“…³⁷ Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; ³⁸ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:37-38 (KJV)

This was our scripture for this past Sunday and here Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful, there’s plenty of work of to do. But what is the Harvest that Jesus is talking about? Is it the large groups of people from all over the world that have never heard the gospel story of Jesus Christ and His love for them? Yes… But could it also be right where we are — at the office, in our schools, grocery stores, the stores? What about in our homes and with our neighbors? The trust is, the harvest Jesus is talking about can be anywhere and everywhere — even at the very place where we live. Wherever there is the possibility of a harvest – that is where our mission field is.

I have seen several churches that I have seen that has a slogan on the wall of their church as you go out the doors, and it says, “You are now entering your mission field” — which really sums it up. As the folks walk out of the church building, they are reminded, and it should even be a reminder of us, that we are entering our mission field.

Look around you, there’s work to do!
The harvest is there, but labourers are few.

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s … You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15 & 17 (NKJV)

Many times a song will begin to play that reminds me a of a great promise. Have you ever heard the song, “The Battle’s Not Mine” by the Dove Brothers? The chorus says this, “ The battle’s not mine, said little David, Lord it’s thine I’m in Your favor. I’ve given it all to you, I knew not what to do. I’m so glad you made me see, You’re really all that I need. For the battle’s not mine, I give it to You, Lord it’s Thine.” If you’ve never heard it, I encourage you to go listen to it. It’s a catchy song!

When I heard it this morning coming into the office it reminded me of this scripture. It’s a promise we can hold on to when we’re going through a difficult time that seems to be out of our control and overwhelming. There are just some battles that we’ve gotta have some help, because we simply can’t fight them – nor should we fight them on our own, in our own strength. Sometimes God tells us to take our positions, stand still and see His deliverance. Sometimes we need to just take our hands off the situation, stand back and let God fight for the battle us.

We have no need to fear what comes against us, but we do need to stand firm in our faith. God knows the whole situation, there is nothing catches Him off guard or surprises Him. Even when we feel overwhelmed at our circumstances, the Lord sees the whole picture and sees the way out for us. We need to let God have control and fight the battles we’re facing. He has promised that He is with us and that He will bring us through.

If you are facing a battle today that seems overwhelming, give it over to God and let Him fight for you. He will work it all out and make a way where it seems there is no way. Thank You Lord!!

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” – Isaiah 43:2 (NKJV)

“…Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are doing….” – 1 Thessalonians 5: 11 (NKJV)

The writer is telling us that we need to encourage, admonish and exhort one another and to edify (strengthen and build up) one another.

Oh how we all need to have a word of encouragement!! It makes all the difference in the world as to how we perform in our jobs, in our home, and even in our ministries. People tend to focus only on the negative, rather than the positive. They focus on things such as the mistakes we may make and hopeless situations we sometimes feel we’re in. But just one word of encouragement can change all that! Just one word can encourage a person to carry on and give it their best, their all! When we speak a word of encouragement to someone it makes that person feel appreciated. It lets them know that they do make a difference.

Start now, and as you go about your day, let’s be mindful of the people we come in contact with, and let’s speak an encouraging word. I guarantee it will brighten their day!

Encourage someone today!!
Because through it, we lift the spirits of others higher!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. – Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)

Wouldn’t you agree that we are blessed more than we deserve??

What does that mean? Are God’s blessings just in the financial area of your life, or are His blessings in every area of our lives: spiritual, emotional and physical? God’s blessings are so much more than what we can ever imagine! He has completely filled us to the brink with ALL of His best!! We have been blessed with the fullness of heaven to fulfil our purpose and God given destiny while we’re here on earth. If you stop and think about it, we’re fully equipped and lack for nothing! Let us pray that we can fully grasp this wonderful truth.

Remember this: We are blessed to be a blessing to others. God’s blessings flow from the storehouse of heaven to us, which can then flow out to others.

God doesn’t want us to be looking back, nor going through life looking in the rearview mirror. And no matter how much we look back, we can’t help ourselves. Many times, we remember all of the hurts of our past and mistakes we’ve made.

But now It’s time to start looking ahead and focus on what we have ahead of us. God wants to do a new thing in our lives. He wants us to rise up to our full potential we have in Him. He has called us to do mighty things. He’ll even make a way when we feel lost and refresh us when we’re burning in the heat.

No matter what we face or are currently facing, we have to keep moving forward. It’s only when we move forward that we can ever accomplish what God has called us to. We can’t stay where we’re at, nor can we go backwards. The only direction we can go and must go is forward. I agree, yes, it can be hard—but that is the only way if we want to move on in God and grow.

Don’t be afraid to move,
What was before, now has gone—
God wants to accomplish so much more in your lives,
But we need to move forward in the Lord.

“…Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. ²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil….” – Proverbs 4:25-27 (NKJV)

That verse is telling us, to let our eyes be fixed with purpose and keep our gaze straight ahead.

We all want to know the purpose God has for our lives. And once we know that purpose, we must look forward with a fixed purpose and keep our feet on the right path. If you don’t know the purpose God has for you – I’m talking about a Godly vision for our lives – we won’t have anything to work towards. There’s a lot of folks who tend to walk around aimlessly with no real direction in their lives.

When God gives us a vision for our lives, we begin taking steps towards making that vision a reality. That vision will be our focus. Every one of us has a purpose and a destiny. God has a part for you to play in this life. If you don’t know what God has for you yet – ask Him to reveal it to you. Ask Him to show you what He wants you to do. Ask God to give you a vision for your life, and then take the steps towards that vision to fulfill it – always keep it as your focus, and never wander off the path before you.

Walk with purpose today.

What a wonderful promise of God! As we walk with God as His children, no weapon that comes against us will prosper, and nothing that is said against us will carry any weight. It will be shown to be the lie that it is!

Truth will always prevail. People gossip and say things that aren’t true to ruin our reputations, or they’ll say things to just try and pull us down. But the truth will always come out. Many times, people will do these things because of their own insecurity. In their own mind, if they can cast a shadow of doubt on our character, it covers their own. But we do not have to listen to their lies. We know the truth! We know our own motives and we know that we are walking uprightly before God and have clear consciences. We can be at peace knowing God will bring to light the truth.

No weapon can prosper that rises against us
Truth will prevail and God’s righteousness.

I was listening to a song that Southern Gospel group, Paul’s Journey, had released a few years ago, and in the chorus it says, “….that was before Jesus came in…” And that started to me to thinking about this post and this verse.

The verse above was just simply asking the question, “What benefit did you get from the things you are ashamed of?  Because those things lead to death! And now that you are set free from your sin, you’re now a slave to God, and have your reward of Holiness and eternal life.”

When we think back to our old lives before we asked Jesus to come in and He transformed us, we realize how useless a lot of things were that we had in our lives. Things we once thought were important, now they don’t seem so important at all when compared to the things God has for us in eternity. We can see that those things have no benefit for us.

Our whole lives take an about turn when Jesus comes into our hearts. And well it should! Sometimes it may feel like Jesus has turned our worlds upside down – and for some that can be difficult. The things that we once held onto for security, we no longer have to hang on to them. Those things that were familiar to us, we no longer feel comfortable with. This can be really difficult for some, but later on, we’ll be able to see that the things we once held on to could never benefit us at all, in fact, could have led to heartbreak.

When we take Jesus into our lives, we are no longer slaves to the sin that held us captive, but we become slaves to God. He turns us in a new direction that leads us away from destruction and an eternity in hell to eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Continue to trust in God. He knows what He’s doing, and you will see the beauty of the Lord in your life. Hang in there! He’s working in you and for you!!

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”  Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV)

We are chosen by God.

One translation says it like this: Just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [meaning He actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world – so we would be holy (meaning, consecrated and set apart for Him) and would be blameless in God’s sight.

Think about that for a moment…He has selected you as His own. He has hand-picked you to be His own. More than you and I can comprehend, we are so special to God – that even before the foundation of the world, God had us in mind and had a marvelous plan for our lives.

Take a moment and think about this little truth that was shared and give thanks to God for His infinite love.