abandoned to Christ.

As Christians, we often say and easily acknowledge we owe God everything and deserve nothing good. We acknowledge this truth (Job 41:11), but rarely think specifically of what that means. So we live as entitled people of the world rather than grateful people of God when we're indignant that: we have to sit in traffic, there aren't enough lanes open in the grocery store and we have to wait, we have to repeat ourselves, someone doesn't do something we asked for—the first time, we get an illness or disease and we believe the lie that we don't deserve it and we're frustrated that no one can find a cure...and so on. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...And God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good. "Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he sh...

E.L. James (Erika Leonard James) born March 7, 1963, is only six years and 20 days older than me. She's a British author whose first book, Fifty Shades of Grey was a runaway success. She's married, and she and her husband  have two teenage sons (as of 2012, not sure how old they are now). Many say her books were a surprise hit, but I don't agree. It's no surprise that this trilogy filled with every shade of evil, only proves what God already said—we're all depraved, and without Christ, we're actually drawn to darkness rather than repulsed by it. "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil." (John 3:19, ESV) E.L. James gladly admits that Fifty Shades of Grey is her "midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies are there, and that's it." Some people purchase a new car or a new house; they get in shape, or find new hobbies when t...

I have often been asked, "How do I handle situations when professing brothers or sisters in Christ are offended when I use the Word of God often in conversations, or for reproof, or for the reason why I do or do not participate in certain things?"  I promised my friends, readers and "followers" on social media that I'd share a more detailed response than the short and quick one I shared on my Facebook ministry page  a few days ago. So here it is. Before "handling" this situation, you'll have to first assess who you're speaking with: a possible  false convert , or one who possibly does belong to Christ, but are presently burdened by their pride. The reason why I say this is because no true child of God abiding in the love of God is offended or put off in any way by the use of God's Word...unless they're being prideful. All Christians love God's Word and are only strengthened and encouraged by it whenever spoken, used or applied...

Pictured above, is my newest Bible, the ESV Reader's Bible . Those who know me, know I don't need another Bible...so it may seem. But I actually do need this one because of its layout. It has no title headings, no verse numbering; no cross-reference, footnotes or study notes, and no book introductions. It's straight Scripture with only the name of each book (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc.) and their chapter numbers. That's it. It's purely for reading the Bible and I have a trouble doing that—which is why I absolutely need this Bible. It's confession time. A confession I'm not very proud of, and quite ashamed of; yet, know I need to share in order to comfort and exhort others. Okay...here goes. Ready? I've never once read the entire Bible. No, not even once . Why haven't I? If I love God's Word as much as I say I do, how is it possible that I haven't read all of it? Well, this answer requires another confession. I'm somewhat ...

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” ~Luke 1:46-55 (ESV) Mary's Magnificat reminds us of how great, mighty and merciful our God is (vv. 49-50). And in spite of His greatness, Jesus chose to leave His throne where He was perfectly loved, obeyed and honored, a...

"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I think I'll make more" is a popular phrase that has appeared on many memes, tweets, timelines and even things like magnets, pins, and other items we can purchase. This seemingly harmless saying is actually very harmful. Most of us have read it someplace, and often, our initial response is to laugh, feel better about the genuine mistakes we've made and sadly, even the purposeful sins we've committed against our holy, kind, and gracious Father God. This is where it gets dangerous. Do we all make mistakes? Absolutely! To err is human, right? Unfortunately, to sin is human too. And we all do it more than we'd like to admit...unless of course, a flighty little phrase like this one comes along and feeds our flesh the lies it desires—we can excuse our sins without repentance—and without a Savior. We continually come up with new ways to make ourselves and others feel better about our sins rather than do what God...

Scripture art by: Biblescreen.com The LORD God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth—is personal. He could've left us to our sinful natures, miserable, lost and debased. But He didn't. He could've chosen to save us from afar in an impersonal way by zapping us with a lightening rod from the heavens. But He didn't. He could've done so many things us human beings would consider, or even actually do. So let us thank God; that He didn't. Because God is holy (set apart), He did what only He can do and what He alone is willing to do with no external prodding (as if anyone could "prod" God to do anything). He chose to create, in His own image; human beings. Unlike any other creation, people alone, are His image-bearers. We alone have the ability to reason, to consider things, understand cause and effect, acknowledge our own existence (i.e., animals look in the mirror and think it's another animal, people know it's their own reflect...

I look to the Lord. "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for You have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy." (Psalm 61:1-3, ESV) In my current situation, my "enemy" just happens to be my own body. My literal heart is faint. As many of you know, the Lord has allowed, in accordance with His good and perfect will, for my body to suffer many things these past 10 years . Now with five surgeries within five years (I didn't write about my kidney stone surgery and stent last year...I just didn't feel like it, sorry), I have another issue that requires extensive medical attention. I have a heart arrhythmia. I have what's called premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). I've actually had them for the past five years, with about one year where they completely went away. They started up again this past year, but similar to ...

Ah, Facebook, our beloved friend and greatest foe. What are we, as Christians to do with Facebook? Whose face do we choose to display—ours, or Christ's? Whose life is magnified on our personal timeline and news feeds? What do we mostly share and who have we chosen to surround ourselves with by accepting or making friend requests? Are we enticed by the world and encumbered with its dealings (politics, our jobs, our personal rights, physical health, and beauty)? Are these worldly entanglements the prevalent "face" that everyone sees? I'm not suggesting that sharing pictures of us, our families, and the life God has given us is a bad thing. And I'm not suggesting we  never share anything about politics,  our jobs, religions freedoms, or healthy lifestyles. What I'm doing is questioning: Is it the things of God or the things of this world that mostly populate our personal timeline as well as our news feed where we're greatly influenced (whether we ...

There's so much in this life to be fearful of: loving someone, because they may not love you back; rejection from family, friends, co-workers and even other Christians; public humiliation; being ignored, forgotten and used. I don't want to be afraid of what others think of me, will do to me, or not do to me (Gal 1:10). I don't want to be afraid of never being physically healed. I don't want to be afraid that my doctors may not always know exactly the right thing to do (Prov 2:6). I don't want to be afraid of giving up on ministry opportunities or public services because of my faith and abandon to Christ and His Word. I don't want to be afraid of that phone call, text or email where someone tells me that I'm too narrow-minded of a Christian for their feel-good, man-centered ministry (Gal 2:20). I don't want to be afraid of speaking the truth in love, just because it's not the truth someone wants to hear (Prov 27:5-6). "...

There are many (too many) days I have trouble just opening the Word and getting my day started with Praise and Quiet Time in the Lord. I know this isn't a popular thing to share, but it's an honest thing to share about my spiritual walk...or sometimes, lack thereof. Though I could keep this weakness of mine hush hush and only share my accomplishments, my highs and all my joys I have in Christ, I can't do that because it would be disingenuous. When I remember I'll never be the wisest, kindest or most Christ-like person on this side of Heaven, I am both relieved and spurred on toward holiness (2 Cor 7:1, Eph 4:24, Heb 12:14). This may sound a bit strange—to feel relieved and encouraged by what makes me weak; but in Christ, these seemingly diametric concepts are actually harmonious. "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep m...

"While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. BUT JESUS rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God. " ~Luke 9:42-43, ESV (emphasis mine) When was the last time I was astonished at the majesty of God? When was the last time you were astonished at the majesty of God? We're often astonished by so many things: breathtaking musical talent, incredible athletic ability, jaw-dropping acts of illusionists, amazing (and often humorous) animal antics and even the evil we see all around the world. I'm not saying this is wrong. What I'm saying is, are we more astonished by these creations, or their Creator? We live in a generation deluged with information through news, videos and social media. With this influx of information it seems we've forgotten the most important aspect of communication—listening. We've forgotten how to stop and smel...

Many of us are familiar with the "Blessed are..." portions of Jesus' sermon on the mount and sadly, some think that's actually the entire sermon. But it's not. Our Lord's sermon spans two chapters in the Apostle Matthew's gospel, with the major theme being: live holy lives unto the Lord. Though the Beatitudes are very important, it's only the short introduction to Christ's great teaching on what a true Christian's life looks like. The Lord Jesus strongly teaches that our mere profession of faith doesn't prove we belong to Him. Only the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's work gives evidence that we've been sealed (2 Cor 1:22). But if the fruit of righteousness isn't born in all who profess the name of Christ, it's clear they're not possessed by the life of Christ. Sermon on the mount in a nutshell: 1)   Blessed are those who are in Christ and live as He lived (Mt 5:1-12) 2)   I should be physical evidence...

I don't know about you, but often, when I read Scripture, I find myself in awe of the humble, compassionate and God-honoring responses and behaviors of the saints of old. I am often moved to repent after being exposed to the glaring truth that I would have never said or done the same things. Then I pray that the Lord would give me a more Christ-glorifying and genuinely loving heart that seeks God's will to be done and His name to be exalted instead of mine. This happened during my reading of the Word today. While I was reading in Numbers 14 (which I've read a million times before, but never saw it this way), I was stunned by verses 11-19 and my reading came to a screeching halt as I repented of the truth I was faced with: I would have never responded the same way if I were in Moses's sandals. If God would have told me He was fed up all the whining, complaining and rebellion of a group of people I was well-acquainted with and therefore was going to destroy them a...

For the past month our oldest son has been asking me what I want for Mother's Day. I've had no other ideas to offer him except one: that he aspire nothing greater than to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ; walk closely with Him and that love for the Almighty be preeminent in his life. I'm 45 now and I pretty much have everything I need or want. When you get to be my age, there's very little you desire that money can buy. The things that are most cherished are the things of the heart. And since Christ is my Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit inhabits my heart and directs my desires to be more like Christ and less like I was pre-second birth (Rom 8:28-29, Gal 2:20). The desires of our flesh begin to wane as we draw nearer to the Lord Jesus. We begin to see things with the new spiritual eyes He gave us. And the things we treasure are no longer the things that satisfy our flesh. We begin only to long for the greater things—the things that ...