Sonsofthesea.org

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

Tag: Salvation (Page 13 of 21)

Foreshadowing.

October 22, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” –Nehemiah 8:10.

In Chapter Eight of Nehemiah, while reading from the Book of the Law of Moses, Ezra, the priest, reminds God’s people of the festival known as Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. A feast God commanded the Israelites to observe. A feast of which those Israelites who’d recently returned from Babylonian captivity had long forgotten.

Sukkot is over now, but just. It ended at sundown, October 16th. God’s divine will and timing caused this verse in Nehemiah to leap off its page as I read it. Why? Perhaps God wanted to remind us, Jew and gentile alike, to “remember and rejoice.” And if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, that’s all the reason you’ll ever need to do both!

Now is the time to remember—to reflect. To re-consider how your loving, merciful, patient God delivered you from your “Egypt.”

And then, dear brothers and sisters, rejoice, thanking God afresh, this day, for His election of you. Sincerely repent of having drifted away, certainly. Then let your tired hands take a fresh grip on your faith and press on—despite your past sins. “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees” –Hebrews 12:12. Wipe your eyes, rejoice that God has restored you like the prodigal and Israelites before you. Remember, too, that God’s hands continue to rest above and below you, hemming you in, Beloved. The Spotless Blood shed for you, protecting you now; you are loved with an unquenchable love. “You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” –Psalm 139:5-6.

Sukkot is a yearly feast God commanded all Israel to observe. It’s one of three “pilgrim feasts” Jewish people are commanded to celebrate, bringing their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you” –Deuteronomy 16:16.

Sukkot follows the Day of Atonement. A day when every observant Jewish person rests from their labors and all pleasurable activities. Instead, they wholeheartedly fast and pray, repenting of their sins before the Lord. It begins at sundown and concludes at sunset the following day. We read of its origin in Leviticus 16. And it’s in this same chapter that we learn of the term “scapegoat.” “Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat” –Leviticus 16:7-10.

No, this isn’t a lesson in Judaism or its feast days. And yes, I am going somewhere with this.

We’re headed straight to the foot of the Cross, to Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God. Jesus, our Advocate, seated at the Right Hand of the Father. God’s own Son, who put an end, once, for all, to any further need for scapegoats, animal sacrifices, and feast days. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” –1 John 2:1-2.

Jesus has always been. From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, we see Jesus. The Alpha and the Omega, beginning and the end.

The foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, the shedding of His innocent, atoning Blood, understood in the imagery of the animal’s God slew in the garden. Innocent blood, shed—their bodies broken, stripped to cover Adam and Eve after they’d sinned. “The LORD God made tunics of [animal] skins for Adam and his wife and clothed them” –Genesis 3:21. God has always had a plan. From the time of man’s fall, before, really, somewhere in eternity past, Jesus was at the ready.

And as “way too big as that is for our limited, finite minds to fully take in,” God surely foreknew every detail of every life that ever has or ever will exist. He knows our every sin, thought, the decisions we’ll make, every word we’ll speak, well before we speak them!

My point? I have a couple.

Firstly, as one who has felt the weight of their sin, been convicted by God’s Holy Spirit for allowing myself to stray from my Father.  I empathize with why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. The reality of their desperate state had seeped into their hearts and minds; God’s Word ought to cause true repentance to pierce the heart of those who hear it. Remember, the Israelites knew God. They’d once walked in His ways, obeyed His commandments. Yet they’d drifted from Him. Instead of clinging to God, holding fast to His commands, they’d instead taken on the world’s ways—the pagan practices of their captors. They’d become almost indistinguishable from them. God’s people had become so immersed in the culture and comforts of Babylon that many decided to stay put—leaving God and Israel far behind them. Why?

Because leaving behind the world and all it had come to mean to them would have required sacrifice—and sacrificing their comfort, what had become familiar, was a price they simply weren’t willing to pay.

Secondly, I understand why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. They had been restored, forgiven, were home now, returned to the land God had promised their ancestor, Abraham. Covenant had been restored. Not that God had or could ever break it. Man alone does the breaking; God alone restores. Those Israelites gathered before Ezra had repented of their sins, and God, merciful Father He is, had washed them white as snow—a foreshadowing. I, too, have experienced this with God, at least partly—the washing as white as snow. Like so many of you, my brothers, and sisters, I’m still waiting. I’m hoping, looking forward to walking into my promised land. An eternity spent worshiping Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God I spoke of earlier. Soon and very soon, like the Israelites before me, I will once again and forever be at home with my Lord, my Savior, my Great Love.

Dear reader, I understand that for one who does not yet know and love Jesus in the way I’ve spoken, asking you to ask Him into your heart as Lord and Savior might seem a strange request. But I’ll ask it of you, nevertheless. Why? Because I know Jesus loves you. Not like people you’ve known, who’ve loved and hurt you. Jesus’s love is pure and good. It restores and washes clean. Jesus’s love gives you hope and joy, and freedom. I know this not because I write about it but because I experience it, daily.

Jesus loves you. He wants to have a relationship with you. I pray you’d want that, too. Don’t stay stuck in the ways of the world. Come home to Jesus instead. How? By being born again. “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” –Romans 10:8-11.

Awaken!

October 15, 2022 /
Matthew Bothelo

Blessings, my brothers, and sisters in the Lord; I pray God’s peace continues to pour over everyone who takes the time to read this teaching. May we all grow in His knowledge, and may His Holy Spirit bring wisdom to all who cry out for it. God is so worthy of all our praise!

So, before we get into this week’s teaching, permit me to share what has been stirring in my heart for a few months.    

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

The Lord helps me to be steadfast and ready

Awaken all these dormant gifts

Resurrect my soul for You

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

Refill my heart with only You

Refill my heart with new wine

Strengthen my bones

Strengthen my soul

Awaken oh my soul, awaken

For my Lord will save me in times of trouble

He is always for me. He alone goes before me

He shows me the path to take. He anoints my eyes and allows me to see

For He is victorious overall, He has laid waste the enemy

He alone reigns. I fall to my knees

For He is holy and righteous, our Lord will never fail

My soul cries out to the one I love

He has awakened me from the dead. He has resurrected me by His blood

He has strengthened my bones. He has saved my soul

He has awakened me. My soul is awakened

My Jesus has awakened me!

This word “awaken” has been stirring in my belly for many months. The Church that once was asleep is coming alive now. And the Light of the gospel will be preached in its sanctuaries. Those men of God Christ have appointed will not shrink back but will boldly preach in the name of our Lord, Jesus!

Indeed, friends, times are dark. And it can be hard to see clearly. Yet remember the reminder our Lord shared with the people during His Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. “In the same way, let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” –Matthew 5:14-16. As Christians, we have been set apart from the world. We are that light in our homes, in our places of work, and in our schools.

Our Lord Jesus has given us the great commission. He gave it to His disciples then, and He reminds us of it today! From the greatest to the least, we are appointed. “Then He said to them, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name, they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes; If they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well” –Mark 16:15b-18.

If you have a relationship with Jesus, know Him as your Lord and Savior; You are a new creation. Your sins have been forgiven. And you ought to be walking in a manner the world is not used to seeing.

We may live in this world, but we do not have to think the way this world would have us think. The Apostle Paul writes, “For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims” –Romans 6:5-7.

Many right now are walking into churches searching for answers, seeing if there really is hope, a Light that will shine bright. Their lives are seemingly endless, void of any light. Yet Jesus calls us to be that Light. This world is dark, my brothers and sisters, and it will only get darker. But God’s Word will remain—shining evermore brightly! Jesus has come for those who are blind and roaming around in the darkness. And as they place their faith in Him, they will see clearly!

Deception equals darkness. And today, one such deception leading many astray says being a “good person” somehow equals salvation. But Jesus asked, “Who is good?”

Firstly, salvation is found only in God’s Son. Every good work, then, is the fruit of your salvation. “I am the vine; you are the branches, the one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me” –John 15:5. Just because you do good does not mean that you are good. Even an evil person can be nice to their own. But when it comes to someone else, they can be devious; their heart is not in the right place. God knows the heart, brothers, and sisters. The Holy Spirit is reminding many today that salvation does not come through their works. Instead, they must be awakened in their spirit and be firmly rooted in God’s Word. Without seeking God and knowing Him, they are still in darkness. To do God’s work, you must seek His will. We are called to partner and be in a relationship with our Lord.

Friends, the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of John 15:5, and so I’m reminding you. You have been called out, set apart to be God’s Light.

To remain where there is no light and life will only bring you spiritual stagnation and death. Do not let the ways of the world back you into a corner, intimidating you. Persecution will always be there for the believer. Jesus said, “Remember the word I spoke to you: a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy whispering and trying to remind you on who you once were. Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” –John 10:10.

God also gives us the peace and assurance to know that no matter how bad things may get, He is always with us. “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance” –John 10:10.

As I close dear friends, the Holy Spirit is revealing many other scriptures on this topic. If I were to continue, many of you would go cross-eyed, and my editor would have a thing or two to say to me later!

So instead, may God’s peace blanket your every negative thought, and His Word be sealed in your hearts. I look forward to our next meeting, God willing. And, if you’ve read this far, I pray this teaching is the confirmation you have been praying for.

And if you don’t know Jesus, have a real relationship with Him. Let this be the day our Lord Jesus calls you out of death into life. Declare that your sins are washed away by His precious blood. Do not harden your heart but be renewed in your mind and your spirit. Awaken to the freshness that is found in Jesus Christ alone. Amen. “Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life” –John 8:12.

Fading Out

September 8, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

“He must increase, but I must decrease” –John 3:30.

The cycle of living can feel so exhausting. Wake up, eat, work, take care of the house, sleep, repeat. I think we can agree that at one time or another, we have all understood, related to this reference from Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless.”

We try our best to be good people. Yet leaving a mark on the world feels like a futile effort many days. In the Gospel of John, we are presented with an example that exemplifies a counterintuitive approach to fulfillment. John the Baptist (not to be mistaken with John the apostle who penned the Gospel of John) is introduced in John 1. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light [Jesus] so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light” – John 1:6-8.

John was Jesus’s cousin, a prophet who lived in the wilderness. John wore clothes made from camel hair and ate wild honey and locusts. Since his ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord, he would come to the people telling them to repent, to water-baptize them, and to declare there was one to follow after him (Jesus). You can read all about this in Mark 1:1-9.

I imagine John the Baptist would have been perceived as an odd man, but then again, God often moves through those we’d least expect Him to use. For John the Baptist, his ministry was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus.

And John’s purpose? Pointing everyone to Jesus Christ.

In New Testament Scripture, John’s ministry is our first example of a person testifying of the person of Jesus. The Bible says of Jesus, “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” –John 1:10-11. And while the rest of the world didn’t recognize Jesus, John recognized Him instantly.

God was using John to prepare the hearts of those who did not know Jesus. Although the Old Testament is full of prophecies of Jesus and the entirety of the Bible points to Jesus, John is perhaps one of the first to see Jesus—physically. John gave his whole life to tell the world about the person of Jesus.

There is a great lesson we can learn from John the Baptist about pointing the world to Jesus.

John the Baptist was selfless. While the world teaches us to focus on ourselves, God’s Word teaches us to love others even when they do us wrong. The culture of this world is one of selfishness. It looks inward for its fulfillment instead of allowing its Creator to fill and fulfill its every need, including its unseen needs. The world is centered on self-gratification instead of loving thy neighbor. And as more of society has welcomed the idea of self-centeredness, it has also drifted away from the One who can deliver them from the mental prisons that hold them bound. The result? A society that has increasingly accepted depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as normal. And while taking care of yourself is essential, it shouldn’t be our sole focus. We were created to love and exist in fellowship. Loving and serving God and one another.

Throughout the Gospels, we don’t read of John focusing on himself. There is no evidence in the scriptures of John focusing attention on himself. Instead, he readily released his disciples when they wanted to follow Jesus. When John saw Jesus passing by, he quickly said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus” – John 1:36-37. John didn’t get offended that his disciples went to Jesus, no. His attitude was one of rejoicing. “My joy is complete” – John 3:29.

Is Jesus enough to make your joy complete? Or is your joy made whole by your job, family, or ministry? While each gives us a sense of well-being, Jesus must be first. Everything else is just extra. Our prayer and deepest desire should be that Jesus fills us more than we thought possible. And, for that to be enough.

John the Baptist baptized with water, but the Bible says that Jesus baptizes (present tense intentional) with the Holy Spirit. – John 1:33.

It is impossible to live a life of faith without the help of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit without measure. “The man whom God has sent speaks God’s message. After all, God gives him the Spirit without limit” – John 3:34.

Our human nature is bent on us taking care of ourselves first. So, it is counterintuitive to put others before yourself, including Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit in us gives us the grace to manifest His love supernaturally. So, I’m not talking about us manifesting love by our own power. The True Source of supernatural love is Jesus Christ, manifest and evidenced by the Holy Spirit at work in us.

The Holy Spirit does not make us do anything or possess us to do anything, however. But He does lead us. Scripture clarifies, “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” – Romans 8:13-14. The choice is yours.

If we belong to Jesus—have professed Him as our Lord and Savior, His Spirit leads us. Yet, given that Jesus has also afforded us free will, we are allowed to obey or disobey His Holy Spirit’s leading us. Even though the Holy Spirit will always lead us in the way of Truth in Christ Jesus, to abundant life. Not only eternally but also on this side of eternity.

I pray that you invite the Holy Spirit to lead you in living a selfless life that points to Jesus and loves others unconditionally. If you don’t know Jesus, invite Him to your heart today and ask Him to help you live with purpose and fulfillment as He makes your joy complete.

Perspective.

August 6, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” –Philippians 3:20.

“To wait is to learn the spiritual grace of detachment, the freedom of desire. Not the absence of desire, but desire at rest. Waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy”–John Eldredge.

I read somewhere that having and maintaining a proper perspective in this life will help us reflect on the importance of our priorities. As Christians, Jesus should be our priority, loving Him, firstly and wholeheartedly, passionately—with abandonment. Expecting at any moment, we’ll see Him. Right now, today! Our brothers, the Apostles, lived with this level of expectancy. We ought to be praising God, worshipping Him with all that is in us—throwing off all pretense, any thought of how mere men may perceive us, our worship. I’m talking about the type of abandonment King David once demonstrated for us. “Then David came dancing before the LORD with abandon, girt with a linen ephod, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” –2 Samuel 6:14-15.

David had little concern for the thoughts of men. His heart was bent on pleasing and honoring God. We would do well to take note of David’s example.

Yet how easy it is for us to be deceived, for me to be deceived. Forgetting, even momentarily, there is a world just beyond the veil, our true home. Easy to be lulled into believing that what we see, taste, and touch, those we can wrap our arms around, looking into their eyes, is all that there is. Now, being all there is. The firm earth we stand upon and the four walls that enclose us, our home. But that is a lie—a delusion. “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” –Hebrews13:14.

This world is not your home, Beloved Sojourner. “For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven” –Hebrews 13:14.

I am here to remind you of Jesus’ promise to you, child of God. “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am” –John 14:2-3.

We forget, temporarily, I pray, that though we serve a God we’ve yet to see face to face, save in the eyes and smiles, in the expressions of those we love. Those whom God permits to walk a while with us, that we might be afforded some fleeting glimpse of His beauty or fairness, His passion or the peace left in His wake. This God we’ve yet to touch, wrap our arms around, look into His eyes; this withstanding, Jesus is more real than the most real thing before us! Realer still than your spouse’s hand in yours or that beloved child, snuggled up against your side, warm.

God, more perfect than any precious newborn babe or the most magnificent sunset or seascape ever witnessed, more beautiful and majestic than any mountain or rolling green plain. More regal than the Lion He created. Holy, Perfect, more precious than silver or gold, nearer to us than our next breath or heartbeat, this, in some small part, is our God. “O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies! When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!” –Psalm 8:1-4.

So let me ask you this. When was the last time you just laid back on some sunny day or still, star-filled night and just let your eyes drift upward or out? Even if you were sitting in your car, in traffic instead, staring out through some rain-soaked windshield?

When did you last intentionally contemplate spending your eternity with Jesus?

When was the last time you purposefully shifted your perspective from this world to the next—your real and true home, and thought about what it will be like the second you’re afforded the unfathomable privilege of looking into Jesus’ eyes? Or of hearing His voice for the first time? Or even the feeling that might overtake you when His hand touches yours—reaching for you, His Bride? Such thoughts equally blow my mind and make me giddy—simultaneously! Leaving me with that feeling in the pit of my gut one gets from the first major drop on a rollercoaster or when you witness something so profoundly beautiful that the awe of it robs you of your breath, stopping you in your proverbial tracks! And this, in the natural. How much more the supernatural!

How about when the Holy Spirit so stirs within you that it’s no great leap to understand another person has taken up residence there? Yet, in that second of eternal birth, rapturous, our finally seeing Jesus face to face will far exceed any vivid description any one of us might come up with. Any beauty wildly imagined. Indeed, our every hope and longing will be realized in that instant. Every heartache, all questioning, washed away. Was I good enough, did I do enough, put to death, finally, in the One who gave it all for you and me?

We will be like Him, scripture says. Transformed, living eternally in the very presence of our God. Oh, glorious day! Maranatha! “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” –1 John 3:2.

Consider this your reminder, dear sister, brother, and new friend. A reminder that what you see and touch and hold dear now—is quickly fading away. Conversely, God is, quite literally, drawing nearer and nearer daily. So I encourage you to shift your perspective. To fix your eyes and hope, to, quite literally, bet your life on Jesus. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” –1 John 2:15-17.

Friend, if your eyes and thoughts have been so fixed on the things of this world that you have not considered the next, I pray that you’ll do that today. Please, don’t let another day pass without asking Jesus to open your eyes to the Truth. He is Truth. “Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” –John 14: 5-6.

Fearfully Faithful.

July 30, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

One of the challenges of reading scripture is finding Jesus from the beginning to the end. The Bible is a singular, great love story of the Creator, God, on a quest to redeem mankind from sin and separation from Him, back into communion and relationship with Himself. All in His perfect timing.

The Old Testament is filled with biblical accounts that precede the advent of God’s incarnate appearance on earth as the Godman, Jesus. Within the Old Testament, we read of an Almighty God fiercely protecting and judging His people. Finding God’s redemptive love within these ancient texts can sometimes be challenging. Especially if we read the Bible as a mere history book rather than a redemption story, it is a story that includes you and me. It takes eyes of faith to see where we fit in, where God’s love is reflected from Genesis to Revelation.

So I invite you to put on your faith lenses as we look at First Kings. There we’ll meet one of Yahweh’s prophets, Elijah.

First Kings also introduces us to three central characters in the Old Testament: King Ahab, the king of Israel for almost an entire generation, his reign lasting twenty-two years. The Bible makes clear that Ahab was a wicked king. “Ahab, son of Omri, did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than any King before him. “He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him”– 1 Kings 16:30-33.

The above passage gives us insight into why King Ahab was so evil in God’s sight.

Ahab followed the sin pattern of the previous king –Jeroboam. We read about Jeroboam’s sins in First Kings, also. Jeroboam erected idols, false gods, for Israel to worship. All the while knowing the first commandment God had given His people is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” –Exodus 20:3. So Jeroboam explicitly disobeyed God’s law. He’d also ordained priests for the temple who were not of the tribe of Levi, bypassing one of God’s divinely ordered requirements for the priesthood. It seems as though Jeroboam set a precedent that the future kings of Israel would follow, as that’s precisely what King Ahab did.

Instead of restoring Divine order to God’s people, Ahab followed the status quo.

Then there’s Queen Jezebel, the woman Ahab chose as his wife. Even though God didn’t want the Israelites intermarrying, this is because these other nations worshipped idols—false gods. Jezebel, in particular, is listed as one of the most wicked women in the Bible. She was from Sidon’s seaport town (sometimes called Zidon). Sidonians had previously oppressed God’s people (Judges 10:12). They were also known to be lawless and idolatrous (1 Kings 11:5; Judges 18:7. They were superstitious (Jeremiah 27:9). And all around wicked in God’s sight. Jezebel embodied each of these sinful qualities plus more! She had also introduced the false God, Baal, to the Israelites. She’d also oppressed God’s people while manipulating her husband into following her wicked, idolatrous ways.

And Elijah, one of the greatest prophets to serve Israel. He came in a close second to Moses. His name means, “Jehovah is my God.” Elijah sought to restore the heart of the people of Israel back to the Lord. Everything He did was to point to his God and bring Him glory. Elijah performed miracles, signs, and wonders by God’s power. The Bible does not give us much insight into Elijah’s history other than he was a Tishbite from Gilead—1 Kings 17:1a.

So now that we know the characters at play here, we can better appreciate the conflict to come and what we can glean from this story. A lot happens in a brief period, so today’s teaching is not an all-inclusive overview of biblical events.

Instead, I focused on Elijah’s faithfulness to God while living in an evil culture.

To fit everything into one teaching, we’ll dive into two specific events that struck me as I studied 1 Kings. The first is the widow in Sidon. The second is the bounty on Elijah’s head. At the beginning of 1 Kings 17, when we met Elijah, the first words we read are words from the Lord. God is telling Elijah there will be a famine in the coming years due to drought until He, the Lord, opens the heavens again, sending rain. After making this announcement, the Lord tells Elijah to hide by a brook so that he’d have access to water.

In addition to providing his water, the Lord also miraculously fed Elijah, sending ravens to bring him food by the brook.

But when the brook dried out, the Lord told Elijah to leave that place and stay with a widow in Zarephath, located in Sidon—v. 8. Did you catch that? Elijah was to go to Sidon, where the villainess of the day (Jezebel) hailed from. SIDON, whose people had oppressed the Israelites, worshiped false gods, and had no laws. That Sidon! So this widow was likely a worshiper of Baal, who, ironically, was supposed to be the god of nature. Specifically, the god of fertility and rainstorms.

I can imagine her feeling of betrayal towards Baal as she and her people revered this nature god, yet they were suffering from famine and drought. I’m sure many were starving, unable to feed their children, much like this widow. From what we know of her, she seems hopeless.

In the same breath Elijah uses to introduce himself to the widow, he also asks for a cup of water and some bread.

So, she gets him a little water and then informs him of her situation. “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” – 1 Kings 17:12. She acknowledged Elijah’s God, not knowing God already knew her, and wanted to display His faithfulness and mercy towards her through His servant, Elijah. God was not afraid of their idol worship. Instead, He was seizing moments where hearts could be turned towards Him, even if it took a famine and a drought to get them there.

What struck me as I read this was this widow who was about to die. And how Elijah tells her to use the only flour and oil, she has left to bake him some bread, and she did just that. God miraculously caused her jars to be filled with oil and flour until the famine was over. This is very unusual because widows were seen as lowly members of society. Yet, it was a lowly widow that God saw fit to provide for, a woman whose heart would be soft towards His prophet. I can just imagine the joy she experienced as she saw the abundance Elijah’s God provided, while Baal just stood by and let the people die. Where Elijah is from, Gilead can be translated to mean “heap of testimony.” Elijah’s life truly resulted in heaps of testimonies like this one!

It doesn’t matter if your history is one that dishonored God. What does matter is if you have a heart of repentance, turning away from what displeases God, turning instead towards what pleases Him. You will see the fruit of His love and provision in your life in unexpected ways.

This second account is remarkable. It’s when the Lord breaks the drought, using Elijah’s faith. God tells Elijah to call for a showdown with the prophets of Baal. Four hundred fifty of them, to be exact. It was four hundred and fifty to One. These prophets of Baal were to call on him to send fire from heaven, and Elijah would do the same. Whichever succeeded in sending fire from heaven would be the One True God. So, the prophets of Baal prepared their bull offering on the altar, performing rituals that Baal would respond to. They danced and mutilated themselves. Their belief was to call the gods’ attention from the underworld; blood must be spilled. So, they cut themselves, danced, and shouted all morning and afternoon, to no avail. After this, Elijah prepared his altar. Wanting to make more of a fool of these so-called prophets than they were, Elijah had his altar and offering drenched with water. (Many would have seen this as a waste of water during a drought) then, Elijah knelt and prayed.

In that instant, fire fell from heaven, consuming every drop of water, the bull, and even the wood of Elijah’s offering!

Baal was put to shame, the false prophets put to death, and rain ended the drought. (There is so much more to this account. I encourage you to read 1 Kings 18 and 19 for yourself). When King Ahab told Jezebel Baal had been defeated, she ordered that Elijah be killed just as the prophets of Baal were. She was livid, and Elijah, the man who had just called fire down from heaven, was terrified. This same guy who’d witnessed God’s faithfulness towards the widow. Elijah, the man who hid by a creek and was miraculously fed by ravens, was afraid. Just a moment ago, he was laughing at the prophets of Baal; now, he is terrified of this worshiper of Baal.

So, Elijah goes into a spiraling depression. He hides in the desert for forty days and can’t eat. Gosh, I think we’ve all been there.

“I know *insert the best thing that just happened to you* just happened, but I’m going to die here.”

“I know God has provided for me in the past, but I might as well give up now because God’s nowhere to be found.”

Hear me out. God has not left you. If you are a follower of Jesus, a child of God, He promises never to leave you nor forsake you.

You will experience victories, but you’ll also experience trouble. But Jesus is there through it all. His work in you is not over until He says it’s over. Just as God came back to Elijah, whispering a reminder to shake off his fear because there was still work to do, He wants you to rise up and trust Him to complete the work He has for you. It’s not over until God says it’s over. Will you find the faith today to be fearfully faithful? And when you can’t find the strength to get up and fulfill that purpose, remember, in those moments, to rely on Jesus. Pray, because God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” –2 Corinthians 12:9.

When you feel weak, God is strong in you.

If you don’t know this God I am talking about; I invite you to ask Him into your life today. Invite Him to have a seat at your table as you try to navigate life’s difficulties. He is faithful to forgive your sins, just as He’s forgiven mine, and He wants to have a relationship with you. So, I challenge you to be fearfully faithful to Jesus, then watch as He does the impossible in your life.

Unending Love, Amazing Grace.

July 16, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“And raised-us-with Him and seated-us-with Him in the heavenly-places in Christ Jesus, in order that He might demonstrate in the coming age the surpassing riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” –Ephesians 2:6-7.

‘Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear And Grace my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed. My chains are gone, I’ve been set free My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy rains, Unending love, Amazing Grace. The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures. –Chris Tomlin.

Via His Word and various worship songs, the Holy Spirit has spoken to me throughout the day. Stirring up in me reminders of His Holiness, His Power, His Amazing Grace, and Love. God has been refreshing me. Re-minding me (returning to my remembrance); He is not finished with me yet. His ongoing work of sanctification, my being made new, constant. “ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” –2 Corinthians 3:18.

God has been reminding me of just how easily I forget what, said anemically, is the extra-ordinary privilege I have been afforded in having been chosen in Him. My having been saved by the finished work of Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection. My salvation, costing Jesus His life. I have been humbled today, brought low. Not in a bad way. That’s not the Holy Spirit’s style. Instead, I have been reminded that I am standing on Holy ground whenever God shows up as He has today; I’ve been in the very presence of my heavenly Father. My knees bent, hitting the floor in adoration and awe, feeling the weight of His glory all around me. Who am I that God would come to me?

Now, hear me here. I don’t say this lightly or with some false sense of humility.

I understand I am God’s child and that it is very natural for us to commune with each other. Yet, even knowing this; still, a holy reverence overcomes me whenever my Father shows Himself as plainly as He has today. And I pray that never changes. May I never lose my awe of such a Holy, Loving God.

In His infinite mercy and unfathomable love for us, His children, we who have been chosen in Christ Jesus from before the foundation of the world stand as living testaments, open letters, epistles of God’s unplumbed love. Both now and in the world to come. Irrefutable proof of the supernatural power of our God—to men and angels alike. In 2 Corinthians 3:3, the Apostle Paul says the following concerning your being a living testament to our God. “You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Listen to how Angelica Duncan describes your being a living testament: “To be a living epistle means you are a living, breathing, walking letter of God’s goodness, glory, and grace!”

So for those whose memory of that precious sacred moment, the Sovereign God of the universe first revealed Himself to you, has dimmed. That very instant, God plucked you out of the kingdom of darkness, placing you safely, instead, into the Kingdom of His Marvelous Light. The Lord has sent me here today to lead you back. Back to the remembrance of the most wonder-full, life-changing miracle you have ever or will ever experience. The hour you first believed. To stir up a re-minder of the very precious gift of faith entrusted to you.

Hold tight to this Truth, child of God! Clinging to it as if to a lifeline, “your” lifeline. Salvation is nothing if not personal. Re-membering, Christ died for you.

No other gift, no matter how great, will ever have greater worth than the gift of your salvation. No healing or blessing, no ministry, spouse, no-thing will ever surpass you receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. Nothing. “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have” –2 Peter 1:10-12.

I pray you never forget the very second this unsearchable miracle occurred in your life, having been seared into your memory, indelible, until the Lord calls you back to Himself.

That very second when, like Paul, scales fell from your eyes. Then, for the first time in your life, you saw clearly. Not by human hands, mind you—no Ananias prayed over you. “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again” –John 3:5-7.

Instead, you were persuaded God had sent His Holy Spirit to visit you as surely as He visited Mary—depositing eternal life into your belly. Filling you with His eternal promises and sealing you in Himself for all time, birthing a new man from the old. You have been washed clean, prodigal. Never forget that Truth! “In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]” –Ephesians 1:13.

Chains that had you bound for years, some for a lifetime, falling to the floor. You have been set free from sin, death, and the law; because of Christ Jesus. Because God so loved you that He sent His only Beloved Son into this world to die in your place. All that “whomsoever” might be reconciled to Him, now and forever. “He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2.

Remember, too, child of God, when your eyes close to this world, they will open to an eternity spent in the loving presence of your Lord. Never lose hope then. “Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” –Luke 23:43.

Beloved brothers and sisters, listening to Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) Holy Spirit reminded me of the Truth Paul shares with us in today’s Scripture. And so, I’m passing along this oft-needed reminder to you, too, wanting to stir up what the Holy Spirit stirred up in me. A reminder of who I am in Christ Jesus. Contrary to how I may feel in moments of weakness, doubt, or fear, Christ is not finished with me yet. And neither is He finished with you. Keep moving forward, child of God. Keep trusting in God alone. “Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints” –Ephesians 6:18.

Friend, if you’ve yet to ask Jesus, who sets us free from our past, into your life as Lord and Savior, do it now, please. Why stay bound to your sin, addiction, or pain for one more minute? Live free this instant! “A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” –John 8:35-36.

Vantage Points.

June 18, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!” –2 Corinthians 5:16.

So many factors shape your understanding of the world around you. The highs and lows of life, your ethnicity, where and how you grew up, your level of education—or lack of, and economics, to name a few. Did two loving parents raise you in a peace-filled home? Or were you raised in a single-parent household by a mom or dad who did what they knew to do to provide for you, whether peacefully or not?

As witnessed in the life of the Apostle Paul—and our own; faith, or its absence, directly shapes how we perceive the world and those in it.

The Apostle Paul raised Saul from Tarsus, a city in Cilicia in the Province of Asia Minor, was a Greek-speaking Jew born around the time of, or just after, Jesus. Saul of Tarsus was no average Hebrew boy. Clearly, he displayed above-average intelligence and nimbleness of mind. Though he did not hail from a wealthy, aristocratic family, Saul’s ability to read and retain Hebrew Scriptures afforded him an encyclopedic knowledge of the Torah. Saul’s intellectual prowess and unswerving belief in nonbiblical traditions positioned him to become a student of the renowned Rabban Gamaliel eventually. “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” –Galatians 1:14.

Saul spent much of his early years living as a resolute Pharisee, yet we know that Saul was also a tent maker, skilled with his hands (1 Cor.4:12; Acts 18:3; Acts 20:34). This tidbit of knowledge allows us to know with certainty that Saul did not come from an affluent background—he was not economically privileged. Little is known about Saul’s parentage or early childhood. Still, it’s not a stretch to imagine that Saul was raised in a traditional two-parent Jewish household by devote, God-fearing parents who regularly went to the Temple.

Now you may be asking yourself, “why are you telling me all about Saul’s life, and what does he have to do with today’s Scripture verse or your opening sentences, for that matter?”

My answer? Telling you about Saul’s life has everything to do with today’s Scripture and my opening verses. How? As I said earlier, so many factors shape your understanding of the world around you. Faith, or its absence, directly shapes how you perceive the world and those in it. And Saul was no exception. So the way Saul was raised, what he was raised to believe in, more his eventually life-changing encounter with Jesus directly affected not only his life and ministry but so many countless thousands of other Christian lives and ministries.

Saul of Tarsus became Paul, The Apostle, this fervent, dedicated lover of the same Christ and His followers he once despised, persecuted unto death. No longer interested in rites and rituals. Now Paul’s focus was on saving souls, sharing the Gospel message, and seeing men freed from the death-like grip of their sins. Having once seen God as little more than a means to a religious end, now, Jesus lived and burned vibrant and alive in Paul’s heart. And this because Paul’s vantage point was changed in a flash—of God’s Pure Light, that is. Perhaps that’s why in today’s passage, Paul encourages you to see people in your day-to-day life differently. He is challenging you to see them and the world around you anew, through spiritual eyes—through a different lens, maybe, than what you grew up wearing?

Here Paul acknowledges that, like many of us, he, too, once viewed the world through dogmatic “earthly lenses.” Perhaps, like so many of us that have been given new sight—spiritual eyes, Paul was reflecting on his once profound blindness as he stood, lending his reflexive consent, his zealous approval of Stephen’s stoning? As Paul penned this verse, I wonder if he thought back to being blinded by the Pure brilliance of the Lord? Knocked clear from his proverbial “high-horse,” humbled. His sight temporarily taken so that he might gain a new vision?

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” –Philippians 3:4-8.

Whether directly or indirectly, knowingly or unawares, so much of what we’ve been taught, have perceived—whether real or imagined, shaped our willingness to welcome God into our hearts and lives. Or, conversely, it closed Him out.

What we were taught about faith in God, if anything at all, helped determine if we’d view God as a loving, merciful Father or as just some guy who exists “out there somewhere” who threatens and challenges our worldview. Or, perhaps, it led us to question whether God even exists? We see this plainly in Saul’s life. His learned, rigid, legalistic view of God made it virtually impossible for him to experience God outside the fixed rules and rites that governed and protected his faith. Saul’s “this is how God is and moves” stance prohibited him from experiencing God relationally, beyond the ritual that had become his religious default—that is, until his life-changing encounter with Jesus on a dusty Damascus road.

Saul’s Damascus Road encounter with Christ became the birthplace of Paul, the Apostle.

That’s what happens when God “calls us out of darkness and into His wonderful Light” –1 Peter 2:9.

We are transformed, made new. Blind eyes, seeing clearly. We’re given a new vantage point from which to view the world and those in it. Yes, it was Saul who fell to the ground. Saul, whom God blinded. And it was Saul who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, fasted for three days, seeing Ananias in a vision. But it would be Paul, God’s Apostle, having had an encounter with the Living God, who would leave that room on Straight Street with new sight.

Surely, what our parents teach us, influences us. Our culture, education, and socioeconomic means each play a role in shaping our thinking concerning our faith or belief in God. But, as with Saul, none of these external influences will ever have the power to stay the hand or will of the Most High God, King of the Universe, Sovereign Lord. Somewhere in eternity past, God had written Saul’s name in The Lamb’s Book of Life, and no earthy circumstance, no rite or ritual, no religion, or conviction would ever be powerful enough to change that.

Take comfort in that fact, friend. If God has chosen you for Himself, nothing and no one can keep Him from you.

No religion, lack of education, abusive parents, being raised poor or in the hood, or even your addiction or self-loathing can keep God away. As with Saul, God knows the exact moment He has destined to remove the scales from your eyes, enabling you to see beyond the confines of this world, changing your vantage point forever more. No longer seeing Him or those, He’s created with the same tired eyes—Jesus makes all things new, starting with you.

Friend, you can have a personal relationship with Jesus now if you choose to. It’s so simple a child can do it. You just need to repent of your sins, tell God you’re genuinely sorry for all you’ve done—no matter what it is, and ask Him to come into your life as Lord and Savior, and He will. And just like Saul and countless others, you too will be given eyes to see beyond the confines of this world; eyes that will see and recognize the Truth—Christ Jesus. “Yeshua said to him, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Way and The Truth and The Life; no man comes to my Father but by me alone” –John 14:6.

Are You Willing to Climb?

June 4, 2022 /

MaryEllen Montville

 “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully” –Luke 19:1-10.

Exactly when did Jesus know Zacchaeus, this chief tax collector, this marginalized, ostracized son of Abraham, would run through the thick of the crowd gathered in his village, climb up into a fig tree—just to get a look at Him?

Was it while Jesus was teaching another crowd on another day in some other village about the Parable of the lost—lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son? Was it during His time of teaching His disciples about forgiveness and faith? Maybe It was after He had entered a small village somewhere between Galilee and Samaria, and ten men covered in leprosy cried out to Him for healing? Or, perhaps, it was in a Nanosecond of what we call time, somewhere in eternity past? Was Jesus standing over the dark void when He planned to meet Zacchaeus under that Sycamore-fig tree?

The Bible doesn’t fill in that particular blank for us.

Suffice it to say, however, God knew the exact second this man of small moral and physical stature would quite literally be found, “up a tree.” God had always been working in Zacchaeus, just below the surface. Unnoticed, unrecognized, yet ever-present in every-thing that had ever happened in Zacchaeus’ life. God had been using every joy, smile, every pain, hurt, and disappointment. Every rejection, each harsh word spoken, every bright ray of sun that had ever pierced the darkness of Zacchaeus’ isolation—his loneliness. God had used each moment—every choice, good or bad,, like so many stones. And God laid them one by one, paving a path that would eventually lead Zacchaeus to climb up that exact fig tree—at precisely the right time.

The Holy Spirit is stealth—and intentional. There are no accidents with God. No “almost.“

God had a plan for Zacchaeus’s life, just as surely as He did for Father Abraham’s. Different, certainly, just as each man’s life is different. God’s plans for you, you, and I are as unique as we are. Yet similar somehow, united in purpose in Christ Jesus, we are His Body after all. God had a plan for our salvation and our ongoing transformation. Just as God had a plan that would empower Zacchaeus to do,, in all probability, what he had not done since boyhood, climb a tree! God will drive us towards the most peculiar of places, and He’ll do it at the most inopportune of times—untimely for us, that is. God’s timing is always perfect. Always on time. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. “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.

Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus, about the miracles He’d performed. Maybe he’d climbed that tree hoping he’d get something from Jesus? And get something he did! Surely Zacchaeus never saw coming what it was he would receive from Jesus—newness of life. Unlike the blind beggar who had shouted out to Jesus from the gate of this same village, Zacchaeus had his sight, physically speaking, that is. But in fact, it was the blind man who had 20/20 vision compared to Zacchaeus and many others gathered there that day. The blind man recognized Jesus for who He was, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” –but that’s best left for us to explore another day.

That blind beggar knew he wanted to be healed, and he let everyone within earshot know about it. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” –Luke 18:37-38. We never hear Zacchaeus crying out to Jesus for healing or forgiveness. Verse six plainly says that when Jesus called him down out of the tree that they might share lunch, “Zacchaeus climbed down quickly and with great joy and took Jesus into his house.” Where’s the shame? The downcast eyes, heart, and spirit? Where’s the wailing, gnashing of teeth, and tearing of his garments, evidence of Zacchaeus’ feeling the weight of his sins? Where were the sackcloth and ashes? The remorse?

Answer: God sees what mere men cannot. And I, for one, am so grateful that He does. “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” –1 Samuel16:7. In reading the account of Zacchaeus and Jesus, I was reminded of yet another wayward son of Abraham. A son separated from his family and community due to sin—and selfish choices.

We’re never told what drove Zacchaeus to become a chief tax collector—perhaps the vilest of jobs a Jew could have. Maybe we should look to the Apostle Matthew for our answer? Remember, he was a tax collector right up to the moment Jesus “just happened” to walk past him.

Although I’m a woman, and they’re tax collectors, I saw my own life staring back at me through the lens of Zacchaeus and Matthew’s choices. I, too, was broken and dead in my sin. Having lusted after the things of this world, I was once separated from family and friends due to my poor choices—sullied by the sins of my countless offenses. More, I was separated from God.

Yet unbeknownst to us, God was never far from us. His Holy Spirit knew precisely when and where He’d call us out of darkness, into His glorious Light. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” –1 Peter 2:9.

Unlike blind Bartimaeus, it had never occurred to me to call out to Jesus.

Sure, I knew of Him. I believed in Him even—at least I believed that He was. Yet I never opened my mouth. I never asked for what I most needed. How fortunate (such a pale expression of such an incredible blessing) I was that Jesus had determined to walk past me—just as He did Zacchaeus and Matthew, Paul too. How fortunate (such a pale expression of such an incredible blessing) I was that Jesus had determined to walk past me—just as He did Zacchaeus and Matthew, Paul too. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” –Romans 5:8.

God chose each of us in Himself long before we had a clue. “Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine” –Ezekiel 16:8.

While Zacchaeus and Matthew were swindling and cheating people out of their hard-earned money and goods, Paul’s heart was burning with murderous intentions to kill those who believed in this Jesus. Yet God had sealed each of these men in Himself—calling them His own. And He did the same for me. Scripture is clear that Zacchaeus never cried out to Jesus. Never shouted out to get God’s attention—Matthew either. In each of their cases—Paul’s also, God made sure that He was the One to get their attention. This Pure and Holy God came to each of these sin-soaked men—and to me, presenting Himself in such a way that to not follow after Him—not leave it all behind, not change our ways— repent, was not an option. “Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the Father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them” –Romans 4:10-11.

I certainly don’t profess to understand the depths of God. I see and understand in part. I’m a simple sheep following after a God that is far too big—too marvelous—too Brilliant, Creative, Deep, Holy, and Pure for me to comprehend fully—this side of eternity, nor would I want to. I am thankful for being me, knowing I serve a God who is far too big for me to get my arms—mind, knowing—heart around.

Yet, by His grace, I can follow Zacchaeus’ example and climb whatever tree necessary to get a better look at—a more intimate understanding of—a more profound revelation of the One I love as He passes by. My Triune One, who stood over the void and said, “This world will not be complete without my daughter.”

My Jesus, who left the Father’s side that He might walk before me, ensuring I forget my way back home.

How about you, friend? If you’ve only heard about Jesus, knowing Him from afar, are you willing to climb whatever tree you must to get closer to Him? I pray you do. “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” –Jeremiah 29:12-13.

Heart of Flesh.

May 28, 2022 /
Kendra Santilli

If life is a journey, that must mean there is a process. We love the adventure of going on a journey but shy away from the challenge of the inevitable process accompanying it. If you are anything like me, your brain is an idea factory, a well-oiled machine—whipping up business or work improvement ideas. People like us have the ambition to get things started by formulating a plan, but we’re slack in carrying it through. I have heard it said that motivation is a great tool to get started toward a goal, but discipline is the element required to complete it. Whether it is a new diet, exercise program, or something as simple as an attitude adjustment, it is easy to fall off the wagon when things do not progress as quickly as we want them to. We want to see our maturity instantly but do not have the drive to get through the tough stuff.

While we start with inspiration from individuals who have succeeded in what we want to achieve, we do not always realize the dedication it took them to get there. I’m talking about that feeling we get when seeing before and after pictures on home improvement projects or the before and after photos of one’s weight loss. What is not pictured are the failures and small victories they achieve along the way over months or years. We don’t see the sacrifices and challenges that become the steppingstones to their final destination. We forget that consistency and discipline are the most crucial ingredients for success.

The same is true for our spiritual lives.

Today I would like to introduce you to the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel. This ancient book was written to make plain God’s judgment on Israel: it’s also a prophetic glimpse into their future. The same God that spoke to Ezekiel then is speaking to us still. God does not change. His heart has remained the same, and like the entire Bible, Ezekiel’s message still speaks to us. Ezekiel 36:26-27 reads, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”

This verse is brimming with the hope of the final destination. It is saying that God’s plan for His people was once again for them to become inclined towards Him. The “heart of stone” here represents stubbornness or pride, the calloused part of humanity that declares we do not need God when, in fact, He designed us to function optimally in communion with Him. The “heart of flesh” means the person is softened towards the things of God. Their desire becomes that of pleasing Him, not rebellion against Him. It is only through a softened heart that the Spirit of God can dwell within us to help us follow His ways.

So, while this verse speaks to the goal, the preceding chapters describe the first steps God had to take, exposing the wickedness of man. For God to work in us, He first has to remove our broken pieces, making room for what is good. God gives Ezekiel prophetic visions of the rampant sin among His people, the Israelites. When God gave Ezekiel these visions, it was understood that the acts of the Israelites broke His heart. Scripture shows us time and time again that God and sin cannot coexist, yet God longs for a relationship with sinful mankind. Can you see the dilemma? He wanted to dwell with man but could not. You must understand this: generations before this, the Lord gave laws to Moses for the people to have a guide for living rightly before God so that they could have a relationship, but because they disobeyed these laws, God grew displeased. Even with clear-cut expectations, the Israelites still didn’t get it. If you read the chapters before this, they are riddled with judgment as Ezekiel exposes Israel of all her sins.

Like Israel, our walk with God ebbs and flows. God never changes. He remains constant in all things. The ebb and flow come from us; we are inconsistent. When we first come to the Lord, we are filled with the excitement of new hope. Then as we read the Bible and spend time with God, conviction begins to grab hold of our hearts, making us quite uncomfortable. This reflection is the part where the easy option is to stop pursuing God because, amid that expository process, it feels as though you will never reach the maturity of the examples that you see around you.

Let me remind you: you were not there during their process! And you cannot compare your process to someone else’s final product.

Every person who seeks God will find themselves exposed by His word. The Bible says, “there is no one righteous, not even one; … there is no one who does good, not even one.” – Romans 3:11a-12b. According to the Bible, even your best day is not good enough before God. The process of walking with the Lord may feel like condemnation at first. It may feel like the judgment that we read about in the first half of the book of Ezekiel, but if you stay the course, that feeling of judgment will turn to a sense of hope as He turns your heart from stone to flesh. Discomfort should not be the thing that stops you from pursuing God. Instead, it should propel you closer to Him as He is the only one who can redeem what once was lost. When you believe in Jesus, you receive the righteousness of God. Those failed attempts to start living better and be a better person are no surprise because that can only be accomplished through Jesus. “The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” – Romans 3:22. “God made [Jesus] who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 (emphasis my own). Jesus is the key to our ability to live a righteous life. We cannot do it without Him. Our being molded into His image is hard but worth it. Jesus promised that He would make us new. Our responsibility is to believe what He says and ask for the faith to walk unwavering with Him.

If you don’t yet know Jesus, I invite you to ask Him into those uncomfortable spaces in your heart, to clean them, making things new within you. Jesus wants to walk with you despite your mess. God made a way for a relationship with Him to be possible through Jesus. Ask Jesus to give you a new heart and renew a right spirit within you, His Holy Spirit.

Lifeline.

May 7, 2022 /
MaryEllen Montville

“My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins” –James 5:19-20.

Lifeline: support that enables people to survive or to continue doing something (often by providing an essential connection).

This message is your lifeline, Beloved. Love is an action word. So is faith. Each connects us to Truth. And what is Truth? Jesus Christ. We see this Truth splashed across every chapter of James’ Epistle. This Truth saturates every Word we read, from Genesis to Revelation. From the very beginning of his writings, James makes clear to his reader: if you simply know God’s Word, as in having head knowledge of ” I know the Bible! I’ve read it from cover to cover!” yet don’t put legs beneath what you’ve heard or read, don’t have a genuine, loving, dependent, entwined relationship with the God who wrote each Living Word you profess having read, you’re only fooling yourself into thinking your faith is genuine. This is not my opinion; it’s God’s Word. “For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” –James 1:23-24.

James speaks to us of practical faith. A faith that not only sees the needs of those around us, those hurting or struggling, in need of food or shelter, clothing, those sick in body or spirit, it also compels us to act. To put legs under what we profess—more, to practically demonstrate, give away, the love we claim to carry within us—the love of Christ. James calls for us to lay down our lives and resources for the wounded brother or sister we see before us—and, truth be told, we all see at least one.

That lonely one there in the back row, in need of conversation and a cup of coffee, a hot meal, maybe even a couch to crash on for the night so they can sleep in peace and safety. “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” –James 2: 14-17.

Now before I go on, allow me to clarify something. Your good works will not and cannot save you. Understand that. Your being a “good person” won’t save you, and neither will you just knowing about Jesus. Even Satan knows about Jesus! Good works do not save you. Only belief in Jesus Christ, a genuine relationship with Him, will save you. Not Church. Not reading your Bible from cover to cover, not a pastor, no one but the Living God can save you. “Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” John 14:6.

James’s good works in his Epistle are but threads of evidence of your having been transformed, your genuine salvation, being new in Christ Jesus. In having met, been stitched together as one, with the Author and Perfector of your faith. That established, back to where we left off…

Are you guilty of ignoring that one? That lonely one, the hurting one, that one in need? I know I certainly have been. Too busy. No time. What about my privacy, my comfort? If I hadn’t already made plans, then maybe…

I thank God for second chances. I thank God for the ones He sent my way to rescue me, offering me a lifeline, a way back to my first love when I needed conversation and a cup of coffee. When I needed a friend’s couch for the night, some safe place to lay my head and rest. When I just needed to know that I was seen, I mattered to someone. Now hear me, friend, it wasn’t that I didn’t believe Jesus loves me, will never leave me nor forsake me. I had just walked away from that mirror James spoke of and had momentarily forgotten what I looked like, more, who I looked like, belonged to. I needed to be re-minded. And my beautiful, merciful Savior knew just who to send my way.

That is the only reason I can come to you today and speak boldly and confidently. I have been that one. I have been that charred branch plucked from the fire that threatened to take me out on more than one occasion.

I have experienced firsthand that God’s Word, God Himself, is Truth. God can and will and does save us, over and over and over again. And not for just a moment, but our lifetime and beyond. God truly is El Roi, the God who sees. I know this because when I felt invisible, lost, confused, and afraid I had lost Him, God knew precisely where I was. And He saved me, yet again. The Holy Spirit threw me a lifeline in the way of a sister in Christ who came and refused to leave my house until I opened my door. Depression and fear had me believing if people would just leave me alone, I’d be fine in a little while. I just needed some alone time, space to just breathe and think. But instead, God showed up in the flesh that day, and He cleared away every lie that had dared to raise itself in place of the Truth I knew. He made the way back to Himself with this very Truth, spoken in love, yet again. “keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh” –Jude 1:22-23.

And to say I am grateful, well, those are just words. I owe God my life.

So today, as I do every day, I’ve chosen to lay my life down. To ask God what it is, who it is, He’d have me reach out to this day. He led me to you, Beloved. Please, take my hand, God’s hand. Because even when a lifeline is thrown, you have to want to reach for it, decide to grab it, be desperate enough just to hang on, and trust God to do the rest, to pull you in and back to Himself! “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can 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.

And so, having had a lifeline thrown my way on more than one occasion, the Holy Spirit has sent me here to you, my brothers, and sisters in the faith, and those wanting to be. To you, who sit in that pew week after week, searching God’s Word, trying to believe, doing your best to remain faithful, all the while struggling to hang on to the hope you so desperately need, the strength that will keep you coming back to Christ, hungry, just one more day. Or you, who so want to feel alive again—to feel that joy and peace, that fire in your belly you felt when you first believed. You’ve been spending way too much time of late questioning your faith, asking yourself, is it really true? Everything you once held so dearly, so tightly. You hear yourself thinking, “the world around me just doesn’t align with what I’m hearing week after week when I come to church.” I get it; I do. I hear and see many of the same things in the world around me that have caused you to lose heart, question, dare I say, doubt God?

But it is all True, child of God! If you are sitting under a shepherd who teaches the undiluted Word of God, then what you are hearing is Truth. And if you’re not, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to a church that does teach God’s Perfect Word.

Jesus is the Truth. So then, hear me, please! Be re-minded of Truth. How? By actively putting into practice, determining to heed the Apostle Paul’s instructions, taking it to heart. Applying it lavishly, a healing balm to your every wounded, doubt-filled, questioning place: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” –Romans 12:2. Consider this your lifeline friend, your connection to Truth—back to Christ. The support you prayed for—the shift needed to reroute you who have wandered dangerously close to the edge of “the things of this world.” You who have lost hope. Have been laboring under your own strength. You who have forgotten you were not created to carry your burdens alone. Hear Jesus’ heart toward you, child of God. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls” –Matthew 11:29.

And, dear friend, if you have read this far and have related to these words more, the Truth of this message. Know this; there is no such thing as coincidence. You are here because God led you here. God’s Truth will remain Truth, eternally, whether or not you believe it. But oh, I pray you do, believe it. More, I pray you grab it, wrapping it tightly around you, using it as the lifeline that will draw you to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, if you’ll let it. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” –James 4: 7-10.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Sonsofthesea.org

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑