Musings from My Sun Porch

                 Have you ever found yourself in an unusual situation caused by someone else?   Today, I would like to share with you about three women who were married to prominent men in the Old Testament.   Two of them are not even named in the Scripture, but each of them found themselves in very challenging situations because of the decisions that their husbands made.             First, there is Cain’s wife.   How would you like to wake up one day and find that your husband is a murderer?   That’s exactly the situation that Mrs. Cain found herself in.   Cain was cursed to become a wanderer on earth because of his sin, and as his wife, Mrs. Cain was forced to endure the same sentence.   Not exactly an ideal marriage.             Next, we have Mrs. Noah.   Fortunately for her, Noah was the...

                 There’s an old joke about the driver who exhibited all the characteristics of road rage.   She honked her horn vigorously, screamed at the other drivers, used unacceptable hand gestures, and was just obnoxious.   Suddenly, a police officer appeared at her window and asked to see her license and registration.   After comparing the two, the officer said: “I’m sorry but when I saw how you were acting and the Christian bumper stickers on your car, I naturally assumed that the car was stolen.   Sorry for my mistake.”             The joke is funny, but the reality of it is not.   I know I’m guilty of yelling at drivers when they do stupid things, not that I’ve ever done something stupid while driving. Once I yelled at a bank teller and then realized I was depositing my paycheck from my church.   Don’t look too surprised!   If you are ho...

                 I’m short.   I’ve been short since my last growth spurt back in the fifth grade.   It was fun for a while, being taller than everyone in my class.   Then, everyone else grew more and left me “eating their dust”.   As a result of my short stature, there have been challenges.   I often find myself in various settings where I must keep moving from side to side to try to see around the person in front of me.   At the check-out, there are times when the card reader is so high, I must stand on my tiptoes to see what it says.   Those are just some of the problems of being short.   You can’t always see what you need to see!             Zacchaeus was also short, but he wasn’t just short.   He was hated, distrusted, and greedy.   He was disliked by many and probably hated by more than a few.   Yet, he had the desire to s...

                 The book of Nehemiah has always fascinated me, perhaps because he was a man of action.   He had been born in exile but his love for his native land and especially the city of Jerusalem is evident from his account.               Although over 160 years had passed since the Jews were first taken into captivity, two groups had been allowed to return home almost 90 years before Nehemiah’s adventure began.   When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem had still not yet been rebuilt, he was devastated.   He sat down and wept.               He could have wallowed in depression, berated those who had gone home and failed to get the job done, or, like many of us, he could have complained that someone needed to do something about that.   However, Nehemiah was a man of action.   ...

                 Today is Valentine’s Day, and most people’s thoughts go toward the “significant other” in their lives.   Millions of dollars will be spent on special dining, flowers, jewelry, chocolates, and cards. One sad note will be wondering how many of those special relationships will still be intact on this date next year.             Fortunately, for us, God’s love is not dependent on the gifts that we give to Him.   John 3:16 makes it clear that He freely gave His one and only Son so that anyone who believes in His Son can have eternal life.   That’s a free gift without any strings.   It wasn’t just given on one particular day.   It is a gift that is available 365 days a year, every year until Christ returns.               Perhaps one of the most beautiful things about God’s love is that...

                 Serving Christ sometimes requires us to take risks.   Just like the talents that were distributed in the Parable of the Talents, those risks may be proportionate to our ability to handle them.   Some may be called to take the risk of uprooting their family and moving to a third-world country, where the culture and language are completely different.   Yet, the greatest risk may be learning to serve in an anti-Christian, anti-American culture.   I would guess that those are the ten-talent people.             Others are called to serve in their own culture but may still be torn away from extended family to serve in some of the least reached areas of our nation.   Their risks will involve low pay and loneliness and if they are truly bold in their witness, they will also experience some of the same anti-Christian culture.   They are what we...

                 Last week I suggested one simple way to start a Bible Study using six questions. Today, I want to share with you some thoughts that those questions can sometimes generate.               I host a bi-weekly Ladies' Bible Study using those six questions.   We are focusing our study on women of the Bible and our most recent study was of Rahab, the prostitute who hid the Israel spies in Jericho.   Her story is found in Joshua 2 and 6: 15 – 25.   Here are some of the thoughts arising out of that discussion.             What do you like best? Her faith!   She must have had tremendous faith to stand up against the leaders of her own country.   What if we had that same kind of faith today to be bold for the Gospel?             What ...

                 For the last few posts, I’ve been talking about developing a passion for the Great Commission, beginning with the word “go”.   I think there are three ways that we can “go”.   First, we can be the one who steps out in faith and becomes a missionary to another people group in some distant corner of the world.   Today, there are over 6,000 unreached people groups, people that have never heard the Gospel message.   The need for people to “go” to these groups is urgent.               The second way to “go” is to support, both financially and in prayer, those who take that step of faith.   They will be fighting Spiritual battles in countries where Satan has had a strong foothold for years, so they must be undergirded with prayer.   They also need people to support their work financially.   “Sending” is another way to “go”. ...