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So here it is, the Sunday before Christmas and my cards are not finished. I know, I posted it already*, but that was just the first of 23 on my list!! Oh well, I still have the rest of the week, and the mailed ones will arrive late. In the meantime, I'm still dealing with my sciatica and praying for my cat, Kyra. That being said, Rob and I also have praises to share. As a few of you know, last week's Sermon Summary was late due to technical difficulties. The fact is, my 7 yr old laptop has been dying a slow death for quite some time. It froze up twice in the first few paragraphs of my post. That, along with "wonky" internet connection, and I gave myself a break for a couple of days. So my praise is this -- after having posted on FB (partly kidding), about a new laptop for Christmas, one of my friends not only responded to my post, but pm'd me about purchasing one!! So today's post is coming to you on a brand new computer!!* Praise God!! The other praise is that Rob's co-worker was spoken to last week and has actually gotten the clue that her job was in danger if she didn't "straighten up and fly right". When Rob went to work on Friday night, she actually started talking to him rather than harassing him!! As we have said on here numerous times, God is always present and at work in our lives!! On with the message bits --
How many of you are farmers?? Not likely many at this point in my blogging history of 10 months. But maybe some of you have farming in your family history. I do. On both sides of my family. Both my grandfathers were farmers. I grew up with my parents and my mother's father. We lived in the village with nothing more than a vegetable garden by that point*, but the work was put in. I didn't get to visit my father's parents as much as my younger cousins did, but theirs was a full-fledged farm with animals and garden. My Uncle still has a few animals and a smaller garden plot on the same land. A couple of my early memories are helping my Uncle saddle-train his Appaloosa, Frosty*, along with my next younger cousin. At the ages of 5 and 3, we were just the right weight when riding together. My other memory of those early days came a year or so later with a real-life piggy-back ride!! I could never be an animal farmer myself. I have too much in common with Fern Arable for that...
Today's message was brought by our ever-favorite Guest Speaker, Nate Parks. HIs grandparents were farmers back in Southern Minnesota. He shared briefly about winters so cold that his grandmother's bedside glass of water would be ice by morning!! Most of us can't relate to anything like a farmer's life in today's world. We know logically, that the meat we buy at the store came from a farm; but other than possibly owning a few chickens in a backyard coop, many of us don't fully grasp the colossal effort it takes to run a farm.
This sermon completes the series from James that we've been in these many weeks, but being Christmas Week, Nate just didn't feel right about not incorporating Luke 2:8-20. It actually connects to our final passage in James perfectly!! Read on and see how --
Luke 2:8-20
New International Version
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
James 5:7-11
New International Version
Patience in Suffering 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
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We begin in Luke 2, at verse 17 -- The Shepherds shared the News to everyone around and the people wondered at what they said. All sorts of questions came to their minds, "We know the prophecy, but how could a Manger be right??" "Was Isaiah telling the truth??" "What about Joseph?? Is Mary really a Virgin??" Most didn't believe their story, just as most didn't believe Isaiah, or Hosea* who came right before. Both groups were equally devoted to God's message and were motivated and deliberate in sharing it. For the OT Prophets, it was the promise that Jesus would come. For the Shepherds, it was that He had come. For us, it is that He will return. Today, many Jews (among others) still don't believe. The only group of Jewish believers today are the Messianic ones. The rest are still waiting...
Now we turn to our friend, James, for his final words of advice. In this passage, we find 5 points of importance.
The Call -- Verse 7 opens our monologue with the reminder that patience is required before Christ's return. Probably the most common image that springs to mind when "patience" is mentioned is the idea that we stop and wait quietly for the time in question. That is entirely the wrong image here. When James is telling the people to be patient, he is, at the same time telling them to be productive while they wait. How??
The Picture -- The 2nd half of verse 7 gives us the image of a farmer waiting on the promised cycle of the early and latter rains. Those of us who've been around Church for a while understand that this relates to Jesus' First and Second Coming. And that is totally right, but the point to focus on here is the inherently hard work of the farmer. There is soil to be worked, crops to be planted, watering to maintain, and weeding to be done!! No time for sitting quiet!! (except in prayer for guidance) What does that mean for us??
Action -- Verse 8 tells us what to do with our time. Establish our hearts. In practical terms, it means we basically "work out". We exercise our faith and strengthen it. In Bible times, the Shepherds usually would have been the last ones to hear any local news due to being out in the fields. But I believe it was part of God's plan for them to hear this life-changing news first, so they would strengthen their hearts by talking about it the rest of their lives*. In the process, they had to be careful not to judge others for their acceptance of the message or lack thereof* We likewise, have a message many may wonder about.. God was and is always watching!! Who do we look to as mentors??
Example -- Verse 10 reminded James' audience just as it reminds us. Look back to the Prophets. They had a direct message from God that most people didn't believe. As Americans, we are used to the idea of "the pursuit of happiness" as promised in our Constitution. Although much of The Constitution is based on Biblical principles*, this point is not. The Bible gives us stories throughout its pages that the Christian Life, properly lived, is not easy. (just look at Job) "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" are not bad things, in and of themselves, as a basis to run a country; but God calls us to a life worth living in liberty and true happiness in Him. A life with purpose and discipline oriented to HIs loving rulership over all Creation. What do we gain??
Reward -- Verse 11 tells us that those who are steadfast in their faith are rewarded with blessing. I know fully well that most of us don't like to be patient. I know I don't... I'm a person who likes to know what's going on. Tell me the plan as soon as possible, don't change it without an amazingly good reason, and tell me why it's being delayed!! I don't have a problem being productive in the meantime, but I want to know how much time I'm working with. Bottom line, as we all know, patience is a virtue, and we can only hope that it brings a good result in this life; but we can know that it will in the next.
Now we know what God wants us to do, and we have mentors to look to for inspiration. How do we apply it in our daily lives?? There are 3 basic things we need to do --
Study the Cornerstones of our Conversion -- read the Bible, understand the Theology and doctrines you embrace. This is like "cultivating the soil" of our minds.
Staying on course of the Call -- Obey the Great Commission* in the context of your own life. The Apostles were sent to specific areas to spread The Gospel. We are placed in our times and places of influence to do the same. (Family, neighborhood, workplace) This is like maintaining the garden of our hearts with the watering and weeding.
Serving the Community as the Church -- This is the work of our hands in gathering the harvest. We are God's hands and feet here on Earth as we belong to Him while living out our time here. Like we saw above, patience is not meant for inactivity. Remember the promise in Gal. 6:9 "Do not be weary in well doing..."
The Garden of Eden was an easy life, it was only when sin entered the picture that things became hard. This is a good reminder that trying to "do life on our own" simply can't work. To close out the service, Nate showed Paul Harvey's video called, "God Made a Farmer", view it in the image collection below. -- God Bless and Merry Christmas!!
Footnotes --
My card is pictured in the Stamps, Cards, and Jewelry section.
My old laptop now belongs to Rob for the purposes of video recording. He can still use the internet on it too, but only for short spans.
Sadly, my maternal grandparents' farm was lost to Flood Control in 1959-60.
Frosty was a beautiful girl who sadly died when an arsonist set the barn on fire in Feb. of 1979. :,(
Hosea has sometimes been referred to as, "the bedside Prophet" because he was the last to spread God's words of warning before the Exile.
Speaking of the Shepherds being first to hear the message; I saw an amazing post on FB the other day, I'll share it in the images below.
If you look at other recent messages, there's a lot to be said against judgement. Specifically, the one from 2 weeks ago mentioning of not caring if people accept the truths we are sharing.
I've heard that some dispute this citing the fact that some of the Founding Fathers were Deists and not actually Christians, but there are lists of parallels that prove these people wrong in terms of the Constitution itself.
The Great Commission can be found at the ends of both Matthew and Mark.
Music -- no rights...
I bet you didn’t know this about the manger that Jesus was laid in. Of course mangers are animal feeding troughs, but in ancient Israel they were made of stone. Not what you would see in a modern nativity scene. Not comfortable, but great for protection. That’s why those who were experts in this matter, the priests would put their newborn lambs in them for protection. But not just any lamb, the unblemished perfect lambs that were used to sacrifice for sins. And Bethlehem was famous for their unblemished lambs used for the sacrifice. But they had to be perfect, so they would wrap them tightly in cloth and lie them in the manger to keep them safe. This is exactly why the only time mangers are mentioned in Jesus’ birth story is to shepherds. In Luke 2 it says “This will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.” The shepherds would have understood this powerful parallel. They knew what the cloth and the manger meant! This baby would be the perfect lamb of God. The messiah who would sacrifice His life for the sins of the whole world. He wasn’t just a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, He was God, perfect, sinless and holy. Humbling Himself to become the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us back to Himself. That perfect lamb is why we celebrate Christmas!!
Here's the Paul Harvey video I promised --
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