A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Monday,
August 16,
2021
The
Steincross Farm"
(click
on photo to enlarge)
"Remembering
the Days Of Old"
Note:
The first part of today's message has some sentimental
reminiscing that may not be of interest to all readers. If
so, scroll down to Bible text graphic for exposition on
the Bible text.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Is He not
your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long
past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders,
and they will explain to you" (Deuteronomy 32:6,7).
"He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord
is gracious and merciful" (Psalm 111:4).
Saturday
evening we joined with a group from our Crossroads Adult
Bible Fellowship class (AKA Sunday School) for a gathering
at a class member's dairy farm here in Lancaster County.
Since Lancaster County was settled in the early 1700's many
of these farms are quite old and it's not unusual to have
farmhouses built in the 1700's still being occupied, in some
cases by the same family. Several weeks ago we were at a
farm that had been in the same family for seven generations.
Driving down
the long lane to the farm where we had our class gathering
was a bit like going back in time. Specifically for me
(Stephen) it was like a visit to our family friends, the
Willards, who had a farm down a long lane near Higginsville,
MO. However I recall at that time it was down a long windy
gravel road and you couldn't see the farm from the road.Our lead photo
today is the Steincross farm near Harwood Missouri where I
have many childhood memories. This farm wasn't down any lane
but was right on the main road and is still being used as a
farm last we checked (see here on Google map).
The farm was
established by the Steincross family in 1869 by my great
grandfather, Godfrey Wilhelm Steincross,
a first generation German immigrant
who may very well have settled the property (I've been
unable to determine this with certainty).
My grandpa,
George Washington Steincross, was born in the farmhouse in
1882. It's significant that my great grandfather, whom I
never met, named his son after our first president! He and
my grandma had seven children who lived to adulthood, a son
followed by six daughters, with my Mom being the next to the
youngest.
During my
childhood the third Steincross generation lived on the farm,
Uncle Gentry Steincross and Aunt Dora. In 1976 the farm
became a charter member of the newly established Centennial
farms in Missouri, a program that was created to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial.
The Centennial Farm project awarded certificates to persons
owning farms that had been in the same family for 100 years
or more. According to the website,
"Century
farms and ranches have shaped our nation and state. In every
kitchen, behind every barn door, and in every soiled and
calloused hand lie stories of those who feed our nation. The
Missouri Century Farm Program celebrates the lasting
contributions farmers and ranchers have made to our
country’s and state’s heritage."
Among the very
first people we met after moving to Lancaster County from
New England in early 2001, was our neighbor Earl Martin. As we moved into our rented farmhouse he welcomed us to his neighborhood with a Shoofly
pie his wife made for us. Not only did he introduce himself,
but he prayed over me with a hand-written prayer. He
also invited us to his church just up the road which became
our home church for many years.
Earl passed
away just a couple of years later in 2003. At his service
was a display about his life with photos and various
clippings. I picked up a newspaper article written in
1984 when his farm was recognized as a century farm. Earl
was quoted, "The Lord's been good to us and the best crop
we've raised here is our children." What an interesting
description of ministry in the family and beyond. We remain
friends with Earl's son Galen and his wife Nancy, who raised
4 children on the farm and their son continues farming
operations! Above all the family continues to serve the
Lord.
Today's
verse is in Moses' final sermon to the people before he
died. It has promises of blessings for obedience and
warnings concerning disobedience.Today I am
struck by the latter part of v.6, "Is He not your
Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?"
Making sense of life begins when we enthusiastically affirm,
"God is my Father, my Creator, who made and formed me!"
An essential
component to building a solid foundation in life is looking
back and reflecting on Moses' call to, "Remember
the days of old; consider the generations long past."
What did
this mean to the initial hearers? After all, for the
previous 40 years they had walked in the wilderness and
prior to that they had been in Egyptian bondage and of
course prior to that the account of Creation would be
presented through the time of the patriarchs. But they all
had their unique stories as well.
What
application does this have in our own lives?
Specifically we certainly have various experiences regarding
our immediate ancestors; some have a heritage of faith,
others do not. But we can all look back and see God's
faithfulness, His provision and His tender care. This gives
us a faith lift for the situations we are currently facing.
May the Lord help each of us to see the presence of His hand
along our earthly journey until we all meet in the Promised
Land. Above all, may we all be rooted and grounded in Him.
Today one of
the great strategies of Satan is a blurring and de-emphasis
of history, whether it be the extremely poor grasp of
history evident among so many in this “living only in the
now” age or the deceptions of the historical revisionists
who essentially rewrite history to suit their own worldview
and narrative. Sadly many in academia have fallen for this.
If Satan can get us to lose perspective of the past or
believe a false narrative of the past a trap is set for the
lie of living only for the “Now.” Forget the past and we
place little value on the future, supremely our eternal
future.
“Ask your
father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will
explain to you.” Many, like us, can no longer
literally ask our father (Stephen’s passed away in 1998 and
Brooksyne’s in 2000). Increasingly many have not known the
love of an earthly father, but we do well to inquire of our
spiritual fathers and elders. Above all we learn from the
elders in the Holy Scriptures.
Today, let us
indeed remember the days of old and consider the value and
contributions of generations long past. Let us remember the
wondrous works of the Lord; that He is gracious and
merciful! Let us stop and give Him praise for great is His
faithfulness.
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, above all we thank You for
Jesus who made the supreme sacrifice that we
might enjoy our freedom from sin and from our
arch enemy, Satan, for all eternity. We thank
you for the days of old, for generations long
past, and the great works accomplished in their
lifetime. Your greatness is further demonstrated
through ordinary people just like us in our
lifetime. History in the past and history in the
making is subordinate to Your sovereign work in
the lives of Your people, and we are greatly
blessed when we honor You and uphold Your
commands during our brief journey here below.
Amen.
Daily
prayer: Father, above all we thank You for
Jesus who made the supreme sacrifice that we
might enjoy our freedom from sin and from our
arch enemy, Satan, for all eternity. We thank
you for the days of old, for generations long
past, and the great works accomplished in their
lifetime. Your greatness is further demonstrated
through ordinary people just like us in our
lifetime. History in the past and history in the
making is subordinate to Your sovereign work in
the lives of Your people, and we are greatly
blessed when we honor You and uphold Your
commands during our brief journey here below.
Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
MaMa & PaPa at the age I remember them
Having fun on the farm!
"We
Will Remember" Video Triumphant
Quartet
"Thank You Jesus for the Blood
" Video Charity
Gayle This was the concluding song
following Communion in our service yesterday
at Calvary Church.
"Yet
Not I But Through Christ In Me"
Video
CityAlight
Our
class gathering was held on this spacious
farm.
It
was a pleasant evening for our class
gathering down on the farm. The farmhouse
was completely surrounded by corn and Bob
Rohrer, the host farmer, reminded us to be
careful what we say since we have lots of
"ears" listening to us!
Sitting
in such a peaceful setting I called to mind
the turmoil is so many places on this
terrestrial ball such as Afghanistan, Haiti,
Nigeria and so many troubled countries. I
consider the chaos in so many of our cities.
May God remind us always to count our
blessings!
Stephen’s
great-grandfather Godfrey Wilhelm Steincross
(left) and grandfather George Washington
Steincross (about 1900)
I
am so thankful for the pattern these two men
set for me; hard work, responsibility,
honesty, faithfulness, love for family
MaMa & PaPa at the age I remember them
George Washington Steincross and
Nellie Mae Steincross (Charles)
Like Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5) faith
was passed down through my grandmother.
Having fun on the farm!
One year we had some snow in
southern Missouri at Christmas so Uncle
Gentry took some of us kids out for a
makeshift sled ride on his Allis-Chalmers
tractor, pulling what appears to be a wood
pallet in the snow. The tractor driver is my
smiling cousin Steve and I'm in the photo standing on
the back of the pallet. I think that's my
sister Genelle sitting on the pallet. Uncle
Gentry doesn't look like he's in a very safe
place with a young driver at the steering
wheel who could accidentally pop the clutch!
Uncle Gentry passed away in the
80's and his wife, Dora, lived on the farm
alone for another year till she moved to
town. The farm was sold since all the
children located elsewhere.
Finally Today:
Yesterday
afternoon Jim and Dorothy Schmidt came for
lunch. We met the Schmidts over 20 year ago
in Boston at a conference. At the time they
lived in Ocean City, New Jersey but about
five years ago moved to Lancaster County and
now live at Calvary Homes, one of our area's
many senior communities.
In
our quiet neighborhood we have lots of golf
carts and bicycles driving past our front
yard. Our good friends drove by at dusk last
evening and stopped to say hello. The four
granddaughters were visiting and having fun
riding with Grandpa at the wheel.
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& Brooksyne
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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