...the Lord our God had not revealed His good, perfect and loving plan.

For the past 20+ years we've had an extremely strained relationship with my mother-in-law. Without going into the unsavory details, let's suffice it to say that my mother-in-law professes to be a believer, but sadly has no obvious fruit to prove her attachment to the one and only True Vine (John 15:5-6).

In addition to the uncertainty of her eternal salvation, my mother-in-law is a very ill person and has required many surgeries and other medical procedures. Our hearts break for her because her life here is so dismal and bleak and her eternal destiny is unsure.

Please pray for her salvation with us. We love her and don't want her to die in her sins, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31).

Due to all this, we recently invited her to come live with us (after her most recent surgery in October 2012). Many who know us and the grievous relationship we've had with  her, couldn't understand why this invitation made sense. To be honest, we really didn't either, but we prayed and searched Scripture for our heavenly Father's answer, and we found, regardless of how painful and difficult this was going to be, we have been freed and enabled by Christ to love her and care for her with all that we have.

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

~1 Timothy 5:8

We spoke with her nearly every day, and honestly discussed what daily life here would be like. We didn't sugar coat the past, nor did we hold her accountable for it. We just let her know she was loved and forgiven, and we wanted to take care of her the best we could. We told her we knew this would be difficult for everyone, but we were willing to take this journey, if she was. She agreed it was time for her to make a healthier life change, both spiritually and physically, and happily accepted our invitation.

While there was great joy with her acceptance, there was also great stress with it as well. We knew this meant that all four of us had to sacrifice what we held most dear on this earth. For my darling husband, he knew he'd have to sacrifice me and entrust my health and well-being fully to God; our sons had to sacrifice our family's peace they love so much, as well as their Mama's time with them; I had to sacrifice my pride and comforts.

Understanding the reality of our sacrificial gift to the Lord whom we love with all our hearts, souls and minds, all four of us prayed, thanked God and asked Him to go before us and prepare our way. We then committed this sacrifice to the LORD and made plans to have her moved in by the end of February 2013.

You know, sacrificing what you hold most dear on this earth is difficult, to say the least, but when you keep your heart and eyes fixed on Christ, the sacrifice doesn't seem such a daunting task. When beholding Christ, though you recognize the bit of the human element of anxiousness, you're also filled with an inexplicable peace, and joy of anticipation. It's a very strange, but lovely thing to experience.

By God's good and sovereign will, because He loves us, He made it possible for my mother-in-law to come visit us for Christmas. Prior to this, she hadn't been in our home for over a decade. Therefore, we were all the more thankful for this opportunity to shower her with God's love.

During this visit, God revealed to us His intention for having us invite her to move in with us. It was not so that she would, but it was a test to see if we were willing to give up all that we had enjoyed in this life—all that we held most dear on this earth. Of course, the results of the test were no surprise to God, for He already knew. It was only a surprise to the four of us.

In our Father's immense kindness towards us, He revealed that we had all grown more trusting and loving towards our Savior, reminding us that when we consider His tests a joy, it produces steadfastness, and when steadfastness has had its full effect, we will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-3). Isn't our God awesome?!

On an exorbitantly smaller scale, it reminded us of Abraham and Isaac. The thing that Abraham loved most on this earth was his son Isaac, and God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham was willing.

Just like Abraham, we were willing too. And just like Abraham, God didn't actually intend for us to sacrifice what He asked. He intended to test our faith to encourage us and reveal to us, what He already knew.

So we rejoice in this test! We rejoice in this outcome! We rejoice to know that our faith has grown and God Himself has done it! We rejoice that this past Christmas, we gained a deeper understanding, as a family, the great and sacrificial love of God the Father, in Christ His Son!

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure...Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

~Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Thess 5:23-24

Soli Deo Gloria!

I used to write poems all the time. It's something the Lord gave me to do while He endured me through some of the darkest and most violent times in my life.

While there were many external forces working against me, God's word and the hope in Christ sustained me through the tempest. The Lord graciously drew me to seek His face, worship Him in love and truth, and brought me His incomprehensible peace.

The love of God, always quieted my heart (Zeph 3:17) and lifted my soul to remember what is greater than all that is in this world...the Lord Jesus Christ and the richness of the gift of God in Jesus.

Today, during my praise and quiet time, I read Ephesians 1:3-19 with vv. 17-19 inspiring me to write this poem that is my prayer for me, and all the saints who are in Christ.

May we who have been chosen by the Most High God as His dearly and beloved children, resolve to live abandoned to Christ (Gal 2:20); for His glory, His praise and exaltation alone—for He alone is worthy.

Drawing Near

Drawing near

To the throne of grace;

To fix our eyes

On Christ's glorious face

...to worship.

If we say

That we are saved;

Shouldn't it change

The way we behave

...always?

If we repent

From our sins;

Then why do we

Return again

...so carelessly?

Lord help us please

To abide in You;

And live as those

Who've been made new

...in Christ.

Let us not

Just praise with lips;

With hearts so far

Like hypocrites

...because this grieves You.

Thank You Lord

For saving us;

Help us live

With full trust

...in Your word.

Turn our eyes

From worthless things;

Incline our hearts

To bring offerings

...that are worthy.

As we draw

Near to You Lord;

Grant us strength

To know You more

...and love you better.

By the awesome grace and indelible mercies of our great and sovereign God, our country has stood strong and vibrant for nearly 237 years.

In those years, never has there been a leader of this country in which the public has been more enamored with; enough to attribute to him the holy nature and names that Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, alone, is worthy to behold.

Even as nefarious as this sounds it's not the most abominable behavior. No, the most abominable behavior is that the President allows people to wickedly refer to him as "our "lord and savior" (Jamie Foxx, 2012 Soul Train Music Awards, video below).

Joining Jamie Foxx's blasphemous statement, Newsweek's January 18, 2013 cover, dubbed the President's second inauguration as the "second coming".

If these atrocities aren't enough to cause you to fall on your knees and pray for the souls of the lost (which includes our President and his family), then you must be squelching the Holy Spirit's voice. We, as God's chosen and dearly beloved are called to intercede for our brothers and sisters and cry out for mercy and salvation for the lost.

"There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed."

~1 Samuel 2:2-3

As I listened to the President's inaugural speech, I shuddered as many Scriptures resonated in my mind; the majority of which, concerned the End Times.

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains."

~Matthew 24:6-8

I found it quite peculiar that the President made sure he included all people groups in his speech as he lulled each group with smooth words and false promises of a euphoric, earthly kingdom that would provide for every person's needs and grant every person their desire. The promise was made without expectations of any effort on the part of the people, but with the people's full trust in the government to supply every demand.

Obama was sure to woo the youth with vain flattery, saying they will provide us with "diversity, openness, risk taking and reinvention". But as usual, in his ambiguous "encouragement" of the youth, he never specified what he meant. As I listened to him address all the different people groups, I realized the President wasn't speaking of a good or godly definition of each word, but one that only soothes and titillates our sinful flesh that only increases immorality and feelings of entitlement of good, for doing nothing.

The President made sure he included women, and assured us we would get what we all deserved and earned—the same pay as men. I agree that everyone should get the same pay whether or not they are male, female, black, white, yellow, orange, green or purple. But that doesn't always happen. There's discrimination across the board. Many colleges and even corporations have a minority quota they must meet, which often means, if a white male's test scores are higher than someone like me, an Asian female (a double minority), then I would be chosen for the  college or job over the white male who was more qualified. Equality? I think not.

Before the close of the President's speech he made sure to promise the gay, the elderly, the illegal immigrant and welfare people groups that he would fight for their security and right to live as they please so that all people would be treated with total equality. A promise that only God can make and fulfill since He alone is sovereign, He alone is good and He alone shows no partiality.

Regardless of your race, or the color of your skin, as Christians, we should never compromise the holy name, character and glory of Christ our God in order to satisfy a temporal desire in this life. We have been freed from the slavery of sin and the captivity of a depraved mind (Rom 6:4-6; 2 Cor 10:5). Christ has liberated us from fixing our eyes and minds on the things of this earth, and has granted us the glorious gift of fixing our eyes and minds on Him, and the things eternal.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory...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."

~Col 3:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Jesus said we would all know that the beginning of the end is near when certain events take place, and like labor pains, come closer and closer together with magnifying intensity. Our Lord also warned that many anti-Christs will come and promise false peace, deceive the masses and encourage and accept blasphemous statements, as more people deny Christ His rightful position as the only Lord and Savior for all mankind.

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

~2 Timothy 3:1-5

Sound familiar? It should. It's happening now. And if you weren't convinced prior to now, the President's inaugural speech should've convinced you. We are definitely closer to The End of the world and the return of the One and Only Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Don't worry, I'm not one of those unbiblical fanatics that's claiming I know the date or time that Christ will  return, I am only saying what Jesus said...He is coming...a second time.

And His Second Coming will not be announced by Newsweek magazine. For Christ will not come as He did before as the Lamb of God to provide salvation...He already did that. The Second time, Christ will come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and He will judge the world with righteousness.

Just as none of us deserved our salvation, may our country, that doesn't deserve God's gifts, be granted His unmerited mercy, grace and forgiveness poured out to her; for truly, we are a people who do not know what we are doing.

Are you ready for Jesus' Second Coming?

If you're not sure of your eternal destiny, click this link so you can be sure: Heaven or Hell?

Transcript of President Obama's 2013 Inaugural Speech.

Do you know what will happen to you when you die? Do you know where you're going?

Are you 100% sure of your eternity?

Many will say on that day...

"I had many good works, diligently showed kindness to others, faithfully attended and volunteered at church, gave money to the needy and besides all this, I'm secure of my eternity because I prayed a prayer one day."

But God says it's wise for every person to test yourself by His word (rather than yours or others) and see if you truly possess the faith that saves.

Jesus warns that on the Day of Judgement there will be many who will be totally surprised and devastated when they hear Him say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matt 7:23)

God, who alone owns Heaven, assures us the only way to Him, is through faith in His Son, Jesus the Christ.

The hard and sober truth about mankind...

There's no amount of "good works", praying, volunteering, giving or attending church you can do that will save your soul from God's just and righteous wrath that's poured out on all who have not been washed by the blood of Christ and sanctified by His Holy Spirit through faith and obedience in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Basically, God is perfect and Heaven is perfect; therefore all who enter must be made perfect as well. Make sense?

If God allowed all of us to enter Heaven just the way we are, Heaven would cease to be Heaven and would just be another earth full of liars, thieves, murderers, idolaters, revilers, sexual immoral, self-centered, prideful and foolish people. I could go on, but you get the picture.

The glorious Person of Jesus Christ...

Jesus is God made man. He was divinely born of a virgin, lived a sinless and perfect life (that is, He perfectly kept all the commandments of God the Father and though tempted in the desert for 40 days and nights by the devil, Jesus never sinned). After living 33 years in complete sinlessness, Christ willingly gave up His life to bear the sins of the world and was crucified on the Cross at Calvary.

You see, because God is just, He must punish evil. But because God is also the justifier, He gave Himself, in the form of His Son as a propitiation for the sins we all committed against Him (Rom 3:25-26, 6:23).

Our justice system is much the same. When someone breaks the law, they're required to pay for their crime either monetarily, through public service or time in prison. If the judge is not corrupt, no matter how "good" someone has become or promises to be when they're before the court, the judge must require a penalty equal to the crime if the lawbreaker is to be set free.

We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We've all lied, cheated, stolen, gossiped, slandered, hated (which God considers murder), along with a host of many other sins. We've all broken God's holy laws of life, therefore it is good, right and just that He demand full payment for our crimes. Unfortunately for us, the penalty that's equal to our crimes against a holy God is suffering His just wrath and being cast into the lake of fire (Hell) for all eternity.

And now for the good news...

"For the LORD will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men."

~ Lamentations 3:33

Because God is love it brings God no pleasure to cast people into Hell. So He provided a way...just ONE WAY to be cleansed from the filth of our sins and be made righteous before His sight...He gave us Jesus, His One and Only Son. Christ is God incarnate (that is, God in human form). When Jesus was here, He was 100% God and 100% man. And there is none like Him. Nor will there ever be.

You see, it's not about your personal opinion or professions, or the opinions or professions about others that have the power to save your soul from God's wrath, it's only God who can save you from Him because there is none greater than Him, nor anyone equal to Him. He is the Almighty.

With great love, compassion, grace, mercy and patience, more than 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus the Christ, to live the life no other person could ever live; a life of true righteousness before the sight of a holy and perfect God. Though tempted in every way, Jesus never sinned and that is why He alone is qualified to be the perfect atonement for our sins (Heb 4:15-16; 2 Cor 5:21).

Jesus left His glory in Heaven where He was perfectly adored, honored and obeyed to come to earth filled with evil people who spit in His face, mocked, beat and crucified Him—but not without His permission to do so (John 10:18).

By Jesus' gracious sacrifice, our sins were cast on Him, but that wasn't the end of the story. If it were, we'd all be left without hope.

On the Third Day, Christ was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit and appeared to the apostles and more than 500 other believers. He remained on earth for 40 days after His Resurrection so He could prepare His disciples for what was to come. After 40 days, He ascended into Heaven on a cloud before commanding His disciples to share the Good News to their families, friends, neighbors and to all the world, teaching all who believe to obey everything He has commanded them (Matt 28:19-20).

Free at last!

Because God allowed Jesus to give His life in order to save our souls from death in Hell. Those who repent (that is, honestly confess your sins and turn away from them and turn towards God) through faith in Christ, trusting Him alone with your life, God will see your debt to Him as paid in full by the blood of His Son and He will credit to you, the perfect life Christ lived, which is His righteousness.

No longer will God look upon you and see sin, but He will look upon you and see the blood of His Son who has cleansed you and set you free.

For all who believe, we are now free to live a good life. We are no longer enslaved to sin! We no longer have to succumb to the temptations of this world! We have been set free in Christ to finally obey God, do good and find pleasure in love, joy and peace!

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."

~Hebrews 11:6

"for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"

~Philippians 2:13-15

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

~Ephesians 2:8-10

If you've received the free gift of God's grace through repentance and faith in Christ the Lord, Hallelujah! I rejoice with you, along with angels in Heaven!

If you're at a lost on what to do next, you can email me (I'd love to hear from you) and/or click this link: Save Yourself Some Pain.

May the Lord's grace and peace be multiplied to you as you live abandoned to Christ.