Harvest

Dec

2023

Ripe for Harvest

John 4:35 – “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.”

Jesus uttered these words to his disciples after an encounter with a Samaritan woman.

Having ministered to this outcast soul and witnessed her life transformed, Jesus saw ripe spiritual fields surrounding him. Yet his disciples remained blinded to the hunger of souls.

Like the disciples, we often fail to notice those around us desperate for hope, meaning, and salvation.

We miss opportunities to sow spiritual seeds and reap a harvest for eternity. There are far more ready hearts than we imagine.

Open our Eyes

Ask the Lord to break your heart for the lost and open your eyes to see people as He does.

Plead for His compassion and zeal to reach the wandering and broken.

Where we see apathy or hostility, God sees hearts crying out for Him. Ask Him for faith to act.

Now is the Time – No Delay

Christ’s mandate is urgent – the fields are ripe for harvest now. We are not called to wait for perfect conditions or hold back until fully equipped.

The fields are white and ready today. Eternity hangs in the balance.

God commands us to go into the world and make disciples now. Through His power, our simple acts of loving witness can reap monumental harvest as we sow gospel seeds among hungry hearts.

Obedience brings exponential impact for eternity.

Available Vessels

Are you an available vessel God can use to gather a ripe spiritual harvest?

Yield your time, talents, and treasure to reach those around you. Allow His heart for the lost and His empowering Spirit to flow through you.

He will prepare divine appointments as you make yourself a willing vessel.

Co-Laborers

Jesus reminds us that we are privileged to co-labor with Him in gathering a bountiful harvest.

It requires persistent, patient sowing of truth – in word and deed – with hearts open to divine appointments.

As we walk in obedience, Jesus promises we will reap a harvest beyond our wildest dreams. What joy to partner with Jesus!

Eternal Reward

The harvest is plentiful! Rise to the challenge of Jesus’ words to see others as He does and co-labor urgently with Him. Step out in faith, and share in His incomparable joy of leading many to salvation.

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Sep

2023

Harvest of Souls

Matthew 9:37 offers a striking metaphor that paints a picture of spiritual harvest. In this verse, Jesus likens the vastness of the spiritual need to a plentiful harvest and highlights the need for workers.

Abundance of Souls

Imagine a vast field ripe for harvest, filled with grains ready to be gathered. This imagery captures the abundance of people in need of spiritual transformation. Jesus’ words remind us that the world is filled with individuals longing for hope, purpose, and salvation.

Call for Workers

Just as a bountiful harvest requires workers to gather the crops, Jesus calls for workers to engage in the spiritual harvest.

The call goes beyond a select few – it extends to all who are willing to participate. This verse challenges us to consider our role in the mission of reaching souls, whether through acts of kindness, sharing the Gospel, or simply being a beacon of Christ’s love.

Compassion for the Lost

The phrase “harassed and helpless” in the proceeding verse points to the spiritual condition of many. Jesus’ heart is moved with compassion for those who are lost and without direction.

This verse reminds us of Jesus’ deep concern for people’s well-being, inviting us to share in that compassion by reaching out to those in need.

Urgency of the Harvest

Matthew 9:37 carries a sense of urgency – the need for workers is pressing. Just as a ripe harvest can quickly spoil if not gathered in time, souls are in need of timely care and attention.

This verse prompts us to seize the opportunity to engage in the mission of Christ, understanding the urgency of bringing hope and salvation to a world in need.

Joining the Harvest

Matthew 9:37 presents you with a vivid metaphor of spiritual harvest, workers, and the urgency of the task at hand.

As you consider the abundant souls in need of transformation, respond to Jesus’ call for workers with a heart full of compassion.

Your participation in the spiritual harvest can lead to lives transformed by the power of Christ.

Sep

2017

Harvest Time

I think October is the most exciting month of the year! The beautiful autumn leaves bursting with color, as they prepare to fall to the earth, the crisp, cool mornings, the fields full of corn being harvested, the sights and smells of October give our senses an overload.

What wonder! What beauty!

October is the month when the harvest is in full swing. Farmers are gathering their crops, those who have labored through the spring and summer months are busy gathering the fruit of their labors.

The pumpkins and squashes are ripening, the potatoes need to be dug. Many households are busy canning and preparing the harvest for the long winter months that lay ahead.

What exciting days!

I am reminded of the year that we (The Pifer Family) decided to plant about 4 acres of potatoes.

I’ll never forget the incredible work that went into that project. First, we secured a field, and then dad plowed the whole thing with his little Farmall Cub tractor, and if I remember right, a little fertilizer was added as well.

Then, we bought what seemed like tons of seed potatoes, and we sliced each one and then set out about the task of placing them about 12 inches or so apart in rows, it seemed like forever (especially when you are about 13 years old)

Once the field was sown, we had little to do but wait. Occasionally we went over and made sure the bugs were not attacking what we had sown, but apart form that, we just waited.

The summer sped by, and finally, the days of harvest came. We began to dig potatoes, and more potatoes, and still more! I don’t know how many we took in that year, but it was a lot!

As we dug potatoes, we found out that some were rotten, but as we gathered them in, we had no time to separate them, we just picked everything and then sorted later.

We had potatoes! We sold potatoes, we gave potatoes away, we had potatoes with every meal!

That story reminds me of another harvest that is about to take place, a harvest of infinitely greater value than a thousand acre potato patch, it is “The Harvest!”

God has been planting His seed for a great many years now, and the fields are white and ready to be picked. Jesus gave some pretty good indicators as to when that would take place, and as we watch with eager anticipation of that great Day, we see the world stage is set, and the people and places are getting ready.

You can almost hear the harvesters getting ready, sharpening their sickles, getting ready for the call.

I hope you are waiting with eager anticipation of that great Day. If thoughts of that Day of Harvest frighten you, perhaps you are not ready.

When the time comes for Jesus to return, all fruit will be gathered, ready or not, and then, just like our great potato harvest, each will be sorted, those that are rotten, will be tossed out, but those that are ripe, will be gathered together to be used by God in that remarkable place called Heaven.

I can’t wait! How about you? Are you ready for the Harvest?

Revelation 14:14-16

I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.