Faith Like Potatoes

I am not a movie critic. In fact, there are very few movies I would ever recommend. I have to say though, that there seems to be a few more "morally fibrous" flicks out these days. The Sherwood Baptist Church has put out a few; the most notable of those right now being "Fireproof." Bishop T.D. Jakes has a couple going too. And I've been introduced to Tyler Perry movies and though I've only seen one, I loved it!



Right now, the one that has really ministered to me is "Faith Like Potatoes" based on the book and true story of Angus Buchan. While the movie is a little slow and difficult to understand due to the South African/Scottish accents, the events are nothing short of miraculous.



In a nutshell, the story is about Angus, who has lost his first farm in Zimbabwe and moves to South Africa with his three kids and very pregnant wife to start all over again.



He is working so hard and getting nowhere fast. He is angry 24/7 and has violent outbursts. While the world tells him to take tranquilizers, he refuses. Finally his wife is invited to church, they go and he turns his life to Christ.



His transformation is immediate. The pastor encourages him to tell the first three friends he sees. Not five minutes later, passing a friend on the street, he gets cold feet and says nothing. However, once he gets past that, and has found his courage, he can't be stopped!



His farm is still going nowhere and to top it of, Africa is in a drought. No one is planting. He insists that scripture is ultimately true and claims God's promise in Chronicles. He claims all promises of scripture to be true and as a result, sees miracles and is an effective evangelist, while still maintaining is first love - farming.



2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."



So what does this mean for me?....for our little corner of the prairies?....for our province and country? Would it be too far out to say that in our greedy, idolatrous nation of North America we could use a little knee-bending and revival?

I am not an educated or influential person, so while I can't speak for an entire nation, I can say this:
Begin with me.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

"Faith like potatoes" is a phrase coined by a famous American lecturer who used to tell his students that they needed faith like potatoes. He meant that their faith needed to have flesh and needed substance.
Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.”

I believe that healing is two-fold.

1) We need to turn from sin. Throughout the Old and New Testaments it is the requirement and foundation for any miracle.

2) Belief. What sort of God do we believe in? He has gifted us with a book of promises. If we think it is just a book on the best seller list, we are missing out! Why do we tend to be afraid or perhaps aloof to this confident faith? It is this faith that made the Bible even possible! If not for faith, there would not have been much to write.

This is nothing short of a challenge for me....a mountainous one. I want to believe this more than anything for my farm. All I can do is ask God to increase my faith as I humbly confess and repent of whatever it is He reveals to me....and cling to His promises.