Tag Archives: Faith Like Potatoes

That’s Impossible

It’s a Miracle debuted on Pax Television in 1998.  This sixty minute documentary examined true stories that on the surface appeared to be impossible.  However, as eyewitnesses recounted these events, it was clear that angels, divine intervention and the power of prayer gave birth to a miracle.  This program that ran for six seasons reminding me that with God, anything is possible.

Now as He approached the city gate, a dead man was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her [in the funeral procession]. 13 When the Lord saw her, He felt [great] compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep,” Luke 7:12-13.

When I first read the passage above years ago, I didn’t conceptualize the magnitude of what Jesus was able to do.  I’ve attended several funerals where the victim died unexpectedly, long before they should have.  As a bystander, Jesus is moved by the Holy Spirit, stopping what he was doing to approach the casket.  When the pallbearer’s stopped, Jesus touched the bier and spoke life into this dead man.  What Jesus did defies logic and medical science, a resurrection.

And He came up and touched the bier [on which the body rested], and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise [from death]!”15 The man who was dead sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother, Luke 7:14-15.

In 2015, Project Afterlife took a closer look at near death experiences.  This Destination America series explored cases of individuals presumed dead by doctors, but miraculously awoke, given a mulligan, a new lease on life.  According to reports from missionaries in Africa, resurrections aren’t limited to the Bible.  According to eyewitnesses, persistent prayers refused to believe that their loved ones have passed on.  Like the example from the film Faith Like Potatoes, the impossible is occurring as the pronounced dead are being raised back to life.

by Jay Mankus

Faith Like a Yo-Yo

The 2008 film Faith Like Potatoes reveals the inspiring true story of Angus Buchan.  Prior to his move to South Africa, Angus was a farmer with a hot temper.  However, when God intervenes using a few unlikely friendships, Angus begins a journey of faith.  Irrational at times, Angus follows a calling to plant potatoes, risking the future of his farm in one desperate attempt to make an honest living.

Of the 11 million Americans who are currently unemployed based upon the April 2013 Job’s Report, 4.4 million have been out of work for over 27 weeks.  When the fruits of your labor come back empty, faith is something you put to the curb, set to be recycled until good news returns.  Thus, faith is like a yo-yo whose string has broke, leaving behind a plastic wheel without the resources to accomplish its original purpose.

Psychologists often  refer to 7 signs of emotional melt downs.  These signals point to people who have or are about to reach their breaking point, where their faith string is about the snap.  The tension of experiencing consistent ups and downs place undue strain, pulling at the fibers of one’s soul.  Therefore, the next time you want to throw in the towel or raise the white flag, remember the words of Matthew 15:21-28 so that your faith will climb from the bottom to the top like a yo-yo!

by Jay Mankus