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

Tag: Salvation (Page 4 of 16)

Jesus, Our Deliverer.

March 2, 2024 /

Pastor Maria Braga

“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” –Psalm 50:15.

We’ve all heard the word deliverance. Deliverance can be interpreted in so many ways nowadays. But Jesus is the only True Deliverer. One of God’s names, Jehovah Mephalti, means “The Lord, my deliverer.” We live in a time when many Christians should be more focused and learn to trust the Lord with all their hearts instead of chasing after signs and wonders. According to today’s Scripture and others, apart from Jesus, there is no deliverance. But thanks be to God, who delivers us through Jesus Christ our Lord! “Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]? Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin.” –Romans 7:25.

Once Jesus Delivers a person, that person is free indeed.

When we need deliverance, we are to call on Jesus, “Jehovah Maphalti,” our Deliverer, the only One who has the power to deliver each of us when we face oppression, disappointment, depression, anxiety, fear, and any other adjective that describes our situation.

Jesus delivers us from so many things:

• The Evil one (Matthew 6:13)

• Our enemies (Psalm 31:15)

• Death (Psalm 33:19)

• Personal Attacks (Psalm 18:43)

• Fears (Psalm 34:4)

• All our troubles (Psalm 34:17)

A deliverer is someone who rescues us from harm or danger. Our Savior, Jesus, came to save us from sin, bondage, and death.

Since the day we gave our hearts to Jesus (and if you have not, consider this your invitation to do so right now), we started journeying with Him on this intimate walk of faith. Being the only One who died for us, He is the only One who can provide the Dunamis power to deliver us.

According to her article in Bible Study Tools.com, Contributing Writer Annette Griffin helps us define God’s dunamis power: Dunamis is used 117 times in the New Testament. Dunamis represents the kind of power that is an inherent force. It flows from a person to give them the ability to do supernatural things, like miracles or morally excellent acts.

Jesus knows your pain, sadness, cries, and joys. He understands what it takes to be delivered. As you cry out to Him, Jesus feels your pain and agony because He is a person who has experienced everything we have experienced, yet He is without sin. He holds you up when you are too weak to walk. God holds your hand when you feel like fainting; Jesus picks us up when we hit bottom. Only He can deliver you. When you call out to “Jehovah Maphalti,” He responds and delivers us. No one else but Jesus can save you! “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” –Acts 16:31

The first deliverance we experience in our lives is the miracle of salvation.

When we accept Jesus into our hearts, Luke 15:10 tells us that angels in heaven rejoice. “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents [that is, changes his inner self—his old way of thinking, regrets past sins, lives his life in a way that proves repentance; and seeks God’s purpose for his life].”

They rejoice not because they are surprised but because of a great victory.

Salvation is where everything begins for those who put faith in Jesus.

After their initial deliverance from sin and death takes place through faith in Jesus, each day that passes holds a new deliverance.

But deliverance from what? Romans 12:2 teaches us to renew our minds and be transformed daily, discerning God’s will for us. “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”

We grow daily by reading the Scripture, attending a local Bible-teaching church, having an active prayer life, and thinking the right thoughts. This is how we start to bear fruit.

Now we know that Satan is real, demons are real, and curses are real, but we also know we have deliverance by walking in sync with Jesus, who is far more Real than all these. We no longer “lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways, we acknowledge Him, and He directs our path.” –Psalm 3:5-6.

Jesus took every one of our sins, any curse spoken over us, to His Cross so we could live free. Jesus carried our sins, so we no longer have to.

Jesus is our strong tower, One who will not be taken down.

We fear not – because He covers and protects us under the shadow of His wings. “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious and merciful to me, For my soul finds shelter and safety in You, And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge and be confidently secure Until destruction passes by.” –Psalm 57:1.

Once delivered, each person has the privilege of living free instead of living in mental or emotional oppression.

Jesus took upon Himself our sorrows, our sadness, our depression.

We no longer need to live confused or under a curse.

By growing in God’s Word, we grow in freedom, faith, wisdom, and the understanding of who God is.

We don’t need to run here and there looking for what is already inside us. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is alive and well and living within us. We must only step into our deliverance daily by receiving God’s forgiveness, forgiving others, and going on about the Father’s business.

Our pastor declared 2024 as the “year of growth.”

As we develop and grow in 2024, we increasingly understand that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” –Ephesians 6:12.

Growing in the Truths found in God’s Word takes effort and commitment.

Taking the time to get to know our Deliverer is essential for our faith walk. The more we read God’s Word, the more revelation we receive from the Spirit of God. Still, it all begins with our decision to accept God’s free gift of salvation and our desire to get to know our Deliverer, Jesus, Jehovah Maphalti.

Psalm 34:17 says: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.” How beautiful are these promises from His Word? God hears and answers according to His will for our lives. He doesn’t only deliver us from some things but from “all things.” The thing is, He doesn’t respond when we demand; He answers according to His timing and will. “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” –Psalm 50:15.

Many times, we want it now! When God says: wait, no, yes—just not yet. Why? Only God foresees what we can’t. We must grow to understand that He is Omnipotent—All-Knowing and trust that Jesus always knows better.

Will we believe what He says and wait on Him? Will we honor His answer? What if His answer is not what we want to hear?

I remember when I surrendered my life to Jesus, crying out to Him to deliver me from my thoughts, my old ways, and my habits. One day, I cried bitterly for hours, fearing He wouldn’t change me. I wanted to change, be more like Him and less like who I had always been. Over the years, I have changed and learned that His faithfulness never fails me. He is faithful to complete the work He begins in each of us. Each day that goes by, I want to live in this freedom I have in Him. I pray that He renews my mind daily and helps me live free. Accepting the deliverance and freedom in Jesus’ Last Words on the Cross: “It is finished.”

Jesus, please help me to experience this freedom today. Please allow me to trust You more, to lean entirely on You. Please teach me how to surrender to You all my days and help me grow and become more like You each day. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” –Ephesians 2:8-10.

One Thing…

February 24, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30.

In today’s world, my dear friends, we all need rest. I mean a deep rest. We need to shut out the world around us and focus instead on seeking God. For a long while now, I have felt in my spirit that many of us are battle-worn, tired, and needing replenishment. After all, a vessel cannot pour out if it is empty. Something must fill it first. Then, it can be used to pour out. And from what I see, many today are poured out, dry vessels needing a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Needing to cry out to Jesus and pray for His fresh wine, His blessings, and His fullness to come in and fill us—quenching and replenishing our thirsty souls—me included.

And yet, as I am sure you know, shutting down the world around us long enough to hear from God can be difficult.

Why? Because it surrounds us. We walk out our doors, and it is our faces. We turn on our television, tablet, or computer, pick up our phones, and multimedia tries to tell us what to believe or listen to. Some of us have jobs that are void of the Light of Christ. We are the only ones working there who may know or share the Gospel of Christ. All this can be tiring and discouraging. But, my dear brothers and sisters, I have come to remind and encourage you today that despite how you may be feeling, you are the Light of Christ Jesus—a glory carrier.

There is so much noise and distraction in our world and minds that it can often make it nearly impossible to remember this Truth. So, I will remind you instead of what Paul writes: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” –Ephesians 6:12.

At our church, we are being reminded and encouraged by Psalm 24:7 by our pastors and elders. “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.”

Friends, you are the gates when you worship the King of Glory!

His Holy Spirit will open wide the gates of your heart to receive the fulness of what Jesus has for you as you worship. Worship is the posture of our hearts as we praise Jesus alone. When you are dry and tired, seek Him. When you need wisdom, seek Him! Come expecting God’s fullness to overtake you, filling you to overflowing whenever you realign your vision and reposition your heart to His—receiving from Him instead of pouring out into others.

In Luke 10, Jesus is at the home of Mary and Martha.

As Jesus is reclining at the table, Martha is preparing and running around getting things organized for dinner. All she wants to be is a good host for her company, which is good, but Martha is very distracted. Her heart is that of a “deliverer.” Being a deliverer means serving with everything in you—giving it your all, but Martha is not taking the time to be replenished. What ends up happening? She gets discouraged.

Her sister Mary, however, is found sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him teach, taking in His every Word. She is having an intimate moment with Jesus. Her heart is far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world around her. All she wants is to be with Jesus. Mary’s heart has taken the posture of a “receiver,” taking in the fullness of what Jesus was teaching and speaking to her, being filled up and readied to pour out.

Friends, if we just stopped and listened, as Mary did, and let God be God. If we would stop and take a knee, I assure you the posture of our hearts will truly change, just as Luke 10 reminds us: “But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” –Luke 10:40-42.

Jesus says: “But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen the best part.” Did you catch that?

Jesus requires just one thing from us during our time with Him: To listen and receive. To be intimate and intentional in our time with Him.

Martha got so busy that she may have forgotten who she was serving. Yes, we are to serve in our churches and communities, but we must never forget the One who gave us the gift of servanthood and salvation. Jesus first served us, so we need to follow His example. But we must never forget what Jesus commanded us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33.

Mary realized that she was in the presence of God and showed humility by placing herself in a posture of worship as she gazed upon the King of Glory. I can only imagine what He must have been teaching at that moment and what it must have felt like to see, hear, and feel the fullness of God. 

My dear friends, as I close, do not harden your heart to what was shared here today, to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. Your heart is what Jesus requires—service will naturally follow. When you are tired and need to be refreshed, seek Jesus first. When you seek Him, you also receive the fullness of His Kingdom. In Him alone, you will find rest.

Father God, I pray those reading this who have yet to call You Lord will today declare Your son Jesus as Lord over their lives by repenting their sins and asking for their lives to be washed clean by the Blood of our Lord Jesus. Let today be the day of salvation, and heaven rejoice over this one who has come in. Amen. In Jesus, you will find forgiveness and salvation for your souls, and His sinless Blood will wash away your every sin.

Scripture promises this: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

And Romans 10:13 makes clear: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I Know.

February 17, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“Still, I know that God lives – the One who gives me back my life – and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth.” –Job 19:25.

How will you respond when, from seemingly nowhere, tragedy strikes? When you’re fired unexpectedly or a stroke, heart attack, or some dreaded diagnosis strikes? When your spouse leaves, or your child, parent, or beloved friend dies? Some will say that question can’t be answered until we face it. And yet, Job knew his answer well in advance. And so ought we. As Christians, we must determine in advance to cleave to Jesus when the familiar, everyday rhythm of our lives becomes abruptly unrecognizable, just as Job once did. Long before his world was ripped from beneath him, Job had decided never to turn away from the God He loved and served. Did Job have questions? Absolutely. Was he heartbroken and devastated? You bet. Yet Job had decided there’d never be a turning back to life before Jesus. A decision each of us must determine in our own heart.

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.” –Job 13:15.

God has every right to take anything back to fulfill His will in our lives, including the health, people, possessions, and prosperity He’s afforded us. His doing this will require us to “come up higher.” To operate in the Spirit, not the flesh. Our flesh is far too selfish and constantly warring with our Spirit. To remain steadfast in our faith and commitment to Christ, we must tether ourselves to unwavering trust in God. Be unswervingly committed to following, clinging to, honoring, obeying, running to Jesus long before adversity, loss, pain, suffering, or the unfathomable occurs. “Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.” –Psalm 108:12-13.

Jesus never promised that our following Him would be easy.

All too often, we forget that—I know I have.

As followers of Christ Jesus, by faith, we believe what God says is Truth because we know we serve a God who cannot lie. Who foreknew how each of His children would act, react, or respond to every situation and circumstance He knit into His plan for their lives—just as He foreknew how Job would respond to His extending Satan the invitation to sift him. Remember, God drew Satan’s attention to a man scripture makes clear, loved, and followed Him. It wasn’t sin that had opened the door to Satan—God Himself did that. “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” –Job 1:1.

In those moments and seasons when, like Job, we feel confused, afraid, targeted, even forsaken or forgotten by God, it’s then that the surety of what we know of God’s character and heart toward us must be our only lifeline. All else but God must fall away, lest we fall. “I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” –Psalm 63:8.

We trust Jesus because we have tasted and seen that our God is a Good Father, even in the worst of times.

And because of who God is, His unfathomable love for us—for you, beloved, I’m here to remind you that surely, soon and very soon, you too will heal, live, and breathe again, restored with even greater levels of trust—looking more like Jesus not despite, but because of your trial. Like Job, you will emerge more unshakable. Your faith is more deeply rooted because you’ve walked through the refiner’s fire with the Lord, and something far greater than silver or gold was deposited in you.

So allow God’s sure promises to speak to your feelings, Beloved. Reminding them they are fleeting and untrustworthy, emotional responses that are all too often slaves to your circumstances.

Please understand me. Assuredly, there are moments in life, seasons even, when these feelings are valid—we’re not robots. The loss of a loved one, a life turned suddenly upside down by the words, “We’re going to have to let you go.”  “There’s been an accident, or we’re sorry to inform you that your husband, son, or daughter did not survive.” “I have your test results. You have cancer.”

Still, more than ever, especially in such moments, we must grab hold of God’s promises and become so one with His Truth; we allow nothing, no loss, trial, or pain, to separate us from our loving Father. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”‘ –Romans 8:35-39.

The one sure thing I know, having experienced such desperate moments, is this: Everything must pass through God’s Sovereign Hand—Period. Are those things painful? Absolutely. They’re rip your heart out painful. You’ll never be the same again. As with Job’s losses, these sudden rippingaways are meant to leave us different than they found us—changed because they were allowed to touch us.

“Job answered God: “I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.” –Job 42:5 MSG.

Compared to the agony Jesus endured for you and me on His Cross, who are we to complain?

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” –2 Corinthians 4:17.

Soon and very soon, Jesus will return, wedding ring in hand, oh, glorious day when we’ll be forever One with Him, just as He promised His disciples as they watched Him ascend back to the Father, having conquered sin, death and the grave for you and me. Job believed it. Jesus’s disciples knew it. And so do we, those who have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb and are eagerly watching and waiting for His soon return. And so, I fix my eyes on Jesus, pain, and all.

Like Job, I know my Redeemer lives. And any moment now, I will meet Him.

How about you? Do you know Jesus? More importantly, does Jesus know you? If you’re uncertain, call out to Him now. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Give Him your pain. He’ll carry what you were never meant to. He loves you. You’re the one He gave His life for. Grab hold of Jesus’s promise to you: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” –Revelation 3:20.

But As For Us.

February 3, 2024 /

MaryEllen Montville

“But Peter and John replied to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must judge [for yourselves]; for we, on our part, cannot stop telling [people] about what we have seen and heard.” –Acts 4:19-20.

As I read chapter four, my spirit leapt when Holy Spirit shone His Light on today’s verses. I recognized that, like Peter and John, we, His Church, are standing on the precipice of this same type of insidious spiritual oppression. And, like them, we, too, must choose who we will obey. God or man? “How dare you speak that name!” “How dare you tell us that your Jesus is the only way to heaven? I’m a good person, and love is love!” Brothers, we are now being faced with, or soon will be, being silenced. “Deny Jesus!” “Cancel Him!” You’re one of those radical Jesus freaks! Go too far, and we’ll cancel you too!

The world will do its best to silence anyone who professes Jesus, His teachings, and the stabilizing Truth found only in His Inerrant Word. Jesus is the only way to the Father. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” –John 14:6.

Yes, we love all men, just as Jesus commands us to. But loving the yet saved ought to propel, not prevent, us from speaking the Truth in love, lest they not hear Truth and remain lost. “Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” –Matthew 15:10-14.

Beloved, we’re teetering on the crumbling edge of a world many have known and grown-up in.

A world that once felt seemingly firm beneath our feet is now giving way beneath us because, as it was then, so too today. Nothing will ever be the same. It can’t be. There is no going back. That’s not what Jesus intended—how He planned it, and He did plan it.

That’s hard for some to hear or accept; I get it.

Truth often is, but thankfully, our inability to reconcile Truth doesn’t stop it from being true.

Why? Because God’s Truth is fixed, not fluid. It will not be altered, weakened, or changed in any way by any man’s inability to make peace with it. “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” –Isaiah 55:11. Remember what Jesus told His disciples when they, like many today, experienced a shifting of the ground beneath them, when relative predictability was replaced by a sure knowledge that at any moment, once reliable things, will quickly turn unreliable—unrecognizable. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” –Matthew 10:34-36.

Use a sword against their Roman oppressors, yes, absolutely!

The disciples were expecting a King David moment from Jesus—planning, in fact, for its imminent arrival. But a man’s enemy being a beloved family member? That was hard for these men whose family and community were a large and stabilizing part of their culture and identity, the unifying backbone of their everyday lives.

Our brothers had no New Testament pages to turn to for hope—no Holy Spirit yet living within them, providing them with a peace that truly does surpass all understanding. No, these followers of Jesus were pioneering the faith. Yes, they walked with Jesus, but in many ways, what He was teaching them, this new Kingdom He was ushering in, was as foreign to them as the idea of His loving the Gentiles!

These New Testament believers had said yes to Jesus without knowing what would come from their following this not-quite-King David, Messiah.

Still, God had chosen them purposefully. He had called them to partner with Him to help create the map we’d one day use to follow Jesus as they did, one faith-filled step at a time.

So what do we do with this Truth, the sure knowledge we possess that persecution will come?

I ask this because, I’d say, and Scripture points towards our being at this same place of no return as our brothers once were —or a hairsbreadth away, at best. We, too, are standing upon some same precarious edge of a world many of us have known and grown up in, one whose once firm precipice is about to give way beneath us because, as it was then, so too, today. Nothing will ever be the same. We know what’s coming and what’s expected of us when it does. We are blessed to have the Holy Spirit and our Bible as our guide. Thankfully for us, our Father has given us a step-by-step detailed guide to follow. Jesus, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, placed it on the hearts of those who have gone before us, pioneers of the faith, stalwarts, each.

As for me, by God’s grace and in His strength, I have decided to follow Jesus. “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 3:13.

As the old hymn says, “No turning backing, no turning back.”

When asked by Jesus if he would turn away like so many others, Peter has the best answer I’ve heard concerning the decision we each must make. Do we follow Jesus, no matter what happens, or do we fall away?

” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope]. We have believed and confidently trusted, and [even more] we have come to know [by personal observation and experience] that You are the Holy One of God [the Christ, the Son of the living God].” –John 6:68-69.

Jesus assures those who follow Him that trials and persecution will come.

But to those who persevere, who’ll not deny Him, who’ll stand and fight, lifting His Banner of Righteousness, Love and Truth high above whatever tides of opinion or rejection may ebb and flow around us, to them, to us, He says: “But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” –Matthew 24:13.

Friends, listen to what Joshua shared with those who, like us, were facing the same spiritual battles we are. “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” –Joshua 24:14-15.

Who will you fear? And by fear, I mean respect, reverence, serve, honor, and obey friends.

Who will you serve? You not choosing is your choice. So, if you’re still wavering between serving the world or the Lord, may I encourage you to cease delaying now and choose Jesus!

Natural vs. Supernatural: Faith, Hope & Love.

January 20, 2024 /

Elda Othello Wrightington

Do you like to journal? I have always kept a yearly journal. My most recent entry reflected on the last three years of my life. Over the previous three years, I’ve had my faith tested in 2021 and experienced hopelessness in 2022. Last year, the sincerity of love was questioned due to hurt and disappointments in 2023. As I journaled and poured out my heart to the Lord about love, the last and greatest of the three things, I realized something. Faith, hope, and love can be seen with either the natural eye or with supernatural eyes. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13.

Let me explain.

Faith can be portrayed and publicized in the natural world on clothing, bumper stickers, jewelry, etc.; hope is often used loosely and casually.

For example, “I hope I win… (You fill in the blank).”

And, for the most part, in the natural, the word love is also often used by many like any other four-letter word.

“I love my car; I love these shoes; I love this song.”

Love is literally used to describe just about everything and any experience one can think of that brings pleasure. However, God helped me see that faith, hope and love are undeniably different in the supernatural. The Bible’s definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things Hope for and the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is bold, brave and has substance.

It’s daring to believe in God no matter what, “even if,” because the truth is, in the Spirit, there is nothing too hard for God. Faith makes everything possible when we’re operating in the Spirit! Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” However, trying to walk by faith in your flesh is contradictory and impossible because you’re trying to do something supernatural in your own strength.

You might be going through a season where your faith is being tested, and you’re trying to encourage yourself in your own strength.

Maybe you’re using some method of motivation or positive self-help talk, i.e. “I can do this… this is the plan. Follow it.” And though you might start out with desired goals in mind, even some good ideas, to move forward in these goals, the truth is, in the natural, your perceived notion of having faith really has no substance. It’s just your futile efforts greasing the wheel that will only get you so far. I found that the more I tried to exercise faith in my natural strength and abilities, the more I took my eyes off of God. The more I did that, the more it affected how I thought.

I didn’t know what to believe because my eyes were reaching for everything except God.

However, when I remember faith comes by hearing the Word, everything changes. “Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.” –Galatians 3:2.

And hope sprung up within me when I remembered God’s Word is Truth. “Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.” –John 17:17.

And when I remembered that God is Good, I remembered His love for me. “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!” –Ps. 107.1.

I can depend on God’s Word. His Word is the only sure place to find faith and hope. It’s there I found substance.

Faith and hope really do go together.

God’s Word is dependable. His Word has substance. God’s Word never lies. His Word gives hope and helps cultivate faith. But loving someone or something can honestly try your faith when that love is being tested—when love tests your hope.

I realized loving in the natural, eros-romantic love is very different from agape love, God’s unconditional love.

You may be struggling with a relationship issue with your partner, spouse, brother, or sibling. Maybe it’s with your children or friend (philia love). I have noticed that when we struggle with the natural forms of love, we question God’s Love. That is what happened to me. Sometimes, the enemy will try to use these natural forms of love to taint God’s agape love.

Agape love is constantly demonstrating itself. We see the ultimate evidence of this at the Cross. “For God demonstrated His love towards us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” –Romans 5:8.

“Us” entails everyone. You, me, and even that person who has caused your hurt or pain. It’s so easy to confuse and get hurt by natural love because it’s so easy for us to lose ourselves in it. Carnal love is tangible and attainable; it can be touched and felt, unlike God’s love, which can surely be felt, only differently. So I found myself asking the Lord to forgive me for confusing eros and philia with agape love. For expecting from others what only God can give me.

The truth is, agape love, God’s love, is what remains after Philia and Eros leave. God’s Love is consistent. It doesn’t change. No matter what we have done. God’s love is quick to forgive and longs for reconciliation.

When my eyes were again opened to agape love, when I welcomed and embraced God’s love, only then could I walk in forgiveness. When hurt settles in the heart after experiencing rejection, upset and or trauma, agape love can heal, restore and help you believe in the goodness of God’s love again.

Friends, I encourage and remind you of Romans 8:28: “All things work together for the Good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

There is purpose amid pain. Pain is a natural, tangible feeling that is hard to shake. It requires you to pursue faith, hope and love to help heal it because these three things, when chased after and seen through God’s lens of the supernatural, will bring healing, peace, and so much more! God has a plan and purpose for your pain, but unless you choose to align with His plan by agreeing with the healing power of faith, hope, and love, then the struggle in the natural will continue to be difficult and daunting. Friends, if you have not accepted Christ, today is the day. I invite you to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He will lead you in the ways of Faith, Hope and Love.

Keep It Simple, Saint.

January 6, 2024 /

Matthew Botelho

“Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words.” –Deuteronomy 33:3.

Happy 2024, my dear friends. We all look forward to a fresh start, a clean slate for the coming year. Some might even say, “Thank You, God, this year is over!” I am sure there are many reading this with that mindset. However, may I suggest that we reflect on the accomplishments  God led you into in 2023? Remember always to thank God for those victories and to reflect on the lessons they taught us. Maybe these lessons help you in 2024.

One thing is sure: trials build us up in our faith and bring into focus how much we need to rely on God in all parts of our lives.

I am reminded of the Apostle Peter and what he wrote:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” –1 Peter 1:3-5.  

In this Scripture, first and foremost, Peter remembers God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Then, Peter points us to Jesus, who offers us His abundant mercy and Living hope.

My dear friends, if you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you have this incorruptible inheritance. The incorruptible seed of salvation has been placed in you, making you a coheir with Christ, a child of the Most High God. Your inheritance cannot fade away because the Blood of Christ Jesus has sealed you as His own; God’s mercy is over you. Again, Peter focuses first on the Kingdom of God in this Scripture. He is reminding us that God must be first in our lives. Then, without having a relationship with His Son, we should expect no inheritance from God; only children receive a parent’s inheritance.

Peter continues this thought in the following verses: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials; that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found in praise honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” –1 Peter 1:6-7.

Peter is saying we will go through some stuff, maybe like some of the same stuff that made you glad that 2023 is over. But, he’s also telling us that as we go through these trials, we are to rejoice, knowing that our salvation is being worked out in fear and trembling, in awe and wonder of God’s goodness, kindness and mercy towards us.

Friends, as I stated before, if you are God’s child, God’s mercy is on you!

As Peter reminds us, we, as His children, can cast our cares and worries onto Him, who is greater than all of our problems. “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” –1 Peter 5:7.

But how do we do it, you may ask? I am glad you asked that question. The answer is found in verse seven, where Peter says. “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Our worshipping Jesus is the key to our being overcomers, dear friends.

Accepting trials with thanksgiving because we trust God is at work in us, our situations, and our lives. Seeking God first during the trials. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus reminds us, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

When we honor God and praise Him with all our heart, Holy Spirit will, as with gold, refine and strengthen our faith; when gold is smelted, impurities are purged, but only when the gold is put into extreme heat. Only then can its impurities be removed by the smelter.

Your faith, as it gets burning hot for Jesus, will grow and become pure if you allow it to stay in the fire.

Do not let that fire burn out, my friends. In Philippians 1:6, the Apostle Paul writes, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God’s Holy Spirit removes our dross, those things that only hinder our faith, so allow Him to rid you of every impurity still clinging to you from 2023; you no longer need it. 

Keep It Simple, Saints.

Love God and surrender fully to Him. Trust Jesus, sit at His feet, and receive from Him. Let Him who began a good work in you do what only He can as you offer more and more of yourself to Him in worship. “He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 1:6.

If you are reading this for the first time and feel a tug on your heart, please know it is the Lord Jesus knocking. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him. And he with Me,” I pray you will receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior today. I pray you will repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your life. Today is the day of salvation! Do not let this moment go by. Receiving the Lord’s salvation will be the most incredible way to start your New Year. Amen

The Hands and Feet of Jesus.

December 30, 2023 /

Pastor Samuel Cordeiro

The year 2023 has quickly come and has quickly passed. For many, 2023 was a challenging year; for others, 2023 was a year of victories. 2024 is now upon us, and I have an encouragement, or better yet, a challenge for the global church, the global Body of Christ – that we stand up and be the hands and feet of Jesus! This world is desperate for a touch from God, and God has called every follower and disciple of Jesus Christ to be the conduit of His supernatural, miraculous power.

In the book of Matthew, we read about one of Jesus’ more famous miracles, the feeding of the five thousand men, besides women and children.

” When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” –Matthew 14:13-21

In this passage, we see a large crowd of followers desperate and hungry to hear the words of Jesus. They were in a deserted place, far from any fast food or supermarket. Jesus has been healing the sick and speaking to the crowd for hours. It was getting late, and Jesus’ disciples made a very good “suggestion” to Jesus – (v15): “Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” The disciples were thinking rationally. They were speaking out of sincere care for the crowd, suggesting they leave now before it gets too dark for them to go to the nearest village and buy themselves food.

Jesus’s response was highly fascinating – (v16): “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” I can only imagine what the disciples were thinking: What do you mean to give them something to eat? There are thousands of people here! We didn’t even bring food for ourselves!

In the gospel of Mark, Mark 6:37, we read how the disciples responded to Jesus: “…That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” Again, the disciples were thinking rationally and not with eyes of faith; their giving the crowd something to eat hadn’t even crossed their brains.

We read in John 6:9 that the disciples found a boy in the crowd with five loaves of bread and two small fish and brought it all to Jesus.

The disciples had heard Jesus when He had told them to feed the crowd. Yet, they knew they could not do it with their own strength.

In verse 18, Jesus told them to bring what they had to Him.

There are many times when God calls us to do something, yet we rely on our natural ability and give up and say it is impossible. Yet, with God, all things are possible!

God is asking all of us to bring what we have to the Lord and watch Him multiply and supernaturally take what we have to further His kingdom here on earth. We should not rely on our strength or abilities, talents, gifts, or resources, but put our faith and trust in Him alone!

In verse 19, after the disciples gave what they had to Jesus, He commands the crowd to take a seat on the grass, in a way, telling them to rest, wait and watch patiently. When we surrender or give to the Lord, we often expect a miracle right away, yet there will be times when Jesus tells us to sit, wait and watch Him.

Jesus then took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes (v.19). After Jesus had given thanks and blessed the five loaves and two fish, He didn’t pass the food directly to the crowd, He didn’t call birds to drop the food in the laps of the crowd, He gave it the disciples to pass it out. The disciples became an extension of the hands and feet of Jesus – the conduit of blessing, the conduit of God’s supernatural miraculous power.

As we approach this new year, I pray that we all surrender everything we have and are to the Throne and feet of Jesus. When we do so, we must rest in Him, wait on Him, and watch Him move. However, we must also be vigilant because, yes, there will be times that God will drop mana from heaven or send a wind to blow quail into our camp, but there will also be times when God is calling us to be His conduit of blessing towards others.

And when He does so, we need to be ready to rise up and be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us and beyond our near reach. 

Let’s all be reminded of Jesus’ word in Matthew 25:40-45: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

The very first step in surrendering to God is wholly surrendering our hearts and lives to Him. Above all else, God wants our hearts surrendered to Him. I encourage you today. To open up your hearts and welcome Him in. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20

Appointed Times.

December 23, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there…” –Luke 2:27.

A fine thread is inextricably woven throughout the Old and New Testaments—seemlessly uniting the two into one Living Word. An unbreakable, unfaltering, infallible tenet—resilient and unchanging, from Genesis to Revelation and from generation to generation, it has been witnessed flowing effortlessly from the very fingertips of God. God, whose Words gave birth to whole planets, whose prophets foretold His birth, and whose Spirit overshadowed a virgin. His life having entered her womb—miraculous!

By the power of His Holy Spirit, this same God led Simeon to the Temple on a specific day and time so that Simeon might rejoice as he held the fulfillment of God’s promise in his arms, the eight-day-old King of kings. “At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” –Luke 2: 25-26.

Meanwhile, on a distant pasture, under the canopy of a clear, starry night, shepherds tended their flocks in Bethlehem. These were no ordinary sheep—nor shepherds. And this was no typical night. These sheep were spotless, having been set apart as sin offerings for use in the Temple by the High Priest. And God Himself had handpicked these lowly shepherds to be messengers of His Good News. Now in the heavens above them, God’s angel, His herald, rent the night sky open, making room for the glory of God to flood this holy night in indescribable splendor while he announced the birth of their long-awaited Messiah!

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” –Luke 2:8-12.

All the while, in a stable not far off, Mary, a newly betrothed, devout Jewish girl, was lying on the hay in a manger. She wasn’t surrounded by her mother and the women of her family. Not even a midwife was present. Only Joseph and the prying eyes of barnyard animals watched her every move as she pushed the God-child out of her body and into the world He was born to save. Mary, too, had also been chosen by God for this appointed hour. “She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” –Luke 2:7.

“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, “You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you. The angel told her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will become pregnant, give birth to a son, and name him Jesus. He will be a great man and will be called the Son of the Most High.” –Luke 2:27-28; 30-32.

How will you respond when God’s appointed times aren’t wrapped up in the pretty packages you imagined? Dare I say, expected? When the absolute best God offers looks nothing like the Hallmark moments most 21st-century Christians have grown to expect?

Starting in Genesis, with God’s first recorded utterance and before, unquestionably, no single thing, no life, death, circumstance, trial, test, dream fulfilled, or birth, has, or will come before God’s appointed time. In fact, they’ll often come in ways we least expect, through people we least expect and at the most unexpected times.

Then again, since Jesus’s arrival, before, actually, God has been turning the world upside down.

Virgin births. A King, born as a servant, not in a palace, but in a stable. A King who hailed from a town most laughed at when its name was mentioned. “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” –John 1:46. But that wasn’t the case with Simeon. This devout, righteous man didn’t concern himself with where or how God would fulfill the promise He’d made him. Simeon knew that God would do what He said He would do at the appointed time.

And so, Simeon waited.

How long? Scripture doesn’t tell us.

Was it five years, ten, twenty-five? It’s irrelevant. What is relevant is that God’s Holy Spirit led Simeon to the Temple on the exact day a portal connecting heaven and earth had been opened—an appointed time. When God Most High, El Elyon, showed Himself to be inscrutable. And Jesus, a newborn babe, awaited Simeon’s arrival. Jesus, the Messiah, a promise foretold by the prophets, held now, finally, in an old man’s arms. “That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God…” –Luke 2:27.

But what if Simeon had decided to pass on going to Temple that day? Choose not to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead. Think of the consequences!

God had made Simeon a promise—Mary, too. Yet each waited on God while enduring trials and testing, the taunts of those who said, “God did what?” “Said what!”

Each had no clue just how God’s promise would change their lives, only that in the best way possible—it would.

How did they know this?

They trusted God.

They loved and knew Him experientially.

They understood Jesus as a person of His Word.

Each wholeheartedly believed God would bring to fruition what He had promised them.

Has God given you a Word?

Has He promised you that you would see something? Move somewhere? Marry someone, have a child, start that ministry, that He’d restore a relationship, yet here it is years later, and still, you’re waiting? If this is you, Beloved of God, you’re in good company. Take patient hope from Simeon’s story.

Or take a lesson from Mary’s unwavering faith. Just think of the souls that have been and will be saved because she dared to believe the God of the impossible—and do the same. “For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.” –Habakkuk 2:3.

Friends, Jesus assures us that He will return at a time predestined and known only to the Father. Like Simeon, we don’t know when God will fulfill His promise, only that He will. Today, maybe, or tonight? Five days, weeks, or years from now, twenty-five perhaps—who knows when? Timing is not the point—Truth is. Don’t allow the times to distract you from the Truth. Jesus will return. Are you ready to receive Him? That’s all that matters. “The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

Abound In Generosity.

December 16, 2023 /

Matthew Botelho

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” –Luke 6:38.

The season of remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is upon us. During this season of joy and hope, we laugh more, smile more, and give of more of ourselves. We are reminded of the extreme generosity of God the Father—how His loving kindness and mercy surpass anything we could ever give. God’s greatest Gift to us all was bringing His only begotten Son into this sinful world and offering us freedom from its darkness through His Everlasting Light.

John 3:16 describes the Father’s unimaginable love and generosity like this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Yet, according to this world’s standards, money is the first thing that comes to the minds of many when they think of generosity.

Does your mind wander towards money? Money may be the first place our minds go when considering generosity, but generosity doesn’t always involve money.

What about our time or our talents?

Generosity can most certainly be shown by our sharing either of these.

Generosity involves showing a readiness to give more of something, like money, time or the use of our gifts and talents, than is strictly necessary or expected.

Generosity can also involve showing compassion and kindness towards others. And kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, which God cultivates in us. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” My friends, love is the most excellent fruit the Spirit produces in us. It is the first fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, from which every other fruit is born.

Since God’s great love for His creation enables those who receive His Son, Jesus, as Lord and Savior,  shouldn’t we also give our best during this time, or better yet, throughout the year? Jesus is well worth it, my friends!

If you are a follower of our Lord Jesus, then you need to be the one to set the bar high, to be the example to all who know you of this Truth found in John 13:35. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

My friends, be generous with your gifts, talents, and time. And what better way to show someone how much you love the Lord than by telling those needing to hear the Truth that Jesus loves them!

In your giving, give without thought of receiving, and share with the right motives—not to be seen or praised as generous or extravagant by others. “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.” –Matthew 6:2.

Examine your heart, asking yourself: “Does my heart align with how Jesus has commanded us to love?

 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” –John 13:34-35.

When giving or sharing what we have with others, our hearts ought to align with God’s Word.”Love one another as I have loved you.” –John 13:34.

Do everything from a pure heart fixed on blessing others; don’t be self-seeking or looking out for some reward.

I say this because I watched a YouTube video recently where a person gave money to a homeless person. At first, I thought the gesture was beautiful until I saw that same person do it for another, then another, and another, all while being recorded. I asked myself, “Is this person doing this generous because they genuinely love these people and sincerely want to help them, or is he looking out for his interests?” Meaning, the number of followers he might get by publicizing his generosity? Watching this video begs the question, and I am sorry if this hits a nerve in anyone,

“Is it really necessary to video yourself doing good? Isn’t kindness its own reward?” 

To answer this, we’ll go to the Word of God, where Jesus says: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men to be seen by them otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly I say to you they have their reward.” –Matthew 6:1-2.

To paraphrase what Jesus says in these two verses, “Don’t showboat!”

We should never use our generosity to say, “Hey, did you see what I did?” –blowing our own trumpet, just as the hypocrites do. We see that Jesus says there will be no reward in heaven for our doing this. Instead, the reward received is here on earth, the applause of men destined to disappear.

Let’s look at what else Jesus had to say about this matter in verses 3-4: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

God is always watching—nothing escapes Him. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. Meaning God is everywhere and knows every man’s intentions and actions. There is nothing new for Him and nothing hidden that will not be revealed. 1 Peter 3:12 reminds us: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

In Hebrews 4:13, the Apostle Paul writes, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”  

God knows the heart, my brothers and sisters, and its motives.

If your generosity is indeed genuine, God will honor it and openly reward you—this is God’s promise. And if your generosity is genuinely rooted in love, then the fruit of the Spirit: joy, peace, kindness, and goodness, for example, will spring forth and touch the hearts of those you bless.

This Christmas season, let your heart align with Jesus’, giving thanks to God the Father for the greatest Gift of all, His son. God so loves each of you that His everlasting generosity will come forth yet again this Christmas in the eternal Gift of His Son, Jesus. 

“Heavenly Father, I pray those reading this teaching have felt the stirring of the Holy Spirit. May the one who has yet to meet You receive the greatest Gift of all, Jesus. And in meeting Him, receive their salvation. I pray that every soul encounters Your Son Jesus this Christmas, and I pray they confess, in faith, believing that their sins will be forgiven and washed away by Your shed Blood. May this be a Christmas full of “New beginnings.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Saturation Point.

December 9, 2023 /

MaryEllen Montville

“They will fall by the sword, or be carried off into slavery among all the Gentiles. And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, till the appointed times of the Gentiles have expired.” –Luke 21:24

Saturation Point. Dictionary.com defines it this way: A point at which some capacity is at its fullest; limit:

As I read today’s Scripture, its last nine words came alive. God’s Logos, His written Word, became Rhema, a Living Word. I couldn’t help but think of everything happening in Israel right now. Let me explain: the Holy Spirit mostly speaks a Rhema Word into our spirit as we read His Written Word. It’s made alive and often applies to a right-now situation in our lives or the world around us. A Rhema Word is the Holy Spirit drawing our attention to or confirming something of importance. In every case, God’s Rhema Word must align with His written Word—His Logos. Holy Spirit is a God of order, not confusion. He will not “share” something with any of His children that does not align with what He has already spoken in His inerrant Scriptures.

“When, Lord? “When will the fullness of the Gentiles be complete?”

“When will You rapture Your Church?”

Those questions were burning in my heart as I read today’s Scripture. Like many brothers and sisters, I, too, am “watching and waiting” for our Lord’s return.

A greater sense of expectation has gripped me lately—an even deeper longing has been awakened.

Today, that growing expectation made me ask: “When will You call us Home, Lord?”

This world is not our home, and it’s undoubtedly nearing its saturation point. How much further will You allow things to deteriorate before You say, “Come on Home?

Abba, I’m not questioning You. I’m asking You a question, putting to words the recurring thoughts in so many of Your children’s hearts, Lord. “Are we one drop, five, ten drops even from this world having reached its absolute ability to contain the sin, hatred, hardheartedness, rebellion and rejection of You and most anything to do with You?

Will my brothers, sisters, and I live to be raptured?”

Mind you, either way, we won’t stand idly by, just watching the sky or the news for signs—concerning the rapture, they’ve been fulfilled. Still, while we watch, wait, trust, and pray to the Lord of the harvest, we’ll fish for men.

Yet I’m hoping that today, no, before this sentence is finished…

“It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.” –1 Corinthians 15:52.

Still, I wanted to know more about those nine words Holy Spirit brought to life to answer my question.

I’ll pause here to clarify that Scripture clearly states no man knows the day or hour the rapture will occur, so, straightaway, what this teaching is not, is a false prophetic word concerning the Church being raptured. Given today’s climate, I choose to leave nothing open for interpretation.

As I said, I wanted to know the meaning behind today’s Scripture, so I went digging.

I read more concerning the historical background of Jerusalem and the Jewish people. That led me back to the Bible, to Jesus and today’s verse, then to the Apostle Paul and his teaching on the meaning of the fullness of the Gentiles. “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.” –Romans 11:25-26.

At the end of the day, Jesus and the Apostle Paul confirm that a divinely set number of Gentile believers must first accept Jesus as Lord and Savior before every living Jew will be saved, having finally accepted the Truth that Jesus is the Messiah.

In roughly A.D. 70, Jerusalem received its fatal blow at the hands of Rome, its oppressor, where, it’s said, some 1.1 million Jews had been murdered and where approximately 100,000 others were enslaved, used to feed Rome’s insatiable appetite for dominance. Of this horrific atrocity, Johannes Norval Geldenhuys, a South African minister and Bible Commentator, writes: From the commencement of the history of the Jewish nation, God, through His servants, warned them clearly that if they behaved unfaithfully and wickedly, they would reap disastrous retribution. Especially the striking words of Deuteronomy 28:15-68. There is almost no form of calamity that visited the Jews during the Roman-Jewish war, not mentioned here in Deuteronomy.

I strongly recommend you pick up your Bible and read what the Lord warned would happen to His chosen people should they disobey Him. And then, ask yourself, if God did not allow His firstborn to escape the consequences of their deliberate sin and rebellion, what makes anyone today think that they will escape God’s judgement if they refuse to repent of their intentional, flagrant sins?

I share this Truth in love, not to frighten you but to remind us all, starting with myself, that we serve a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Full of mercy, longsuffering, and whose heart it is certainly, that not one should perish, yet He’s also a just God who will not allow his creations to reject Him forever. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.

God’s heart is that no one tastes destruction—that which was created for Satan and his followers.

Some commentators say that when Rome had sated its savage appetite, having devoured Jerusalem and its people, not one Jew was left alive. In addition, no Jew was allowed to enter Jerusalem save one day a year—when they were allowed to enter and mourn the ravaging of their people, Jerusalem’s utter destruction, and its renaming at the hand of its Roman conquerors.

Even then, to ensure nothing of the Jews remained, Rome renamed and rebuilt a city atop Jerusalem’s ruins, calling it Aelia Capitolina.

Antisemitism is nothing new.

Knowing that He had forewarned His people of the inescapable destruction to come upon them and their land should they choose not to obey Him, is it any wonder that as Jesus drew near Jerusalem and, seeing into its near future, the utter pain and destruction yet to come, He wept? “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things [that make] for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, “and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” –Luke 19:41-44.

In 1948, a Jewish state was established by what can only be described as the Sovereign Hand of God after thousands of years of its people having been scattered, existing in exile. Yet it wasn’t until 1967 that Israel took control of the Old City in the Six-Day War with Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. And yet, even to this very day, Arab Gentiles continue to reign over the most contested site in all of Jerusalem – the Temple Mount.

And so, we wait and watch while we continue to work—knowing that, at least for today, the fullness of the Gentiles has yet to occur.

Unless, suddenly…

Friends, the fullness of the Gentiles is about God not wanting any man—Jew or Gentile, to perish. So, if you have yet to accept Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior, please do it today. Listen to Jesus’ Words concerning the hour we find ourselves: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24: 36-37; 42:44.

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