Musings from My Sun Porch

                 The New Year is upon us, and with it comes many New Year’s resolutions.   There are the time-honored favorites of losing weight and getting more exercise, but many people also seek to deepen their relationship with God.   All of these require change, but thankfully, when it comes to a closer relationship with our Savior, God will carry much of the load in making the change.   He only requires two things from us, neither of which comes easily.             First, we must be willing to surrender ourselves to Him.   To surrender to Him means that we must yield all power and authority over our lives to Him, allowing Him to take control.   I think we all resist submission to some degree.   It’s a normal instinct.   However, if we have a desire to be all that God has called us to be and to leave a legacy that will glorify Him, we must ma...

                 When we examine the birth of Christ, we often think about the stable, the shepherds, and the overwhelming responsibility that Mary and Joseph must have felt, but we seem to ignore the visit from the Magi.   Yes, they appear in many of our nativity scenes, even though we know that Jesus was no longer lying in a manger when they appeared.   He and His family had moved to a house (Matt. 2: 11), and He was probably about two years old by the time they showed up.   We even consider the gifts they brought, gold representing Christ as King, frankincense representing His role as our High Priest, and myrrh, an embalming oil, foreshadowing His death.               We know those parts of the story well, but do we ever stop to consider what prompted them to make a 700-mile or more journey across a desert to find a baby?   They were Gentiles, so why wou...

                 As we reviewed the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, we’ve seen the excitement and curiosity of the shepherds, eager to tell everyone the good news.   We’ve seen the thoughtful contemplation of Mary as she considered all that had happened and what might lie ahead.   Then, we were introduced to Simeon and Anna, two faithful witnesses to the birth of the Messiah.   They weren’t kept guessing.   They knew immediately that this baby was the Savior of the world.             Still, there was one group of people who didn’t get excited or curious.   They weren’t eagerly anticipating the birth of the Messiah.   As a result, they missed one of the two most spectacular events in all human history. Yet, they were the ones who should have been waiting expectantly.   They were the ones who knew where to look and how to identify the Christ ...

  O come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him O come, let us adore Him Christ the Lord             “O Come All Ye Faithful” is probably one of our most cherished Christmas songs.   It takes us to that small village called Bethlehem and reminds us that the baby in that manger was the King, Christ the Lord.   It also calls us to not just be faithful but to truly “adore” Him.             One person who not only “adored” her Savior but was faithful to her God, was Anna.   Her story is found in Luke 2: 36 – 38.   From those few short verses, we learn that she was a prophetess, a spokesman for God.   Her name means favor or grace.   Scholars are unsure of her age.   She may have been 84 or 104, but the...

                 As we approach the Christmas season and the celebration of the birth of our Savior, our thoughts are drawn to Mary and Joseph and the shepherds.   We often forget that others played a part in the revelation of the Messiah, God’s gift of salvation for the world.             One of those people was a man named Simeon.   The Scripture describes him as “righteous and devout” (Luke 2:25).   The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before he witnessed the Messiah.   Why was he chosen for this special blessing?   We don’t know the answer, but we do know that it was the Holy Spirit who brought him to the temple that day (Luke 2: 27).             We don’t know what he expected to see when he arrived at the Temple, but we do know that he immediately recognized baby Jesus as the Mes...

                 Luke 2: 19 says, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (NIV84).   Have you ever stopped to think what “all these things” were or how she “pondered” them in her heart?   Pondering requires deep, careful thinking before coming to a conclusion.   Let’s consider all the things she had to “ponder”.             Just some nine months earlier, she had been visited by the Angel, Gabriel, who announced that of all the Jewish women, God had chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah.   She was a young teenager, engaged to be married.   If she took the time to consider how her fiancée’ might react or how the tongues of the town gossips would be wagging, there is no indication in Scripture.   Her only response to Gabe’s announcement was “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1: 38 NIV84).       ...

                   After the Shepherds were visited by the Angels on the night Jesus was born, they immediately went to Bethlehem to see the baby in person.   That visit didn’t end their adventure for the evening.   Next, the Scripture says, “They spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child” (Luke 2: 17 NIV84).   They weren’t just silent witnesses to the birth of the Messiah; they were the first to testify to the fulfillment of prophecy and the miracle in the stable.               Shepherds weren’t always thought of in the best light.   Being around animals all day, they probably smelled a lot like the animals, and their clothing probably wasn’t the best.   Still, God chose them to receive the message that all of humanity had been awaiting since that day in the Garden when Adam and Eve took that fateful bite.   Whil...

                 When the Angels appeared to the Shepherds that night so long ago, they proclaimed “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men” (KJV).   Yet, wars have continued down through the ages.   Today, two major conflicts rage, and each one holds the possibility of sparking World War II.   That doesn’t even take into consideration all the other battles that are being fought throughout the earth.             Obviously, the “peace” the angels proclaimed did not mean the absence of war and conflict.   All of us would like to live in a world where there is no conflict, where everyone gets along, and where we all love and care for each other.   Unfortunately, that world and that kind of “peace” do not exist on this side of Heaven. So, what does the “peace” the angels proclaimed that night look like?   How do we define it, and more importantly, how do we fi...