so, too, shall we!

Our Prize is One we did not have to go in search of. Instead, He made His presence plain to us using His heavenly host to announce Himself that none could deny the most excellent Gift ever given to mankind: King Jesus, Bread of Life. “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. Don’t be afraid!” he said. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” –Luke 2:9-12.

How fitting, beloved, that our King should be born in Bethlehem, known in Hebrew as the “House of Bread.” Jesus, Living Lechem (bread), declared of Himself: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” –John 6:35.

We see the foreshadowing of Jesus as the Bread of Life in the Book of Exodus.” Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.” –Exodus 25:23-24;30.

This bread was a sacred memorial offering, a reminder to God’s people of His Everlasting Covenant, Presence, and continual provision.

From the beginning, God’s heart towards His people has ensured that we are well-fed by His Word, sent first as life-sustaining manna in the wilderness. Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” –John 6:31.

Then, through Moses, God instructed His priests to place actual bread, a placeholder for Jesus, on a sulhan or table inside the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Twelve loaves were to be baked and then arranged in piles of six each, made from the finest flour and covered with the finest incense laid out weekly before the Lord by His priests. His table and its Old Covenant bread foreshadowed a future table where the New Covenant Bread of Life would sit with His Apostles. And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” –Luke 22:19-20.

Bread factored heavily in Israel’s history, including that of the early church.

Bread was a staple, even in the poorest homes. Something that all people, regardless of their wealth, poverty, Jewish or Gentile background, skin color, or background, could relate to. Is it any wonder that Jesus, our humble King, who came so all men might receive His free gift of salvation, likened Himself to such a Life-Giving staple? His Body and Blood, Bread and Wine, Jesus also said: “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink” –John 6:53-55.

Jesus is not a man that He can lie, beloved.

Tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the grave, defeating sin and death. Let us never forget that the shedding of our Bridegroom’s Blood is what makes us a spotless bride—you were bought at a very high price.

Each of John’s passages assures us that Jesus, the Bread of Life, can and promises to give New Life to all those who come to Him hungry for God’s real Food, sent to us that we might have New Life in Him today and eternal life in the world to come. “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” –John 6:58

New friends don’t make tomorrow about chocolate bunnies, easter baskets, and a new outfit. Make it about the Bread that came down from heaven. Make it all about Jesus, the Bread of Life. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. / And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” –John 11:25-26.

Reflections of Mephibosheth.

April 12, 2025 /

MaryEllen Montville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chased is what David showed Mephibosheth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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