The Front Porch: God's Loving Ways

Think of the loving ways that Jesus speaks of His relationship to you: Groom to the bride, Brother to a brother, Friend to a friend. . Having Jesus call you His friend doesn’t mean a casual, informal friendship, but a deep, intimate friendship. Every quality that we desire in a best friend is found in our relationship with Him. Jesus abides with us, walks with us, and speaks His heart to us. He is completely trustworthy, loyal, and true. He is always there for you, He gives you His complete attention, He cares about your needs, and He loves you unconditionally. .

God wants you to experience His “alls," not just “portions." He wants to give you all of the grace you will need, not just a portion. He wants you to receive all spiritual blessings, not just a portion. He wants to fill all of your heart with His love, not just a portion. . Praise to the Lord,

who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee! Decked thee with health, and with loving hand guided and stayed thee; How oft in grief Hath not He brought thee relief, Spreading His wings for to shade thee! -Joachim Neander . God’s love is too great to comprehend, Too awesome to be replaced; Too high to climb its summit; Too wide for arms to embrace. . Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like a flower unfolding, Like strong arms upholding, Your love strengthens me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like words unending, Like prayers ascending, Your love nurtures me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like rivers cascading, Like the oak tree's shading, Your love shelters me. Your love, Lord, Oh Your love- Like wings that are soaring, Like dew in the morning, Your love covers me.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: God's Love

God’s love is beneath you, above you, around you, upon you, within you, behind you, and before you. If fills every moment of your life, and will embrace you through all of eternity. . “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NKJV)

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God is thinking about you at this very moment. He’s not just thinking one thought, but more thoughts than you can count. God’s mind is filled with thoughts about you because His heart is filled with love for you. . “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,…Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.” Psalm 40:4-5 (NKJV)

. When God speaks to us about His hands He wants us to recognize His power,

When He speaks to us about His face He wants us to see His glory,

When He speaks to us about the cross He wants us to know His heart.

. He opened His arms to press you to His bosom; He opened His heart to welcome you there; He opened up all His Divine fullness of life and love, and offered to take you up into its fellowship, to make you wholly one with Himself. —Andrew Murray . God’s love is all embracing. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Luke 15:20 (NKJV)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission.

From the Front Porch: Grace

Grace fills our lives with good things;

Grace is a gift from above—

Grace fills our home with beauty;

Grace fills our hearts with love.

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Because God is love, there is grace…and because there is grace there is hope…and because there is hope we can put a song into our day, faith into prayers, joy into our obedience, and love into our actions.

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In our own strength we can only do so much, in our own wisdom we can only know so much, in our own love we can only give so much. Jesus Christ said that He came to give us life and He gives it to us in overwhelming generosity and abundance. He wants us to daily focus on His resources, not our limitations. 

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The heart of God will always move you on to new vistas of His goodness, new treasures of His grace, new understanding of His purposes, and to new discoveries of His love. He will do it with the beauty of His presence, with the affirmation of His promises, with the hand of His blessing, and with the endless assurance of His love.

-Paraphrase Ephesians 1:17,18

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God’s blessings are endless, His grace is measureless, and His love is matchless.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from "Come Sit Awhile" by Roy Lessin. Used with permission. 

The Front Porch: God’s “One Another” Family

...so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12:5 NLT

God has given every true believer in Jesus Christ a membership in His family. In His family, each member belongs to one another, and needs each other. Your “one another” family is bigger than you’ve ever dreamed. You belong to the family of God around the world…and they belong to you. 

God has made us dependent upon one another. We have a built-in need for the fellowship, prayer, support, encouragement, and help of others in God’s family. God wants us to come to Him in prayer, but He also wants us to pray for one another. God loves us deeply and personally, but He often expresses His love to us through others. Think of all the times that you have felt God’s touch through the hands of others, heard God’s voice through the words of others, sensed God’s comfort through the support of others, and known God’s provision through the gift of others.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Adapted from Come Sit Awhile, Roy Lessin. Used with permission. 

The Front Porch: Friends

I love to visit with a friend on my front porch in the early evening, when dusk transitions into nightfall. It is the perfect time of day to sit on our porch-rockers and talk as the stars begin to fill up the night sky. The conversations often vary between baseball, family, food, and the things that God is doing in our lives. One thing I especially enjoy is the unhurried atmosphere the porch creates as my friend and I enjoy the pleasures of each other’s company.

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God is a loving, forgiving, restoring, embracing, caring, faithful Father.

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There is no place beyond God’s strength...no boundaries to His love...no limit to His mercies...no shortage of His grace. He responds to us with lovingkindness and a multitude of tender mercies.

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One day you will be amazed to discover the many ways that God has used your life to be a blessing to others.

The impact of one life upon another can bring change, comfort, hope, encouragement, and many other influences for good that will make an eternal difference.

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It is in our times of deepest need that we find the depths to which the tenderness and grace of Jesus can reach. For who alone but Jesus can bring us comfort and assurance with His all-embracing love.

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There’s something special about creating a new memory with an old friend.

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The footprints of a friend will follow you into the valley as well as onto the mountaintop.

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When you don’t feel that you have to be perfect to be accepted…When you are given the freedom to be yourself in every situation…when you can ask for an opinion knowing you’ll be given the truth…when you can share your heart without the risk of betrayal…when being together is more important than what you do…that is when you know that you are in the company of a friend.

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God made us dependent on each other.  Even though He is with us and in us, He does not want us to walk alone. We need each other to help us grow in grace, to be supported in prayer, to express the Father’s love, to sense the Spirit’s comfort, and to know the Shepherd’s care. We need each other to be formed in character, to be encouraged in our fight of faith, and to persevere until that day when all our needs shall be fully met when we see Him.

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, all rights reserved. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission.

The Front Porch: Neighbors

Neighbors are so special,

They bring blessings without end;

Especially when your neighbors,

Turn out to be dear friends.

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The love of God covers you on every side,

in every direction, inside and out, over and under, in front and behind.

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The impact of a true friend upon your life 

is something that words can never fully express,

and something that your heart can never fully measure.

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Be persuaded, that neither death with its voice of fear, nor life with its many cares, nor the attacks of the enemy which falsely accuse you, nor things present with their pressing claims, nor things to come with their dark shadows, nor the height of any mountains that stand in your way, nor the depths of a great trial that you may walk through, nor any person or circumstance which tries to quench your joy or rob you of your peace shall be able to move you away, by even a single inch, from the Love of God that covers and guards your life.

(Paraphrase of Romans 8:38-39)

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Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

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©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow, meetinginthemeadow.com

The Word of God

The Word of God
-Roy Lessin

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

No warrior can dull its blade;
No intellectual can undermine its truth;
No skeptic can lessen its authenticity;
No mocker can weaken its foundations;
No philosopher can out-think its penetrating insight;
No leader can weaken its authority;
No religion can replace its transforming power.

The rebellious fight it, the disobedient ignore it, the stubborn refuse it, the indifferent ignore it, the lazy neglect it, the careless skim over it, the foolish despise it, the runaway turns his back on it, and the traitor renounces it.

The hungry eat it, the weary rest in it, the traveler is guided by it, the humble learn from it, the submissive obey it, the devout love it, the downcast find encouragement in it, the weary find strength in it, the sick are healed by it, and the wise build their lives upon it.

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV)


©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

His Beautiful Ways

His Beautiful Ways

- Roy Lessin

It is in your times of deepest need that you discover the depths to which the tender, gracious love of Jesus Christ reaches out to touch you.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

©2018 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow.