God's challenge to us is to call!
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jer. 33:3
What is prayer? Simply, conversation with God made possible through Jesus because of His redemptive act of love towards all who put their trust in His salvation and seek to do His will. After all, He is Lord of the harvest. His promises are “yes” and “amen!” The problem is we are finite and self-centered so sometimes when the Lord answers a request in a way that is different then we hoped or expected, we can tend to doubt His love & care. Yet given time, we will end up feeling grateful to God for His divine intervention.
Prayer is a 2-way conversation. We must “be still and know that He is God” if we intend to hear His heart. This means that not only do we pour out our requests but we also have a choice to do His bidding once we have heard His heart. He has given us His Word as our greatest tool for His guidance. He has also given us the Holy Spirit’s power if we but ask. We do well to grow in our knowledge and love relationship with Jesus. It is great practice for His Lordship for all eternity. Oh the great mercy of our God!!!
Kathie
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Predictable Circumstances
“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the laborers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10
As one steps out for Jesus there are specifics that are guaranteed. First there will always be a harvest. While living in the Salinas valley this past year I noted that the farmers always seemed to have a crop ready. Actually I understand the Salinas valley provides a large portion of our nations greens. Corporations that have learned to maximize the value of the soil, the sun and water, oversee the farms.
Since the fall of Adam & Eve into sin there has always been a need for salvation. Satan has been tireless in leading the world into sin. Thus the ever increasing need for a harvest of souls. When the seed of God’s word goes forth(Luke 8)the harvest will follow.
But Jesus says the challenge (the second certain condition) is the lack of laborers. In fact He tells the disciples that they (laborers) are few. In Isaiah the prophet asks the familiar question, “who will go”? As disciples of Jesus we ought to ask our selves if we are among that elite group. Whether the answer is yes or no we can all take the next step and pray to the Lord of the harvest.
We may not be able or called to go to Africa. We may not even have the opportunity or the ability to go to the lost multitudes in our own country. But whatever the circumstances are we can always pray. “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest”. Thus the third assured circumstance is that there will always be a need for prayer.
Today do you see the harvest? Are you willing to labor in the harvest? And finally, are you willing to pray? If our answer is yes the fruit will be on the way.
As one steps out for Jesus there are specifics that are guaranteed. First there will always be a harvest. While living in the Salinas valley this past year I noted that the farmers always seemed to have a crop ready. Actually I understand the Salinas valley provides a large portion of our nations greens. Corporations that have learned to maximize the value of the soil, the sun and water, oversee the farms.
Since the fall of Adam & Eve into sin there has always been a need for salvation. Satan has been tireless in leading the world into sin. Thus the ever increasing need for a harvest of souls. When the seed of God’s word goes forth(Luke 8)the harvest will follow.
But Jesus says the challenge (the second certain condition) is the lack of laborers. In fact He tells the disciples that they (laborers) are few. In Isaiah the prophet asks the familiar question, “who will go”? As disciples of Jesus we ought to ask our selves if we are among that elite group. Whether the answer is yes or no we can all take the next step and pray to the Lord of the harvest.
We may not be able or called to go to Africa. We may not even have the opportunity or the ability to go to the lost multitudes in our own country. But whatever the circumstances are we can always pray. “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest”. Thus the third assured circumstance is that there will always be a need for prayer.
Today do you see the harvest? Are you willing to labor in the harvest? And finally, are you willing to pray? If our answer is yes the fruit will be on the way.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Call to "Go"
Reading in Isaiah 6 we see Isaiah being in the presence of the Lord, recognizing his own shortfalls and then being touched with God’s holiness. When God called Him to “go”, he responded to Him, “here am I Lord, send me”. When Jesus finished speaking to the multitudes in Luke chapter 5, He challenged Peter to launch out into the deep. Being in the boat with His creator, Peter realized his own sinfulness and said “depart from me for I am a sinful man”. Yet Jesus called him and promised to make him a fisher of men. In Mathew 28 Jesus calls His disciples to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” As we respond to God’s call we are all on a “Short-Term Mission”. The time is our life span. The mission field is everywhere. Jesus said in Acts, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The question remains…”are we willing to be involved in this mission? No wonder He says to pray, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.”
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