abandoned to Christ.

A dangerous yet well-received and popularly-taught practice within Christianity is, "It's okay to be angry with God. He can handle it." This is not biblical (Ecc 5:1-3; Job 32:2-3, 34:9-10, 40:1-2; Rom 9:19-20). This is megalomaniacal blasphemy. It is not a matter of whether or not God can "handle" our anger against Him. What an utterly foolish assessment. It is a matter of whether or not God Almighty, the LORD of hosts, will tolerate such arrogant "Jesus is my pal" , disrespectful attitude before His most holy presence. As William Gurnall once said,    (1.) Faith spies mercy in the greatest affliction—an eye of white in the saddest mixture of providence; so that when the devil provokes to blasphemy from the evil that the creature receives from God, faith shows more good received than evil.    Thus Job quenched this dart which Satan shot at him from his wife’s tongue. ‘Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall not we receive evil?’ Shall a f...

As I shared in my last post, it’s been a very painful and grievous two years due to a thorn wedged into my flesh by Satan; but only by the good and wise permission of my sovereign God and Father—who is using this to conform me all the more into the image of His Son, Christ Jesus my Lord, my First and Greatest Love. But before you take more pity on, or think more highly of me than you ought, I must confess: I am not entirely an innocent “victim”. I played a prominent role in the degree and depth of this pain. I made many foolish decisions, without prayer, that allowed Satan to twist and turn this thorn, further and further into my flesh—causing as much damage, and destroying as many relationships as possible. For foolishly thinking I could handle this situation on my own (Prov 3:5-8), I repent…with much praise and thanksgiving to my compassionate, gracious, and merciful Father who is slow to anger and abounds in steadfast love. I give thanks for the gift of repentance—the...

As I read and studied passages that speak of hearing and understanding, and hearing and having no understanding, I thought, “How sad and hopeless it must be, to be able to physically hear the eternal and powerful and most happiest Word from the LORD Most High, yet, have no clue what any of it means. Or worse, to hear the mighty and awesome, sanctifying Word of God, and believe you understand, but turn and twist and misapply the Almighty’s righteous Word.” I’m all too familiar with the gravity of the latter sin, for I’ve done this many times before. And no doubt, will do it again. But by the grace of God my Father and His holy and kind hand that preserves the Good Seed He implanted in me (Php 1:6), the grievous occasion of repeating this sin, decreases as my Father faithfully prunes me. Is there a greater sadness—to think you have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, but have not? Is there anything more frightful in this life or at the end of your days, than to hear...

Let love be genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.   Outdo one another in showing honor.  Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and  seek to show hospitality. ~Romans 12:9-13, ESV So often (too often, for my liking), we compete. We participate in inane, daily competitions with one another. Especially us women. I can rarely be in a group of women where most, if not all, are sizing each other up. Who's the prettiest, who's the most fit, who has on the cutest outfit, who has the most perfect family? And nowadays, the most common competitions are: who has the most friends/followers, likes, comments, and social media birthday wishes (insert eye roll). The list of self-exalting, sinful comparisons, is endless. But our God and Father says the only "competition" we ...

"I'm so excited and can't wait to share the Gospel! It's so much fun!" said no true, nor sane Christian ever. Yet, sadly, many Christians, like those of the world, say this about marriage—that they can't wait to be married because it's going to be so much fun! Not that it isn't fun, but that's not the focus and should never be the foundation of a Christian marriage. Marriage is the only earthly relationship God uses as a paradigm of the Gospel. And therefore, as God's holy and dearly loved children, we shouldn't enter into marriage like those of this world: with self-focus and selfish affections. But we should enter into marriage like Christ: with self-denial and selfless service, first to our King, and then to our spouse. Anyone who is intimately acquainted with the Gospel of God's grace—granted through God's gift of repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ, echoes what the Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the...

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And      'If the righteous are scarcely saved,           what will become of the ungodly and the                sinner?' Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a fait...

I love Psalm 29:11 because it reminds me that true peace is not the absence of conflict with people. True peace, is the absence of conflict with God. And for anyone who has received the peace of God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, know that there must be conflict with people  in this life, for the Gospel is an offense to all who live in their pride, rather than in Christ. For 45 years, God has granted me His peace, and considered me worthy of sharing in the sufferings of my Savior. For 13 years the Lord graciously endured me through brutal persecutions, beatings, and slander for proclaiming the Gospel of God's grace, and refusing to denounce the name of Jesus Christ. Because the Spirit of Christ lives in me, I couldn't deny my Lord who suffered and died to be the propitiation and expiation for the sins I committed against the one and only living and holy God. In the past 14 years, God has considered me worthy of bearing the scars of my Savior. The scars...

Twenty-eight years ago, the Lord moved me to Southern California as an answer to my cry for help. My faithful and merciful Father God had graciously and mercifully endured, preserved, and persevered me through 13 years of severe and brutal persecution. But because I did not heed His exhortation and admonition in Deuteronomy 8:11-20, I forgot that it was by His mighty hand that I received relief from my enemies. Much like the Israelites whom the LORD kindly saved and freed from the bondage of Egypt, I fancied that this reprieve was due to something good I had done—and for three years, I entertained the fallacy, that I deserved every good I received from the Lord. I behaved as if God owed me for my obedience, rather than remember that even my obedience was a gift from Him, through Jesus Christ; who through His death and resurrection, freed and enabled me to do what I could never do on my own—please and honor the one and only, holy and righteous God (Heb 11:6). During th...

This exhorting article from R.C. Sproul took me back to a time nearly 30 years ago, when I was quite discontented with being single. I'd wanted to be married as long as I could remember. I was also discontented with my job, believing it wasn't using all my God-given computer skills and causing them to wane (because I didn't have to use a computer, I had secretaries for that). But that wasn't all; I was quite discontented with a number of things. It seemed everyone else around me was generally, happier than me because they had all they desired...and I felt owed, though I'd never admit that. I'd properly admit as a Christian, I know I'm only owed Hell. Yet, my discontented state proved my words of religiosity, to be false. Then I came to the throne of grace, as did Asaph when he was miserably discontented as I, "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God... ...

Parenthood. Biblical parenthood. There is a difference. The well-known phrase, "The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world" is an abbreviated version of the refrain in a poem written by William Ross Wallace (1819-1881) that honors motherhood; but above what God decreed. The second to the last stanza reads like this, Woman, how divine your mission Here upon our natal sod! Keep, oh, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from mother-love impearled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. A mother's love, acceptance, and discipline (or lack of all three) has an enormous impact on whether her children will learn between right and wrong. But she's neither the sole, nor sovereign influence on her children. How a father engages, or doesn't engage in his children's lives also plays a significant role on a child's demeanor. ...

Though God chose all Scripture to be penned by men, He did not decree that all of the wisdom therein, would come only from men. Proverbs 31:10-31 is an acrostic poem based on the Hebrew alphabet; an oracle a mother taught her son . A son, who was a king. King Lemuel is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, except in the opening of this famous passage of a what a biblically submissive woman truly looks like—in spirit, and in the practical applications of her every day life. Most scholars believe King Lemuel is King Solomon (also called Jedidiah) since the names have similar meanings, and King Solomon wrote most of Proverbs. Lemuel means "devoted, or belonging to God" and Jedidiah (Solomon's other name) means "beloved of the LORD (2 Sam 12:25). While it is uncertain who King Lemuel was, what is certain is that God chose for this wise counsel from a mother to her son, to be recorded—that men may know what a godly woman looks like, and women may know th...

We must pray for our President's repentance before he suffers severely from waving his fist at the LORD of hosts, the Lord Almighty who is, and who was, and who is to come (Rev 1:8). "NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2016 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." -President Barak Obama On Tuesday, May 31, 2016 President Obama made a proclamation  demonstrating his utter foolishness and wickedness. Ever since the President took office in 2009, he has been contending supremacy with God. And now, sadly, to increase his enmity with God, he openly and unashamedly blasphemes the name of our holy and awesome LORD. In this audacious act of megalomania, our President is attempting to rename and recreate what the LORD Almighty has said is good (a man is a man, a woman is a woman, both cr...