Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Deuteronomy 4-6
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 10:2-9
Jesus: There’s a great harvest waiting in the fields, but there aren’t many good workers to harvest it. Pray that the Harvest Master will send out good workers to the fields.
It’s time for you 70 to go. I’m sending you out armed with vulnerability, like lambs walking into a pack of wolves. Don’t bring a wallet. Don’t carry a backpack. I don’t even want you to wear sandals. Walk along barefoot, quietly, without stopping for small talk. When you enter a house seeking lodging, say, “Peace on this house!” If a child of peace—one who welcomes God’s message of peace—is there, your peace will rest on him. If not, don’t worry; nothing is wasted. Stay where you’re welcomed. Become part of the family, eating and drinking whatever they give you. You’re My workers, and you deserve to be cared for. Again, don’t go from house to house, but settle down in a town and eat whatever they serve you. Heal the sick and say to the townspeople, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
So, are you ready to hear a really scary statistic? Here it is. In the United States, 50% of the population does not claim any religious affiliation of any kind. Not Christian, not Mormon, not Muslim, not Hindu, nothing. Does that scare you? It does me. It says that half of our country has no religious influence directing their moral compass. Is there any wonder we are in the shape we are in as a nation? When half our population has no moral compass, but just does what seems right in their own eyes, we are in the state Israel was in at the beginning of the book of Judges. Do you remember what that was like?
The nation was ripe for invasion by every religious charlatan that came through and the people fell for it. God poured out His wrath on them by letting those nations sweep through an conquer them over and over because of their apostasy. The nation had no leadership. There was no cohesion. There was civil war between the tribes. Others plundered the land at will. Sounds a lot like what’s happening to us now doesn’t it.
Jesus told those gathered around Him the harvest was plentiful but their were few workers to go out into the field. He was talking about the number of souls that needed to hear the message and come to God in repentance. He was talking about needing people who were willing to just go share their testimony about what God had done in their lives to others who needed to hear that message. He was talking about people unafraid to bear the ridicule and persecution of the world if it came because they knew the joy that comes from living for God and know the importance of sharing it at all cost.
So here we sit in the middle of a country that needs God desperately. Jesus lived in an age when the majority of people had some kind of religion. Most were polytheistic, but they believed in their gods. Today, half our population doesn’t even have that to guide their behavior, just their own conscience. Truly the harvest is plentiful if we can just get the message of God’s salvation to them.
But who will go? Who will dare to just talk to their neighbor or a friend or a co-worker or a teacher or anyone about the God who saves? What does it cost to just share your testimony about the change God made in your life? It might cost little or it might cost a lot, but the point is, it is our mission. Jesus commands us to go make disciples. To be His witnesses at home and abroad. He commands us to be those harvesters and tell others about the plan God has for His children.
Jesus says go out without any concern for what you’ll eat or where you’ll sleep or what you’ll wear. I think He says just go share your testimony. That tells me that sometimes we will share our testimony at home where we already have the food we need and a bed to sleep in. It tells me it doesn’t matter what we wear when we share His message. We might be dressed up to go out for dinner or we might be in our workout clothes at the gym or we might be in filthy jeans and a t-shirt cutting the grass. But wherever we are and whenever we have a chance we should be ready and willing to take every opportunity to share our testimony to someone who needs to hear it.
Remember, 50% of the people in the United States claim to have no religious affiliation. That means if you do, there is a good chance the person you are talking to might not. You have an opportunity to do something really incredible by just telling someone your story. You might make them understand that God is real and wants to bring all of us into His kingdom if we will just turn to Him.
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