Deciding to See the Harvest

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.     John 4:35  NIV

     

    This whole month we have been working at opening our eyes to see the harvest of people that God wants to bring into his family.  There are billions of lost people all over the world who need to hear and believe the message of Christ or else they will spend eternity away from God and separated from all goodness.  It is typical for all of us to keep our eyes looking down on our situation.  It takes an intentional decision to lift up our eyes and see the harvest before us.

   What intentional step can you take this week to see the  potential harvest of lost people near you or far away from you?  Could you pause to pray for people who do not trust God who live in nations which make the news this coming week?  Could you pause each day to look at a world map and pray for another country?  Could you memorize this verse above so that you have a frequent reminder to see the lost people around you?  Set aside a few moments this week to ask God to help you take a practical step see the harvest of people who need Christ.

A Heart in Sync with God's Goodness

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.      Luke 19:10 NIV

    

    One mark of a true follower of Christ is a sincere  desire to become more like Jesus in both heart and action.  When we received Christ, our hearts were renewed and we received a fresh appetite to do God’s will.  While we are not perfect,  we do want to have more and more of God’s goodness in us.  We want to live in harmony with God’s good will.

   In Luke 19:10, we have a clear description of Christ’s passion “to seek and save the lost.”  If this is Christ’s passion, that means God has planted this same desire in us.  It may flicker at varying degrees of intensity, but the spark of love for the lost is in our hearts.  How can we fan the flame of this  love?

   One of the simplest ways to fan this flame is to  pray for specific lost people that we know.  Who do you know that has not been restored to a relationship with God?  The issue is their heart toward God.  Do they trust him or ignore him?  You will find lost people among both the naughty and the nice.  A rule follower can be just as lost as a rule breaker.   The story of the prodigal son teaches this to us.

  This week, set aside a few moments to ask God to give you a burden to pray for 2-3  people who have not discovered the joy of a restored relationship with God.  Write their names down and commit to praying for them at least once a week.  To further strengthen your love for the lost, choose a country in North Africa or Asia where there are many who don’t know  the true God and commit to praying at least once a week for people in that country to repent and turn to God through Christ.  

Believing in Jesus for our Friends

Some men came, bringing to Him [Jesus] a paralyzed man, carried by the four of them.      Mark 2:3  NIV

   Do you believe that Jesus can revolutionize and transform the lives of your friends?   If so, how is your belief demonstrated by your actions?  Are you as desperate for your friends as these men were for their friend?   They tore a hole in the roof of someone’s house just to get their friend to Jesus.

   What can you do to bring your friends to Jesus this Christmas season?  Could you invite them to a regular worship service or to a Christmas Eve celebration?  Could you commit to praying for them everyday between now and Christmas?  Could you introduce them to other Christian friends so they have more friends who care about  them getting to know Jesus?  Could you simply ask God for an opportunity to share your story of faith with them?

   One of the best gifts we can give our non-believing friends is to believe in Jesus’ power for them.  That won’t save them, but it will increase our desire bring them to who can save them.  Believing in Jesus’ power for them may also give us the boldness to do something daring on their behalf.  Take some time this week and ask God to give you a burden for one of your non-believing friends and then ask God for opportunities to bring this person to Jesus.