Musings from My Sun Porch

                 For many years now, I’ve found my greatest peace and joy walking the beach just at the edge of the waves.   At first, looking for shells was my priority, and each shell was special regardless of whether it was perfect.   As I accumulated more and more shells, I became more discriminating.   What would have been a prized find was tossed back because it was cracked or broken.   Now, only the best will do, and so I toss back or just ignore all the dirty, broken, ugly shells without giving them a second thought.               Sadly, we often treat people the same way.   We see their outward appearance and instantly decide about their “acceptability” or their value.   It may not even be a question of whether they are neat and clean.   Our evaluation may be focused on what they are wearing or driving or where they live.   If t...

                 Faith is something that we talk about a lot but I’m not sure that we understand it completely.   I am sure that we don’t know how strong our faith is until it’s tested.   It’s in those difficult times when difficulties and problems stare us in the face that we must decide whether we will trust that God is still in control, regardless of the outcome, or will we go our own way and abandon Him.   I’ve been there, and I know that those are not easy decisions, but I also know that the more that you trust Him, the greater your faith grows.                Recently, my women’s Bible Study looked at the life of a Gentile woman who probably had heard of the God of the Jews but didn’t know Him personally.   Her land was in the midst of a drought brought on by Israel’s unfaithfulness and she was preparing to bake her last bit of flour to feed hers...

                 As the sign on my Sun Porch wall says, “the Beach is my happy place”.   Several years ago, while walking along a wharf overlooking the bay, I watched the fishermen who had just returned with their catch.   They were cutting up the fish, putting the edible parts into a box on the dock, and tossing the rest into the water to the delight of the pelicans who waited nearby.             As each piece of fish hit the water, a swarm of pelicans attacked the area, each hoping for a bite.   Some were lucky enough to catch a piece before it hit the water, but most found themselves in a battle for each bite.             As I watched the battle among those hungry pelicans, one caught my eye.   He was sitting quietly in the water near the dock where the fish box was located.   He sat patiently, off...

                 A lot is said about God’s mercy and grace, but little is said about His compassion.  Don’t get me wrong!  I praise and thank God every day for being a merciful and gracious God who sent His only Son to die for my sins.  There can be no greater gift.             Yet, as I become closer to my Father, I can’t help but also marvel at His compassion.   Compassion has been defined as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering” (Dictionary.com).             Think about that for a moment.   One who is compassionate sees the distress and sorrow in another’s life and has great sympathy and a desire to end that suffering.   Now, consider that the God of the universe who knows that our sorrow and...

                 When God created man, part of our humanness was the opportunity to make choices.   The Tree wasn’t put there to tempt us; it was there to show us that there were good choices and bad choices, but the ultimate choice was ours.   Unfortunately, we made the wrong choice, but God knew that’s what we would do from the beginning, so He had a plan.   His plan was to redeem our bad choices and set us free from the evil that had been unleashed on the world.             Now, we are taking all the knowledge and wisdom that God has given us and are creating artificial beings who also have the ability to make choices, both good and bad.   Like the Serpent in the Garden, they may one day have the arrogance to think that they know more than we, their creators, do.   The problem is that we are not God!          ...

                 Recently, in a group study of women of the Bible, I had the opportunity to dig into the life of Jezebel, probably the evilest woman in all of Scripture.   “Bad” is not a strong enough word to describe her.   She was so wicked that her name has become synonymous with evil (Revelation 2: 2 – 23).             Yet, as we examined her life more closely, we found characteristics that could just have easily been used for good.      She was confident in her position and power.   As the daughter of a king and the wife of another, she knew the power that she controlled, and she wasn’t afraid to use it.   Yet, that same confidence turned to arrogance when she realized that her fate was sealed.   She made sure that she went out, looking like the Queen that she was.   (II Kings 9: 30).        ...

                 Prayer is a powerful comfort in times of stress.   Often, even those who don’t express a belief in God will still covet prayer in their times of need.   For those who do have faith, prayer is, or at least should be, our first line of peace, strength, and encouragement when we face the troubles that this world constantly throws at us.               Why is prayer so powerful and so comforting?   Perhaps, it is because we are communing with the only One in the entire universe who can change the situation that we face.   Only God can work miracles or change our circumstances.   That knowledge can uplift and sustain us in the most difficult of times.             Why then do we so often talk about “coincidences” when our prayers are answered?   You know what I’m talking about. ...

                 Today is the birthday of our nation.   247 years ago, a group of men, believing they were in the right, pledged their “lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” as they declared that the 13 colonies were free and independent of the rule of Great Britain.   In doing so, they appealed to the “Supreme Judge of the World” for the approval of the righteousness of their actions.               I’m not sure that God approved of their actions since Romans 13:1 makes it clear that all governments, including the British King, were established by Him.   I do know that we have been blessed with a freedom and form of government unlike any before or since, and only God could create such a bold new form of government.             Today, we are a divided nation, much as we were in 1860 when Abraham Li...