Musings from My Sun Porch

                 “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...

  How should we respond to persecution?             Give thanks that we are counted worthy to bear Christ’s name.               Pray for strength and stamina for those who are being persecuted.             Pray that the persecutors will see Christ in the lives of the persecuted. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11, 12 NIV84).      How should we pray for the lost?             Remember that God desires everyone to be saved.             Look past any diffe...

                 For the last few weeks, we have been constantly reminded that we are in a battle between good and evil.   That should not come as a shock to any Christians, as the apostle Paul told us that almost 2000 years ago.             “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV84).             Every day, the time for Christ’s return grows nearer.   Satan knows that and is pulling out all the stops to make hell as crowded as possible.   The problem is that most Christians, including me, have been content to sit on the sidelines, refusing to speak out against the sin that is ravaging our world.   More importantly, we have fail...

               Why is it so hard to find satisfaction in this life? I think the answer is that we weren’t made for this world.   Solomon tells us that God “has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11b NLT).   We weren’t made for this world, so to find satisfaction, we need to know why we were created. Only the Scripture can answer that question.   Paul tells us that all things were created by God and for God (Colossians 1:16).   So, we were created for God’s pleasure .   Our Father desires a personal relationship with every one of us because that brings Him pleasure.   That doesn’t mean that He needs us or that we are His equal.   It simply means that we can bring Him joy. So, how do we do that?   At the very end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and ...