Musings from My Sun Porch

  Tomorrow, the journey begins!             If you stay focused and committed, this will be a journey that will change your life.   As you begin, remember: ·          This is your private journey, except for your prayer partner.   It’s not Facebook material or something to broadcast. ·          Don’t go through the motions just to check off a box.   Christ denounced vain repetitions.   Turn your eyes on Him and stay focused. ·          If you have decided to give up something for the next thirty days, do not use that as a “martyr complex.”   Be joyful and don’t announce that commitment to others. ·          Don’t discount the efforts that Satan will make to distract you.   Guard your heart!   Read Proverbs 4: 20 – 27, and then...

                                               “Commit your way to the Lord…” (Psalm 37: 5a NIV84)             Now that the preparations are complete, it’s time to commit to our journey.   As we said in the beginning, commitment is never easy.   It always requires surrendering some part of ourselves.   It will require time, which is probably limited.   It will require focus despite our busy schedules, and it may require sacrifice as we give up something to carve out the time and energy needed to complete the commitment.   However, committing is crucial because, without it, something will always distract or interfere, taking us off course.   Making time for God is the first and most important step in this journey.         ...

  “…in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4: 6b NIV84).             There is one more step in our preparation for this journey.   Now, we need to determine what the focus of our prayers will be.   To aid you in this endeavor, you might want to begin a prayer journal.   There are a wide variety of prayer journals available and there are also apps for your phone or tablet.   Some may include dated pages that allow you to focus your prayers on whatever is on your heart on a particular day.   Others may break it out into sections that allow you to list individual needs that are similar under one topic heading, such as family and personal life, friends, career or job, your church family, and world evangelism or the lost.    Others take the topic idea one step further and help you to focus on specific topics on particular days of the...

                 Prayer is like any other form of communication in the sense that it should allow both parties to speak.   With that in mind, there are several additional preparations that you need to make before you begin this prayer journey.             Perhaps the most important aspect of your prayer life is your attitude.   You are about to converse with the Creator of the universe and your attitude should reflect that.   We must come before His throne with reverence and humility, recognizing that He alone is worthy of our praise and worship.   He alone is God!   Humble yourself before Him.   Be prepared to bare your soul as you would do for no human.   He knows everything already, so there’s no point in trying to hide your secrets.   Tell Him your innermost thoughts and your “secret” sins.        ...

  “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11: 1 NIV84)             You may know that you should pray, and you may even have a desire to pray, but do you know how to pray?   Sometimes, the thought of approaching the throne of our Creator can be overwhelming, but prayer is simply a conversation with a trusted Friend.   Don’t let fear keep you from enjoying that intimate relationship with our Father, a relationship that we all need, and He desires.             There is no magic formula for prayer.   Abraham pleaded, Jacob demanded a blessing, David praised, and Solomon sought His continuing mercy.   In the model prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to glorify the Father, seek His will, petition Him for their daily needs, and ask for forgiveness and freedom from temptation.   He also encouraged them to persevere in their prayers.   All these prayers were...

                                               “Take the helmet of salvation…” (Ephesians 6: 17a NIV84)             Many religions leave the question of salvation to the fickle hand of their god.   They have no assurance of their salvation and are left to depend upon the mood of their god on any given day.   As Christians, we have the assurance of our salvation when we are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.   The apostle John said, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you might know that you have eternal life” (I John 5: 13 NIV84). Don’t take your salvation for granted.   It is a gift from God, and we are blessed to be able to rest in His assurance of eternal life. “…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians...

  “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6: 16 NIV84).             If we have truly made that commitment to Christ, then we know who we have believed, and like Paul, we are “…convinced that he is able to guard what [we] have entrusted to him for that day” (II Timothy 1: 12b, NIV94). Our faith is what enables us to defeat any attack that Satan may launch against us.   It is the shield that defends us against the doubts, fears, insecurities, and temptations that we are besieged with every day.   Our God is bigger than anything Satan can throw against us.             Notice that I didn’t say that there won’t be doubts, fears, insecurities, and temptations.   I just said that you will be able to withstand them.   As David showed us time and again in the Psalm...

                 “…with the breastplate of righteousness in place…” (Ephesians 6: 14b, NIV84)             If we have accepted Christ as the Truth and declared our commitment to Him, then we have the security of knowing that God has already made us a new creation (II Corinthians 5: 17).   He has made us righteous through the blood of Jesus (Romans 3: 22). Now, we must simply allow Him to grow and sanctify us, guarding our hearts and minds (I Thessalonians 5: 23; Philippians 4: 7).             Don’t allow Satan to tell you his lies and make you think you are unworthy.   You are a child of the King, and He is watching over you.   Forget your past; God has!   You are a new creation in Christ Jesus, free from sin and blameless in His sight.   Righteousness is absolute perfection.   We have that only b...

  “Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…” (Ephesians 6: 14a NIV84)             We all wear belts at one time or another, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes as an accessory.   In ancient times, the belt, or as they called it – the girdle was primarily a necessity.   They generally wore long, flowing robes, so the girdle was essential to bind up the robes for travel or work, and especially for running.   It was also the place where they kept their valuables such as money, important papers, etc.             Paul tells us to begin this journey with the belt or girdle of truth firmly in place.   Just as the girdle held their robes and valuables in place, God’s truth will be the anchor that secures all the other parts of our armor.               Jesus said “If you ho...

                 I hope that you have accepted my challenge to commit to a deepening relationship and intimacy with God.   If so, we are about to begin a journey that Satan hates.   He will put up every roadblock and send us on every detour imaginable.   After all intimacy with God is the last thing that Satan wants us to experience.   Begin now to prepare for every problem, distraction, and hardship that he will throw our way, but remember, even when we fall for his deceit, God will be waiting patiently to get us back on the right path.             Preparing for this journey is much like preparation for any other journey.   The baggage that we pack is just a little different.   In Ephesians 6, Paul gives us an outline of the kind of preparation that we need for this journey.   We are warriors in a spiritual battle, and while the struggles and tri...