Sunday, October 31, 2010

What Are You Afraid Of?






If anyone has been paralyzed with fear, I have. I can give a long, 22 year old testimony as to how my life has been littered with doubts, fears and worries. They stem from a heart that, at times, is just not willing to trust the God of the universe with different areas of life. I have found that most of my fears are merely lies in disguise. These lies continually churn in my mind, exhausting me from a Christ- focused-life so much that they become ‘truth’ in my mind. This harvests a discontented spirit and quenches the joy of knowing Jesus as both my Lord and Savior.

I have learned that the only hope I have in stopping the hostility of these lies is to combat them immediately with God’s Word; the Truth. I encourage you to do the same; this morning I wrote out some current fears as well as thoughts that have pinned me down in the past. My ammunition has been a few of these scriptures that address the topic. Some of the verses are merely just the tip of the iceberg in revealing a Biblical man or woman’s life who are slaves to a similar fear that you may be facing. A good place to begin finding your amo, is a word search of a particular word either in the back of your Bible or I use www.biblegateway.com or www.studylight.org. Whatever you do, don’t just stop at the verse, dig deeper and read it in context please! God’s Word is meant to be in its entirety. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what the text says and you’ll discover that Truth exposes the lies in disguise. I would even go as far to write it down---and remind you on the days you find yourself locked to a ball and chain of a particular fear.

Additionally, you could ask godly friends, parents, or your pastor to give you some ideas of passages dealing with the fear. If you feel like a verse is not “hitting the spot” sometimes all you need to do is to meditate simply on God’s character. In college, I was blessed to attend a Bible study lead by a beautiful, God-fearing woman who taught us how to simply meditate on who God is. My absolute favorite hymn is “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Although it’s not scripture persay, the lyrics could not be any better!

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will turn strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

It’s amazing how focusing on how BIG God is in comparison to your fear, immediately destroys it and you’re able to glorify God instead of worrying about it.

One more suggestion, if you’re visual person like me, I sometimes need to see things in order for it to really sink in. I created this little “Sticky-Note-Prayer Poster” where I have the verse Philippians 4:6-7 written out at the top. Then I wrote down specific prayer requests, fears, worries, and temptations that are constantly on my mind on sticky notes. I created the rule that I can take the sticky note down and pray about it or leave it up there---otherwise my thoughts shouldn’t be trying to figure it out. Some days it works and other days I still struggle, but again, it’s a visual that I can tell myself “It’s up there! Leave it alone!” Or I am just reminded of what the verse says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Those words are enough to knock-out any fear!

I fear pain


Job 5:18
"For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.

Revelation 21:3b-4
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

I fear change

Psalm 46:2-5
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not R1397 fear, though the R1398 earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; F4113 Though its waters R1400 roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. F412 4 There is a river R1401 whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in R1404 the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.



I fear fat and an undesirable appearance

Matthew 6:27-34

27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifeF30 ?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


1 Samuel 16:6-7
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Psalm 45:11 “The king is enthralled with your beauty.”

1 Peter 3:1-5 (EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT MARRIED!)
1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.

I fear sickness

John 11-The Death of Lazarus: Christ is glorified in the sickness of him (4)

Proverbs 18:14
A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

I fear not knowing how to respond to others

Psalm 37
1 [a] Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Mark 13:10-11
10And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
Luke 12:1-12—Please read in context, you will understand when you get to it 
It’s both “Warnings and Encouragements” so take into consideration both the warning and the encouragement from it! Especially verse 12


I fear not listening/knowing His will

(see parts of Psalm 37—multi-purpose verse!)

Psalm 16

I fear disappointment

This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"See, I will beckon to the Gentiles,
I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the LORD;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed."


I fear being alone

Psalm 25:15-17
15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
Genesis 28:15
“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
Deuteronomy 31:6
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

I fear forgetfulness


Psalm 105:7-9
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
Psalm 111:3-5
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.

I fear making mistakes

Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

2 Samuel 22:33
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Psalm 37:23-24
23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.


I fear not being good enough

Colossians 3:1-17
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I even fear the act of fear or lack of confidence

Moses and the Burning Bush-Exodus

Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A New Creation


I was running yesterday in a pretty residential area and I glanced up to see this little girl on pink roller skates rolling down the sidewalk. She was just itty bitty! While she was skating away from me, she started moving her arms in dancing motions and I had to keep myself from giggling out-loud because I do believe I just had snapshot of myself around her age. My mind drifted to this time of year with Halloween coming up and I thought of all of the ridiculous costumes I managed to conjure up! One of them incorporated these roller skates but of course, we live in the country so they weren’t going to work real well on the gravel roads or in the car to get to our neighbor’s house a mile away. I was anything from a farmer, to a gymnast, to a box of crayons and my favorite, a professional dog trainer. Yup. I was determined at an early age that when I grew up I would be a professional dog trainer. I know, I know you’re going to ask “Joni, just how does one dress up to be a professional dog trainer for Halloween?” Easy peasy! Just find an old neon-colored-billed Sinclair gas station cap; cross out Sinclair and write “Dog Trainer” with a permanent marker; put one of those wolf t-shirts you could get in Branson, MO on, along with some jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. Oh and if you’re like me, and can’t bring your 150 lb dog in the car to go Trick or Treating, just grab the leash instead. HA. Yes—there are many days that I ask myself “How on earth did I go out in public like that?” The same way I did when I wore this nerd costume pictured. I guess I may fit this profile a little closer than the dog trainer since I do consider myself a nerd but in all seriousness, I believe I have managed to wear the crazy costumes for Homecoming, Halloween and Kanakuk Kamps because for one night, I got be different. I truly think that that is what 90% of the population who participate in Halloween want to get from the holiday. Another 9% want the chocolate, and the 1 % are the crazy people who just want to be scary and freak people out—which is just wrong!

Think about it---putting on a costume sometimes gives us the ability to say and do things that we normally would not do because the fear of what people may think when they see us. When we dress up. somehow we get this almost ‘fearless’ and ‘freeing’ attitude and we become alive in that particular character. It’s just like acting in any school play or musical—playing the part of someone different than ourselves allows us to actually have the confidence to do and say things we normally wouldn’t say. Psychologically, I believe we all have this somewhat deep desire to be someone different because of a discontentment with who we are. In some ways this can be bad because of course we would never want to compare ourselves and covet the life of another but I also see it in the light of a passage in 2 Corinthians that being transformed into another, more permanent ‘costume’ or ‘creation’ as being really good.
“16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. R16 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling R17 the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ESV www.studylight.org


I do realize that when you are a new creation in Christ, you are not just merely putting on a costume, and that it is really a change in who you are because of entrusting your life with Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to come into your life---but the transformation that should take place inside is only bound to bear witness in your physical appearance as well. This does not come in the form of Christian t-shirts, purity rings and cross necklaces, but rather in living with that same fearless-spirit or that freedom of being someone different because of Christ in your life. Do you truly believe that Christ has set you free from whatever sinful person you were before you encountered him? Do you realize that we have just been transformed into a new creation? This new creation relates to a passage in Romans 6 that describes us being buried with Christ and raised with him in order that we may have a ‘newness of life.’ I know we have Halloween on the brain so please don’t think of the zombie-like raising from the dead but think of someone actually dying and then just waking up, getting up fully alive! And it’s because of the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that we too can experience the power of living a different life than the sinful one all of mankind is born into. Do you understand how awesome that is? We don’t have to be ‘ourselves’ we can be someone totally different; different in the sense of ridding ourselves from the destructive behaviors of sin and freedom to live as children of God! We are free of guilt, free of regret, free of bondage to the world’s definition of who you are and more importantly, free from death! Now THAT is a holiday-worthy celebration! It’s ok to have fun and dress up once in a while; just remember that if you have accepted Christ, you are a new creation! Ha! I must say it’s a bit scary how legit I look as a nerd—almost more natural than the roller skating gymnast or the professional dog-trainer!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Classic Commandments

Image from: http://cdn.mos.totalfilm.com/images/t/the-wizard-of-oz-800-75.jpg

It is funny how the older I get, the more I enjoy things from the past; for example, I love watching older movies, specifically musicals like Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz (can you tell I grew up in a musical home?). Their stories are timeless and they really draw you into the plot as if you’re one of the characters. I feel like anyone can relate to one of the characters and of course, it always ends ‘Happily Ever After.” The other day I was thinking about the characters on the Wizard of Oz and some parallels that can be drawn between the Tin Man, Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Lion and a couple “classic” verses in the Bible regarding a commandment given. This was not just any commandment, but one that Jesus said was “The Greatest Commandment.” It was originally stated way back in Deuteronomy 6 to the Israelites. A little background to preface the verse is that Moses is sharing the Ten Commandments to the Israelites (Deut. 5). He finishes with the ten main commandments and goes into a portion of his “sermon” on “The Greatest Commandment.” He preps the verse in 37 with the reasoning behind this commandment; that it is what God has commanded so that they may fear the Lord and that they may all live long lives (vs. 1-2). Moses also warns the people to be careful and hopes for the people to multiply greatly in the land that God has promised them. He uses the word “Shema” meaning—“Hear oh Israel,” or “Listen up—this is important!” God alone is Lord—there are no other gods—this concept is firmly spoken and repeated and followed by our classic commandment, (6:5) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. (6) And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” Verse six “on your heart” refers to a demand for a heart that totally loves the Lord” (ESV commentary). Following this verse, Moses goes on in chapter 7 describing how God feels about Israel:

7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest people, but it was because the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt….Know therefore, that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations and repays to their face those who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statues and the rules that I command you today.”

ESV

If I were to leave out that last portion of scripture and just plop the verse “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength,” I think you would react somewhat like, “Ah. Ok, I will do my best.” But when you put it into the context of that whole passage, God reveals WHY we should obey the commandment—not just because the Israelites will multiply or inherit the promise land, but because WHO God is! I love how he describes Israel as his “treasured possession,” and his reasoning behind choosing Israel was not because of anything they had done but because he wanted to save them from slavery. He describes himself as a “faithful God who keeps his covenant and steadfast love with those that love him and keep his commandments.” Interestingly enough, this commandment cycles its way back when Jesus is speaking to the Sadducees, Pharisees and his disciples in Matthew about the “Greatest Commandment.”

“34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40

After reading this verse, you may have a ‘deer in the headlights’ look and feel inadequate. Keeping with our parallel of the Wizard of Oz, you may feel a lot like the characters from Wizard Oz in the sense that you don’t feel like you have the heart, the soul, the mind (or the strength) to love the Lord. In fact, you may not even totally understand what these words even mean. Well let’s dissect these two verses a bit and try and get a better idea of what each component is about:

Love-In this passage, the translated Greek word “Agapao.” It is a verb that means “of persons-to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly,” The King James Version uses the word “Beloved.” Knowing this definition, it somewhat sets-the-stage for what we are to do to welcome and love God dearly.

Lord-This word is translated to “Kurios”-“he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he was power of deciding; master, lord-a possessor and disposer of a thing; the owner; one who has control of the person, the master; in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor; is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master; this title is given to: God, the Messiah.” Putting it with the verb Agapao—we are to welcome, entertain, to be fond of and love dearly the person we belong to; our master.”


Heart-Defined as “kardioa”- “organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life. Denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life; the vigor and sense of physical life; the centre and seat of spiritual life (1) the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors; (2) of understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence; (3) of the will and character; (4) of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions; of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate.”

Now, the soul is often confused with the heart. What do you think the difference between heart and soul is? I asked a couple friends of mine this question; one of them said that “soul” refers to personality, humanity while “heart” refers to what is redeemed by Christ, can represent emotions. Another friend of mine pointed me in the direction of Aristotle’s tri-partite soul which goes into a lot of detail that my sweet little mind cannot totally understand (HA!) But, from what I do understand is that Aristotle believed that the soul was the very “essence” of a person and the intellectual part of the human soul is indeed eternal and seperable from the body. The whole “tri-partite” aspect refers to technical, prudential and theoretical. To be completely honest with you, I feel like until someone who thinks alone these same wavelengths stoops down and explains it to me, I would dare to say that in relation to our analogy, my pitiful attempts to understanding this would compare to the spinning of the Twister from the Wizard of Oz! HEHE! From what I have gathered, Aristotle’s definition of the soul is closely related to the Christian’s definition (please correct me all you thinkers before God strikes me please!  ) What is interesting to note is that scripture does separate the heart from the soul:

Deuteronomy 4:29 : But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 30:2,3: and(A) return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,

Jeremiah 24:7: 7(A) I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD,(B) and they shall be my people(C) and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

www.biblegateway.com

Ok, ok, I know I am beginning to become confused as well so let’s peek at some commentary from the English Standard Version Study Bible on Deuteronomy 6:5

“That the Lord is alone is Israel’s God leads to the demand for Israel’s exclusive and total devotion to him. Heart…soul…might. All Israelites in their total being are to love the Lord; “ this is the great and first commandment (Matt. 22:38). In Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27, Jesus includes “mind.” In early Hebrew, “heart” included what we call the “mind” Might includes energy and ability.”

From Deuteronomy 30:1-2

“The context is exile, following from 29:28. The word for mind (Hb. Lebab) can also be rendered “heart” (see 6:5). The verse anticipates that God’s words (all these things) will enter the exiles’ hearts, leading them to return to God, or repent which means to change their thinking and behavior completely. All your heart and with all your soul.”

Commentary from 30:6 uses the analogy and Jewish custom of circumcision by saying “ This is a key promise in Deuteronomy, looking forward to genuine covenant participation (see Jer. 31:33; Ezek 36:26-27; Rom 2:25; Col 2:11) so that you will love. God’s changing of the heart enables obedience.

Is it beginning to make sense? There is no recipe for which part of you needs to love God—bottom line is the fact that it has to be ALL of you! I do encourage you though to seek out the deeper meanings of these passages because I feel like the more you look into it, the more you are able to recognize what it looks like in your life. One more parallel to the Wizard of Oz is recognizing that the characters traveled the yellow brick road to see who? The Wizard! Now, I’m not all about sorcery and magic fluff but you have to admit, it’s pretty cool that they go to a Wizard to get a “heart”; a “soul” (we’ll say Dorothy because she’s wanting to go home---get it?! HA! See how great this analogy is!); a “mind” and “strength.” Similarly, we must get these “things” from God. It was God’s word entering the hearts of the Israelites that led them to return to Him with everything their entirety. Have you done that? Have you recognized that you have been separated from God because of sin—not just because you told a lie once but that you are honestly not good from the time you’re born? Have you recognized the sin in your life as a means of separation from God and fulfilling your life’s purpose of being in a relationship with the God of the universe?

We have the ability to have a relationship; to love God with our entire being because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. You cannot save a part of yourself and give some to God—it has to be everything—just like the characters from the Wizard of Oz each received what they needed—including Dorothy going back to Kansas. Do you get it? Seriously, we were created to obey this commandment---nothing else in this life matters except obedience to this one commandment (and the others fall into line after it). It’s not a matter of “willing yourself” to it; it’s the obedience of recognizing the commandment God has spoken into your heart and following through by accepting his Son into your life as Lord and Savior. So often we as Christians get caught up in “Well, I accepted Jesus and I get so confused on everything that life throws at me, how do I make sense of it all?” Write this commandment on your heart and ask yourself in EVERY situation, “Am I loving God with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength?”

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The 2nd Harvest Haze~

Link from:http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevacek/2714248429/


I was reminded of this devotional I wrote last year during the fall season and it has somewhat become "buried" among the other devotionals I have written over the past year; therefore, I thought it would be most appropriate to bring it back up to the front. You may not be able to witness the haze that's created by large combines in your area during the fall because you live in a city or a non-rural area; however, do not let that keep you from applying the analogy to your life! In the same sense of not witnessing the harvest events that go on in the Dakotas, you may not be a full-time missionary, a pastor or even really involved in your church (although, I hope you are to some degree!). You may be fearful of what others may think or what you will say but the Word commands us to "Go and make disciples of all nations!" You are still called to be a worker of the Lord. There's a huge harvest to bring in; just look around you.

"Harvest Haze" from November 2009 ~
"There's a haze that is being created right now across the Dakotas by thousands of farmers working towards bringing in this year's crops. I was driving down to Sioux Falls last night on I-29 and was overcome with this haze created from a nearby field. The haze was so thick that it was I was almost unable to see the car in front of me. I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite verses in Luke 10



"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers for the harvest."



I was challenged by this analogy of the "Haze of Harvest." Am I, as a Christ-follower, pursuing the harvest of souls like those combines are working towards bringing in the harvest to the point of creating a haze? How thick is the haze your walk with Christ is creating? You may not always reap the evidence of your efforts in impacting the Kingdom, but you should see some degree of 'haze' in your life. Partner with me today in asking the Lord of the harvest, to cause a haze to be created as you love like our Lord Jesus Christ and bring others closer to their Creator."