Today’s Thoughts

Thoughts Under the Tin Roof

Personal reflections, encouraging stories, and conversations that point us back to Christ.

Current Thoughts

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  • The Living Water Within Me
    A Comfort That Never Runs Dry On my way to work this morning, I found myself thinking about something wonderful. How great it is to have the Living Water flowing within me. Not because every day is easy. Not because I always make the right… Read more: The Living Water Within Me
  • When God’s Word Leaves Us Wondering
    Not Every Difference Is a Disagreement With God The rain is pouring tonight. And here I sit, listening to it fall against the tin roof, thinking about something I’ve been studying in God’s Word. It all started with something my pastor said. Not something that… Read more: When God’s Word Leaves Us Wondering
  • The Judgment of God
    We Will All Encounter It There are some appointments in life we can cancel. There are places we can choose not to go. Meetings we can postpone. Invitations we can decline. Even responsibilities we can sometimes avoid for a while. But there is one appointment… Read more: The Judgment of God
  • A Parent’s Prayer
    Lord, Let My Children Know You There is a prayer that I believe weighs heavily upon the hearts of many Christian parents. Lord, please let my children come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. As parents, we spend so much of our… Read more: A Parent’s Prayer
  • When Ecclesiastes Met First John
    What Will Remain When Everything Else Passes Away? I want to share something wonderful that happened at church today. Pastor Michael Phillips was preaching from Genesis 3:1–6, walking us through the account of the serpent tempting Eve and the entrance of sin into the human… Read more: When Ecclesiastes Met First John
  • Sleepless Night Thought
    Morning Reflections Obedience — Part II The Cross We Carry Daily Good morning, friend. Earlier this morning, I shared a thought that kept me awake and eventually brought me to my desk around midnight. We looked at the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ offered Himself… Read more: Sleepless Night Thought
  • Sleepless Night Thought
    Obedience — Part I The Cross Was Once for All I tried to get some sleep tonight, but there was a thought weighing on my mind that I couldn’t seem to shake. I tried ignoring it. I laid down, tossed and turned, and managed to… Read more: Sleepless Night Thought
  • What Do I Have to Give Him?
    A thought crossed my mind today that sounds almost like a contradiction. As Christians, we owe Jesus Christ everything for our salvation, yet we have nothing of our own to give Him. Think about that for a moment. What could I possibly give Jesus in… Read more: What Do I Have to Give Him?
  • Take the Thought Captive-Cast Every Care
    From the pages of an old porch believers “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) There is a battle that can… Read more: Take the Thought Captive-Cast Every Care
  • Don’t Stop at One Verse
    Learning to Study God’s Word I was thinking this morning about something I remember hearing in a sermon from Pastor Michael Phillips. He shared three simple questions that can help us better understand the Scriptures. Who is speaking? What are they teaching? Who are they… Read more: Don’t Stop at One Verse
  • Cover to Cover… Until It Gets Uncomfortable?
    A question crossed my mind today, and it’s one that I think every believer—including me—ought to be willing to sit with for a while: Do I believe the Bible from cover to cover, or do I justify certain Scriptures as not applying to my life… Read more: Cover to Cover… Until It Gets Uncomfortable?
  • Faces at an Intersection
    I wasn’t under the tin roof when this thought came to me. I was delivering a few bales of hay to a friend and found myself sitting at a busy intersection in Lenoir, North Carolina. It’s an intersection I’m familiar with, and one that’s well… Read more: Faces at an Intersection
  • There’s Something About an Old Hymn
    I was at work this morning thinking about how much music has been a blessing in my life. There are all kinds of Christian music that I enjoy, but there has always been something special about those old church hymns. Maybe it’s their simplicity. A… Read more: There’s Something About an Old Hymn
  • When Your Patience Is Being Tried
    I was outside praying this morning when a thought crossed my mind: our patience sure gets tested a lot. Sometimes it happens before we ever leave home. The kids may be pushing every button we have. Something around the house breaks. The neighbors get on… Read more: When Your Patience Is Being Tried
  • The Porch Just Got a Little Bigger
    When Porch Believers first began, the idea was pretty simple: open God’s Word, learn from Him, and leave another chair open for somebody else. We never knew exactly where that might lead. One devotional became another. Bible studies grew from questions we wanted to explore… Read more: The Porch Just Got a Little Bigger
  • Few There Be That Find It
    This morning’s thought came a little differently. Instead of a story or a lesson, the words started coming more like a prayer—maybe even a poem. My mind was on the words of Jesus about the broad way and the narrow way. “Because strait is the… Read more: Few There Be That Find It
  • Christ as Resident, Not as Lord
    I found myself thinking about something I heard in a sermon recently, and it has been sitting with me ever since. The Carnal Christian. That phrase can make us uncomfortable, and maybe it should. Not because every Christian who struggles with sin is somehow outside… Read more: Christ as Resident, Not as Lord
  • A Brother Twice Over
    It’s Sunday morning, and I’m sitting out at the church getting the outside baptism booth filled.There’s something special about preparing the water for someone else’s baptism. You’re doing a simple job—filling a tank—but you know what that water represents. It’s a public testimony that someone… Read more: A Brother Twice Over
  • Whose Approval Are You Working For?
    Audio : Play to read along As I sat on the porch this morning talking with the Lord, I found myself feeling a little disconnected. Sometimes life has a way of doing that to us. The world can slowly make you feel unwanted, unneeded, or… Read more: Whose Approval Are You Working For?
  • A Morning of Thanksgiving
    This morning, I’m sitting on the porch talking with the Lord, and I find myself simply thankful. My medical procedure went smoothly, and the results were positive. As I sit here thinking about it, I can’t help but give God the glory. I know there… Read more: A Morning of Thanksgiving
  • A New Journey Through Scripture
    As I sat under the tin roof thinking about what is coming next for Porch Believers, I realized we’re about to turn a page. For the past several weeks, we’ve been walking through the Gospel of John 1. We’ve followed Jesus through His words, His… Read more: A New Journey Through Scripture
  • Thank You, God, for Using Me
    Technically, I’m not sitting on my back porch this afternoon. I’m sitting at work, outside under the tin roof of our break area. So I guess this one still counts as a Thought Under the Tin Roof. I was listening to some preaching when the… Read more: Thank You, God, for Using Me
  • What Does Your Window Show?
    As I continued thinking about yesterday’s reflection, another thought came to mind. What if our lives are like windows? Not windows for people to see us… But windows through which people catch a glimpse of Christ. Whether we realize it or not, someone is always… Read more: What Does Your Window Show?
  • When Church Is Over
    This morning, as I sat reflecting on a sermon I listened to earlier yesterday, one question kept returning to my mind. It wasn’t a question about church attendance or even about whether we believe the right things. It was much more personal. How comfortable have… Read more: When Church Is Over
  • Blessings in Different Packages
    The rain is finally falling.After a full day of preparing, working outside, setting everything up, cooking, laughing, cleaning, and packing everything away… I’m finally able to sit down under the tin roof and relax.Today was a good day. We celebrated our little man’s third birthday.The… Read more: Blessings in Different Packages
  • Clearing Away the Debris
    Tonight’s thought didn’t come during my usual quiet time on the porch.It came while I was working on my next book. As I wrote, my mind drifted back to last night’s Porch Believers Bible Study with Solomon’s Porch Church in Texas. We were studying Nehemiah… Read more: Clearing Away the Debris<br>
  • Under the Light of the Moon
    Good morning, It’s 5:00 a.m. this morning under the tin roof. After my morning conversation with my Heavenly Father, I found myself simply sitting and staring at the full moon. It was so bright. So beautiful. Perfectly designed by the One who spoke it into… Read more: Under the Light of the Moon
  • It All Starts with the Foundation
    Good Monday afternoon. I found myself sitting on the porch this morning, waiting for a man to come by and give me a quote for some gravel. As I watched and waited, my mind began to wander.The gravel wasn’t the foundation, but it was part… Read more: It All Starts with the Foundation
  • Hold Her a Little Longer
    It’s another rainy morning.My alarm had already come and gone, but neither my wife nor I had to work today. Instead of jumping out of bed like usual, we just lay there holding each other.The rain tapped gently on the tin roof, and for a… Read more: Hold Her a Little Longer
  • Clearing the Clutter
    Thoughts Under the Tin Roof Clearing the Clutter The rain was falling again this morning. After spending some time talking with the Lord, I remembered I still needed to finish setting up my workstation and clean off my desk. It’s amazing how much a cluttered… Read more: Clearing the Clutter
  • Thoughts Under the Tin Roof
    Don’t Be in a Hurry The rain is falling this morning.It’s one of those slow, steady rains that makes the tin roof come alive. The sound has a way of slowing my thoughts and reminding me that not everything has to happen right now. As… Read more: Thoughts Under the Tin Roof
  • Reflections from Wednesday’s Sermon
    Listen along below. The Three Doors: A Beautiful Picture of the Trinity at Work Dear Porch Friends, Every now and then, the Lord uses a simple illustration to help us see familiar truths from a fresh perspective. This past Wednesday evening was one of those… Read more: Reflections from Wednesday’s Sermon
  • Thoughts Under the Tin Roof
    Sharing the Greatest News This morning, after spending some time in prayer, I found myself thinking about Sunday’s sermon. The message was about sharing the gospel, and it stayed with me as I stepped out onto the porch before the sun came up. There’s something… Read more: Thoughts Under the Tin Roof
  • Welcome Under the Tin Roof
    Hey, y’all, Your friend, A Porch Believer, here. First off, welcome to Thoughts Under the Tin Roof. I know… the name probably sounds a little funny. But there’s a reason for it. Both of my porch roofs are covered in tin. One of my favorite… Read more: Welcome Under the Tin Roof

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Shared Resources

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