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Head of The Table…

November 28, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills [of Jerusalem]—From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” –Psalm 121:1-2.

This wasn’t the message I had intended to post today, yet it is God’s message for you; not that what I had written originally wasn’t intended for you, it was. My timing in sharing it was off, however. And timing matters greatly to God. Hence, this post in place of that one. I had planned to share a different message entirely. To point you in faith’s direction. Towards Father Abraham, and a gentile harlot named Rahab—but that will have to wait for some future date. This is God’s Word—humbly, I’ve been allowed to convey what it is He wants saying. So, for today, we’ll be talking about our Father. Let’s focus our attention then, on the head of the table—towards the seat of honor and authority—the host’s seat. The place where Dad sits. Where the first portion of every good thing brought to the table is served up.

It’s Saturday. The turkey is little more than a carcass by now—if there’s any leftover at all. The bowls of delicious sides are probably gone too. The pies and guests vanished. The platters, dishes, and pots, long washed and put away. The good china tucked safely away in the sideboard until next time. The host’s chair at the head of the table pushed back under it now, along with the rest of the chairs. Thanksgiving is over. That red number day on our wall calendars a memory now, stored away until another layer of memories is added to it next year. Should the Lord tarry.

But for you, dear Christian, though the red numbered day on your wall calendar is over, and all your favorite goodies are gone now. I pray your heart of thanksgiving burns as brightly today, tomorrow, next month, with thanks and praise to our God, as it did this past Thursday? As I stated earlier, the Lord caused me to momentarily look away from Abraham and Rahab—redirecting us instead to the Book of Psalms. Towards those 150 songs packed full—well, most of them at least, with praise and thanksgiving to Him—extolling His attributes. In psalm after psalm, we are directed, or redirected somehow, towards God—towards giving Him thanks and praise. No doubt why He has directed us here today. Yet far too often, sadly, we need reminding of just how magnificent He is. And so, throughout the Book of Psalms then, we are reminded of just who our God is. How Wonder-full. Reminded of His goodness and mercy and kindness. His faithfulness and long-suffering. Of the unfathomable depths of God’s unplumbed love for us.

Our giving thanks then, should be as natural as breathing for us. His Holy Spirit in us bringing back to our frail, forgetful flesh, in those moments and hours when we do forget, somehow, that it is this very same God of the Psalms who stood over the blank canvas of a yet created world and, with the power of His Word, filled it with His creations—everything we know and experience today. Just listen to the proofs offered us in the opening verses of Psalm 19: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands. Day after day pours forth speech, And night after night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars]. Their voice is not heard. Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth, Their words to the end of the world. In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun…”

And, because of this—this inescapable evidence of God’s existence, power, His majesty that so plainly surrounds every man, not one of us can use the excuse that we did not know God was real when we stand before Him. We can’t. It’s been removed by God from our endless list of excuses. It’s no longer usable when we’re faced with the proof of His very real realness—both day, and night! “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens”–Psalm 8:1.

But why look to the head of the table? And what do the psalms and seating arrangements have to do with each other?

Customarily, it is the host—the head of the household, who sits at the head of the table. They take on the responsibility of ensuring that everyone who has been invited to join in the festivities has everything they need. And, while we’re talking about those who’ve been invited, it’s also the host who does the inviting as well. The host has also tended to the preparations. Planning for and providing everything needed to make each guest feel welcomed and well cared for. It is also the host who usually serves those who have been invited to their table. Any of this sounding familiar to you yet? If not, allow me to give you some clues as to where this is going. In sticking with the Psalms, let’s look at the opening verse of the 23rd Psalm—a clear giveaway. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  Need more still? Then let’s head over to Revelation 19: 6-9 then. “Then I heard again what sounded like the shouting of a huge crowd, or like the waves of a hundred oceans crashing on the shore, or like the mighty rolling of great thunder, “Praise the Lord. For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him; for the time has come for the wedding banquet of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She is permitted to wear the cleanest and whitest and finest of linens.” (Fine linen represents the good deeds done by the people of God.) And the angel dictated this sentence to me: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “God himself has stated this.”

Friends, it is the Lord who has been given this seat of honor at the table of our hearts—and rightly so. He alone gave and continues to freely give, to us. We come owing Him everything—unto our very lives if need be. Everything we have a gift from Him—He owes us not one thing, and yet He gave the world His absolute best—His Son, Jesus. And He continues to invite us, daily, to partner with Him. Sharing with the whole world then, the Good News of this Jesus that He gave, and that we know and love. Love because He first loved us. And we partner with Him solely because He chose us, creating us to do so long before He knit us together in our mother’s womb. This God, our Lord, The King of kings who, when dinner was over, long after the preparing and serving and giving was done, donned a towel and washed the feet of those He had invited to His table. Then, He got up, and, after being brutally tortured, picked up His Cross and went willingly to die in our place. And we should forget to thank Him after the turkey is gone? God forbid! I pray not my brothers and sisters. Let us instead enter His courts daily, hourly, minute by every precious minute we’re afforded, with thanksgiving and praise in our hearts, flowing freely from our lips! “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness and delight; Come before His presence with joyful singing. Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy and lovingkindness are everlasting, His faithfulness [endures] to all generations” –Psalm 100

Friend, I do hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. But know this, God wants your thanksgiving, daily. You were created to praise God. But how can you praise someone you don’t yet know and love? Start by asking Jesus into your heart. He’ll gladly accept your invitation if you’ll sincerely extend it. “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.

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…

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.

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.

Deliverance, Again. Luke 24:13-16.

April 11, 2020 /
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”

“We are marching towards this new thing God is about to reveal; we are marching towards the New Jerusalem.”

Gethsemane felt like a distant memory, His precious Blood long dried now; browned—at least what was left of it that is. His Cross, bare. His tomb, empty. Everything that had once filled them with such hope, painted bright with the broad brushstrokes of possibility, those areas of their lives that had been infused with faith and joy and a future in Him—because He had said it was so— as dried up and brown now as His spilled Blood. But how? How could this have happened? Why? Why didn’t He save Himself? Save us all? Why didn’t we see this coming? Distractions are designed to force you to make adjustments to your area of focus. –Pastor Mike Padgett.

They had been expecting Him—their Messiah, to come and fight. To raise up an army. To deliver them from the death-like grip of Roman oppression as David, the mighty warrior King would have…

There’s a real danger in looking backward when something new is standing right in front of you. Not only will looking back blind you from being able to recognize the new thing standing before you—but looking backward also robs the hope new-ness offers. And so it was with these two men. Heads bent, heavy from grief and disbelief. They were certain they had just lost forever the One person that meant everything to them. Grief has a way of blinding us to those who are walking right beside us.

Jesus had been with them for some three years. He had foretold of His death and resurrection on numerous instances while He was with them. “…He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” –Mark 8:31; Luke 13:33; Matthew 16:21. He’d also told them that He had come to do the will of His Father. “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”—John 6:38. Not once did He ever mention fulfilling their will—nor His own. That day on the Emmaus road they hadn’t yet grasped that this Jesus, their Messiah—ours too, was their Paschal Lamb. Would quite literally throw Himself in front of the enemy of their souls—ours too—in a way no David, no mere man ever could. They had no clue the power in this Lamb’s Blood! They didn’t understand its reach extended far beyond the doorposts and lintels of their ancestors…

Christ was right there with these two. This same Christ whom they had walked with and ate with. Had slept beside and had their hearts and minds and bellies filled by His teachings was walking side-by-side with them now. And, yet, they weren’t able to recognize them. The Scriptures tell us they were kept from recognizing Him. It wasn’t until Jesus broke the bread and blessed it that their eyes were finally opened. For whatever reason, the Bible doesn’t elaborate, it wasn’t until they saw this familiar action being performed that their eyes were finally opened, recognizing Him. “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.” –Luke 24:30-31.

That got me to wondering: So how much of Jesus, His nearness and wisdom, His desiring for us to see beyond our natural seeing do we miss in our everyday walk with Him because we’re not able to recognize Him in anything other than what’s familiar to us? This newly resurrected Christ had been keeping stride with Cleopas and this other disciple all the while—and nothing. Not a clue. Not only did they not recognize Him by sight, but His voice was obviously foreign to them as well.

Are we being offered some glimpse into our resurrected appearances within this verse? I digress…

In allowing Christ Jesus to be sacrificed, God had just done this new thing. Actually, He had just fulfilled an old agreement. No more sprinkling the people with the blood of slaughtered animals. “Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” –Exodus 24:8. From now on, there’d be no further need for walking between slaughtered animals. His covenant with Abraham confirmed and undergirded through Moses, (Exodus, chapters 19-34) fulfilled now in His Paschal Lamb, Christ Jesus. “So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram… –Genesis 15: 9-10;17-18.

Notice that it was only God who walked between these bloody carcasses. He was that “smoking firepot with a blazing torch.” Abram was in a deep sleep. The covenant made with Abraham and Moses has always been God’s alone to fulfill. From the very second He stood over the dark void, until the very second the feet of Jesus touch this earth for a second time, only God is, has been, or will ever be, worthy to uphold His covenant. He is the only One without sin. Only God has ever been capable of fulfilling the promises He’s made to any man. Man, on the other hand, has broken every promise we’ve ever made to God. We’ve never once managed to hold up our end of the covenant…

And as it was with those who have gone before us, those who swore to keep God’s commands, to follow His ordinances, His ways, so too is it with every one of us today. Sinners all, in need of salvation. In need of the Blood. In need of what had been offered to us way back in the garden—a relationship with God.  This broken relationship restored now, made possible once again through Jesus, our Paschal Lamb. In God’s offering of His only Son, never again would the blood of an animal be required to atone for the sins of a people—any people, us. No more animal blood need be painted on doorposts and their lintels. “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. –Exodus 12:13-14. What had been required by God’s law; a foreshadowing—has become a memorial now, a homage, an altar of remembrance, our unfathomable privilege…

“Why is tonight different from all other nights?” Because God had just sacrificed the only Lamb, the only sacrifice, that is wholly acceptable in His sight; His pure, sinless, spotless Son. The Lamb of God Himself. Because He chose to cover us, as He did Adam and Eve and Abram and Moses and Joshua and all of His children before us—as well as those yet come. This same God who had covered Adam and Eve with bloody animal skins in the garden—a foreshadowing, knew death was coming for every first-born in Egypt, a judgment, yet another foreshadowing, flung Himself in front of death and, in offering His own Blood said, “Not this one!” God, with Jesus in mind, protected His people eternally with the shed blood of a lamb or a kid so that He might deliver them—leading them out from under the grip of the one who sought to oppress them, destroy them. Leading them instead, back into right relationship with Himself…

Sound familiar? It should.

God is still delivering us out from under the death-like grip of that same one whose sole mission in this life is to steal from us, destroy us, and finally, to kill us. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. This part of the story has never changed. It started in the garden with the words, “Did God really say”, and it will continue until the day Jesus returns and puts an end to him.

Friend, many things in this life will not change until Christ returns. That’s just a fact. If you’re waiting to get it right or for things to be right before you come to know Christ, you, my dear friend, will miss out on all that He has for you both now, and in the world to come. More, you will have been as blind as those friends of Jesus who failed to see what was right in front of them. That same Christ that was with them is walking right beside you now. He’s just waiting for you to ask Him into your life. And I promise you, that if you do, honestly ask Him I mean, then He will open your eyes to all that God has for you, has yet to come in this world, just as He did for those two.

And to you my brothers and sisters, if you’ve become stagnant in your walk with the Lord, I pray you will begin to stir up your faith, your gift—repent, earnestly seek His face and will and direction for your life. The price Christ paid that you might be restored— have a relationship with God at all, was far too dear for you or me—for any of us to let grow cold or stale…

Again and again, God has delivered those He calls to Himself. Delivered them from every kind of sin, sickness, and dis-ease. “It is finished.” So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. –John 19:30. We don’t serve a one time—one chance God. Thankfully, we serve a God whose mercy is new each morning. An Intercessor who sits at the right hand of the Father, praying for us day and night. A God who is ever offering us the opportunity of a new life in Himself…

Friend, if you don’t know this Jesus personally, in this holy season of hope and renewal, won’t you ask Him to break bread before you that your eyes may be opened too? He did it for them, if you truly desire it, He’ll surely do it for you …

Whether you know it, or not. Recognize it, or not. We are marching towards this “new thing” God is about to reveal; we are marching towards the New Jerusalem…”  

My highest prayer for you today is that you’ll march with us. If you have yet to ask this Jesus to come and break bread with you, make Himself real and recognizable to you, then please, don’t let this moment pass. “He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” –Revelation 21:5.

Never Alone. Psalm 23:4

April 4, 2020 /
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

Have you ever found yourself feeling so alone? The heaviness of a loneliness that declares itself your only companion is a weight we were never meant to carry. King David seems to have understood this side of our humanity. Throughout the Psalms, we get a glimpse into some of his deepest, most emotional experiences, as we are taken on a journey through this one man’s life… 

Just chapters before this faith-filled passage, in Psalm 13, we find King David crying out to God because he felt incredibly abandoned. But what caused him to come out of his crisis still trusting in God, the Good Shepherd? How could someone in such distress turn their weeping into a song of praise? King David seems to have responded to emotional turmoil with faith and praise. 

Responding to despair with faith can only stem from a deep-rooted relationship with God. There must be an understanding that God is constant. He never changes. He is good, regardless of life’s circumstances, and He is with us in all circumstances. There is a reason why we are reminded, several times, throughout the scriptures, that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He will never abandon us. (Deut. 31:8; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 41:10; Matt. 28:20, to name but a few). It has been said that it is not God who leaves us, rather, it is we who tend to walk away from God. As we spend time with the Lord daily, we develop an awareness of His presence in our lives. Reminding ourselves of who God is, is essential to remaining steadfast on Him, as the Solid Rock. When we remind ourselves of who He is in the midst of the trial, we put to death our flesh that would rather complain and wallow in self-pity. As we remember who the Father is, it becomes more natural for us to respond to the valleys with prayer rather than doubt. This lifestyle of prayer inherently causes us to remember that we are not merely talking to the air but to an extremely near God who cares for us more than we’ll ever know. 

Psalm 23 is an excellent example of what it means to edify our souls… 

In this passage, it seems as though King David was not in the midst of a trial; he was simply reflecting on the goodness and faithfulness of God. For believers today, this means that it is important to make a habit of praising God in the good times so that in the ‘not-so-good times’ we can remember who He is and what He has done for us. If our attention is never brought to His faithfulness, we will be shaken in those moments when we need to remember it most. Praise is like a muscle; the more we exercise it, the stronger it becomes. As we spend time in praise daily, we’ll learn to exercise our praise muscle so that, when we don’t feel like praising, praise will, nevertheless, become our natural response to whatever we’re feeling. Praise will have become part of our muscle memory. 

There are 5 principles that we can take away from this passage in which David acknowledged the hand of God on his life: v. 1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures…” Jesus provides rest for our souls. In the peaceful seasons, acknowledging the rest that we have in our communion with Him helps us to live in awareness of His goodness. 

v. 2-3 “… he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” I love the peace oozing out of this passage. Our God is a God of restoration. As we walk with Him and trust Him, He brings us to a place of complete peace that surpasses all understanding. In this process, we grow in trust and confidence in Him that we can’t explain. It is an understanding that He is in control. 

v.4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” It’s easy to see God’s hand in hindsight when we’re standing on the victorious side of a trial. There are times when we know we couldn’t make it through a certain situation on our own. May we never forget His kindness in those moments! He is our strength and protection. Draw your strength from the One in whom the wind and waves obey. The God who created the entire universe is not just with us because he has to be, but because he desires to be! He is near. The valley does not always look the same in every season. Sometimes, it can present itself as a trial in your emotions or it can be a conflict in relationships. Whatever it is, you are not alone. He is with you. It is a promise! 

v. 5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In the middle of the trial, whatever that may be, God is our provision. He wants to bless us. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word blessing means; “imploring happiness on another.” God does not want us to be miserable. He wants to bless us beyond measure. Often when we hear blessing it’s easy to think of material things, but by definition, a blessing is a prayer of happiness. What will bring happiness in this season? Is it something physical, or is it peace, joy, or favor? God knows our needs even better than we do! When we abide in His presence and yield our lives to Him, He will bless us far more than we could have ever imagined! 

v. 6 “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God’s favor is afforded to us when we rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This verse highlights some of the trade-offs for submitting our lives to the Lord. Like King David, we must be confident that the goodness and love of God will be our portion. His favor follows us wherever we go. As children of God, we are never alone. He is with us always. He knew that in this life we would have our fair share of highs and lows, but He promised we wouldn’t have to walk it alone. 

Rest, restoration, strength and protection, provision and blessing, and favor are all available to us as we allow Him to walk with us. Is He enough for you today? If not, I’d 

challenge you to dig deep and ask yourself why not? When we get to a place where He is enough for us, we begin to journey through life with unwavering confidence that He is who He says he is, and we are who He says we are. I pray that you will begin to exercise your praise muscle so that you will respond to the dark valleys in praise, knowing that He is right there with you. As you draw near to God He will draw near to you. Then, now fortified, you’ll lift your eyes and be able to say with confidence, “God is good, even when life is not.” If you are reading this and feel that this is not for you because you don’t “follow Jesus” I want you to know that the opportunity to follow Him is available to you today. God so loved THE WORLD (me and you), that He gave His Son (John 3:16). He came for you before you even knew of Him. If you want to walk with this Jesus who will never leave or abandon you, the Bible says to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Call on His name, for He is near.

Rescued. Zechariah 3:2

February 8, 2020 /
“The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

You beloved are that burning stick that has been snatched from the fire. A sinner saved by His amazing grace! Like Joshua before you, you have been washed clean—made new by the sacrificial shedding of Blood. The Blood of the Spotless Lamb, Jesus, shed on your behalf. If that is, you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior…

Entering into any meaningful and lasting relationship requires our being intentional; a deep consideration of our willingness to commit. It is a deliberate and highly personal choice born from a wanting to share and grow, exchange and receive, with another. It’s one built on a foundation of sacrifice and service to another or others; come what may. It’s a conscious laying down of one’s life, born out of genuine love for the well-being of the other. In this same sense, entering into a relationship with Jesus is no different. However, it, above all other relationships, must be birthed from a deep desire to connect with this God more intimately than with any other person. Understanding this: once that relationship has been established, you’re then set apart to serve God and His people. And, then, to spend a joy-filled eternity with Him. You, beloved, though your sins demanded it, will not spend an eternity in hell; that place of separation and torment that was neither created nor intended for you or any man. It was created for Satan, and all those fallen angels who followed him in his rebellion against God—Matthew 25:41.

You, my fellow believers, are now ministers of the Most High God. Those chosen to be royal priests. And, yet, even though you are the King’s kid still, His ownership of you stands above your service to Him. Your priesthood—your role in ministering before the Lord exists solely because He alone has bestowed its use and service, its privilege and anointing, upon you.

Ah! I have my filthy garments on. I cannot pray to Him. I cannot praise Him as I would.” I know what it is to come and preach to you sometimes, and to feel such an overwhelming sense of my own unworthiness, that, were it not, “Woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel,” I would not come on this platform again, for it is hard to feel that your garments are defiled even while endeavoring to be God’s mouth to men—Charles Spurgeon.

Friends, we cannot curry the favor of God. There’s not one thing we can do to “earn our spot.” Earn His love for us. His forgiveness. Not-one-single-thing. Without God’s mercy and His election of us, take away His unfathomable love for us; our sins demanded that we spend eternity in the hell created for Satan and his band of fallen angels; separated eternally from God. As all those who deliberately chose to rebel against Him—deny Him, will. Not popular, I know. But it’s the Truth, nonetheless. “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”  —1 Peter 4:17. Now, with that knowledge ever before us, may we be about working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Never forgetting the very heart of the words cried out by our brother, Paul. “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death…? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” —Romans 7:24. May this be our cry too, brothers and sisters. May we, like Joshua and Paul, and a remnant of the nation of Israel before us—like every saint that has been or is yet to come, never lose sight of how—by whose power it is, we either stand or fall; least we begin to think too highly of ourselves and risk being humbled by our Lord. My true position, as a Christian, is to be always ministering to God, always standing before His altar. –Charles Spurgeon.

Satan stood at the right hand of the Angel of the Lord accusing Joshua of every sin he and his people had committed. And Satan stands there still, pointing out our sins as well. Accusing all those who dare to believe in The Name above all names! Jesus!

But, here’s the good news, beloved: Jesus Christ has the final Word! He is our great and powerful Intercessor, a priest like Melchizedek. “He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him, because he always lives to make intercession for them” –Hebrews 7:25. There is nothing that Satan can say or do to change the way God sees you. We stand witness to this Truth not only within our Scripture verse today, but this very same Truth permeates the Word of God. Jesus knows everything Satan will use in His attempt to destroy you—to kill you and, He’s got you covered. He’s covered your every sin with His precious Blood. You are now the righteousness of Christ Jesus! Let that sink in for a moment…

When God spoke to Zechariah concerning the forgiveness of Joshua’s sin, the stain on the priesthood, and the sins of the Israelites—you were right there in the center of His heart also; represented in the person of Joshua. You stood there before the Lord in all your sin, with all of your faults and flaws, and, you too were covered by God’s intentions towards you. Your filthy clothes were also removed, you were washed clean and, the raiment of Christ’s righteousness was placed upon you. Covering your guilt and shame, you were cleansed and redressed from head to toe!

Beloved, now, when God looks at you, it is His Son—The Spotless Lamb slain for your sins that He sees.

The rebuke is forcibly applicable to the case in hand. He says, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire.” Satan says, “The man’s garments are filthy…” “Well,” says Jesus, “how do you expect them to be otherwise? When you pull a brand out of the fire, do you expect to find it milk-white or polished?” No, it had begun to crack and burn, and though you have plucked it out of the fire, it is in itself still black and charred. So it is with the child of God. What is he at his best? Till he is taken up to heaven, he is nothing, but a brand plucked out of the fire—Charles Spurgeon.

Can you even fathom so great a love, my friends? Whether or not we can wrap our heads around this great Truth, God’s love stands fixed, nonetheless. It ever remains our firm foundation on which to build. “God loves you and He gave His only begotten Son to die for you that you might be restored into right relationship with Him”—John 3:16.

That is the very heart of the Father’s love towards you, beloved.

The Apostle Paul says it this way: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us so that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit —Galatians 3:13-15.

You have been snatched from the fire to have a relationship with the Father. That you might spend your remaining days running after Him. Seeking Him out. Loving Him and spending time with Him. Desiring Him above all else. Above everyone and every-thing—placing even yourself at the very top of that list of those you are willing to sacrifice up to Jesus. Understanding, somehow, that you are no longer your own. You have been purchased at an exceedingly high price—1 Corinthians 7:23. So, then, be re-minded beloved: Just as Joshua was lovingly and thoroughly cleansed and prepared, so too have you been cleansed. You too are being prepared for something unimaginable beloved; to become the bride of this Christ who came and gave His life in exchange for yours. That’s Good News! The very One who reached into that all-consuming fire and said, “Not this one. This one is my own.” Accordingly, as it was with Joshua and Peter and Noah and Mary, with Paul and John and Father Abraham, brides each, made ready for their wedding day; so too has every detail of your life been, and will forever remain in, the All-Knowing and capable hands of the Father.

He has spared no expense on preparing you for that day that will rival no other. The day you meet Him face to face. That day when your fullness of joy spills out at His feet in loving gratitude, a crown. One of praise and thanksgiving…

I believe each of us needs to stop, from time to time, and reflect on this enormous Truth. To recalibrate, realigning ourselves with our True North. Therefore beloved, if you have forgotten, as we sometimes do, just how deeply you are loved and cherished by God, then please, ask the Holy Spirit to re-mind you. To fill you, once again, with the fullness of His Word concerning His great love for you. May you experience renewal, being re-united with the One it is you belong to; have been betrothed to. The One in whose name you have been called to minister…

 “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end”—Hebrews 3:12-14.

I like that closing sentence, “And the angel of the LORD stood by.” Oh, yes, we want Him always to stand by. When you have your new garments on, when you wear your mitre, you still want His presence. “Abide with us,” must be our daily prayer. We want still His strength, His comfort, His smile, the help of His arm, the light of His countenance—for if we have Him not, we shall soon slip from our steadfastness, and have reason to stand again, like Joshua, with filthy garments on—Charles Spurgeon.

Friend, if you are here today and have not asked Jesus into your heart know this; God Himself has called you here. These words should be little more than a confirmation. A quickening inside of you that says, “I believe this is God. I believe this is Him answering my question: “God, would you truly love someone like me?” He says yes. Yes, I love you. Yes, I led you here. And no, there is nothing that you have ever done that is so filthy that my Sons Spotless Blood will not wash it clean. Just ask me in and let us begin the journey I have planned for you… 

“The Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Israelites, concerning you and me: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”—Jeremiah 29:11.

In Order To Release. Luke 18:18-30.

October 19, 2019 /
When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

We are nowhere near as altruistic as we imagine ourselves. Scripture asserts that the human heart is deceitful beyond our understanding—it is incurable. In it lives the ability to commit every type of sin. “For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness” –Mark 7:21-22. In our own strength, we are powerless to overcome these evil thoughts and longings. Part of the ‘all things’ Jesus strengthens us to do includes giving us His strength in exchange for our weakness so that we can release into His loving care those things that can harm us or no longer benefit us. Contrary to how we may feel about them…

Much like this rich young ruler, we cannot give back to God any-thing He may ask us to give up or over to Him, minus the power of His Holy Spirit at work within us. It simply isn’t in our nature. Self-love will always so powerfully contend against the love of God that, even in the believer, it is often necessary to stir up our minds, by way of remembrance, the will of God that commands us to give and to sow. Having a knowledge of God, being a ‘good’ person, simply knowing about God, about His Word and will and desire for our lives will never give us the grace needed—the will required to release into God’s hands those things He may ask of us—from us. We see evidence of this in the rich young ruler. Likely a leader in the local synagogue. He knew enough about God to recognize in Jesus a man well-versed in the way and words of God—a true Rabbi. Thus he came to Jesus, sincerely some say, seeking to add more, some-thing else to what was already his. He had no idea that the ‘more’ he sought after would actually require him to leave behind what he valued the most.

With all he owned, all he had been given, he was the very poorest of men. Poor in that he was unwilling to exchange these worldly possessions for the eternal treasure being offered him. Christ in Him. Christ’s Life in Him and with Him—always. Of God living and ruling and leading and guiding and adding and taking away. Matthew Henry says it like this: Can a man lose by doing that with which God is pleased? He is able to make all grace abound towards us, and to abound in us; to give a large increase of spiritual and of temporal good things. He can make us to have enough in all things; and to be content with what we have. God gives not only enough for ourselves, but that also wherewith we may supply the wants of others, and this should be as seed to be sown.

Yet outside of a genuine relationship with Jesus, minus the deposit of the internal treasure of great value, the Holy Spirit in us, willing us to want what God wants, we too are inclined to turn and walk away from the future and promise the Lord has for us; choosing also, only those things which we can see and touch and hold on to. Those things we’ve deemed as beneficial to our overall wellbeing. Saying no thank you to God because we are too busy playing God…

This thought of freely releasing into God’s hands whatever it is He asks us to give up or over to Him, struck me as I was reading 2 Corinthians 9. Why did those believers in Corinth that had long since decided to give, need to be reminded of the commitment they had made? Wouldn’t they simply just give over the monies they had set aside when Titus and the witness arrived to collect it?

In Paul’s stirring words, a great spiritual Truth is revealed. Even the greatest of Christian men are simply that—men. And, as such, are susceptible to both falling and falling short. Fortunately, for those men and women whose lives have been surrendered to God, they, by His grace, through His election of them, are lifted up again and again and again, set aright, never to be left alone in the place they stumbled or fell short. As a result, when they fail God, and they will, by His strength in them, they are able to get up and continue on in Him. To keep fighting, keep giving up and over to. Keep standing in the face of what may feel like a great personal loss because their trust and love and heart and mind are fixed on the Gift they were given in exchange for the life they turned over to God when they heard Him say, “Come, follow me…”

Jesus is a master at revealing our hypocrisy, our humanness. Not to shame us but rather out of a deep and abiding love for us. A love He desires to share with all those who will receive it. With the precision of a gifted surgeon, He will expose our inability to keep the perfect Law of God; just as He did with this rich young ruler. By claiming to have kept all the commandments he revealed that he had in fact, failed to keep them. From the young man’s first words, Jesus begins to challenge his thinking by correcting his basic understanding of what is good. Jesus informs him that only God is good. Thus setting the standard we must use when measuring what we’ve falsely come to believe is good in others. In answering His disciples’ question on which is the greatest commandment, Jesus informs us that the core of—the very heart of all of the commandments is summed up in these two: “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 22:36-40.

For some of us here today, Jesus may be asking us, as He did our young ruler, to release material possessions He’s allowed us use of. For others, maybe it’s a job or a relationship that He’s asking you to let go of? Is God calling you to move to another church home? Maybe He’s calling you to a new city or state? Is He asking you to bless a person, a family, or some organization financially, and you just can’t see how you’ll see your way clear to do it? Is He asking that you entrust Him with your opinions of yourself, who you think you are, that you might see yourself as He sees you? Is He asking you to hand over your vision in exchange for His? Those wounds that have had you bound, are keeping you isolated and joyless, that you may have the joy and freedom that is found only in a relationship with Him?

The rich young ruler wouldn’t do it. He chose the here and now—what he believed he needed instead of what God was offering him. Left to ourselves we will always choose what pleases us. The power essential to give over to God any-thing He may require of us is found only in the person of the Holy Spirit. And it is in our relationship with Christ Jesus that the Spirit is given us, comes and lives within us—enabling us to do those things we simply cannot do on our own. He alone empowers us to obey God and to release into His Providential care every-thing God may desire from us—up to and including our very lives. But, we must accept His free gift. The rich young ruler knew of Jesus, but He did not know Jesus. So when asked to give over something he felt he could not live without—he had no choice but to walk away. He was power-less.

Do you have the power to release into God’s hands whatever it is He may be asking you to let go of?

If you are His, I pray that you turn to the only One who can strengthen you, brothers, and sisters. I am here to remind you and me of the commitment we made long ago—or not so long ago, to God. To have ready what we have pledged to Him when He comes for it…

Friend, if you have felt God calling you don’t turn away as the rich young ruler did. Don’t think you know enough about Jesus to get by when He is here offering you all of Himself right here, right now. Don’t turn away, please. Just ask Him, from your heart, to come into your life and do what only He can for you. He’s right here waiting to give you what you need, Himself, so you will release, into His care, what no longer serves you…

Such Love. 1 John 4:17-18.

August 24, 2019 /
“And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”

What is our brother John saying to us? What is it he is trying to open our eyes to see—more, our lives to be filled with and built upon? Verses 17 &18 answers this, in part. Our ability to have confidence in the day of judgment. And that perfect love, faith in the finished work of Christ, in His complete, benevolent love for us will dispel all of our fears.

Whether or not we believe it, the day of God’s judgment is coming. More, whether you believe this or not, you will face God and give an account for your life. Perhaps the greatest part of that account being why you chose not to believe in His Son? Yet John does not leave us alone with this knowledge of the coming judgement. Equally, verse 17 also instructs believers on just how to have this confidence or boldness on the day of judgment. And in verse 18 he instructs us how to cast fear out of our lives.

John Piper summarises these 2 verses this way: “These are simply positive and negative ways of saying the same thing: getting rid of fear is the negative way of saying become confident. I hope we all take the day of judgment as seriously as John does. So the main point of the text is clear: John wants to help us enjoy confidence before God. He does not want us to be paralyzed or depressed by fear of judgment. Nothing would make John happier (1 John 1:4) than to produce a generation of Christians who were utterly confident that God would accept them on the judgment day.”

Yet verses 17 and 18 are somehow wanting minus the glue that binds them together. The Truth found in verse 16 that girds them. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him –1 John 4:16. This gem is key to understanding just where this ability we must have to gain this confidence John speaks of, comes from.

Yet what does this love look like? And, how do we, as mere men, mange to love as God loves?

The Apostle John makes it clear that if we do not have a relationship—not a head knowledge, not our parents passed on religion, but an authentic relationship with Jesus—we cannot abide with God. More, we will not be able to love as God loves because it is the perfect love of God in us, at work in us, and not our own anemic, flawed love, that enables us to love as God has commanded us. You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works—James 2:22.

With this in mind, let’s follow along with John as he lays out how it is, we must take in, pattern ourselves after, and, have full, fixed confidence in—this love…

1). As we live in God…
That is, firstly, accepting in our hearts that God’s love for us is indisputable. Believing too, in the proof of His love. That this same God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us—literally in our place. And, that, finally, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, if we accept Him, God places His righteousness over us—covering our sin, eradicating our shame. Just as surely as He placed the bloodied skins of animals over a naked Adam and Eve –Genesis 3:21. We are made clean then, in His Pure, Spotless Blood, shed on our behalf. This acceptance is the nascent beginnings of our faith walk. 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.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing—John 15:5.

2) Our love grows more perfect…
The perfecting of our love for God and, conversely, for His people, is accomplished and grows in the crucible of relationship. In the friction of the day-to-day. Firstly, in our relationship with God. And, then, from its foundation springs our relationship with our neighbor. It is in our everyday walk with God, in the smallest of moments, of details, that He graciously reveals Himself. Demonstrates His great love and providential care for us. These tiny, at times seemingly insignificant, and easily overlooked moments string together forming our trust in Him. Our lifeline. An abiding love and trust we may not realize we have until life happens and then bam! Suddenly there they are; having been being built-up within us—unawares.

Our foundational relationship is with Christ Jesus. A lifelong, stabilizing gift crafted by God upon which our walk with Him begins. And, then, from this shoots grow; our love takes action and we desire to see others love Him as we do. “In this, that is in your love for each other, God’s love is put into action and so reaches its appointed goal. It does not remain at the imperfect stage of mere talk but reaches the stage of action. Perfect love is love that does not die on the vine. It’s love that comes to fruition”—John Piper.

No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us –1 John 4:12

3) So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment...

Fear implies judgment. That is all fear outside of deferential fear. More accurately, respect for God. Being awed by Him—to our very core. Overcome, undone by who He is. His majesty. His splendor. His unfathomable love. His being all-powerful and all-knowing. Creator of all things. All of them. The knowledge that our next breath and heartbeat are afforded us at His discretion. Reverential fear is not only healthy, more, it is also fundamental in the life of every believer. Least we get so puffed up and proud, thinking all that we have and do and accomplish is by our wit and hand. It is this reverential fear in us, in part, that produces both our humility to bow low before the Lord while propelling us to also go boldly before Him. Lowly in our reverence and boldly in the full confidence we have that when God sees us—He is looking at the finished work of His Son. He is looking straight at Jesus, we being hidden in Him.

On the other hand, to fear God on the day of judgment, to feel afraid, would imply that we have not loved as we ought. That some doubt lingers in us. That we do not look like Jesus. Are not clothed in His righteousness. We do not have His perfect Love as our garment. Remember, perfect love cast out fear. Our fear (doubt) before God reveals that we have not loved as we have been commanded to love—purely without reservation nor judgment. We need Jesus! Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure—1 John 3:2–3.

4) …perfect love expels such fear:
Our confidence in the finished work of the Cross, in Christ abiding in us—His Spirit residing in us, and, in Gods perfect love living and flowing from us; empowering us to love others as He would have us to love them, has commanded us to love them, demonstrates the perfected love of God at work in our lives. In everyday words—the more we surrender to the will of God, the closer we draw to Him, the more we are being shaped into the image and likeness of His Son; day after day after day. This change in us breeds lasting confidence that when we finally stand before the Throne of God, it is Jesus that The Father will see. His perfection—and not our sins and shame and short-comings. Not our sullied, flawed, imperfect selves—rather His Spotless, Perfect Son. And so we come boldly before Him. Trusting completely in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Because of who God is and what He has done our lives, we can entrust ourselves into His Hands—just as Jesus has. 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?

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love — 1 John 4:18. Friend if you have read through until now and know that do not have the relationship with Jesus described above—a personal, intimate, loving relationship; then please, don’t let the sun go down on this day without asking Jesus to come into your life. Don’t go one more day without Jesus as your friend, your guide, your Lord. Ask Him to come and live in you—and you with Him. No man is promised tomorrow. And, truth be told, aren’t you hungry for more than you have right now? Jesus wants to love you, to help fill your life with everything its been missing—starting with, and most importantly, Himself.

And, now, to my brothers in Christ. Allow me, please, to encourage you. If there was some check in your Spirit as you read, some doubt that lingers in you, some sin that weighs you down, go before your Father and confess. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything in you that is not of Him. Then, take courage and turn from it, beloved, regardless of the cost. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us —Hebrews 12:1

The Promise… Deuteronomy 4:30-31.

February 3, 2019 /

 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.”

This world  surrounds us with evidence that God is who He says He is. Its inescapable. God is Creator of heaven and earth. Of the sky and sea and everything in, and on, and under them. Without a voice of its own the very wind sings His praises! And, each leaf adds its amen in its rustling. “…Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” –Psalm 19:2-4.

At the base of a mountain called Sinai,  shrouded now in dark clouds, fire, shooting skyward from its peak, God has allowed the Israelite’s to hear Him speak—to know the sound of His voice! How fortunate for these chosen few—this nation who has stolen the very heart of God to have heard Him for themselves! This people, so deeply loved by Him; loved as one loves an only child.  “The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said” –Exodus 19:9. They had endured such privation at the hands of a merciless Pharaoh. Evil is relentless by its very nature. Its only joy is found in torment. Its driving force, its sole hope, to exact death and destruction. And yet through Moses, God reminds His people who He alone delivered them from: “the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make them His very own people and His special possession…” –Deuteronomy 4:20.

And, as God did for each one standing at the base of Sinai, He does for us too. Our Lover pursues us. Hems us in. Still. Because of this joyful Truth it’s here where I say Hallelujah! I too have been delivered from Egypt’s chains. So then, it’s here I join my whispered “thank you Lord” to the deep night. Weaving my gossamer thread into the brilliant tapestry of thank you’s. I join it to the millions who have gone before me—and, with those whispering their thank you, now, still.  We each, trembling, yet certain the Lord catches our offerings with His own hands; pressing them to His heart. Cherished. Its my love song, a heart posturing itself in adoration—in recognition that He first loved me, chose me.  A heart that admits that He alone has opened this one heart to be able to hear His voice calling in the night.

As it was in their wilderness, so it was in my own; yours too I’d imagine. Sin isolates us. Yet, because of His great love for us, we, like the Israelite’s before us, mustn’t take this love we’ve been afforded for granted. We must never forget  He is a jealous lover who will not tolerate our “flirting” with another. After-all, how would you, a mere man, react to your beloved playing the harlot with another? Making room in her heart for someone other than yourself, the one she has vowed to remain faithful to—’til death part you? And yet they did. We do too. Take His great love for us for granted that is. Though forewarned of the consequences of their actions, they allowed their ardor for the One who loved them like no other to wax cold. And, in their luke-warm-ness, they soon found themselves following after the culture of the peoples around them. Cultures filled with foreign gods and moral compromise. A tainted world comprised of second-bests. They had forgotten they were called to come out from them and be separate. They had for gotten they were the chosen of the Lord. They were not created—never intended, to live with second best. After all, they were His beloved. But they forgot that. They allowed themselves to relapse into the “mentality of captivity.” And so do we. At least I have, momentarily…

Let me ask you Christian; after having been freed, have you ever felt the chains of captivity threatening to bind you once again? Felt it’s fetters searching you out? Wanting to bind, once again, what God had freed you from? Moses, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, was allowed to see the future fate of those gathered before him. Those God had instructed him to pronounce liberty over. Yet the Israelite’s freedom was not the result of Moses showing up on the scene, nor of Pharaoh’ agreeing to release them.  Rather, the Israelite’s would gain their freedom because God, through His election of them, and, in His infinite wisdom and great mercy towards, saw fit that they would be His chosen people. “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 2:9-10. And, though Peter was speaking to us here, the gentile nations, still, all of us, all those “chosen” in Christ, whether Jew or the grafted in gentile, would never have tasted His Truth, known His freedom, had we not first been chosen by Him…

Fidelity and integrity are non-negotiable; they are the very ink with which the covenant between God and man has been written. Sealed by Loves promise, His bond irrevocable!

And still we fall short. Still we rebel. Much like Lots wife we each stop and look back toward the Egypt God has delivered us from. And, though we aren’t instantly turned to a pillar of salt—we do not escape the consequences of our rebellious actions. God is just. We tend to forget that fact. As His children, we sometimes close our eyes to this Truth as it applies to our own lives. Consequences and discipline are for others, we becry, God’s grace covers me! And that’s true.  It does. He is merciful beyond measure. Yet, it is equally true that God disciplines His children; listen: And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father…?” –Hebrews 12:5-7.

Moses foresaw the Israelite’s’ wondering around in a wilderness for 40 years. Many died there. Never to see, touch, nor taste, the fruit of this beautiful promised land God swore to give them. Their dreams dying a barren death. They’d bore no fruit. They had chosen to come away from the True vine, lusting instead after the gods of Asherah poles and the Baals. This jealous Lover of our souls will not be mocked! “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” –Deuteronomy 4:23-24. And, yet, inconceivably, even though God knew His own would reject Him, turn away from Him and towards the gods of money and greed, of pride; even though we’d blindly run after the god of “more”, nonetheless, He loves us still. Died for us. Gave His only begotten Son for us, still. He’s here now. Available to all who will, today. Even when we are Gomers, He remains our Hosea. In their shame and rebellion—and in ours, Moses comforts us each with the words he spoke to those who followed, and follow still, the Pillar of Cloud by day and of Fire by night: “When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath” –Deuteronomy 4:30-31.

My beloved brothers and sisters, consider these words shared by our older brother, Peter, concerning our living in a pagan society, and, as you do, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes that you might reflect on the condition of your life: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” 1 Peter 2: 11-12. Beloved, as iron sharpens iron, allow me to urge you to seek the Lord today. Asking Him to revel all un-confessed sin before Him. And then, repent, quickly; remembering His mercy and His promise to forgive. And please, tuck His Words of assurance to Joshua into your heart. In today’s world, we need  to hold more tightly than ever to His promise! “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” Deuteronomy 31:6.

Dear friend, if you’re visiting us for the first time, welcome! Know that Jesus has called you here today to confirm what He has been pointing you towards—Himself. He loves you with a love that we’ll never fully be able to take in this side of heaven! Won’t you accept His invitation to share Himself, His time, His love with you today? “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” –Revelation 3:20

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