abandoned to Christ.

“God knows my heart.” is a common phrase that both Christians and non-Christians use. And sadly, it’s carelessly thrown about to excuse or approve of the faithless, opinionated, and self-righteous way many of us choose to live. Rarely is this phrase used by a truly penitent and humble heart that worships the LORD Almighty in the splendor of holiness—in spirit and in truth (1 Chron 16:29 and Jn 4:23-24). So how can we know for certain if our hearts are the penitent or proud ones when we say, “God knows my heart.” ? We know by how God Almighty says we can know. We test our hearts by what comes out of our mouths (Mt 12:34-37, Lk 6:43-46), with God’s perfect and infallible Word of truth. This God—His way is perfect;   the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. ~2 Samuel 22:31 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God ma...

I know it sounds a bit strange to say that I’m grateful I grieve. But when I add the words, “when God grieves”, then, for any beloved child of God Most High, it doesn’t sound strange at all. Rather, it demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit in us; that renews our minds and transforms our hearts to think how God thinks, and to feel what He feels, and do what He does; the way He does it—in His steadfast love, righteousness, and justice (Jer 9:23-24). One of the sins that us Christians rarely speak, think, or teach about, is the sin of omission. The sin of knowing the good we ought to do and not doing it (Js 4:17). This passive sin (neglecting to do good) grieves our God and Father just as much as when we actively doing evil. Examples of the sin of omission include: neglecting to daily seek the face and counsel of our God in all our ways (Prov 3:5-8) and neglecting to pray without ceasing for the needs of others as well as ourselves. This particular sin of omission is fr...

What we praise, proves what we value. And what we value, determines our moral compass. If we value all that glitters (gifts that make us feel important, our homes, cars, vacations), all that feeds our egos (popularity, flattery, external beauty) and all that the world values (positive thinking, constant entertainment, Photoshopped versions of our lives a.k.a social media), then that is what we will praise, value, and fight for. But if what we value are the things of God: holiness, righteousness, justice, kindness, sacrificial living/giving, and humility/humiliation; then that is what we will praise, value, and fight for. Let the saints learn then to be more open mouthed for Christ. Let them commend him to others, and commend him from their own experience; first, to their fellow saints, saying, ‘Come, and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.’ O! should not Christ’s friends be commending their friend one to another. This would be a ...

No sane person says, “I’m waiting for God to thank me.” But in reality, that’s what the unbelieving world is thinking, and sadly, many professing believers are thinking the same thing. How do we, the chosen and dearly beloved ones of the Most High God, think the same atrocious and presumptuous way as unbelievers? Every time we’re offended by someone, complain, and/or boast about what we have in the past, or are presently suffering, for Christ’s sake, we prove that we’re waiting for God to thank us, that is, give us the good we feel we deserve for what we’ve suffered. Boasting about anything save Christ, is the outward expression of someone who believes they’ve got the corner market on suffering, and therefore feel owed: respect, being well-thought of, friendship, and loyalty from whom they have suffered. And since as Christians, we believe God is sovereign, then when we participate in these arrogant acts of expressing whatever dissatisfaction we have in life, then we are in ...

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...

Many say that the true character of a person is most clearly evident in the midst of trials. I suppose it’s similar to when someone is hungry, in physical pain, or even, inebriated. In all cases, a person hasn’t the physical strength nor mental ingenuity to put on airs. But rather, they’re only capable of being genuine and honest about how they perceive their immediate situation. As a matter of fact, it seems that anytime we’re in a position of various physical deficiencies or discomforts (minor or major, fictitious or true), who we really are, spills out. In these mortal bodies of ours, that is, common jars of common clay, all people either carry within: the life of Christ or the death of sinful man. In recognizing these truths, we can reasonably assess, that just as the essence of an olive uninhibitedly flows out when its pressed, so also, it is with all people. The heat and pressures of trials from without, will prove the essence of a person, either the Treasure (Spiri...

We all study…something...daily. We study things we must study for school or work. And we also study the things that excite our hearts. The latter is what vividly displays the fruit of what we most love, cherish, and value in life. Regardless of what we profess with our mouths, what we choose to study, without any external prodding, discloses the deepest desires of our heart. What we choose to study is what develops our character—establishing how we think, act, and feel about every aspect of our lives (people, places, and things).  If you love food you will research and study it: nutrition and caloric content, medicinal uses, flavor profiles, food prep, and cooking methods. If you love photography you will research and study it: best camera to use, best indoor and outdoor lighting, editing software, and angles. If you love your spouse and children, you will research and study how to best love and care for them as God commanded: how to keep the home, how to budget a...

Since this week has been a particularly difficult week for me physically, yesterday's lovely day at the Byron Nelson with my darling Teeny Tiny (a.k.a. Michael, our eldest son) wore out my already frail body. But it was worth it! One of the numerous things that I've come to thank God for during these 13 years of constant physical pain and weakness, is the revelation that pain is not, and cannot be the determining factor of when and why and how I choose to live—only the Word of God determines that. Physical pain and weakness and suffering are not even close to being the worse thing I, nor anyone on this earth can experience. A life lived outside of God's good and perfect will, is the worse thing anyone (both rebellious believers and unbelievers) can experience. Because I'm so weak and in much pain today, my darling husband, once again, planned what we call "home church service". We always use a sermon from Parkside Church (www.parksidechurch.com...

This is my second year of reading through God's awesome Word using Professor Grant Horner's 10 List Reading System . And I still LOVE it so much, words are not enough to express how much this reading plan has effected my life and continually increases my gratitude and love for my heavenly Father sacrificing His Son to save my soul; for the Son giving us His Holy Spirit to sanctify me, and seal me until the Day of Redemption. Hallelujah! Every day is different. Some days I'm in awe of how all 10 chapters tell the same story. Others days I'm in awe of how all 10 chapters teach me the same lesson through very different circumstances. And some days, like today, I'm reminded of the awesome gift of knowing God Almighty and being adopted as one of His holy children through repentance and faith in Christ, His Son (Mk 1:15, 2 Cor 7:10). Reading Ruth 3 and Isaiah 47 on the same day, I'm finding, is a very healthy heart exercise; spiritually and physically. W...

Being a mom, and especially a Christian mom, is hard. It's what I call, hard heart-work. God builds a special bond between a mother and each of her children. There's something inexplicably wonderful about the life that proceeds from a mother's womb. Which is why abortion is such a horrible and wicked thing to encourage women to do—to strip herself of the beautiful life God graciously gave her in spite of what sins she may have committed, or what sins may have been committed against her.  Every child is an unmerited gift from God. Therefore, in view of God's mercy, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. This command extends to motherhood also. Which means, rather than mothering our children in order to please and seek love for self, we care for our children in order to please and love God and our children sacrificially, and not just when it's easy, fun and dignified. It means we must love God a...