Farming Page PH

20/12/2023

"RELYING ON JESUS FOR EVERYTHING"

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2)

Life is hard! “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). No one is immune from the toilsome stuff of life. Relationships sour, medical solutions stalemate, finances fracture, and loved ones pass away—and this unrelenting list continues to pile sky high.

How often do we find ourselves crying for help with all our options depleted? To whom do we cry, and who will listen? There are at least 184 mentions of the word “help” in Scripture, where we find many of God’s chosen facing devastating events. In turmoil, our knee-jerk reaction is to cling to the fleeting stuff of this world, but shouldn’t we cling instead to Yahweh, the Creator God and Maker of heaven and earth?

Intensely crying out to Yahweh for help (Hebrew sa-aq) is modeled in Psalm 107 in four cliffhanger vignettes, illustrating both the unbeliever’s dire need for salvation and the believer’s need to daily embrace Yahweh. Disoriented travelers cry to Yahweh, who guides them to an inhabited city (v. 7). Prisoners rotting away in confinement wail to Yahweh and are freed (v. 14). The morally foolish, plagued with life-threatening diseases, weep before the Lord, and He graciously heals them (v. 20). Sailors who are suddenly caught in a storm plead with Yahweh, and He stills the waves and leads them to a safe harbor (v. 30).

Where do you place your reliance? Do you have a dependent relationship with this temporal creation, or do you cling to our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Savior—the Lord Jesus Christ?

14/12/2023

Living Life Well!

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19)

We all face death as a consequence of sin (Romans 5:12). But wisdom can be cultivated in one’s heart by remembering death’s reality. “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Death reminds us to think soberly about living life wisely.

Look at the connection between the two halves of Ecclesiastes 7:1. The Hebrew word for “ointment” (perfume) can be a symbol of joy (Ecclesiastes 9:8), prosperity (Job 29:6), and a metaphor for reputation (Song of Solomon 1:3). Solomon combines their meanings to emphasize the significance of reputation and death. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Reputation matters. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). As an example, Ruth, a redeemed pagan Moabitess, compassionately cared for her mother-in-law. Boaz affirmed the good report of Ruth’s actions by saying, “It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband” (Ruth 2:11).

When one has lived a life well, especially for the honor and glory of Christ, the day of death will be a celebration of that life. Paul affirms this reality with this command: “Lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (1 Timothy 2:2-3).

03/12/2023

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭10‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through phil