Todays advice from the old farmer:* Are you thankful to God? “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…” (Psalm 92:1) As we end Thanksgiving week and start to celebrate to season of Christmas and the birth of our Savior. I want to make one bit of advice of thanksgiving this last Sunday in November. For the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving Day. We should even be thankful in the midst of problems. The Apostle Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4). He knew that God was working all things together for his good, even though he was going through trials (Romans 8:28). Problems will come your way. God will see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He will allow the storms, to send your roots deep into the soil of His Word. We pray more in the midst of problems, but it’s been well said that you will see more from your knees, than you will on your tip toes. A man once watched a butterfly struggling to get out of its cocoon. In an effort to help it, he took a razor blade, and carefully slit the edge of the cocoon. The butterfly escaped form its problem … and immediately died. It is God’s way to have the butterfly struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart to beat fast, and send the life’s blood into its wings. Trials have their purpose. They make us struggle—they bring us to our knees. They are the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there that the life’s blood of faith in God helps us spread our wings. * Faith and thanksgiving are close friends. If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you are in a lion’s den. That will give you a deep sense of joy, and joy is the barometer of the depth of faith you have in God. Imagine if I said I would give you one million dollars if you ripped out the last page of today’s newspaper, and mailed it to me. Of course, you don’t believe that I would do that. But imagine if you did. Imagine if you had knowledge of more than 1,000 people who had sent in the page, and every one received their million dollars—no strings attached. More than that. You had actually called me, and I had assured you personally that I would keep my word. If you believed me, wouldnt you have joy? If you didnt believe me—no joy. The amount of joy you have would be a barometer as to how much you believed my promise. We have so much to be thankful for. God has given us “exceeding great and precious promises” that are “more to be desired than gold.” Do yourself a big favor—believe those promises, thank God continually for them, and “let your joy be full.” * I once heard a simple story about an old farmer once who had an ungodly relative visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, “What did you do that for? There’s no God. We live in an age of enlightenment.” The old farmer smiled and said, “There is one on the farm who doesnt thank God before he eats.” The relative sat up and said, “Who is this enlightened one?” To which the farmer quietly replied, “My pig.” * My personal prayer for preparing myself for worship; Good evening Father God. I love you beyond words. I thank You for me to be living in such an age as this, when I can publicly worship You and even share devotional thoughts on the Internet without being hauled off to jail. I am also thankful for the worldwide communication that allows me to write and pray each week on behalf of persecuted believers who are living in troubled and unsure times. It is a wonderful time to be a praying believer. I also am thankful that my sins are forgiven thanks to Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord. I am thankful that You gave me a praying wife, and my wife and all 3 children all know You I ask that You continue to shower us with Your love and grace as we continue to serve You. It is in Jesus precious name that we thank You and praise You. Amen, and amen... * A chocolate thought for today; We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, with the help of a little chocolate we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love... Check out the comments for a great Sunday smile to wear to church and share with all who see you. You can even find a few laughs you can share with your family after church at the dinner table to laugh and enjoy each others company...
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 03:08:59 +0000
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