Tag Archives: workers

The harvest is ready (Luke 10:2-9) October 24, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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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.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Tenants of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-40) May 18, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 57-59

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:33-40
Jesus: Here is another story: A landowner planted a vineyard, put a wall around it, fitted it with a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard and left town. When harvesttime came, the landowner sent his servants to collect rent—in the form of grapes—from his tenants. The tenants attacked these rent-collecting servants. They killed one, stoned another, and beat a third. The dismayed landowner sent another band of servants to try to collect his due, a larger group of servants this time, but the tenants did the same thing—capturing, beating, killing. Finally the landowner sent his son to the tenants, thinking, “They will at least respect my son.” But the tenants knew the son was the best way to get to the landowner, so when they saw the son approaching they said,
Tenants: This is the landowner’s heir apparent! Let’s kill him and take his inheritance.
And so they did; they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What do you think the landowner will do when he comes and sees those tenants?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It almost seems like Jesus is taunting the chief priests and scribes and elders in the temple and around Jerusalem, doesn’t it? Here he is again with another story that points directly at them. Using our 20/20 hindsight, clearly, the story is an allegory for God’s kingdom and the judgment against the religious leaders in Israel. The landowner is the Father, the vineyard is the work done here on earth to gather people into His kingdom. The workers are those who should be spreading the word of His love and grace and mercy, those whose mission is growing the kingdom. The son of the landowner is Jesus.

What should be done to the tenants of the vineyard who kill the landowner’s son? It’s an easy question for those religious bigots to answer. Tear them to pieces. Kill them all. Throw them out. Find others who will be honest and work diligently for the landowner. But these self-righteous religious leaders didn’t see themselves as the workers in the vineyard. They saw the injustice in the story, but didn’t see their own failures in doing exactly the same thing with God’s work.

The outsiders, the Gentiles came to Jerusalem and the religious leaders to find God’s grace and they were driven away by the self-righteous leaders who held the law in their hands. Even their fellow Jews came to find grace and instead were burdened by the impossible traditions levied on them by these men who made sure everyone who came to the temple felt the guilt of their sin rather than the grace of God’s love.

Soon, they would even take action against the Father’s Son by hanging Him on a tree. Thinking Him cursed and unfit for their imagined kingdom of God, they would have Him crucified, murdered by the conspsiracy of their doing. What would happen to them? The church would grow exponentially. They couldn’t stop it. As hard as they tried, the church would grow.

So what does the story of these leaders of the past have to do with us? Do we fit into the allegory anywhere? Maybe. Take a look at what you do in your ministries. Do you drive away those who would seek the fruits of your labor. Do you try to hoard what God has done for you and try to keep it for yourself? Do you think God has blessed you in whatever way He has so that you can enjoy those benefits alone?

If so, look at the plight of those workers in the vineyard. The landowner expected a return on His investment in those tenants. He expected the laborers to give back to Him something of what they were allowed to enjoy. The landowner didn’t take it all. He just wanted a return on His investment. He could take it all, after all, the land was His. The vines were His. Everything there belonged to Him. The workers were fortunate to have an opportunity to work and probably given food to eat and a place to live as long as they worked in the vineyard. But the profit belonged to the landowner. Everyone knew it. Even those tenants.

So what about the work that you do? Do you realize that it all belongs to God? Do you give it to Him to let Him use it in whatever way He desires? Do you begrudge Him your time, offerings, energy, job, family, whatever tasks you might do in His name? If you do, remember Paul’s words. “Whatever you do, do it as if for the Lord.” Everything belongs to Him anyway. We are only tenants in this little dot of space. He owns it all and allows us to enjoy a bit of it for our pleasure for a little while. But never forget that during those few years we are here, we are just tenants. We just pass through. Remember the story. Don’t be caught like the tenants Jesus describes. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Are you ready to work? (Matthew 9:37-38) February 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 28-31

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 9:37-38
Jesus understood what an awesome task was before Him, so He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

When I was much, much younger, I worked on a couple of farms just enough to realize I never wanted to be a farmer. I think the worst couple of days was helping load baled hay onto a hay truck. The harvest was plentiful and the workers were far too few. Those bales got heavier as the day wore on and the bed of the truck must have been on hydraulic lifts that pushed it ten feet higher in the air. By the time we cleared the field of those bales, I could barely move.

Helping with livestock wasn’t much better. Slopping hogs or staring down a cow that weighs as much as my car isn’t my idea of a fun day. To all you farmers out there, my hat’s off to you. I don’t know how you do it. It’s hard back-breaking work without much return on investment other than seeing God at work through your labor. Of course, all of us could use a little more of taking time to admire the miracle of harvest time. Just the thought that crops grow from a seeds is a little mind boggling. After multiple courses in biology and chemistry, I can tell you the theories and mechanics, but what a miracle!

Just take time to hold a seed in your hand and look at the plant that comes from it. Take any seed. It doesn’t matter, but imagine an acorn and an oak tree. Or a pecan and its tree. Or a watermelon seed and the vine that produces a crop of melons. Can you imagine the Great Designer that put all that in place just perfectly for us? God is a magnificent Creator!

Back to Jesus’ words. We distance ourselves from harvest time today by getting our meat and potatoes from the grocery. A large percentage of us don’t even go to the produce aisles, we just get our vegetables in a can. So harvest means nothing to us. Our meat is neatly packaged in little white trays with plastic wrap on it so we can see how fresh it is. We never see the animal the meat comes from or the fields in which our fruit and vegetables grow.

But in Jesus’ day everyone knew what harvest was like. Everyone knew what farming and taking care of livestock was like. Everyone had a small garden in their yard. That’s how they lived. It’s how they got the majority of their vegetables. Most people had some chickens for eggs and a maybe a goat for milk or a couple of sheep for wool. In the cities, animals were everywhere. They didn’t appear on the streets just for transportation, they were a way of life for everyone. The disciples understood about harvest and workers in the field. But the metaphor might have caught them a little off guard.

You see, Jesus talked about souls. He talked about bringing a harvest of people into the Kingdom of God. The world was filling with people as He looked out over the mountainsides filled with villages and cities growing up under the influence of Roman rule. So many came into this tiny crossroads of the world traveling between Europe and Africa, from Persia and India to Egypt. This was the center for all international travelers. Everyone came through here.

Jesus saw these souls wandering aimlessly through life without direction, without hope. He had the answer. He was the answer. But He needed others to get the message out. He needed the disciples to believe, grasp His message of love and surrender to God. He needed more mouths than His to tell the story. He needed more feet than His to carry the message. He needed more hands than His to help the hurting. He needed more than just Him to show God to the lost and dying souls all around Him.

We often jump up and say, “I’ll be one of those workers! Let me work in your fields!” But I think back to my few experiences of farm life and know that harvesting is hard work. That metaphor sticks in the spiritual world, too. A lot of people jump up and wave their hands to volunteer, but when they find out about the sweat and tears and investment in others lives, they quietly sneak out the gate at the side of the field and disappear. What happened to the enthusiasm? What happened to the great cry to win the lost? What happened to mass of people in our churches who said they would volunteer but then don’t show up when it counts?

Talking with my fellow ministers, it’s not a problem in just my church or my denomination. If 15% of your congregation are fully engaged in ministering to others, you are truly blessed. That doesn’t mean giving up your job, it means saying “yes” when God has a task for you to do. It means doing the things Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. It means living the “Be Attitudes” for others to see the transformation He makes in our lives when we really let Him be Lord.

You see, the Lord of the harvest needs workers, not spectators. He needs people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty, deal with the messy issues of broken lives, love the unlovable. He did it for you, can we reciprocate? Are you ready to work?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.