abandoned to Christ.

As Christians, we often say and easily acknowledge we owe God everything and deserve nothing good. We acknowledge this truth (Job 41:11), but rarely think specifically of what that means. So we live as entitled people of the world rather than grateful people of God when we're indignant that: we have to sit in traffic, there aren't enough lanes open in the grocery store and we have to wait, we have to repeat ourselves, someone doesn't do something we asked for—the first time, we get an illness or disease and we believe the lie that we don't deserve it and we're frustrated that no one can find a cure...and so on. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness...And God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good. "Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he sh...

E.L. James (Erika Leonard James) born March 7, 1963, is only six years and 20 days older than me. She's a British author whose first book, Fifty Shades of Grey was a runaway success. She's married, and she and her husband  have two teenage sons (as of 2012, not sure how old they are now). Many say her books were a surprise hit, but I don't agree. It's no surprise that this trilogy filled with every shade of evil, only proves what God already said—we're all depraved, and without Christ, we're actually drawn to darkness rather than repulsed by it. "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil." (John 3:19, ESV) E.L. James gladly admits that Fifty Shades of Grey is her "midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies are there, and that's it." Some people purchase a new car or a new house; they get in shape, or find new hobbies when t...

I have often been asked, "How do I handle situations when professing brothers or sisters in Christ are offended when I use the Word of God often in conversations, or for reproof, or for the reason why I do or do not participate in certain things?"  I promised my friends, readers and "followers" on social media that I'd share a more detailed response than the short and quick one I shared on my Facebook ministry page  a few days ago. So here it is. Before "handling" this situation, you'll have to first assess who you're speaking with: a possible  false convert , or one who possibly does belong to Christ, but are presently burdened by their pride. The reason why I say this is because no true child of God abiding in the love of God is offended or put off in any way by the use of God's Word...unless they're being prideful. All Christians love God's Word and are only strengthened and encouraged by it whenever spoken, used or applied...

Pictured above, is my newest Bible, the ESV Reader's Bible . Those who know me, know I don't need another Bible...so it may seem. But I actually do need this one because of its layout. It has no title headings, no verse numbering; no cross-reference, footnotes or study notes, and no book introductions. It's straight Scripture with only the name of each book (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, etc.) and their chapter numbers. That's it. It's purely for reading the Bible and I have a trouble doing that—which is why I absolutely need this Bible. It's confession time. A confession I'm not very proud of, and quite ashamed of; yet, know I need to share in order to comfort and exhort others. Okay...here goes. Ready? I've never once read the entire Bible. No, not even once . Why haven't I? If I love God's Word as much as I say I do, how is it possible that I haven't read all of it? Well, this answer requires another confession. I'm somewhat ...

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” ~Luke 1:46-55 (ESV) Mary's Magnificat reminds us of how great, mighty and merciful our God is (vv. 49-50). And in spite of His greatness, Jesus chose to leave His throne where He was perfectly loved, obeyed and honored, a...

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied to your spirits. And may all of you have the greatest joy known to mankind—knowing Christ and being known by Him through saving faith.  "She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for HE WILL SAVE His people from their sins...For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord...THANKS BE TO GOD for His inexpressible gift!" ~Matthew 1:21, Romans 6:2, 2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV)

The prevalent thoughts and images about the "spirit" of Christmas usually involves: Santa Claus, worldly peace, sweets, merriment, feasting, lavish gift giving and receiving, the hustle and bustle of shopping and enjoying elaborate entertainment events to celebrate the birth of Jesus—the First Coming of Christ, the only begotten Son of God. But none of these things are found in any of the Old Testament prophecies or in the New Testament accounts of the great and glorious day that our Creator entered into His own creation as a humble babe. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying we ought not enjoy celebrating Christmas. My family does. What I am saying is, the focus and purpose of our joyful celebrations should be the same as God's focus and purpose: to bring the Good News of eternal salvation by giving us Christ as a propitiation for our sins. The true spirit of Christmas and the reason for the season according to God is: eternal salvation . ...

"I've learned so much from my mistakes, I think I'll make more" is a popular phrase that has appeared on many memes, tweets, timelines and even things like magnets, pins, and other items we can purchase. This seemingly harmless saying is actually very harmful. Most of us have read it someplace, and often, our initial response is to laugh, feel better about the genuine mistakes we've made and sadly, even the purposeful sins we've committed against our holy, kind, and gracious Father God. This is where it gets dangerous. Do we all make mistakes? Absolutely! To err is human, right? Unfortunately, to sin is human too. And we all do it more than we'd like to admit...unless of course, a flighty little phrase like this one comes along and feeds our flesh the lies it desires—we can excuse our sins without repentance—and without a Savior. We continually come up with new ways to make ourselves and others feel better about our sins rather than do what God...