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

Tag: Salvation (Page 1 of 22)

If We Are Lacking Love, We Are Lacking Everything.

July 11, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Wesley Mendes

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” –1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Throughout the Bible, God’s Word speaks about the posture of our hearts. Whether you’ve been a Christian for a long time or are just beginning your walk, it’s important to reflect on the condition of your heart and intentions. We must ask ourselves before we step into our responsibilities or our ministries, if any; before we use our God-given gifts or talents, this one vital question:

Am I walking in love?

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal…”

Think about what Paul is saying.

You can preach powerful sermons. You can sing beautifully. You can pray passionately. You can serve faithfully every week. You can even operate in incredible spiritual gifts.

But if love isn’t the foundation…

It’s just noise.

Paul goes even further. He says that you could understand the deepest mysteries of God. You could possess faith strong enough to move mountains. You could give away everything you own to help the poor. You could spend your entire life serving others.

Yet without love…

“I am nothing.”

“I gain nothing.”

Those are very sobering words.

Love isn’t an accessory to the Christian life—it is the very evidence of Christ living within us.

Everything we do should be anchored in the love of God because everything God does flows from who He is. Love Itself. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. “–1 John 4:7-8

God doesn’t simply show love.

God is love.

So if our service isn’t anchored in love, it isn’t anchored in Christ.

Jesus illustrated this beautifully in Matthew 18:23-35 through the parable of the unforgiving servant: “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went to their master to tell him everything. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

A servant owed a debt so enormous he could never repay it. Yet instead of receiving the punishment he deserved, his master forgave the entire debt. Entirely. Freely. But that same servant walked out, found someone who owed him a tiny fraction by comparison, grabbed him by the throat, and demanded repayment without mercy.

Jesus’ point is unmistakable.

How can someone who has received unimaginable mercy refuse to extend mercy?

How can someone who has been loved so extravagantly refuse to love others?

The truth is…

God loved us when we were at our worst.

God forgave a debt we could never repay.

God showed mercy when justice was what we deserved.

Today, He gives us the privilege of representing Him.

What an incredible responsibility.

We must first examine our hearts, asking ourselves: “Are we showing up in life with the same love that Christ first showed us?” Whether it’s at home, at work, or at school, our goal is to reveal Jesus.

Being a Christian was never meant to be a performance. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” –Matthew 15:8-9

As Christians, we’re meant to pour from our overflow; what’s already inside of us.

From the overflow of the grace we’ve received.

The mercy we’ve experienced.

The overflow of love that rescued us.

Your every act of service, in all you do, be rooted in this one simple truth …

You have been loved beyond measure. Now, go love others in the same way.

If this speaks to your heart today and you realize you’ve been lacking the love Christ has called you to live out, don’t let that discourage you—let it draw you closer to Him. Ask God to strengthen your heart. Ask Him to reveal the places where you’ve become impatient, unforgiving, judgmental, or simply indifferent. Invite the Holy Spirit to transform you so that when opportunities arise to show mercy, grace, compassion, and love, your response reflects the very heart of Christ.

Remember, demonstrating the love of Christ isn’t about trying harder in your own strength. It’s about allowing God’s love to change you so deeply that loving others becomes the natural overflow from what Jesus has already done in you.

And if you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, today can be the day that changes everything. The Bible assures us: “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

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived the perfect life we could never live, died on the cross for our sins, and three days later rose from the grave, defeating sin and death so that we could have eternal life.

Today, you can come to Him by faith, praying: “Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You died for my sins and rose again on the third day. I repent of my sin, and I ask You to forgive me. Come into my life, be the Lord of my heart, and help me follow You all the days of my life. Thank You for loving me, saving me, and making me new.” If you prayed that prayer with a sincere heart, welcome to the family of God. Your journey with Jesus has just begun, and He will continue to shape you into someone who reflects His love more and more each day.

Who? Me, Lord…? Yes, You!

June 20, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“And the Lord said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.” –Judges 6:16-17

Before Gideon had offered up a single word of protest to God, one single, “I’m not qualified,” in God’s Divine Providence, the Midianites were defeated foes; still, God used Gideon to accomplish this. Likewise, God uses you and me today to do the same, fulfill His will. “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” —Isaiah 55:11

Have you ever had a Gideonesque conversation with God?

Have you ever told the Creator of the universe—the One Scripture says, formed you in your mother’s womb and knows your every thought before you even think it, what it is you are or are not, capable of doing, being, or becoming? Shamefully, I have! Yet I now recognize the futility of ever having had such a conversation after its being held up to the Truth of God’s Word: “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” –Psalm 139:1-4

Yet that’s precisely what had happened with Gideon…

God had appeared to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in a wine press; threshing wheat where grapes, typically, are pressed to make wine because one: Gideon was hiding, and two: Gideon was afraid. From whom and of what? Gideon was hiding from the Midianites, who were attacking Israel at that time and stealing their food stores.

Gideon hid in the winepress to thresh wheat out of fear he’d be seen threshing by the Midianites, and they would come to steal his remaining wheat. These few details are a whole teaching in themselves, but they’re for another day, maybe a part two to this teaching?

What we’ll focus on today is that part of Gideon’s story where God appears to him, calling Gideon what he did not—could not—see in himself.

Only God knew who Gideon would become, because God Himself had foreordained Gideon’s life, imbuing it with a perfect purpose and plan—and that wasn’t to hide out in some winepress. It’s this part of Gideon’s story I felt led to focus on today. “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” –Judges 6:11

Like Gideon, I believe some of you have heard God calling you by a name you also don’t yet recognize. “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” –Judges 6:12

Who? Me, Lord…? Yes, you!

God is asking you to step out in faith, beloved, into a new season you feel woefully unprepared for—totally ill-equipped and wholly unqualified to take on, if you’re being honest. Like Gideon, you keep asking God for a sign that it’s really Him who is asking this of you. Him who’s put this desire in your heart. “Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” –Judges 6:36-37

Despite all your questioning, beloved, hear this: it’s already here. Remember, in God’s Providence, the Midianites were defeated before God called Gideon to do battle with them, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” –Matthew 6:10

So this new name is commensurate with the calling God has placed on you—remember, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and, so as He did with Gideon, God calls each of us according to how He sees us, which, typically, is not how we see ourselves. “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” –Ephesians 2:10

Before you know it, you too will be walking into God’s next for your life, whether that’s a brand-new relationship with Jesus or into the new thing Jesus has placed on your heart to do. Then, I pray, your questioning and self-doubt will become little more than a memory. Because if God planted that God-sized vision, desire, or calling on your life, then God will bring it to pass.

Remember, friend, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?” –Numbers 23:19.

What God has predestined for your life and mine, beloved, what He calls us—who we are, right now, but can’t yet see in ourselves, will come to pass. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” –Psalm 43:19

Still, you hand God every excuse for why He’s gotten it all wrong, how what He is calling you to do is simply impossible; you’re not alone, Gideon made that same mistake. Maybe you’re thinking, “Surely God’s forgotten my past! What I’ve done, who I’ve been—how I’ve failed Him?”

Maybe you feel weak as water, in character or faith?

So, out of fear or shame, you make excuses—you hide, but God will always find you out, beloved! “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” –Judges 6:11-15

Friends, God’s Word is filled with stories such as Gideon’s.

Accounts of people much like you and me, ordinary people doing ordinary things, and then God showed up and transformed their ordinary into the extraordinary; events and the feats we read about throughout His Inerrant Word. Think of Noah, Father Abraham, Elijah, Esther, or the Apostle Paul. So it’s here then, I’ll remind you, the one hiding out today, or you, who’s feeling inept, inadequate, the very least of His children—that nowhere in God’s Word do we witness God call a person to do anything He did not fully equip them to do. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” –Philippians 2:13

You’re right to feel the way you do, beloved, because the Truth is, apart from God, you and I are indeed woefully inept, completely ill-equipped. But with God, in the power of His Might, you and I can and will do all that He has foreordained us to do. “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” –Ephesians 6:10

Have you asked Jesus, this same God who once called Gideon, a man who felt unworthy of the call God had on his life, to come into yours? To give you a new beginning in Him. If you will, and you mean it sincerely, Jesus will come and make you a new creation; old ways will pass away, and Jesus will make all things in your life new again. God promises: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

Condemnation vs. Conviction: Is the Cross Really Enough?

June 13, 2026 /

Wesley Mendes

“There is therefore now condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1

Many believers faithfully attend church, worship passionately, serve consistently, and genuinely love Jesus, yet still carry a weight Christ never intended them to bear; living under a cloud of guilt, shame, and condemnation. Every time they stumble, every time they battle the same temptation, every time they fall short, they begin to believe the lies of Satan:

“God must be disappointed in me.”

“I’m not good enough.”

“Maybe I’ve failed too many times.”

“Maybe I’m too broken for God to use.”

If we’re honest, most of us Christians have wrestled with these thoughts at some point in our walk. The problem is, these thoughts do not come from Jesus…

Jesus’ Gospel is not built upon your perfection. It is built upon His perfection.

The Cross is enough.

Jesus’ Blood is enough.

Jesus was and is more than enough.

This does not mean sin is acceptable. By no means!!! It does not mean we stop pursuing holiness, but it does mean that our failures do not have the final word because Jesus already has. One of the greatest tricks of the enemy is convincing believers that conviction and condemnation are the same thing. Which they are not. Condemnation says:

“You failed, so you are worthless.”

“God is finished with you.”

“Hide from God.”

“You’ll never change.”

“You are your sin.”

Condemnation drives people away from God. It produces shame, fear, and hopelessness.

Conviction, however, sounds different. Conviction says:

“This path is hurting you.”

“Come back to Me.”

“Repent because I love you.”

“You are called higher.”

“Your identity is still Mine.”

Conviction draws us closer to God. It reveals sin while simultaneously reminding us that God’s grace is available.

The enemy wants us trapped in shame. The Holy Spirit wants us restored in love. When Jesus went to the Cross, He didn’t partially forgive sin, leaving some for us to carry. He didn’t say, “I’ll cover everything except the mistakes you keep repeating.” Jesus forgave our every sin: past, present, and future. All of them. Scripture tells us in Colossians 2:14, “Christ canceled the record of debt that stood against us and nailed it to the cross.”

Think about that…

The accusations, failures, guilt, regrets, and shame that once stood against us were nailed to the Cross with Jesus. So why do so many believers continue carrying what Christ already carried?

Many Christians repent but continue punishing themselves. They ask God for forgiveness but continue living condemned. They worship on Sunday while secretly believing God is angry with them. But if the Blood of Jesus is powerful enough to save you, it is powerful enough to restore you.

Peter’s Failure Didn’t Disqualify Him

Peter provides one of the clearest examples of God’s restoring grace. Peter loved Jesus deeply. Yet he repeatedly struggled with fear and inconsistency. He stepped out of the boat in faith but, afraid, began to sink. He boldly declared that he would never abandon Jesus, only to deny Him three times before the crucifixion. Peter’s failure was public, painful, and undeniable.

Yet after the resurrection, Jesus did not condemn Peter.

Jesus didn’t ask him:

“Why did you fail Me?”

“How could you betray Me?”

“What makes you think I can trust you again?”

Instead, Jesus asked a different question:

“Do you love Me?” Jesus restored what shame tried to destroy.

Even before Peter failed, Jesus told him, in Luke 22:32, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Notice Jesus didn’t say “if.” He said, “When.” Jesus knew Peter would fail, yet He still chose him. That’s grace.

God’s pattern of patience:

Peter wasn’t the only person in Scripture who struggled repeatedly. Moses battled anger and frustration. Samson repeatedly compromised and gave in to temptation. Jonah continually resisted God’s calling. The Israelites complained, doubted, and rebelled, even after witnessing God’s miracles.

Yet throughout Scripture, we see the same pattern.

God corrected them.

God disciplined them.

God taught them.

But God did not abandon them!

These stories do not excuse sin. They reveal the incredible patience and mercy of God. God does not say, “Keep sinning, it doesn’t matter.” But neither does He say, “One more failure and I’m done with you.” A loving Father convicts, corrects, restores, and continues calling His children forward. One of the greatest battles believers face is identity. Many people define themselves by their struggles. They say:

“I’m an addict.”

“I’m an angry person.”

“I’m a failure.”

“I’m damaged.”

“I’m too far gone.”

But Scripture says something different. Second Corinthians 5:17 declares, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Your struggle is not your identity. Your worst moment is not your identity. Your past is not your identity.

Your identity is found in Christ.

Our enemy constantly reminds us of who we were. God continually reminds you of whose you are. When you understand your identity as a redeemed child of God, you begin to fight from a place of victory rather than for acceptance. Some people become uncomfortable when grace is emphasized because they fear it will encourage people to sin.

But TRUE grace does just the opposite.

Grace does not say, “Sin doesn’t matter.” Grace says, “You no longer have to remain enslaved to sin.” Real grace changes the heart. Love transforms a person from the inside out. People who understand grace don’t want to run toward sin. They want to run toward Jesus.

The more we understand His mercy, the more we desire to honor Jesus with our lives.

Conviction changes behavior through our relationship with Jesus. Condemnation attempts to change behavior through fear. Only one leads to lasting transformation. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” He meant exactly what He said.

Your salvation was not left unfinished.

Your freedom was not left incomplete.

Your forgiveness was not left partial.

The Cross settled it.

You do not earn God’s love.

You do not earn grace.

You do not earn salvation.

You receive them by faith in Jesus Christ.

Because of the Cross:

You are loved.

Mercy is available.

Grace is greater.

Your failure is not final.

The enemy wants believers trapped in shame because shame keeps people hiding. But God calls His children into the light. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. One brings you back to the Father. The other drives you away from Him. So if you belong to Christ, stop carrying what Jesus already carried. Stop living as though the Cross wasn’t enough. Stop allowing shame to speak louder than God’s promises. Romans 8:1 still stands today: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Notice it doesn’t say there’s less condemnation; it says no condemnation.

If you’re struggling with feelings of condemnation, invite Jesus into your heart as your Savior. Jesus promises to take that burden from you. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed.” –Luke 4:18

God’s Pause

May 30, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.” –Esther 2:12

It was in this place where God hit the pause button on Esther’s life—not forever, but for a time. A pause is only for a set time. Never forget that, beloved, especially when it starts to feel like forever. God’s pause is that space between calling and its fulfillment. That time —however long, God uses to prepare us for His next…

Are you there?

Does it feel as if God has hit the pause button on that hope He placed in your heart? That vision of your “next,” He shared with you?

Are you looking around, wondering if God somehow forgot you?

When God hits pause on your life, it can feel isolating—you start questioning yourself: “Did I truly hear from God?”

If you don’t guard your heart in this place, silent as the grave, often. Still, like trees before a storm, heavy feeling, even, not light and freeing as you’d expect, Satan will have access to that open door he needs in convincing you that God has abandoned you; that the silence, this lack of movement, the stillness, it’s all proof that what you’re feeling is real: “God has no further use for me.”

You’re there, aren’t you?

In the pause? That Holy tension…

Holy Spirit will not let you escape it, no matter how hard you fight Him—not that you want to, fight Him, that is. You just want something to happen. Some sign from God that He hasn’t forgotten what He promised. Hasn’t forgotten you.

Because that’s what it feels like right now, and the weight of those feelings is making your knees buckle. Because sometimes believing for something so big is bigger than your “right now” faith. That’s when God, being Lovingkindness and infinite mercy Himself, creates a pause…

You’re no longer where you’ve been, looking around you, that much is obvious.

Still, you’re certainly nowhere near where God is taking you, the Holy Spirit keeps confirming that much…

You’re in that place where nothing but everything seems to be happening all at once. You just can’t seem to pull all the threads together just yet, so the picture of the completed tapestry is just there, out of view—still, something is happening.

God used a pause in Esther’s story to prepare her.

Again, Loving Father, He is, Jesus knows our frame; what and how much we can withstand before the weight of His intended blessing breaks us instead. “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” –Psalm 103:14. So God lavishes His gifts of time and His personal attention upon us—ensuring every detail, each person required, friend or foe, every lesson and element needed to fully prepare us to thrive under the full weight of His blessing, is brought together at just the right time, in just the right place to be used with meticulous precision.

Still, how Jesus prepares each of His children for what He has for us varies according to His plan for our lives. “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” –2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Take Joseph, for instance; there were no spa treatments in Joseph’s story.

Instead, his time of preparation included a pit and prison, betrayal and lies.

Father Abrahams’s pause meant leaving home and family behind and heading off to somewhere known only to God, with no map in hand. His only directions were God’s go and His promise. “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth. I will be blessed through you.” –Genesis 12:1-3

What about Noah? People thought he was a complete loon!

Building something no one had ever heard of to be prepared for something no one had ever seen. Rain? What’s that! And all because the unseen God he served, the God with the yet unknown name, said to. “And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” –Genesis 6:13-14;19;22.

Then there’s the man Jesus chose to be His forerunner.

Who goes around munching on locusts and wild honey? Who does that! Yet John faithfully traversed the wilderness wearing clothes made of animal skins and, to anyone who would listen, screamed aloud about a Kingdom yet to come: they needed to repent and be baptized; the Messiah was coming—man judges by outward appearance, for God, it’s all about the heart. “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” –Matthew 3:1-5

My point: the list of those servants who have experienced God’s pause—His deafening silence and seemingly fluid relationship with time —can all be found between the covers of your Bible; your experience with God’s pause is not unique, beloved. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s pause button has been obvious—if we have eyes to see it. Actually, it’s in Genesis, if you read with the eyes of the Spirit, where you’ll find an instance, maybe a first, where God chose to hit His pause button. It’s where He sheds the blood of innocent animals to cover over Adam and Eve’s nakedness, their sin. “And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” –Genesis 3:21

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” –Leviticus 17:11

It would take some 40 centuries, yes, centuries, before God took His finger off that particular pause button. Still, He had prepared the perfect time and place, had selected the absolute right, not perfect, people: friends, and foes, needed to introduce His Perfect Lamb to this world.

So you see, beloved, God has not forgotten you.

He’s just hit pause because to Him, our character matters more than our comfort—some of us get spa treatments, others, pits and prison. Why? God, our Loving Master Potter, is doing what He alone knows is best for each of us. He is preparing you —preparing us all —to be received; not by any earthly king but by our King, Jesus—and that kind of preparation takes time, His, not yours. “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?'” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” –Romans 9:20-21

Do you know Jesus Friend? He not only knows you, but He loves you. What if the fact that you’re reading this today isn’t an accident? What if, instead, it’s God saying the pause is over? That today is the day Jesus has chosen for you to follow Him, to be His. “For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” –2 Corinthians 6:2

In His hands, To Become His Hands…

May 9, 2026 /

Wesley Mendes

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” –Matthew 25:40

Not because you’re the most qualified.

Not because you have the most.

But because Jesus decided, “I can use you.”

“As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” –Matthew 14:15-21 NIV.

Then, the very next chapter says…

“Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?” “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.” He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.” –Matthew 15:29-38

So we have two different miracles ……. We have the well-known miracle of feeding the 5,000 and the not-so-well-known miracle of feeding the 4,000. This isn’t just about miracles, though —it’s about who Jesus uses to deliver and what they deliver.

In Scripture, food can symbolize not only physical nourishment used to bless others, but also spiritual food that Jesus uses to feed those who are spiritually hungry; according to Scripture, that’s what a disciple is supposed to do: be impactful by feeding God’s people because we bear Jesus’ name and image. Amen?

“But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” —John 4:32;34

So, Jesus took the bread in His hands… why?  …because it was given to Him. What His disciples saw as a problem was placed in Jesus’ hands; just a few loaves to feed a multitude. So Jesus took it, and doing what only He can, blessed them and turned them into more than enough; a miracle happened.

Now, to get that miracle into the hands of those who needed it…

Don’t miss this, guys…

Jesus didn’t walk up and down the rows of people. He didn’t go around passing out bread with His own hands; He used His disciples. Their hands and feet!

So ask yourself this: How does God want to use me?

Jesus took what was placed in His hands, blessed it, and multiplied it—but He didn’t keep it to Himself to give to those in need. Jesus chose to distribute the miracle through His disciples.

Because here’s the truth:

God doesn’t just do miracles for people—He does miracles through His people.

Jesus is the Source—but He can and does choose to use His people as vessels to bless others.

Jesus could’ve fed everyone Himself—but He didn’t… but because He’s building disciples, not spectators.

God will place situations in your hands that appear insufficient. Your job is not to panic; it’s to give them to Jesus. To entrust whatever may be needed into His care. Because when Jesus blesses something, He’ll often use you and me to carry His more-than-enough miracle to others.

Making us: the hands that give. The feet that go. The channel through which His blessing flows.

Jesus will entrust His miracles into your hands—but He expects you to put them in motion.

God often uses what you already have. “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.” –Matthew 14:17

The disciples saw only limitations. Jesus saw an opportunity.

They said, “It’s not enough.”

Jesus said, “Bring it to Me and watch what I can do with your ‘not enough.’

We tend to focus on what’s missing. But God focuses on what’s available. You don’t need more to be used by God—you need surrender.

The miracle didn’t start with an abundance. It started when a boy gave away his lunch. –Matthew 14:19 “He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”

Don’t miss this…

Jesus could have fed everyone directly. But He chose to use the disciples as His delivery system. Are we his disciples today? Being used by Jesus in this way? Are we striving to be His disciples more and more? Remember, Jesus says: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” –Matthew 25:40

Imagine if the disciples had said: “Jesus, we’ll pray for them… but we’re not passing out these baskets of food.” The miracle would have been literally sitting in their hands, unused. Sad to say, that still happens today: God places opportunities in our hands…but if we don’t move, the miracle doesn’t flow.

If I leave you with anything today, I hope that it is this: “It’s one thing to be in Jesus’ hands… But another thing entirely to become His hands.

When Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, He didn’t walk through the crowd personally handing out bread; He used the disciples. That means, their hands became His hands, their movement became His movement, their service became an expression of Jesus’ loving care for the people.

Faith isn’t just something you believe. It’s also something you become.

It is important to understand that Jesus still moves the same way today as He did then.

I say this to remind and challenge you to ask yourself how Jesus, who no longer physically walks the earth, accomplishes the following:

Feed people?

Help people?

Reach people?

Love people?

It’s through you! Now you are the hands that give. You are the feet that go, the voice that speaks; you are the life that reflects His life to those around you.

Some people are waiting for God to move…

But God is saying, “I’m sending you.” To that person who needs encouragement, you’re Jesus’ voice. The family that needs help? You’re Jesus hands. That place that needs His Light? You’re His presence there.

Still, Jesus’ disciples could only give what they had received from Him. You see, they didn’t manufacture anything. They fed the 5000 by receiving from Jesus—He alone did that miracle. And when confronted with any other need, they had to return to Jesus to receive it. They had to keep going back to Jesus for more—for what He alone can do. Because only with Him is the impossible, possible.

Jesus makes a way where there was none.

He makes ways in the wilderness and streams in the dry lands. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” –Isaiah 43:19

All things are possible through Christ.

Again, please, don’t miss this: His disciples had to be close enough to Jesus to receive what only He could do. None of us can pour out what we haven’t received from Him.

You can’t represent Jesus if you’re not connected to Him.

We are not the Source—we are His instruments.

You are not just saved to sit. You are saved to serve. You are not just filled with Jesus’ Presence to feel good. You are filled so that He can pour you out on those in need. You are Jesus’ hands, His feet. You are His instrument. And remember, the disciples didn’t create the miracle… But they were close enough to Jesus that they got to carry it.

Are you close to Jesus? Can He use your hands and your feet? Have you said yes to Him—surrendered to His Lordship? If not, why not do it right now? Jesus wants to use you, your hands, your gift, talents, to get to others what only He can give them. “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. –Acts 2:21

I Have Decided.

April 25, 2026 /

Maria Braga

Have you ever sung the following song? We sing it weekly at Highland City Church; it is sung not only as an anthem but also as a declaration, reminding us that our lives here on earth are very short, while eternity is forever. John 10:28-30 reminds us of this Truth. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. My Father and I are one.”

I have decided to follow Jesus,

I have decided to follow Jesus,

I have decided to follow Jesus,

I won’t turn back, I won’t turn back!

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

Though none go with me, still I will follow,

I won’t turn back, I won’t turn back!

The Cross before me, the world behind me,

The Cross before me, the world behind me,

The Cross before me, the world behind me,

I won’t turn back, I won’t turn back!

“I have decided to follow Jesus.” –The formation of the martyr’s words into a hymn has been attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. An alternative tradition attributes the hymn to Pastor Simon K. Marak of Jorhat, Assam. Timeless Truths Free Online Library. Retrieved 2011-10-09.

The true and powerful story behind this song is a sad, deeply moving one that convicts us, makes us look into our own souls, and ask: “Where is my faith?”

This hymn was inspired by and lived out in the life of Nokseng, a Garo tribesman from Meghalaya, India, in the nineteenth century. Nokseng and his family were killed after converting to Christianity when he refused his village chief’s demand to deny Jesus.

Such an honorable story of true love and a dedicated, sold-out life to Christ!

When we “decide” to follow Jesus truly and genuinely, exchange our old, sinful life for His Agape Love, our lives are transformed in such a powerful way that no one can persuade us to turn back.

Uncovering the power of love in this well-known song brings tears to my eyes. Each time I listen to this song, it reminds me of my ongoing need to build my house/faith on the Rock, Jesus. Jesus said that to build our lives on him is to build our lives on the Rock. Because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is the Rock. He is the only foundation of a well-built faith. Luke 6:47-49. “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the Rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, it immediately fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The power of establishing our lives on “the Rock,” Jesus, is crucial to our temporal journey; we must decide to follow Jesus, and not turn back to our old way of life.

The Bible speaks of two builders in Luke’s Gospel: the wise and the foolish.

  1. The Rock represents Jesus’ teachings and a life built on obeying His Words and trusting in Him, leading a person to a strong, unshakable life in Christ, even in the face of trials and tribulations. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says: “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green”. Jeremiah beautifully describes this trust and obedience as like a tree planted by the water. He talks of a specific stream, representing spiritual stability and resilience; a person who thrives without living in fear and sees the fruit of their faith even though they may be experiencing a dry desert season.

We must keep this promise before us!

  • The sand represents a life built without a foundation, a shallow life. This type of person hears Jesus’ Words but ignores them and puts no value on them. This type of building collapses when hardships or temptations arise.

This Scripture is a metaphor for how we choose to build our lives.

Our lives are built either on something solid, which is faith, trust, and obedience to Jesus Christ, or something unstable, the things of this world, going our own way, and neglecting God’s Word. Through this Scripture, we see that a house built on the sand will soon sink. Building on sand is building shallowly, on the surface, with no substance or foundation to hold it up. One foot in the world and another hoping to go to heaven.

Individuals who attempt to build their faith on the sand have no security, no deliverance, no healing, and no promise to hold on to. The first windstorm to come through their lives will sweep through it. They are a building that is shaky, doubtful, and uncertain about the future.

Here are some questions for each of us to answer:

1-How am I building my spiritual life as a follower of Jesus?

 2-What am I building my spiritual life upon?

3-When no one comes with me, will I still follow my Jesus?

4-If I am not following Jesus, why not?

I pray our answers are full of assurance and in line with God’s Word.

The Cross must forever be before those who believe.

We must produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. If we are not bearing fruit, we need to check for cracks in our foundation.

Nokseng was so convinced of his faith that facing death didn’t move him.

He was so assured of his destiny, so strong in his belief, he refused to deny Jesus right up to the end, regardless of the horrific cost before him in the way of anguish and agony as he watched his entire family be killed, one by one.

What an example of faith this individual left for us.

His 19th-century life story of martyrdom in Northeast India is still very much alive today, inspiring us to live with spiritual vitality, fervency, and a sold-out love for Jesus.

Father, in the Mighty and powerful name of your Son Jesus Christ, I lift to you every person reading these words. I pray blessings over them. I pray they are encouraged. I pray it strengthens their faith or brings them to saving faith, Jesus. If anyone reading these words does not know you as Lord and Savior, my prayer is that they surrender their life to you and begin their walk of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, eternally, never to turn back. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Holy Spirit Boldness.

April 11, 2026 /

Wesley Mendes

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.” –Acts 4:13-22

As you read this scripture, you might just think, “Wow, these guys were really courageous and so bold to go out in front of the Sanhedrin, who hated them and opposed Jesus,” which is true. That’s what really stood out to me, too. The disciples’ boldness and courage led me to think about some things I’d like to share with you.

Acts 4 begins by saying the Sanhedrin saw the disciples’ courage and noted that these men had been with Jesus. Notice, that’s where their courage came from; where their boldness came from, too, from Jesus.

These men, bold in that moment, were once seen cowering in an upper room, fearful that what had happened to Jesus would also happen to them. But then, all of a sudden, scripture says, the Holy Spirit came over them. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” —Acts 2:1-4

God’s Holy Spirit empowered them with such boldness that they no longer cared what happened to them. That is why they were so bold when they stood before the Sanhedrin. Are you bold? Will you stand and face those who oppose Jesus?

Then, the same Peter who had denied Jesus three times, the one who had been named the rock among his brothers, who had said he’d die for Jesus, and who had walked alongside him, was filled with boldness by the Holy Spirit’s power and began telling others about Jesus. “Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel.” –Acts 2:14-16.

There are going to be threats.

There will be risky situations in your life.

You might be warned of the consequences and repercussions you’ll face if you keep on about Jesus. “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” –Acts 4:1-2

Family or friends may already be asking you to stop with all this Jesus talk. That happened to the disciples, too. But it didn’t stop them. “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” –Acts 4:18

Like these brothers, like Peter, you have to be bold and lean on God, regardless of what people say; boldness says, “I hear you, but I obey God.”

“But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” –Acts 4”19-20

Be bold, be faithful, but not in your strength, which will never work. Be bold in the power that is from God’s Holy Spirit. People need to hear about Jesus.

Will you use what God has put in your hand to tell others about Jesus?

“ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” –Acts 4:29-31

You can have the same power of Jesus’ Holy Spirit in you as the disciples did, but not on your own; you must belong to Jesus. Do you want to? Here’s how you can: Surrender your heart to Jesus. He’ll give you the grace to do it if you really want to. I encourage you to be bold, ask Jesus to save you. “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10

I Am, Life.

April 4, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” –John 11:25-26

There are times Martha gets a bad rap.

But not today!

Martha has become known for her busyness—always doing something while her sister, Mary, was commended by Jesus, for choosing what is best—stillness at His feet; drinking in every Word that spills from His lips.“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” –Luke 10:41-43

Today, Jesus makes clear, however, despite Martha’s busy schedule and diligent attention to her everyday chores, she has not neglected to hold fast to what He has shared with her.

I pray Jesus’ acknowledgment of Martha’s heart, love, and belief in Him, in the midst of her busy life, despite all that still needed to get done, encourages that busy mom or pastor’s wife, Jesus knows your heart as well. He sees that sister, brother, mother, or daughter who stretches themself daily in service to others, desiring to meet their needs, all the while praying silently to their Lord for just five minutes of quiet so they too might pour their full attention at Jesus’ feet.

Now, before running to get her sister, Mary, Martha ended her conversation with Jesus by assuring Him of her faith in Him. That she knew—despite her pain, even in the midst of her chore-filled, others need me, every day life—that she could never forget Jesus is who He claimed to be, and that He could and would do all He had promised. “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” –John 11:27

So on this Resurrection Eve, I felt led to spotlight what Martha knew rather than her busyness. Martha knew her Lord. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Dear ones, you may be in the midst of a “Martha” season, still, hold tight to your “Mary” heart…

It’s Resurrection Sunday, tomorrow! Hallelujah!

For the Christian, it’s a day like no other; not even Christmas, as glorious, celebratory, and meaningful to us as it is. Why? Resurrection Sunday reminds Christians of the living hope we possess because Jesus defeated death and the grave—once, for all. And that all who believe on God’s Son, have life eternal in Him. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” –1 Peter 1:3.

No other god, so-called, has defeated death and the grave, having been raised from the dead. Buddha, Muhammad, even Krishna, to name but three; their remains, still in their graves—but not Jesus’! Jesus’ resurrection from the grave assures the believer that where He is, we will be—He has promised us: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” –John 14:3.

 With this eternal Truth in mind, please pause here a moment to ask and answer that same question Jesus once asked of Martha: “Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?

 Everyone alive must answer, friend.

If not now, a day is coming, soon and very soon, when each man will.

God’s Word assures of this—believe it, or not.

“For this reason also [because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself], God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.” –Philippians 2:9-11

Now I didn’t ask you to answer Jesus’ question to scare or intimidate you, quite the opposite. I asked it out of love. Hopeful that Jesus is your Lord and Savior—that you do have a loving, intimate, Life-giving relationship with Him, and have, with a pure heart, said, as Martha did, “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” –John 11:27

I ask those also, who have yet to decide their answer, to search their hearts now and ask themselves, “Who is Jesus to me?” As you do, please use God’s beautiful Truth below to help guide your decision. Understanding what Jesus did for you, specifically, is deeply personal, and your answer will inevitably determine your eternal destiny.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” –Romans 5:6-11

Because Jesus was Martha’s Lord and Savior, she had a deeply personal relationship with Him and understood this Truth.

I pray you do, or will, before this day draws to a close…

God sent Jesus into this world to pay your sin debt—and mine—a debt we could never pay—Jesus didn’t come to condemn you, friend, but to save you! The guiltless sacrificed in place of the guilty. Jesus took your place on that Cross He was savagely nailed to and died on. All that you might have eternal life. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” –John 3:17.

Put simply, Jesus came into this world to ensure you be given the opportunity—along with every man—to answer for yourself the question He once posed to Martha. “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?

Martha believed, and she is with Jesus today, where she’ll be for eternity.

How about you?

Do you believe?

You must choose, friends, because not choosing is a choice.

Heaven or hell—that’s all there is.

I’m praying you choose heaven.

God’s Word promises you can and will have eternal life with Christ if, like Martha, you genuinely believe that Jesus is who He has claimed to be and will do all He promised to do. Read His promise for yourself. “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

It’s Resurrection Sunday, tomorrow, Hallelujah!

I pray you experience a true Resurrection miracle: being set free from the grip from the kingdom of darkness, sin, and death; being born again into new Life with Jesus; and getting to meet Martha!

It Was Never In the Water…

March 28, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.  Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” –John 5:2-8

Jesus asking a man if he wanted to get well may, at first glance, seem odd to you; doesn’t everyone who’s been sick desire to get well? Scripture tells us the man had been paralyzed for some thirty-eight years, so the answer to Jesus’ question seems obvious, right? “Yes! “You, betcha I do!”

So, why didn’t the man just come straight out and say so?

Why the excuses?

You’d think after having been paralyzed for so long, when someone stood in front of you asking if you’d like to get well, you’d immediately answer, “Heck yes,” not give them a mouthful of excuses as to why you can’t. “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” –John 5:7

Still, before we judge this man too harshly for making excuses, let’s examine some possible reasons as to why he made them instead of simply saying “yes, please!”

Look, just there, in the shadow of Jesus’ innocuous question, a veiled clue.

Something more was happening with this man than first meets the eye —the reason or reasons behind what held him prisoner to that pool for so long ran much deeper than the inability to use his legs; something had crippled that man’s heart, as well. “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” –1 Samuel 16:7

When Jesus looked at that man, He saw beyond his physical paralysis and straight into his heart.

So let’s turn to the Scriptures to learn some of what Jesus may have seen there…

It’s clear that for years, this man had been paralyzed. But Scripture doesn’t give us details. We don’t know exactly what happened to him, or when. We’re left to speculate: was he a boy or young man when he lost the use of his legs? Did he fall? Was his paralysis the result of a childhood illness? Polio perhaps?

Whatever happened and when, we meet him as a man Jesus singled out among all the others at that pool to receive healing. “One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time.” –John 5:5

Apart from the obvious, his physical malady, or perhaps as a result of it, lay another, less obvious disease which had gripped this man’s heart and mind: hopelessness. Despair, coupled with misguided hope in external forces at work around him, had this man bound to something that could never free him; so, day after day, year after unchanging year, he sat there, waiting.

Outwardly, he relied on others and “external circumstances” to change his inner life and fortune, all the while growing increasingly emotionally defeated. “This is my life now, what’s the hope in hoping?” “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” –Proverbs 4:23

He’d grown resigned to his life. Bitterness had paralyzed his heart.

He’d become so intrenched in a particular way of thinking, so blinded to hope or any real possibility that something other than the rinse-repeat hopelessness of his daily routine could be possible, that even when Jesus, His Creator, Healer, Savior, stood right in front of him and asked if he wanted to be free. Able not only to use his legs, but, bonus, use them to walk into a new life and hope, washed clean by the only water able to truly free him and make him whole, the Water of the Living Word, Jesus—his response revealed what Jesus saw when He looked into that man’s heart. “When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” –John 5:6-7

Maybe you can relate to that man or his default rinse-repeat excuses?

Perhaps you’ve made a few yourself?

I know I have.

I can’t because: “I’m not talented, smart, wealthy, connected, gifted,” you fill it in, enough…

I was raped. I’ve been in prison. I was abused as a child, in my marriage. I’m too old, too scared, too far gone. It’s too late for me. I smoke, watch porn, and drink. I do drugs, daily…

Here me now, the man at the pool sat there for thirty-eight years. He was lost, beaten down, hope-less. Feeling, I’m maybe, like you may be at this moment. “I’m too far gone.” “It’s too late.” “Nothing will ever change!”  But look, nowhere in his story do we read that Jesus condemned this man. Nowhere!

Neither does Jesus condemn you.

He’s come to your “pool” today, asking, “Would you like to get well?”

Perhaps, like that man, you’ve been struggling with something for years?

Sure, your legs are working just fine, but your heart is sick.

You’ve been living addicted, depressed, locked in a lifestyle choice, or relationship you can’t seem to make your way out of—even though you want to. Hear me now, friend. As surely as Jesus stood before the man at the pool, oozing love, and a desire for him to accept Jesus’ free gift of forgiveness and healing, Jesus is doing the same right now, for you.

You’re not here by accident.

There are no coincidences. Your being here was purposed by God because He loves you, and died that you might have a new life in Him—with Him—be made clean, get a fresh start!

Jesus asked the man at the pool if he wanted to be healed, and now He’s asking you. If you do, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” You’ve been given all you need for that to happen. Like the man at the pool, you had it the very instant you heard Jesus ask if you wanted it—it’s His will that you be made well.

But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” —John 5:14.

The something “even worse” Jesus is referring to is not another physical sickness—though, because we live in a fallen world, that’s possible—nor is it Jesus saying He’ll take away the physical healing he’d freely given him, no. Believe it or not, that man’s legs being restored was not the greatest gift he’d received from Jesus that day…

The greatest gift he received from Jesus—that you and I can receive—is being given new life in Him, our being born again.

The man at the pool walked into his new life on his own two legs because Jesus loved him far too much to leave him sitting at that pool in his sin. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” –1 John 4:10

Friend, Jesus is standing beside you right now. He’s sought you out today beside whatever pool you’ve been hanging out at. Know this: healing, wholeness, peace, new life, and redemption can never be found in the water of this world. Why would you keep looking for something to happen on the outside of you that needs to be happening inside of you? You need Jesus, friend, living inside you. And He’s right here, right now, asking: “Would you like to get well?”

Please, say “Yes!” “You betcha I do!”  Jesus will take it from there…

No Greater Assurance.

March 14, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

“And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.” –John 5:25

Assurance, as defined by the world, in this case, by Oxford Languages: a positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise; confidence or certainty in one’s own abilities.

Assurance, as defined in Acts 17:31, by the Living God: “He has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Let me ask you, is a declaration of assurance given by a man, a mayor, president, king, or statesman, even the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, actual assurance?

Does such a promise made by any of these alleviate your fears?

Do you rest at night trusting that a man can fulfill, to the utmost, every promise he’s made regarding your safety and well-being?

Before you answer, stop and think about the current state of this world, I mean globally, not just your little corner of it.

Take a moment now and call to mind, if you can, all the promises you’ve heard recently from presidents, statesmen, and kings of countries; mere men, each one, educated men, certainly. Experienced, we certainly hope so. Well-intended? Call me naïve, but yes, I do believe that most men who seek to lead others start out well-intentioned, wanting the best for those who have put their trust in them and aiming to do their best for them.

Yet, at the end of the day, I have learned that the best of men are, at best, just men, and being created beings, will always fall short of their highest and best intentions; I know I am most certainly guilty of this.

But there is One who has never broken a promise—not a single one. “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” –Numbers 23:19

One who assures us, present tense, that He will do all and everything He has spoken, fulfilling every promise He’s made from the beginning of time, before time, more accurately, to this very day. “For no word from God will ever fail.” –Luke 1:37

Jesus has never failed—not once, because what He says He has heard from His Father, El Elyon, God Most High, Creator of us all and of things seen and unseen. “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” –John 12:49

And everything He does is in perfect alignment with the Father’s will. “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.

This same Jesus, Christ the Lord, who can do all things but fail, says this. “There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.” –John 12:48-50

At any time, any man can assure you of anything, friends, this much we know; it’s the way of the world. The question, then, is not whether someone can assure you, but whether they can put legs under their assurance. Which brings up a thought: do you trust men in the same way you trust the chairs you sit on? An action, like other actions, people do without much thought. You sit automatically, yet seldom, if ever, do you question or give thought to the stability of the chair you’re quite literally placing the full weight of your trust on—

Here’s my point, friends. If you watch the news, even briefly, or glance at the headlines of most newspapers, or follow online threads, you can’t have missed that this world is changing 2 fast and 2 furious, for all you action movie buffs, except this is no movie, it’s real life. Your life.

I’m curious: who are you trusting to keep you, your family, your children, and loved ones safe from harm?

Now, before you answer or say that what you see happening elsewhere in the world will never happen to you, not here in good ole’ US of A, think again, because it can.

Hear me now. I pray earnestly that such hardships and fear never touch you. I pray God keep you and all those you love safe, in the palm of His Sovereign Right Hand. But above this, because Jesus has assured us, again, present tense, both saved and yet saved alike, that in this world, even with all the assurances we’re handed by each other or those well-intended officials, the president and all the good fighting men willing to lay down life and limb to protect us, we will, nonetheless, have troubles.

I’m not trying to be a Debbie-downer, friends, I’m simply sharing with you what Jesus assured us of, read it here for yourself: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” –John 16:33

What things is Jesus referring to?

To read the full account of all that Jesus assures us will happen, read the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 24. Here’s a snippet to get you started. “Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” –Matthew 5-13.

Sound familiar?

Scholars tell us that Jesus’s birth fulfilled some 300 Old Testament prophecies concerning Him. Probability studies conducted by the mathematician Peter Stoner suggest that the odds of Jesus fulfilling just “eight” of the over 300 Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament are 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. For those of us who are not mathematicians, that’s 1 in 100 quadrillion. (These calculations were published in “Science Speaks” by Peter Stoner.)

And whether mathematically correct or not, the Bible makes plain that Jesus has fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy concerning Him. From His birth in Bethlehem and being born of a virgin: Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14, to His ministry: Isaiah 61:1-2, to His betrayal and death: Zechariah 11:12; Ps. 22:7-8,16, culminating in Jesus’ burial and Resurrection: Isaiah 53:9; His being buried with the rich: Isaiah 53:9 and His resurrection: Psalm 16:10, Jesus has fulfilled every single one of these.

So, why would anyone think that Jesus won’t fulfill those yet-to-be-fulfilled?

Since none of us are equipped nor were we created to go it alone, my hope and prayer for you in these turbulent, trying times, is that you have or will this day, put the full weight of your trust in Jesus, who can help you navigate the turbulent waters of our times, steadying you, and leading you through what looks like the thing sent to take you out. No mere man, any man, from any political party, whether He be a president, king, or statesman, nor a Declaration written by mere men, regardless of their well-intentionedness, can do this.

So I pray the full weight of your trust will rest squarely and immutably on Jesus, the only one who can. He faithfully saved twelve others who put their trust in Him while in a storm. How? He commanded what was threatening them to be still. “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” –Mark 4:38;41.

God has afforded you the privilege of making many choices in this life, friend, yet He has given you only One sure hope: His Son, Jesus. Will you put the full weight of your trust in Him?

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