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Published: 22 November 2013

Confession. I have been duped by the enemy. Duped is a funny word (dooped not du-ped) that means tricked, deceived or fooled. I find that the more I read the Bible and meditate on the truth the more the lies I have believed are exposed. For example, in this week’s text in Matthew 9:37, we read that Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful…” He is speaking of the harvest of souls, those who are “ripe” for redemption and restoration. I must confess that for much of my life I have “felt” that the world at large was antagonistic and opposed to the gospel message and that we had a lot of convincing to do. I don’t like arguing and I don’t like confrontation. I don’t like people trying to cram stuff in my face and I don’t think other people do either. It has often seemed like evangelism (in some models) is like that and I don’t like it. What if something else is going on? What if the Owner of the field has been at work? What if He has been clearing the field, removing the clutter, working the ground and watering the planted seed? What if underneath the surface of the rough face of humanity there are some tender seeking hearts being sought by God? What if there are people actually ready to receive the good news? What if we approached our day with the mindset that these people might cross our path? What if we said, “Lord of the harvest, send workers into Your harvest and I am willing to be one of them”? What if we thought of Greenville, Gowen, Belding, Rockford etc as places of harvest? If Jesus is right about this, we may have to re-think our thinking. Are you in?

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Published: 10 November 2013

You’ve heard someone begin a statement, “On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being very good…” Perhaps it was a customer service representative or a nurse asking you about the level of your pain. How would you answer this question, “On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being very good and 1 being very poor, what is the overall condition of the world situation?” You probably wouldn’t be so naïve to say a “10” would you? There was a time when everything was “very good.” It is written in Genesis 1:31 that God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good. We’ve come a long way baby…a long way from very good! But God is not letting this “fixer-upper” go its own way. He is taking initiative to redeem and restore His creation for His glory. Throughout the Old Testament we have glimpses of what the restored planet and people will look like. Some of it seems too good to be true given our current state. When God took on flesh and lived among us, He said that the Kingdom had come. His actions, words and interventions in people’s lives were a preview of what is to come, what could be and what will be. When the OT prophets wrote of blindness and physical suffering being banished they were just being hopeful. God had promised this and is able to perform what He said He would do. Jesus Christ gave us a fresh glimpse of what this could look like. However, Jesus also reminded us that our greater need is His first priority. All the brokenness we experience in this life is really symptomatic of a deeper problem and if that was not cared for, things would never be different. Jesus Christ is indeed the Great Physician, He came to seek and save those who are lost. He is the only One who can bring back the “very good.” There is life in Him. Have you come to Him today?