Musings from My Sun Porch

  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NIV84).           “ Grace. Grace, marvelous grace!”   You may have heard or sung that song, which serves as a reminder of the grace that God has lavished upon us.   You may have even heard the usual definition of grace—unmerited favor.   The Scripture makes it clear that everyone has sinned.   We have all fallen short of the righteousness that God requires (Romans 3:23).   So, it is only because God loved us so much that He gave His only Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (I John 4:10).   Our sins nailed Jesus to the cross, but it was God’s grace that kept Him there.   Without God’s grace, we would be lost.           If God’s grace only saved us, that would be more than enough—more th...

  How should we respond to persecution?           “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14 NIV84).           Over the years, I have had the opportunity to hear many persecuted Christians share their stories.   Still, I am amazed when they talk about praying for their captors, those who are beating and torturing them.   Rather than seeking revenge, they speak the Truth during danger.   As a result, there is no way of knowing how many of those captors have come to know Christ, but we know that many have.   Some have also ended up as prisoners for their faith.   We must learn to pray, not just for the persecuted Christians, but also for those who would cause them harm.   God desires that they come to salvation, too! How should we pray for the lost?           “Be joyful in hope, patient ...

                 You have probably heard the phrase, “You are preaching to the choir,” which means you are speaking to those who already agree with you.   There’s another phrase, “I’m preaching to myself,” which happens more often than I would like to admit.   That was true of last Friday’s blog, which focused on those prayers where God answers, “No.”   We’ve all experienced those moments, but I didn’t realize that I would experience them again so soon. This past week, I was supposed to attend a conference that I had been looking forward to for months.   I had been praying about the conference and how it might help me to fulfill the purpose that I believe God has given me in my retirement years.   However, due to an unexpected problem, I could not attend, which seemed to be contrary to God’s purpose for me.   After my initial disappointment, I began to take my own advice and sought to understand God’s ...

  How should we respond to persecution?             “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.   Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.   If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.   Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.   On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21 NIV84).             These words of the Apostle Paul are some of the most difficult in Scripture because it is human nature to want to seek revenge when we are hurt or wronged.   However, we cannot exhibit the love of Christ while spewing hatred and anger. Pra...

                 In last Friday’s post, I talked about the prayers that God answers.   When we walk in obedience to Him, striving to please Him, and seeking His will, not our own, He will answer.   However, as I said then, the answers may not always be what we wanted or expected.             So, how should we respond when we have done our best to be obedient, seeking His will, and our loved ones still aren’t healed, or our marriage still falls apart, or our wayward child does not return, or …., the list could go on and on?   In our minds, those requests are all for good things that appear to be well within His will, yet His answer still appears to be, “No!” Why? There may be several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that His ways are “higher than your ways and [His] thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9b NIV84).   We simply don’t have the capacity ...

  How should we respond to persecution?             Jesus said, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.   He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44, 45 NIV84).                        When someone wrongs us or says evil things about us, how easy it is to forget that they, too, were made in the image of God.   Jesus did not call us to love only those who love us—that’s easy!   He calls us to love those who are evil, even those who persecute us.   That kind of love requires the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.   The more we know Christ, the easier it will become to love as He did. How should we pray for the lost?    ...

                 “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV84).             I can’t count the number of times that I have heard people quote that verse, convinced that God will give them whatever they ask.   Then, when their prayer is not answered as they requested, they become angry with God, often claiming that He did not keep His promise.               Unfortunately, they have taken one verse and based their entire prayer life on it.   They have become convinced that God is a “gimme” God.   They think that because they believe He will give them whatever they want.   The problem is that when the whole of Scripture is considered, that’s not what God tells us.             In the very next verse,...

  How should we respond to persecution?             A brother in Christ, living in Laos, said this, If you follow Christ, you will get persecution, so why do you try to avoid it?” (The One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible).             It’s time that we recognize that persecution is inevitable and prepare to speak out despite it.   As Christians continue to advance the Gospel around the world, despite danger, torture, and imminent death, people continue to see the love of Christ through their witness.   Pray that they will be bold so that others will hear the Truth and be saved.             “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19 NIV84). How should we pray for the lost?    ...

                 “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night, You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest” (Isaiah 62:6 NIV84).             Just as God appointed watchmen for the walls of Jerusalem, we who claim to be Christians are now the watchmen, not just for our nation, but for the millions who do not know Christ as Lord.   No nation, not even the United States of America, no political party, no human being can save us.   Christ is the only answer to a lost and dying world!             We may see chaos all around us.   Sin, evil, anger, and detestable actions may have grown to what seems like a point of no return, but that is exactly what Paul warned Timothy about. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.   People will be lov...