abandoned to Christ.

As my earthly tent continues to weaken, due to the the 13 years in which the Lord Jesus carried me through a brutal and torrential storm of persecution, my mind and heart delight in these words from my Lord, All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all 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. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst…” ~Matthew 11:27-30, John 6:35 On January 8, 2020, I will undergo my 3rd heart surgery (cardiac ablation for atrial fibrillation) and 13th surgery within an 11-year-period of time. Less invasive methods for my fifth ar...

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...

The great comfort that comes from Psalm 14:6 (that I never noticed before) reminds my downcast heart of my Savior's great comfort, protection, and spiritual sustenance that I needed to hear today...and I didn't even know it. Truly, my God and Father loves me so perfectly in Christ Jesus my Lord, that He knows what I need, even before I ask. I was greatly comforted by this verse because as Dr. Steve Lawson teaches, the “poor” spoken of in Psalm 14:6 aren’t necessarily those who are poor in the things of this world, but it is speaking of eternal poverty—those who remain dead in their trespasses and therefore, have not the riches of eternal life in Christ our Lord. In the short clip below, Dr. Steve Lawson does well to teach us that  those who hate God's Word; regardless of their profession of loving Him (2 Tim 3:1-8, 12),  torment all who desire to live godly lives. Just as Satan masquerades as an angel of light, so do those who are enslaved to do his will (2 Tim...

I’ve read 2 Samuel numerous times. And I’ve been moved by my Father’s faithful Holy Spirit, to pray what is written in chapter 16, verses 10-14. And once again, I’ve learned something new, about an old and familiar passage I’ve long loved and prayed to be true in my life. But before I share what our compassionate and faithful and superbly loving Father taught me through His Word, by the power of His Holy Spirit today, allow me to digress for a moment to share a brief summary (and the passage) that has long been a staple of my prayers. When Shimei (a relative of the late King Saul, whom the LORD deposed of his throne) violently accosted King David and his servants both physically and verbally by hurling stones at them and slandering the good name of King David, one of his mighty men, Abishai (a son of Zeruiah, one of David’s two sisters) being rightly indignant, offers to avenge his king’s integrity by killing Shimei. But King David’s response was a very unusual one. Rathe...