Once Upon A Time

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I Corinthians 1:18 NIV

When company shows up and the temperature’s less than scorching, a proper hostess will seat her guests comfortably on the shady side of the porch. She will soon return with a tray of chilled sweet tea and a plate of freshly baked cheese straws. When folks commence to talking, they might just start out with a Southern fairy tale, which usually begins like so: “Ya’ll ain’t gonna believe this...” In spite of the fairytale moniker, most of these stories start out as true-life adventures that somehow become embellished over time. Take fishing tales for example. The “caught fish” gets bigger every time the story is told.

True-life testimonies about what God has done in our lives are bigger than any twisted tale. Can you imagine the Israelites trying to explain to outsiders about the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night? (Exodus 13:21). Or telling folks, “Ya’ll ain’t gonna believe this, but we don’t need to go grocery shopping like you do. God our Father rains down this delicious stuff called manna that falls from the sky and we gather it up in our baskets every day and eat it.”

FAITH CHECK

God is great and He does great things for us. Those who follow Christ know that answered prayers and miracles follow those who believe (Mark 16:17). And that’s no fairy tale.

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This is an excerpt from Sweet Tea for the Soul. Shop our books to read more down-home devotions just like this one.