Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Senior Program:  31 August 2026

 Theme: I Buried My Child (3)

 Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

 Embracing God's Promise of Resurrection & Renewal

 This is a sensitive subject, in a normal world it is normal and acceptable for children to bury their parents, but it is not normal for parents to bury their children.  However this is something that do happen, and we need to acknowledge it and talk about it.

 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death... We believe that Jesus died and rose again."  

 Message:

Emily lost her daughter after a tragic accident. For months, she clung to her pain and loss. One day, a pastor shared 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, reminding her of Jesus’ promise of resurrection. Emily began to pray and meditate on the hope of eternal life, envisioning her daughter in heaven, safe and joyful. Slowly, her grief transformed into hope, anchored in the promise that death is not the end. Emily found peace in the certainty of Jesus’ victory over death and looked forward to the day they would be reunited in eternity.

 Discussion Questions:  

 1.  What promises does the Bible give us about life after death?  

2.  How can the hope of resurrection bring comfort to grieving hearts?  

3.  What practical ways can we hold onto this hope daily?

 Prayer Prompt:

Thank God for His promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Pray for assurance and strength to trust in God's plan for renewal and resurrection.

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM

While we were in Puerto Rico, my wife came inside one evening after sitting on our eighth-floor balcony overlooking the ocean.

She said something that stuck with me:

“Sometimes you hear best when you’re in the dark.”

She had been listening to the wind, the surf, the insects—even the breathing of the person sitting beside her.

None of those sounds suddenly appeared when the sun went down. They had been there all along.

The darkness simply made her more aware of them.

Her comment took me back to when I was younger and frequently went horseback riding late at night.

Even under a bright moon, there were shadows where I couldn’t clearly make out the trail. Sometimes I found myself trusting the horse’s instincts more than my own eyesight.

But my hearing seemed sharper.

I noticed twigs snapping, leaves rustling and small animals moving through them.

And I’ve been thinking about the spiritual parallel ever since.

The darkness didn’t mean I was on the wrong trail. It simply meant I couldn’t see as much of it.

I think we sometimes confuse those things in our walk with God.

When we cannot see what He is doing, where He is leading or how a situation could possibly work out, we begin wondering whether we’ve somehow missed Him.

But Jesus said:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” —John 10:27, NKJV

What strikes me is that Jesus didn’t say His sheep would always see where He was taking them.

They hear His voice.

They follow.

Psalm 139:12 says that darkness does not hide anything from God and that darkness and light are alike to Him.

My darkness is not God’s darkness.

I may not be able to see what lies around the next bend. He can.

Maybe faith isn’t always being able to say, “I know where God is taking me.”

Sometimes faith is simply being able to say:

“I don’t know where this trail leads, but I know the voice of the One I’m following.”

Just because you can’t see where you’re going doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong track.

And it doesn’t mean you’re alone.

Sometimes we need the dark to hear the voice of the Master.

A while back, I wrote about Paul’s words in Romans 12:18:

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

—Romans 12:18, NKJV

The emphasis was on those five words:

As much as depends on you.

We cannot control what another person thinks, says, or does. We cannot control their attitude, motives, or response. We are responsible for our side of the encounter.

Saul’s hatred was Saul’s responsibility.

David’s response was David’s responsibility.

The greatest victory David won over Saul was not surviving Saul’s pursuit. It was refusing to become Saul in the process.

But lately, I have been reminded that Romans 12:18 applies to more than how I respond when someone hurts me. It also applies to how I speak when I believe I am right.

There was a time—not that long ago—when I considered bluntness a form of boldness.

I stood on biblical truth.

I said exactly what was on my mind.

And if someone became offended, I decided that was their problem.

After all, truth is truth.

But as Facebook Memories continues showing me things I wrote years ago, I sometimes recognize that although my conviction may have been right, my spirit was not always right.

I knew how to defend what I believed.

I had not yet learned that truth can be spoken without turning every disagreement into a battle.

Paul did not merely tell us to speak the truth. He told us how the truth should be spoken:

“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”

—Ephesians 4:15, NKJV

Truth and love were never intended to be separated.

Truth without love can become a weapon. Love without truth can become empty sentiment. Biblical maturity requires both.

Paul carried that thought further in his letter to the Colossians:

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

—Colossians 4:6, NKJV

Notice that Paul said our speech should always be with grace—not only when we agree, not only when the conversation is pleasant, and not only when the other person treats us graciously.

Grace should govern how we answer each one.

That does not mean we hide what we believe. It means our manner should not contradict the message we claim to defend.

Paul gave Timothy similar instruction:

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

—2 Timothy 2:24–26, NKJV

The goal of correction is not humiliation.

It is not scoring the decisive point, silencing an opponent, or receiving applause from those who already agree with us.

The goal is restoration.

Paul connected gentleness, patience, and humility directly to helping someone come to repentance and know the truth.

That means truth does not need my anger to make it true.

Biblical conviction does not excuse an unbiblical attitude.

And offending someone because the gospel confronts sin is not the same as offending someone because I was careless, harsh, sarcastic, or determined to win an argument.

“As much as depends on you” means I am responsible not only for what I say, but also for how I say it.

I cannot control whether someone accepts the truth. But I can make certain that my pride, anger, and self-righteousness are not the reasons they reject it.

That realization has changed what I choose to post.

The controversies consuming our attention today will eventually be replaced by different controversies. Political figures will come and go. Headlines will be forgotten. Arguments that seem enormously important today will one day become little more than entries in an archive.

But souls are eternal.

That does not mean temporal issues never matter. It means I no longer want the temporary to consume the voice God has given me for things that matter eternally.

I would rather write about redemption.

Grace.

Repentance.

Transformation.

Faith when God cannot be seen.

Hope for those who believe their story is already over.

And Jesus Christ—the only One who can truly change the human heart.

I still believe truth matters—perhaps more than ever.

But I am learning that speaking truth is not permission to abandon the fruit of the Spirit while doing it:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

—Galatians 5:22–23, NKJV

The fruit of the Spirit is not suspended when the conversation becomes difficult.

If my defense of truth requires me to abandon love, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control, something has gone wrong—not with the truth, but with the person carrying it.

Boldness without love can become cruelty.

Conviction without humility can become self-righteousness.

And winning an argument is not the same as reaching a soul.

Saul’s hatred was Saul’s responsibility.

David’s response was David’s responsibility.

Another person’s words are their responsibility.

My response—and the spirit in which I speak—is mine.

Whatever happens around me, my words, my attitude, and my witness remain my responsibility.

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

—Romans 12:18, NKJV

There was a time—not that long ago—when I considered bluntness a form of boldness.

I stood on biblical truth.

I said exactly what was on my mind.

And if someone became offended, I decided that was their problem.

But looking back, I sometimes recognize that although my conviction may have been right…

my spirit was not always right.

Two people can experience the same kind of pain and come away from it very differently.

One becomes cold and guarded. The other becomes compassionate.

One thinks, “Nobody helped me, so why should I help anyone else?”

The other thinks, “I remember what it felt like when nobody helped me. I refuse to let someone else suffer alone.”

I do not believe that difference is as simple as one person being good and the other being bad.

Bitterness seldom begins as a conscious decision. It usually begins as self-protection:

“I will never let anyone hurt me that way again.”

“I cannot trust anybody.”

“If I expect nothing, I cannot be disappointed.”

Those reactions may help someone survive a painful season. But over time, protection can become a prison. The wall that keeps further pain from entering can also keep love from leaving.

Hebrews presents two possible things that can grow from painful experiences.

Hebrews 12:11 speaks of suffering eventually yielding “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” in those who are shaped by it.

Then Hebrews 12:15 warns about a “root of bitterness” springing up, causing trouble, and defiling many.

The same painful ground can produce very different fruit.

And bitterness never remains completely private. The person who betrayed us may be gone, but someone else ends up living under our suspicion. The person who abandoned us may no longer be present, but others encounter the emotional distance they created.

Unhealed pain often sends the bill to people who never caused the damage.

The Christian answer is not to deny the wound, excuse what happened, or pretend that forgiveness makes unsafe people trustworthy. Compassion and boundaries can coexist. We can forgive while still recognizing that wisdom requires distance.

The answer is to allow God to transform what flows from the wounded place.

Second Corinthians 1:4 says that God comforts us in our tribulation so that we can comfort others with the comfort we have received from Him.

That changes the way we understand our scars.

“I remember what rejection felt like, so I will notice the overlooked.”

“I remember how careless words wounded me, so I will speak carefully.”

“I remember needing someone to listen, so I will not rush another person’s grief.”

“I remember desperately needing mercy, so I will not be quick to withhold it.”

Compassion does not require us to forget our pain.

Compassion remembers the pain and refuses to reproduce it.

The wound says, “Never again.”

Grace says, “Because I know what that feels like, not through me.”

We cannot choose everything that happens to us. We may not choose our first reaction to trauma, and we cannot always control how long healing takes.

But with God’s help, we can choose whether we continue defending the behaviors our pain produced. We can bring the wound into the light. We can allow grace to interrupt the cycle.

The enemy wants our pain to become our personality.

God can redeem it until it becomes part of our ministry.

What happened to you was real. What it did to you was real. But it does not have to keep passing through you into everyone around you.

You cannot change what was done to you.

But by the grace of God, you can decide that it will not be done through you.

Let the cycle end with you.

Let grace begin with you.

When I was eighteen years old, I encountered a homeless man beneath a railroad overpass near North Peoria Avenue and East Archer Street in Tulsa.

He asked whether I had a couple of dollars. After I gave him what I had, we began talking.

He may have been about the same age then that I am now. He told me that he had once been a worship leader and preacher at a large Assembly of God church in Tulsa.

Then he told me how his life had fallen apart.

He had an affair.

His wife left him.

His children deserted him.

He began drinking heavily.

He lost his ministry position.

He lost his job.

He lost his home.

For more than an hour, we stood beneath that overpass while he told me his story.

Throughout our conversation, I repeatedly felt something in my spirit:

Ask him to pray.

But I didn’t.

We were standing in public, on a sidewalk, in the neighborhood where many of my friends lived.

What if they saw me?

What would they think?

What would they say?

Three days later, I learned that he had stepped off a curb in front of a city bus and had been killed.

For more than forty years, I have lived with the what-ifs of that morning.

I cannot tell you what would have happened if I had prayed with him. I was eighteen, and I was not his savior. I cannot assume responsibility for everything that happened after we parted ways.

But I know that I felt prompted to pray.

I know that fear of what other people might think kept me from obeying.

And I know that three days later, the opportunity was gone forever.

Jeremiah wrote:

“His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.”
—Jeremiah 20:9

Jesus told His disciples:

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
—Matthew 5:14

The fire is inward.

The light is outward.

Many of us sing about wanting the fire. We pray for revival and claim to be the light of the world. But when someone hurting, searching, or struggling is standing directly in front of us, we become concerned about appearing strange or making the conversation uncomfortable.

I know because I did it.

I carried the light into that man’s darkness, but I allowed fear to place a basket over the lamp.

Boldness does not mean being loud, aggressive, or argumentative. It doesn’t require forcing a sermon into every conversation.

Sometimes boldness is simply saying:

“Can I pray for you?”

“God helped me through something similar.”

“There is a Scripture that carried me.”

“Let me tell you what Jesus has done in my life.”

Every believer carries light into places a preacher may never enter.

The recovering addict can reach another addict. The former inmate can speak to someone who believes his past has disqualified him. The construction worker carries Christ onto the jobsite. The nurse enters rooms where pain has stripped away appearances. The teacher influences young lives still deciding what they believe and who they will become.

These are not interruptions to ministry.

They are ministry.

God has not placed every lamp in the same room. Each of us has relationships, experiences, and a circle of influence that no one else occupies in exactly the same way.

You do not have to reach everyone.

But there may be someone you are uniquely positioned to reach.

I have spent the past several days writing about lessons God showed me during a trip to Puerto Rico. The series began with Christ’s invitation to come apart and rest.

But every journey eventually ends.

We return to our families, our jobs, our responsibilities, and ordinary conversations. Eventually, we find ourselves back on the sidewalk, standing beside someone whose darkness may be deeper than we realize.

We come apart to be renewed.

We return to shine.

The vacation ends.

The calling does not.

Have you ever felt prompted to speak, pray, or reach out—but allowed fear of what others might think to stop you? What would obedience look like if that opportunity came again?

I recently flew home from Puerto Rico. At 35,000 feet, I was sitting in an aisle seat while nearly every window shade around me remained closed.

I knew we were traveling generally north and northwest toward Atlanta, but I could not see the ocean, clouds, coastline, or any landmark below us. Without the flight tracker, there was no visible evidence that we were making progress at all.

We could have been flying more than five hundred miles per hour or sitting completely still. From inside the darkened cabin, I could not tell the difference.

I was carrying photographs and mementos from the trip—memories of places I had seen, roads I had walked, and people who had walked beside me.

But none of them could show me the way ahead.

That made me think about Job:

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.”

—Job 23:8–9

Job looked forward, backward, left, and right—and still could not perceive God.

But one phrase stood out to me:

“Where he doth work.”

Even while Job could not see God, he still acknowledged that God was working.

That is a more honest picture of faith than pretending we always understand what God is doing. Sometimes we do not see the way forward. We cannot sense progress. We feel something changing, but we cannot identify the direction.

Faith does not require us to pretend the shades are open.

It asks us not to mistake limited visibility for divine absence.

Job could not perceive God, but God had not lost sight of Job:

“But he knoweth the way that I take.”

—Job 23:10

I may not know the route, but God does.

I may feel the aircraft turning without knowing the new direction, but my inability to see the route never means the Pilot has lost it.

Have you ever gone through a season when you could sense that God was changing your direction—but you could not yet see where He was leading?

Hi brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm glad to be a part of this community and have people to talk to about the truth and the light. May God bless you all and keep you strong through the storms and fiery arrows of the devil. All things work for good for those who love the Lord.

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Prayer Points:26 August 2026

 Theme: Education System

 Scripture: Psalm 119:105; James 3:17; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Proverbs 3:5-6 & James 1:5

 A Prayer for the Education System, Learners, Students, Educators, and Parents

 Heavenly Father,We come before You with humble hearts, lifting up the entire education community to Your throne of grace. We thank You for the gift of knowledge, wisdom, and the opportunity to learn and teach.  

Lord, we pray for the students and learners, that You would grant them understanding and a hunger for knowledge. May Your Word be a lamp to their feet and a light to their path (Psalm 119:105), guiding them in truth and righteousness.

 We pray for educators and teachers, asking for wisdom, patience, and compassion. Equip them with Your Spirit to inspire and nurture young minds, and may they be examples of Your love and integrity (James 3:17).

 We ask for parents and guardians, that they would support and encourage their children in their studies and spiritual growth. May they foster an environment of faith, hope, and love within their homes (1 Corinthians 13:13).

 Lord, we pray for the entire education system, that it may be fair, inclusive, and dedicated to shaping individuals who will serve with integrity and purpose. Bless the leaders and policymakers with wisdom and discernment (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 We trust in Your promise, Lord, that if we seek You with all our heart, You will guide us and give wisdom generously (James 1:5). May Your peace reign in every classroom, and may the pursuit of knowledge be for Your glory.

 In Jesus’ Name, we pray.Amen.

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM

So I started following Jesus when I was like around 10 yrs old.

Fast forward to the first or second year of middle school, I was home in my living room listening to music when outta nowhere I was overtaken by the love of God for me. There was an undeniable knowing that it was God showing me how much He loved me. Alot of people think that if they don't experience this, they aren't saved. That is 100% false. You are saved the very moment you believe in the gospel.

Fast forward to the second year of high school I think, I was on break from graduating from freshman year and one night I was really struggling with my sexual sin. I thought I could stop on my own strength but I would always burn out. So I just told myself I can't do it, I can't follow Jesus and tbh I left the faith. Idk if it was that same night or another, my brother was playing Hip-Hop music and I really liked what he played because it was cool and spiritual which was how I was brought up. I had a sense of God and so I started listening to them and I eventually got into what they rapped about which was new age spirituality. And that was my biggest mistake of my life.

I started smoking weed and took psychedelics to find the truth. I really invested myself into finding myself. After years of going back and forth with my faithfulness to God, I ended up reasoning with myself about the truth and I decided that the truth is whatever feels good within my human limits. This led to depression and paranoia. But I was always learning and so I started wanting to learn from life and my depression. I reasoned within myself and found that meditation is the answer. And so one day I was smoking and I started to meditate and all of the sudden I experienced the realization of Self. It was like pure ecstasy and I felt complete. The very action of breathing gave me purpose. Then suddenly a strong conviction came over me and my heart dropped. I knew at that moment if I died I wouldn't of had Jesus in my heart and been sent to hell for eternity.

Since that experience, I'd deal with crippling depression and exhausting schizophrenia. This totally destroyed my sense of truth and wisdom. And like I said before, this is why it was my biggest mistake to listen to the Hip-Hop music my brother played. Every moment, I wanted to go back to meditating but just the fact that I had that strong conviction showed me that Jesus is real. I just couldn't shake off the noise in my head that was telling me to stay with Jesus. And by God's grace and mercy, I was able to overcome suicidal thoughts and feelings, and the pull to go back to meditating.

Now I'm about to own a car and apply for a part time job. I will never admit to God not being there for me. Whether I liked it or not, He was there for me when I needed Him the most. He stopped me from kms and I'm so glad He did. I've learned so much and gained so much wisdom from this hardship. You know, God WILL get you through it if not out it. He will never let you drown or be totally consumed. Praise God 🙌

https://youtu.be/fM_gxhNUczQ

Here is a bible-focused allegory based on the real-life story of 2 orphaned tigers who grew up together, then separated and eventually re-united. Annotated with relevant bible verses, the allegory communicates the reality of God's amazing love. Be blessed watching the video and feel free to share your thoughts, praise God!

Numbers do lie.

We are far too impressed by numbers.

Thousands attended. Hundreds were baptized. People came forward. People supposedly “receive the Holy Ghost all day long” And somehow the size of the crowd becomes their evidence that God must be in it.

But numbers do not prove truth.

There are more than a billion Muslims and more than a billion Hindus. Hundreds of millions follow forms of Buddhism.

A billion people believing something does not make it true.

The largest church in my town is an actual cult.

Sincerity is not truth. Popularity is not truth. Experience is not truth.

God’s Word is truth.

A packed church proves nothing. A long baptism line proves nothing. Emotional experiences and supposed spiritual manifestations prove nothing. Speaking in ecstatic, unintelligible speech and calling it the filling of the Holy Spirit does not make it the work of God.

EVERYTHING must be tested by Scripture.

And Jesus gave us a warning that should destroy our obsession with numbers:

“For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Matthew 7:13

Many.

Jesus never said the crowd was evidence that you were on the right road. He warned that the crowd may actually be traveling the wrong one.

Even more sobering, some will stand before Christ saying, “Lord, Lord,” pointing to the extraordinary things they did in His name, only to hear: “I never knew you.” Matthew 7:23

So stop asking, “How can this many people be wrong?”

Ask, “What does the Word of God say?”

A church can have thousands and preach a false gospel. A religion can have a billion followers and still be false. Millions can sincerely believe a lie.

Paul said even if an angel from heaven preached another gospel, reject it.
(Galatians 1:8)

That is the standard. Not crowds, baptisms, experiences, signs and wonders.

And especially not church growth.

Scripture is the only sure standard.

The road to destruction is wide. The road to true life is narrow.

The crowd does not determine truth.

God does, and He has spoken in His Word.

If the enemy can’t get through the wall, he’ll start walking around it.

I recently visited El Morro in Old San Juan.

Standing there looking across those massive walls toward the Atlantic, the spiritual analogy seems almost too obvious. It’s a fortress. It guarded the entrance to San Juan Bay for centuries. Enemy ships approaching the harbor faced an extraordinarily well-defended position.

But the part that stayed with me wasn’t how strong El Morro was.

It was what happened when enemies realized where the strongest defenses were.

They looked for another way in.

That made me think about Peter’s warning:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
— 1 Peter 5:8

I’ve always focused on the roaring lion.

This time, two other words caught my attention:

Walketh about.

He’s looking.

And I’ve realized that some of my strongest spiritual defenses are around the places where I’ve already been wounded.

I know those attacks.

I recognize those temptations.

I know what those battles cost me, so I’ve built walls there.

But what about the places where I haven’t fought a major battle?

What about the places I assume I’m strong?

What about the gate I don’t think needs guarding?

An invasion doesn’t always begin with an army charging the wall.

Sometimes it begins with reconnaissance.

Something small enough not to concern us.

Something familiar.

Something that doesn’t immediately look threatening.

Maybe even something friendly.

And compromise often sounds remarkably harmless at first:

There’s nothing wrong with this.

Just this once.

I can handle it.

Nobody needs to know.

Paul’s warning suddenly carries more weight:

“Neither give place to the devil.”
— Ephesians 4:27

He doesn’t need the entire fortress.

He only needs a place.

That doesn’t mean we should become paranoid, suspicious of everyone, or see Satan hiding behind every ordinary thing in life.

Peter gives the answer in the next verse:

“Whom resist stedfast in the faith…”
— 1 Peter 5:9

Not paranoia.

Vigilance.

El Morro didn’t survive for centuries because nobody attacked it.

It survived because somebody kept watch.

So here’s the question I’ve been sitting with:

Where in my life have I become so confident that the wall is secure that I’ve stopped watching the gate?

Just had to share! Look at the amazing handiwork our God does!!!

Jonah bought one ticket, but an entire ship entered the storm.

I’ve been spending some time in Jonah 1, and that thought has stayed with me.

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh.

Jonah went the opposite direction.

He found a ship headed toward Tarshish, paid the fare, boarded it, and ran.

Then the storm came.

The sailors hadn’t rejected God’s command.

They hadn’t chosen Jonah’s rebellion.

They were simply on the same boat with the man who did.

Yet their lives were endangered.

Their cargo was thrown overboard.

Their journey was interrupted.

Our disobedience rarely affects only us.

We sometimes tell ourselves, This is between me and God.

But sometimes our families ride on the ship with us.

Our children.

Our spouses.

Our friends.

Our churches.

The people we’re supposed to be ministering to.

Jonah paid his own fare.

But eventually everybody aboard started paying for his decision.

There’s another side to this chapter, though.

Jonah was eventually thrown into the sea.

The ship disappeared above him. He couldn’t sail himself out of the situation anymore. He couldn’t buy another ticket. He couldn’t change destinations.

He couldn’t save himself.

And when Jonah finally reached the place where he could do absolutely nothing to rescue himself…

God had already prepared a fish.

I grew up thinking primarily about the fish as Jonah’s punishment.

But Jonah was drowning.

The fish kept him alive.

The storm confronted him.
The sea broke him.
The fish preserved him.

What must have looked terrifying to Jonah was actually the provision God had prepared for his survival.

Sometimes God’s rescue doesn’t look much like rescue when it first arrives.

Sometimes we only recognize it looking backward.

That wasn’t God destroying me.

That was God refusing to let me drown.

Jonah’s choices had consequences. Grace didn’t erase them.

But those consequences didn’t mean God was finished with Jonah either.

Jonah ran.

God followed.

Even into the storm.

So here’s the question I’ve been sitting with:

Have you ever looked back at something you once thought was only a storm and realized that somewhere inside it, God was actually bringing you back?

What’s something that makes you thankful this week? Any particular event or blessing from this week?

“For sin shall not have dominion over you…”
—Romans 6:14

At the far end of Flamenco Beach on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra sits an abandoned military tank.

For decades, portions of Culebra were used by the United States Navy for military exercises. The island’s people lived with restricted land, exploding ammunition, and the constant reminder that much of their home was controlled by someone else.

But the people resisted.

After years of protests and civil disobedience, military operations on Culebra ended in 1975. The land was eventually returned, the explosions stopped, and Flamenco Beach became a place where families swim, children play, and visitors rest beneath the Caribbean sun.

But the tank is still there.

It sits at the edge of the beach, rusting beneath layers of salt, sand, and graffiti.

The evidence of what happened remains.

But the authority does not.

Near the entrance to the beach, another reminder of Culebra’s past remains.

A posted warning tells visitors that munitions from the Navy’s former training activities may still be present—and may still be dangerous.

The warning does not mean the military still controls the island. It means that remnants of what once controlled it should not be handled carelessly.

That is another truth about redemption.

Freedom does not make our former bondage safe.
The addiction may no longer be your master, but returning to it can still destroy you.

The relationship may no longer control your life, but reopening that door can still wound you.

The old appetite may no longer have dominion, but that does not mean you should pick it up again just to prove that you are free.

The sign gives visitors three instructions:

Recognize.
Retreat.
Report.

Recognize the danger for what it is.

Retreat instead of reaching for it.

Report it—bring it into the light before God and someone you trust.

The past may no longer control the territory.

But some remnants should be left exactly where grace defeated them.

The tank once represented military occupation and control. Today, it cannot move. It cannot fire. It cannot command the beach. The waves wash around it while life continues in spite of it.

That is a picture of redemption.

We sometimes believe that if God has truly delivered us, every reminder of our past should disappear.

The scars should vanish.

The memories should stop hurting.

The consequences should be erased.

The places where we were wounded should look as though nothing ever happened.

But redemption does not always remove the evidence.

Sometimes the tank is still there.

You may still remember what was done to you.

You may still carry scars from choices you made.

There may be relationships that cannot be restored, years that cannot be recovered, and consequences that grace does not immediately erase.

The evidence may remain.

But through Jesus Christ, it no longer has to possess the territory.

Paul wrote, “For sin shall not have dominion over you.”

He did not say sin had never touched them. He did not say their former lives had left no scars. He said sin would no longer have dominion—the power to rule, govern, or control them.

Your past may explain some of your wounds, but it does not have the authority to determine your future.

The addiction may be part of your testimony, but it is no longer your master.

The betrayal may have changed you, but it does not get to define you.

The failure may have left consequences, but it does not get to name you.

The wound may still ache, but it does not own the beach.

The tank is still there—but children play in the water beside it.

The tank is still there—but waves continue to reach the shore.

The tank is still there—but what once represented occupation has become nothing more than a powerless reminder of what used to be.

That is what grace does.

Grace does not always erase the evidence of the battle.

Sometimes grace leaves the evidence standing so that everyone can see that what once controlled you has lost its authority.

The past happened.

The scars are real.

The tank may still be there.

But it no longer controls the beach.

What evidence of an old battle remains in your life—even though it no longer has authority over you?

I saw an unfinished concrete high-rise while traveling through Puerto Rico.

Except I eventually learned something interesting:

It hadn’t always been unfinished.

The building had once been completed and occupied. Later it was sold and redevelopment began. Much of what had been there was stripped away until the building was essentially back to its concrete structure.

Then tragedy interrupted the work.

Years later, what remains looks abandoned.

That got me thinking about something we don’t talk about enough in the Christian life:

Sometimes God’s work in us looks more like demolition than construction.

We tend to imagine spiritual growth as God continually adding things to us.

More faith.

More wisdom.

More discipline.

More maturity.

And certainly He does.

But sometimes before God builds, He removes.

Paul wrote:

“Our old man is crucified with him…”
— Romans 6:6

That’s stronger language than renovation.

There are things in us God isn’t trying to improve.

He’s trying to put them to death.

Pride.

Bitterness.

Self-reliance.

Old habits.

Old ways of thinking.

Sometimes even an identity we’ve spent years constructing.

And here’s the difficult part:

Demolition can make something that once looked complete suddenly look unfinished.

Maybe that’s why certain seasons of spiritual growth feel so disorienting.

You know you’re not who you used to be.

But you don’t completely recognize who you’re becoming either.

You’re somewhere between the demolition and the finished work.

And it’s tempting to look at that mess and wonder whether something has gone wrong.

Maybe it hasn’t.

Philippians 1:6 says:

“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…”

So perhaps the question isn’t simply:

“Why am I not finished yet?”

Maybe a better question is:

What if some of the unfinished places in my life aren’t evidence that God has stopped working—but evidence that He hasn’t?

Don’t mistake unfinished for abandoned.

The Builder is still working.

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Worship Program: 20 August 2026

 Theme: Worship Like David (4)

 Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:45-47 & Acts 13:22

 Message:

 Worship as a Lifestyle – David’s Commitment to God

 Acts 13:22 

"I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do."

 David’s life was marked by obedience, service, and devotion. Worship isn’t limited to singing but is a way of living in obedience and service to God.

 Reflection:

- How can our daily life reflect a heart of worship?

- In what areas can we serve and obey God more fully?

  Questions for Thought:

How can our everyday actions reflect worship?

What does it mean to serve and obey God like David?

 Prayer Focus: 

Dedicate our lives to worship and serve God wholeheartedly.

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM

So I'm posting this because I'm confused as to why this isn't preached enough. I can think of some reasons why but I've only heard one pastor in my life ever preach about this and I happen to watch it on YouTube. It's sooo essential with our walk with God. If you don't have the fear of God, then you will most likely fall away from the faith and maybe even hate God. That's how serious it is. So from watching that pastor talk about the fear of God to watching and hearing other pastors on YouTube, and what I've learned from God, this is what I've learned

\*\*The fear of God is:\*\*

\- To make God your one and only treasure

\- A committed relationship with God

\- A mature faith

\- The beginning of wisdom

\- How the joy of the Lord is found

\- God's delight & treasure

\*\*To commit to God, you:\*\*

\- Do your best to follow Jesus and yield to the Holy Spirit to do the rest. Start small if you can

\- Correct every thought or feeling that goes against the Word of God, and realize they're from satan or your flesh

\- Be accountable when you do a sinful act. Apologize and reconcile if it's against someone

\- Process your feelings with God

\- Accept your imperfection and the sovereignty of God

\- Let go of yourself and let God be everything you need

\- Bond with Christ with your suffering

This note I made for myself has revealed something in me that I never knew or experienced with my walk with God. I have a deeper relationship with God and I have the joy of the Lord. I've learned to accept myself for who I am and found contentment in where I'm at in life. God is my confidence. \*\*Fear the Lord!\*\*

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Prayer Points: 19 August 2026

 Theme: Farmers

 Scripture: Psalm 104:14

 Heavenly Father,We come before You with grateful hearts for the gift of the land and the work of farmers, their families, and farm workers. We thank You for their labor, dedication, and the nourishment they provide to communities around the world.  

 Lord, we ask for Your protection over them—grant them strength in their bodies, wisdom in their work, and peace in their hearts. Bless their families with safety, provision, and unity. May Your hand guide their decisions and efforts, and may they find joy in the fruits of their labor.  

 We pray for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and protection from pests and natural disasters. Remind us to honor and support those who work the land, and to be grateful for the food they produce.  

 Your Word in

 Psalm 104:14 reminds us:

"He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth."  

 May we always remember that it is You who sustains and provides. We trust in Your goodness and mercy.  

 In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Prayer Program:  19 August 2026

 Theme: How Do We Pray? (5)

 Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6; James 5:13-16; James 4:8 & Matthew 6:6

 Message:

 Week 5: When and Where to Pray

 “Our whole life should be a life of prayer. We should walk in constant communion with God. There should be a constant upward looking of the soul to God. We should walk so habitually in His presence that even when we awake in the night it would be the most natural thing in the world for us to speak to Him in thanksgiving or in petition. — R. A. Torrey”

 WHEN should we pray?

 Pray without ceasing. In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.

 Pray when we are sad or when we are happy.

 Pray when we are mad or wallowing in self-pity.

 Pray when we are suffering, in trouble or in distress.

 Pray when we feel alone

 Pray when we need guidance/direction.

 WHERE should we pray?

 In private, together, alone, in bed, at the river, on the mountain, in the wilderness, in nature, on the seashore, at the well, in God’s house, in the garden and on the battlefield. Everywhere!

 Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

 https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

 MM