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 arrhythmia have already been tried and found to be ineffective. My most recent physical affliction has caused me to daily suffer from extreme fatigue, light-headedness, headaches, and nausea, with occasional incidences of near syncope. I’ve had adjustments made to my pacemaker to help prevent a heart attack, and prescribed a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots and stroke.

To compound the stress put on my worn and weary heart, I’ve also been suffering a great deal from a “thorn” of Satan (spiritual persecution from a professing believer).

It is easy to be dismayed when my eyes are focused on the here and now, on myself and others, rather than on the there and then, and on my God and Father. But when I lift my eyes to the hills, where my help comes from; from the Maker of Heaven and earth, then though I can only dimly see eternal things, it is still a more beautiful and truer sight of what is real, and perfectly good. And in the light of what awaits me in my Forever Home with Christ my God, I feel I can perceive all things here, even more lucidly.

Therefore, shall I complain of my sufferings—minuscule in comparison to what my Lord suffered for my sake? Shall I be perplexed by the fiery trials of unmitigated and unfounded disdain? Shall I desire less hardships in this life, than what my Lord taught me to expect in His Word? Shall I be surprised by the insults and hatred of false professors who practice the works of the flesh (idolatry, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger; Gal 5:19-21)?

No. I shall not refuse what my Lord uses to refine me. Rather, I ask for it. I ask that people will see Christ and the holiness of God, rather than see me. I pray that if in so doing, people misunderstand and mistake my own character—of weakness, frailty, and fear of man, for the character of Christ—humility, strength, and steadfastness.

In Matthew 10:34-36 and 1 Peter 4:12-14, my Father has faithfully reminded me that though those who feign victimhood receive comfort and encouragement, and it seems that I am left out in the cold, because of Christ, this is an impossibility. The truth is, all who are in Christ, are hid and sealed in the hand of the Almighty who is a consuming fire. And we are therefore, always warmed and kept safe by His divine hand, whether or not He allows people to participate in this compassionate work of His grace in truth.

Remembering this, I am able to endure the loss of all things (bodily health, beloved relationships), for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, my First and Greatest Love, and my most magnificent and sufficient Portion forever. For I have none in Heaven but my LORD. And there is none on earth that I desire equal to or above Him. Though my flesh and my heart fail me, because God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever, I have the inexplicable happiness and highest honor of being able to daily feed from God’s Word, and drink from His Holy Spirit—having my hunger and thirst wholly satisfied beyond what I even knew was possible.

‘Come unto me and drink’…Not, come and take a hasty draught; not, come and slightly alleviate, or for a short time remove one’s thirst. No! ‘drink,’ or ‘be drinking’ constantly, habitually.

Do not let us change the Savior’s words…It is not ‘Whosoever has drunk,’ but ‘Whosoever drinketh.’ It is not one isolated draught he speaks, or even many, but of the continuous habit of the soul. In John 6:35, also, the full meaning is this, ‘He who is habitually coming to me shall by no means hunger, and he who is believing on me shall no means thirst.’ The habit of coming in faith to him is incompatible with unmet hunger and thirst…

It seems to me that where many of us err is in leaving our drinking in the past, while our thirst continues present. What we need is to be drinking—yes, thankfully for each occasion which drives us to drink ever more deeply of the living water.

~Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor,

1 Peter 4:1-5.

Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

"So Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

~Proverbs 17:1; Jeremiah 37:21, ESV

Yesterday, part of my Bible reading was Proverbs 17. Today, part of my Bible reading was Jeremiah 37. When I came to the last verse of Jeremiah 37, God's faithful Holy Spirit reminded me of Proverbs 17:1.

What a joy and peace we have in Christ! Because God is faithful to complete the good work of salvation He granted to us through His Son, we have the peaceful assurance of sanctification. Our participation in our spiritual growth is simple—daily feed our souls and cleanse our consciences with the Word of God. And the Holy Spirit will not neglect to renew our minds and transform our hearts ever so much more, into the image of Christ Jesus our Lord (Jn 14:26, 1 Cor 2:12-13).

This is something the Prophet Jeremiah knew well—that is better to be unpopular and imprisoned by man for honoring the Lord, than to be popular and accepted by people, who are about to be imprisoned by God for their rebellion against Him.

In this world, a person is deemed successful, inspiring, encouraging, and an asset, only if they amass a great number of "followers" both in real-life and social-media-life. As professing disciples of Jesus Christ, our estimation of these things should not be the same as the world’s, but be the same as our Lord and Master's—joyful submission to God's Word, for His glory, pleasure, praise, and exaltation alone (Jn 15:5-11, Gal 1:10).

We ought to be different from the world, in every way (in thought, word, work ethics, how we worship God, how we dress ourselves, how we keep our homes, how we treat: our spouses, train children, love the saints and the lost).

We ought to be holy.

We ought to be the light to this world; giving sight, knowledge, and understanding of truth to those whose hearts, minds, and souls are darkened by their sins. And the salt of the earth; proclaiming the only life-preserving, life-giving message—the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to a tasteless, baseless, and dying world.

Though we can be, the Bride of Christ is not yet, what Christ saved, equipped, and commanded us to be. Dangerously, too many professing believers imitate the world and its relative definition of good and right, rather than God's righteous definitions of these things.

As long as the children of the Most High God continue to allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep by the temptations of this world—to be our own gods; only using people for our pleasures, rather than loving people for God’s glory, we will continue to be of little good to those we claim to love. It is only when we spend more time in God’s Word, in studying His holy precepts, and loving all His statutes so much, that the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit will flow from within us, to others, effortlessly (1 Cor 2:4-5).

So as we look to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday with family, friends, and for some of us (as the Lord enables), strangers, that we welcome at our table; let us gather and give thanks differently than the world. Let us remember to give thanks not for the quantity of people around us, but because of the greatness of the God who gave us all life and liberty in Jesus Christ.

For it is far better to spend this Thanksgiving in God’s peace with a few—to give thanks to God Most High for all His goodness to us (Ps 116:12-14), than it is to be gathered with many in strife, for the sake of tradition and social media posts.

I know this article will find many of you in varying, yet common circumstances of life; both pleasant and ill. But no matter what your present state with people may be, if you know Christ and are known by Him, be comforted and encouraged that God is sovereign, God is good, and God loves you in Christ Jesus. Therefore, our Father is using all things (pleasant and painful) to conform you into the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-30). And for this, we can all give thanks to our God above, for all that He wills to happen here below.

Never forget…

Peace and happiness are not found from the absence of conflict with people. Peace and happiness are found only, in the absence of conflict with God.

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 most seasonable work at this day, in which religion is decaying…

If we esteem one highly, it is natural to take his part, and to do what we can to support his interest and honour; and if Christ have our hearts, he will get our endeavors that way also.

~Thomas Boston,

I Count All Things But Loss: 8 Sermons on Philippians 3:8-9

Sermon 1.I.1

When we abide in Jesus Christ, we no longer deem something to be a gift of love and sacrifice because it makes us look or feel good. Rather, we humbly praise and are immensely grateful for a widow's mite—the things we most often take for granted because we think too little of them (daily biblical-intercessory prayer, a loving phone call, a kind visit, a thoughtful note as the Spirit leads).

When we judge ourselves and the world around us justly, that is, by the Word of God, we clearly see that whatever good we receive, is from the Lord (Jn 7:24, Acts 17:11, 1 Thess 5:21-22). If a person believes the truth of the Gospel—that they've sinned against a holy God, and therefore, have made themselves His enemies and duly deserve His wrath to be poured out onto them, then they soberly fear the LORD (Ps 111:10). And only then is that person happily humbled and immensely grateful for God's gift of repentance and faith in the righteous work of Jesus, that cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and robes us with the righteousness of the only begotten Son of God.

Therefore, let us learn to daily examine our hearts, by what comes out of our mouths (Mt 15:18-19). Without any external prodding, what do we most frequently and with the most excitement, praise and thank God for?

If you want to know the truth about yourself, I urge you to do this, every day, for just a week. Keep a journal or make notes on your phone of: what and who you praise, how often you do it, and why you’re praising it/them (in private and/or public).

In performing this simple and practical exercise of self-examination, you will assuredly discover four things:

If you are a grateful person (expressing gratitude for any good), or a complaining person (entitled grumbling and speaking/presuming evil of others);
If you’re more protective of your self-image, or of God’s holy Name and His image;
If you’re more concerned about people offending you, or of you offending God;
If you’re more inclined to entertainment and flattery, or God’s kingdom and His glory.

When we cultivate a daily practice of measuring ourselves with the only straight ruler, the Word of God, we will faithfully produce the good fruit of Christ Jesus our Lord. And when we go Home, we will arrive with a harvest of righteousness that was sown in peace, by the hand of God Almighty.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I perform before those who fear Him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

~Psalm 22:25-26, ESV

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 fact, waiting for God to thank us by rewarding us with whatever good we feel He’s keeping from us (cf. Gen 3:4-7).

But let us rather, strengthen our souls with what’s recorded in Luke 17:9-10—

Does he (the master) thank the slave because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have only done what was our duty.'

When you remember who God is and who you are, does not your my mind and heart and soul and all your strength, happily shout with all the saints in Christ, “I am an unworthy and most blessed slave of righteousness; I have only done what was my most happy duty.”? Fort even the provisions and ability to serve the LORD of hosts, are given to us by the Most High—it does not originate from us (Js 1:16-17, 1 Cor 4:7).

2. To plead upon sufferings for Christ is a dreadful mark of a graceless sufferer, Matth. 20:12-16. It is a sign men seek themselves and not the Lord in their sufferings, therefore they get their penny, the credit and reputation among the saints that they were seeking, and that is all.

3. What is the Lord obliged to us when we have suffered the loss of all? Have we done more than our duty; yea, than our interest led us to? If a beggar should come in, and crave his alms as debt, because, forsooth, he stood at your door, and would not go away, though a heavy rain was falling on him all the time, what would you think of his plea? So it is with us, if we plead the merit of our sufferings.

~Thomas Boston,

I Count All Things But Loss: 8 Sermons on Philippians 3:8-9,

Sermon V, Direction 1 - number 4.1.1.2-3

Amen. Rather than be owed good by the Almighty because of my sufferings, I owe Him more than I did before my sufferings. For as much a as I have suffered, and continue to suffer, much more did and does Christ my God abundantly grant me, grace upon grace (cf. Jn 1:14, 16-18).

If what we have suffered is our mantra—the very edifice of our lives, then we have surely built in vain. For no one who suffers for the name and glory of Jesus, would willingly repeat, advertise, promote their ministry or themselves, by their sufferings. No, they would rather willingly repeat Christ crucified (1 Cor 2:1-5), than adjure men to listen to them because of who they are and what they have suffered.

“In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Heb 12:4). No, this honor and this great work of purchasing eternal salvation for all the elect of God, from every tribe, nation, and tongue, is given to Christ our God alone. For He alone is worthy of such a great and noble task—for Christ alone is sinless, and alone, perfectly fulfilled the holy demands of God’s righteous decrees.

No person, save Christ Jesus, has ever suffered more than their sins have earned them. And any person who suffers anything (great or small) for the glory of God, has received more grace than they can ever deserve.

This is why God need never thank us for anything. Rather, we ought always thank God for every grace and mercy He deems good to grant us, because we know the immeasurable good we owe Him, and can never repay (Php 2:13-15, 2 Thess 5:11-18).

I am convinced that if I were able to thank God every nanosecond of my life, from conception and throughout all eternity, it would still not meet the thanks I owe Him for giving me His Son.

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