Back Porch Friends

Hello Blogging Friends!

Welcome to my back porch! The sun's a little bit in my eyes but that's all right. I just wanted to sit and chat with y'all for a while! I've never actually sat across the table from most of you but I can imagine just how much fun it would be! We've sent text messages. We've sent birthday cards and sympathy cards. We've emailed pictures and talked on the phone. We've laughed at each others antics and cried with each others pain and sorrow.

Friends come in many colors and sizes and I'm crazy about every one of you! What would we talk about today if we were really sitting across from each other at the table on my back porch? Our kids. Our grandkids. Our churches. Our mission. Our passion. Our Lord. Oh, we would definitely not lack for things to talk about!

I thank God for each one of you who have reached out to me in the past several years since I started this adventure called blogging. You have encouraged me. You have prodded me to stretch my limitations. You have listened to me. I hope that I have been that kind of friend to you also!

Let's keep up the visiting! Whether it's on my back porch or yours!

God bless you!

Marilyn

James 5...What Prayer Can Do

James chapter 5. The last chapter in this book. He talks about our spiritual lives. Our emotions, our habits, our prayer life. Mostly about prayer though I think.

James 5:1-6 Warnings to those who have gotten rich by fraudulent means.

James 5:7-8 Be patient. God's coming is nearer than we think!

James 5:10-11 Affliction can sometimes be a blessing. God has a very tender heart toward His own.

James 5:12 No need to swear-- let your yes be yes and your no be no.

James 5:13-14 Having problems? PRAY! Happy? SING! Sick? Call elders of church to PRAY and anoint with oil in Jesus' name!

James 5:15 Many have been healed through prayer.

James 5:16 Confession + prayer = healing.

James 5:17-18 Elias was simply human, yet he prayed for rain to stop and it didn't rain for three years! Then he prayed for rain to return and it began to rain. We limit our prayers by our unbelief!

James 5:19-20 We do our brothers/sisters in Christ a disservice if we do not warn them when we see them falling away from God's fellowship.

"Lord, help me to read and heed these words in the book of James so that I can be a better, more obedient, child of Yours. Amen."

Marilyn

James 4... What Our Actions Say

James chapter 4. These verses reminded me of an old saying: "Does your walk match your talk?" In chapter 3, James talked a lot about our "talk". In this chapter he talks a lot about our "walk". Each should match the other in the life of a Christian.

James 4:1-3 Lust=War & fighting ; Lust= Killing & unfulfilled desires; Lust= praying for wrong things

James 4:4 Friend of the World= Enemy of God

James 4:6 He giveth more grace! (But not to the proud!)

James 4:7 SUBMIT to God -- RESIST the devil

James 4:8 Come near to God=He will come near to you. (But clean your hands and your heart before you come)

James 4:10 Bow low before the Lord and He will lift you up.

James 4:11 Don't speak evil of others. God did make us judges.

James 4:13-15 "Don't put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today." = Life is short

James 4:17 Not doing the right you know to do is as sinful as doing the wrong you know you should not do!

I pray that I will walk more often in the footsteps of our Lord than I have in the past!

Marilyn

James 3 ...Communicating Well

James chapter 3 has a convicting word for us all I imagine. It does for me I know! It talks about the way we talk! I find I get in trouble the quickest when I open my mouth and say things before my brain has time to tell me I better not say that! How about you?

So, with that as an introduction, here's my basic take-away from the 3rd chapter of James:

James 3:1-5 Big things are often controlled by small things. Examples: [1] horse's bit [2] ship's helm [3] person's tongue

James 3:8 So far NO ONE has been able to tame the tongue !

James 3:9-10 Blessing and cursing coming from the same mouth is a contradiction.

James 3:13 To detect wisdom and knowledge in someone, listen to what they talk about.

James 3:16 Where you find envy and conflict, there is confusion and evil work going on.

James 3:17 Wisdom from God will bring purity, peacefulness, gentleness, easiness of getting along, mercy, good fruits, no partiality, and no hypocrisy.

James 3:18 If we sow peace, we will reap the fruit of righteousness.

I tell you this hits us all right where we live doesn't it ! If I could just practice this more, I know people would enjoy being around me more! :)

God bless you for joining me today !

Marilyn

Continuing In the Word

I wanted to continue talking about James for a little bit today. This is in NO way to be considered some kind of commentary on the book of James because I'm not that smart! I just wanted to share some of the thoughts I had written down as I read through the book.

James 2:9 Don't give people ratings from high to low; or from important to worthless

James 2:10 We can't possible keep the law to earn our way to heaven.

James 2:13 Judge without mercy and you will be shown no mercy.

James 2:14-16 Easy to say "bless your heart" -- Harder to get your hands dirty helping someone get out of a ditch!

James 2:26 Faith without works is dead.

And do you remember that "peace" that I have had since I did this study? Well, it brought to my mind an old song that I had not thought about in years. It's called
"He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me". (Written by William W. Ramsey) I will share a verse and the chorus with you hoping it might bless you as it has me!

"Sometime when misgivings darken the day,
And faith's light I can not see;
I ask my dear Lord to brighten the way,
He whispers sweet peace to me."

(chorus)
"He whispers sweet peace to me.
He whispers sweet peace to me.
When I am cast down in spirit and soul,
He whispers sweet peace to me."

So thankful for sweet peace and for the availability of God's Word and His Holy Spirit to put that peace in my heart.

Praying you have a peaceful day in the Lord today!

Marilyn

In the Word

Yesterday morning when I checked my email, I found this message from my friend Elaine in response to an earlier prayer request I had sent to her

"Wanted you to know I prayed for you this morning...here are God's words from me to you: Be in the Word today! He's going to supply you with His peace that surpasses all understanding. Be in the Word today!"

I can't explain how that message consisting of four sentences affected me but it was on a "large" scale! I knew that Elaine was right. God had indeed given her a word to pass on to me!

Immediately I opened my Bible and asked God to direct me to exactly what words in His Word I needed to read and meditate on yesterday. I felt very impressed that I was to go to James and read the entire book. It spoke volumes to me and I needed every word!

As I read, I began to jot down little scraps of words when something would really stir my spirit. I want to share some of those with you today. Maybe just from chapter one.

My Thoughts:

James 1:8 A two-faced person can not be trusted in ANY thing

James 1:15 lust conceived births sin

James 1:18 we were begotten with the word of TRUTH

James 1:19 the three S's....Swift to hear, Slow to speak, Slow to get angry

James 1:21 lay apart -- then receive

James 1:22 DO something! Don't just listen to God's Word and then just sit around and do nothing!

James 1:27 Pure Religion -- visit orphans & widows....and don't let the attractions of the world mess you up!

I have not yet done Beth Moore's newest Bible study on James but this has certainly whetted my appetite for it!

And Elaine was right! God has given me a peace today that I have not felt in quite a long time! I am so in awe of what God is doing and what He is going to do!

God bless you!
Marilyn

A Balancing Act

Do you ever at times feel like your life is a balancing act and that at any moment things may come crashing down all around you? Sometimes I do! The other night as I washed some dishes and was "balancing" them in the drainer trying to get them all in there before I started drying them, I looked at them and thought how I try to do the same thing in so many other areas of my life. Funny how so many days I start out focused and then before I know it my mind...or my body...or both...is going in a multitude of directions and I'm trying to balance it all together.

I've noticed that if I don't let my dirty dishes stack up then I don't have so many to wash and they fit well in the dish drainer. They just sit there until either they drain dry or I take a dish towel and dry them. If they are few enough in number they never attempt to slip and slide and fall on the floor! Sometimes my life is not too hectic and things stick together pretty well. But just as I have had pots and pans teeter and fall when I stack them too high, there are times one thing in my life falls from it's perch and seems to knock down a dozen more on it's way down! Maybe it would be better if I tried to do a little less and not spread myself so thin or stack up my projects so high!

As Christians, we need to ask the Lord what it is we need to be doing. He may want us to do more than we do now. He may want us to do less. If we will seek His counsel and then do His will, He will balance our lives for us! I have been guilty of trying to figure out things for myself and sometimes get myself in deeper water than I can handle, so to speak.

"A just weight and balance are the LORD's: all the weights of the bag are his work." Proverbs 16:11

May God bless you as you seek to live a balanced life with Him!

Marilyn