Harvest

Sleeping in Harvest?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

More years ago than I care to share I remember helping friends with putting up hay. Though they had begun early in the morning the 1700 bale count was just too many for them to finish alone. The hay was perfect and lay in endless numbers on the field but on the horizon loomed dark thunderstorms. At hearing of their dilemma over the phone we jumped into our pick-up truck and sped across miles of dirt roads to help. What fun we had that night as we pitched in to help our tired friends. At 2 a.m. the rain finally came but just 50 bales still lay outside the barn.

Today there is also a harvest and there are hearts ready to be gathered into the Father’s barn. There is also a storm on the horizon and it is coming our way. Are we willing to give all to see as many as possible brought safely in or will we hang up the phone and go to sleep for the night?

Harvest Planning

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8

IMG_5328In seed catalogues every variety comes with a photo. But the photos are not of the seeds; they are of, red ripe tomatoes or deep green broccoli. No one wants to see shriveled up corn or dried beans. Continue reading →

What would Jesus think?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Some years ago it became popular to have the letters WWJD on a bracelet. That acronym asked “What would Jesus do?”

The answer often seems clear i.e. would Jesus rob the convenient mart? Would Jesus buy cocaine? Would Jesus swindle the car insurance company? What is not always obvious are questions like, “Would Jesus marry Jody? What does He think about a 5 year car loan vs a lease? Can my teenage daughter go on dates? That is when we need to ask, “What would Jesus Think? What is His opinion of my friends, my career choice or my activities at church?

James gives us some great guidelines to help us pick out of the crowd of ideas, the guidance that comes from God.

I always remember the saying of Pastor Rick Warren, “God loves you and everybody else has a wonderful plan for your life!” Just like the Nike swoosh tells us which clothing is theirs so God’s plan has some trademarks.

First comes purity. There can be no hidden selfish motive in the direction God leads. Using friendship for profit or manipulating our family for personal advancement cannot be an acceptable way of thinking before Jesus.

Next our choices that line up with His will carry with them a sense of His peace. No matter what people say no what happens we find a supernatural trust rises in our hearts in the face of conflict.

Last of all is the quiet loving gentle strength we receive as we stay with God’s way of thinking. His thoughts in our hearts are like good seed. The longer they stay and the deeper they are planted the bigger the fruit and greater the harvest will be!