The Farmer's Prayer: A story by Crystal Ross

 

A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country.

The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.

"Lord, I hate buttermilk", the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour". The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable.

Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits Amen."

Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today.

Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don't really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it. AMEN

Crystal Ross 

The Challenge

Yesterday we were challenged to change one thing in our life, to be in line with the 10 commandments, and present that sacrifice as a gift to the baby Jesus this Christmas.

At first glance at the 10 it seems we have adhered to all and there is nothing much to change anyway.

But a deeper look does throw up some interesting deviations. Lets look under the hood. 

Take for instance the 2nd commandment. Surely, we do not make nor worship idols. Now when we think of an idol, we envision a man-made figure of wood or stone, or something in nature that we worship. And of course, we do not do that.

Merriam Webster defines an idol as - an object of extreme devotion or a representation or symbol of an object of worship. The Oxford dictionary defines it as an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship; the Bible dictionary calls it an image or anything used as an object of worship in place of the true God.

In short, anything that takes precedence over God can be an idol. For example, say there is a game scheduled on a Sunday, where some top stars are going to play. Many people may forgo church, attend the game and generally have a great day. Do you think we have idolized the game? If we have, we may have actually broken two commandments - the 2nd and the 4th. Check it out. 

Anything that dilutes and defocuses our relationship with God is actually an idol. It could be our children, parents, our wife or husband; it could be a game, a habit, an addiction and something as simple as food. In today's world, I think the most common deviation maybe idolizing ourselves, our job, which though a blessing, can become an idol. And the most common one is Christmas itself. we have idolized it as an event!

When we look at the 2nd commandment with that perspective, see how guilty we possibly are?

GUILTY!

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.”

Matthew 15 Ver 7-9

If we were on trial on our behavior and response to the almighty, GUILTY would surely be the verdict. So, what do we do about this? Here is a great suggestion from Ms. Francis Taylor:

"What example do we give others? If we are known as Christians, do our actions proclaim it? We can't take for granted that we are living as Jesus wants us to live if we don't pay attention. Just as in Lent, we are called to a greater sense of reflection, Advent reminds us that this life is not our final home. It can be overwhelming to try to see all of the areas that might need to be improved, so I'm suggesting that we take just one of the Ten Commandments that we might have some trouble with and see what changes we need to make to become more faithful to God. Perhaps we have trouble with the truth. Maybe we gossip, wanting to be the first to pass on juicy pieces of information. It might be that we need to clean up our speech and stop swearing and cursing. It can be anything that we find interferes with our relationship with God. If it interferes with our relationships with other people, it interferes with our relationship with God".

So, are you up to the challenge? Can you pick just one of the 10 and consciously make the effort to improve this Advent so we can give our gift of obedience to the Baby Jesus this Christmas.

The Truth about Ruth

                                   

Ruth 1:16 “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

Reading the story of Ruth has always been an inspiration. Naomi is devastated, Ruth's decision to tie herself into the hopeless situation of Naomi and her life changing decision to jump from the frying pan into the fire is incomprehensible by today's standard. She faced complete devastation yet became an inspiration for us when we face hard and terrible tragedy or circumstances.

Joy Burgess puts it so well when she says -

"When life brings devastation, it’s not easy to hope. It’s hard to have faith. But when things are the most difficult, that’s when we need faith and hope the most. In the moments where life feels like it’s crushing you, start with a little faith. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And looking at the book of Ruth, we can see that even when we can’t see beyond our pain to his plan, we can have hope that our story isn’t over – better days are coming.

It was a sacrifice for Ruth to refuse to return to her family. Her commitment to journey on with Naomi was a beautiful, selfless act, and a stunning example of the love of Christ – the same Christ who would be of her bloodline years later.

No matter your past, you still have a purpose. Your past is not your final destination when you make a choice in faith, when we put our trust in God. While our confidence may be wavering, God’s promises are not."

                                                      Joy Burgess in 7 Powerful Lessons we can Learn from Ruth.

Unlike today's influencers Ruth was not setting a trend. Ruth had no idea that millions of people would read her story and it would motivate many men and women across the world.

Broken Spirit

Jonah 2: 7
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple".

"The loss of a loved one causes deep sorrow; we feel anguish at the thought of separation from the ones we love".

This grief, no matter of how long ago, never really goes but get heightened on special occasions and most of all at Christmas. Memories can cause a lot of pain.

"Grief piles so high upon our hearts; we feel suffocated and broken. Then we remember our God and His unconditional love; we feel His presence and recall His promise of eternal life. Although it's difficult to be separated today, we know we will be reunited. God never breaks His promises, and our faith brings us hope for a new day".

Ms. Francis Taylor

Today we have shared this video which was shared by a reader of this blog. We further share it for all those broken-hearted people who may take some comfort.

Outside Looking inside.

I'm on the outside looking inside,

                                         What do I see?

                                         Much confusion, disillusion,

                                         Deep inside me.

There is a very powerful devotional called God Calling, https://www.twolisteners.org/, and we recommend you may get it as well. Its supposed to be Jesus speaking to 2 ladies, seemingly getting overwhelmed with life, as many of us are maybe. We suggest you may get it as well. Today's posting is quoted from this book - Devotional of November 28.

"To work from large interests, and a desire for great activities and world movements, to the inner circle life with me, is really the wrong way. That is why, so often, through all these activities and interests, a soul finds me, I have to begin our friendship by cutting away ties that bind it to the outer and wider circle. When it has gained strength and learned its lesson in the inner circle, it can then widen its life, working this time from within out, taking then, to each contact, to each friendship, the inner circle influence.

And this is to be your way of life.

This is the way of the spirit. Man so often misunderstands this".

We have quoted this as it makes a lot of sense. We are influenced by the world around us, trying to guide our hearts in line with Gods word. Whereas maybe it should be the other way round. Letting Gods word into our soul which will guide us as we navigate the external world. 

This, of course is open to opinion and we would love our readers to think about this and share your thought with us as well.

Unseen Anguish !

Genesis 42 : 21 ESV
Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

This is a very popular story about Joseph and his brothers. So popular and familiar that, in fact, that we sometimes overlook the small nuances which is the case in this verse.

Nowhere in Joseph's story is it written about what he went through. What he felt. But in this verse, it talks about the anguish he felt as he was left in that pit to die. He was distressed and anguished to his very soul. Such a strong emotion that his soul itself was distressed.

Or so he thought. If only he knew Gods plan, he would have happily gone into the pit on his own, singing merrily.

Isn't it much like a lot of situations we face in life? We don't know the outcome, so we are distressed and anguished. In that anguished moment we envision the worst outcomes, like probably Joseph did. Or we may have been the cause of such anguish, like Joseph's brothers, and walked away without a thought. Or there maybe someone who is anguished by life itself and we walk away, without a second thought.

Today, let us pause to think of all the times we may have been in either situation, and, take corrective action. If we have been anguished, remember the time and remember the outcome, forgive the person and thank God who brought us through. Forgiveness is sweet.

And if we have been the perpetrators, ask for forgiveness from the Almighty and take steps of repentance. In case we are neither, and someone we know is in distress, let us not ignore them.

When we are in distress and anguished, let's focus on the one who helps us fly above the storm like the eagle, using the force of the storm itself.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.