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 and be good stewards of all that God has given you; how to best communicate and pray for your family, all to the glory of God.

If you love the Lord your God, you will research and study Him: seeking His will, glory, and pleasure through reading, studying, meditating on, and memorizing His Word; praying without ceasing in accordance with His Word, and fervently seeking opportunities to work out your salvation as you see the Day of Christ approaching nearer and nearer.

~Psalm 111:1-2, ESV 

A few weeks ago, my soul was immensely refreshed and well-fed through Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching lessons entitled, Why Study the Bible? and Private Interpretation. Though I’ve watched and listened to these lessons before, I enjoy watching and listening to them at least once...every year. Why? Because every time I watch and listen to Dr. Sproul teach on these basic, life-long practices for every Christian, I learn something new about my Lord and also, more truth about myself. And my heart grows fonder toward my Lord and His Word, and farther away from myself, my opinions, and temptations.

I strongly encourage all of you to examine your hearts with the Word of God, so that you too may know what you love most: the Lord Jesus, or yourself and all that is in the world (1 Jn 2:16).

For to God, it is never about what we profess or the way we describe ourselves to others that reveals where our devotions lie. But it is what we obey on a daily basis that reveals what masters our souls (Mt 7:21-23, 1 Jn 2:17; 5:3-4).

~1 John 2:28-29, ESV

If you’d like more help in getting and keeping the right and high view of God, and therefore, the right and low view of man, please refer to my Resources page.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)

"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 Corinthian believers, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, ESV)

Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loves His Bride—sacrificially and faithfully washing her with the Word of God, to present her holy and without blemish before the Father (Eph 5:25-27).  But a husband can only sacrificially love His wife as Christ, if he first loves his own body (Eph 5:29) by nourishing his spirit with the Word of God so that he might turn to his wife, and nourish her with God's Word (admonish where she is idle, encourage where she is fainthearted, help where she is weak, and be patient with her always;1 Thess 5:14). And this is the greatest most noble sacrifice a husband can make for his wife: To daily die to any self-indulgence in order to daily practice the discipline of feeding his own soul with God's Word, so that he might lovingly and rightly sanctify his wife with the same Word God used to sanctify his soul. The fleshly and temporal "sacrifices" a husband makes for his wife (e.g., granting her preferences) are nothing compared to the eternal sacrifice he is commanded by God to offer her, just as Christ Jesus offered to die to His temporal fleshly desires so that He might give His Bride eternal treasures. If a husband keeps first things first (things eternal); granting her non-sinful, temporal preferences will be the fruit of that work.

Wives are commanded to submit to their husbands in everything as they ought to submit to the Lord Jesus in everything—with joy and reverence. And as much as I'd like there to be an "if" between verses 24 and 25, there isn't sisters. I've searched and studied, and it's not there. Yes, I admit, it's far easier to submit in everything, to a husband who's loving you as Christ loves His Bride. But just as God didn't command husbands to seek a life or marriage of ease, He didn't command wives to seek these either. No, God commanded both husbands and wives to seek to live and love one another sacrificially (both in times of ease and in times of great pain), to demonstrate our immense love and gratitude to God for giving us His one and only Son.

Does loving his wife as Christ loves His Bride guarantee a husband that his wife will happily follow his lead and joyfully love and serve him as his God-given, suitable help-meet? Ideally, yes. In reality, no. Does a wife's submission to her husband in everything, as unto the Lord Jesus guarantee that her husband will appreciate her and lead her well? Ideally, yes. In reality, no. A self-seeking and contentious man or woman, will remain a self-seeking and contentious man or woman until the LORD (who alone transforms hearts and renews minds) deals with his/her sin by His awesome acts of righteousness (Ps 65:4-5).

So, if there's no guarantee of a happy marriage, why obey God's command? We obey this command for the same reason why we obey every command of God—because we delight in His Word and His precepts cause our hearts to rejoice (Ps 19:7-10). We obey not simply because we owe God everything, but also because we love and fear Him for all that He's given us in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Therefore, though God does not guarantee a happy marriage for the obedient spouse, he/she will be happy in their pursuit of holiness, while the disobedient spouse will only find misery in their pursuit of self-importance.

Our obedience to God should never be about the results; what we can get out of it. But our obedience ought always be in response to God's love toward us in Christ, rather than our reaction to what others have or haven't done to us.

The people who are, and will enjoy marriage most, are those who are most submitted to Christ and seek the discipline of their loving Father. The happiest person is the one who avails every resource (God's Word, soundly doctrinal and wiser Christians and sermons, books, articles, etc.) that God provides them.

The people who are, and will find the most misery in marriage, are those who are least submitted to Christ and ignore or run from God's loving discipline. The most fearful and fretful person, is the one who scoffs (actively or passively) every resource (God's Word, soundly doctrinal and wiser Christians and sermons, books, articles, etc.) that God provides them.

If you think you're ready for marriage because you're looking forward to daily living with your biggest fan...you're not ready. Marriage is for those who are seeking to daily die to self through the discipline from God's Word, and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Marriage is for those who daily desire to live as Christ's biggest fan.

Only a holy marriage, is a truly happy marriage.

Beloved, do not be surprised when fiery trials...burn.

They are meant to burn; in order to refine.

"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned?

"My glory I will not give to another."

~Isaiah 48:10–11, ESV

Fiery trials wrought upon the children of the Most High God, neither consume nor destroy the child—they sanctify the child. Therefore, our souls can find rest in every awesome act of righteousness that our God and Father ordains for our lives (Ps 65:4-8, Rom 8:28-30). As the Scriptures testify, children of God ought to seek to bring Him glory in and through the pains of our sufferings, rather than use trials to bring attention to ourselves (as the world does).

Fiery trials only burn off the unnecessary chaff that weigh us down from running our race strong, long, and hard. Fiery trials wrought by our loving Father, tests our faith, tests our endurance, and tests our hearts. Are we abandoned to Christ? Or do we still have affections in this world that deem us faithless to our Lord who purchased us with His precious blood: to redeem and purify a people for Himself—a people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14)? The only way any of us can answer this rightly, is to test our words and our actions, with the trustworthy Word of God, rather than with the untrustworthy words and judgment of men.

Jesus Christ, the perfect and majestic Lord and Savior, learned obedience by what He suffered (Heb 5:8-9). How much more ought we to expect to learn obedience through what we suffer? We are not greater than our Master. And He suffered unjustly, because He is without sin. We, on the other hand, suffer both justly and unjustly, because we suffer for our sins and the sins of others.  But regardless of whether we suffer because we sinned or because someone has sinned against us, God allows us to suffer every fiery trial , only for our eternal glory.

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

~2 Corinthians 4:8-11; 16–18, ESV

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 were provided by the 13 years of persecutions. I've had the joy of witnessing the strength of my Savior's grace through 10 surgeries, 4 CT myelograms of my spine, multiple other invasive testings and ER visits and hospital stays, and more specialists than there are colors in the rainbow. I have 16 titanium screws, 2 titanium rods, 1 titanium plate, and 5 artificial discs holding my spine together; sick sinus syndrome that's accompanied by three other arrhythmias (SVTs, PVCs, and PACs); oral lichen planus; degenerative disc disease; osteoarthrosis of my left jaw, bilateral articular disc disorder; severe Vitamin B12 and D deficiencies; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; secondary hyperparathyroidism due to my Vitamin D deficiency; and a host of other serious medical issues. Due to these things, I'm in daily pain (sometimes debilitating) and therefore must daily take nerve pain medications (and sometimes other pain medications) in order to function as normally as possible. I suffer from depression (and am currently on an SSRI), and rarely have much strength or energy to do my daily chores, let alone serve and love others as unto the Lord Jesus. I have specific things I must eat and drink daily, as well as daily perform physical therapy exercises to help my body function as best as possible.

I don't share any of this to garner sympathy or empathy for myself. I share all of this to display the glorious and mighty works of God in my life (Jn 9:3). Because you see, although my temporal state may seem quite grim, it's not! In spite of all my physical weaknesses and sufferings, I still get to do ordinary things like laundry, cook healthy and tasty meals for my family and many others I love—with eternal intentions. I get to keep my home clean and orderly so that I may continue to produce a peaceful, restful, and loving atmosphere for all who live and visit here. I get to run errands and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with store clerks and other shoppers with whom the Lord graces me with opportunities to love in Jesus' name. I get to make and take meals to the sick, encourage the fainthearted and admonish the idle  (1 Thess 5:14-15). And I get to share the goodness of God with medical staff and other patients and their families and friends at every hospital and medical facility in which the Lord assigns me. I get to do all these things with the strength God supplies me in Christ Jesus (1 Pt 4:10-11)—that all may be enlightened with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6).

This is why I gladly boast about my weaknesses. I love to urge and encourage all saints in Christ to daily carry their crosses in order to die to self, and to live all the more abandoned to Christ, our awesome and majestic Lord and Savior (2 Cor 9:9-12, Acts 20:24).

Every one of our lives is a mist. My mist may not last as long as yours. But no matter how short or long God chooses our lives to be, He commands all His children to redeem the time He's given us. We are called by God to live like the wise and not like the unwise. For only the children of the Most High have been given the sight to see—that the days are surely evil (Eph 5:15-17).

It is often said that those who are heavenly-minded are of no earthly good. But this sentiment, in accordance with God's Word, is erroneous. The truth is, it is only those who are heavenly-minded, that can be of any earthly good. For it is only those who perceive all things in this temporal life (relationships, vocations, ministering to others, communicating in person and social media, etc.) with eternal intents, that consider God's will for them and for others, before they proceed with any action. Not that any of us does this perfectly, but intentionally seeking to work out Ephesians 4:29 and Romans 12:1-3 (as well as many other Scriptures) in our lives, ought to be the greatest desire of every saint in Christ.

I close with a prayer from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. And I pray that your mind, heart, and soul is strengthened today to love God and others with God's eternal will, rather than with your temporal desires and perspective.

"I commend my heart to thy watchful care,