Oxford Street this afternoon on my way to a meeting. Perception of scarcity is a mental habit that is so hard to throw off. Jesus didn’t think the harvest was scarce at all.

We can’t rely on secular teachers to teach about Jesus.
They can tell the stories from the Bible, but it is up to us a as Christians to share what his love really means, especially to young people.  Perhaps they are the harvest we should be working for.

An ecumenical group in our town originally a bible study group of some 14 or so ladies from 20 something to 60 something are about to complete the Mission Shaped Introductory fresh expressions course to equip us for steps forward into a Messy Church style series of saturday craft sessions for children and famiies 130 children and families came in Jan we are on a steep the learning curve of “body of Christ “team work ” Please pray for us.

Psalm 127:1 “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it…”  Today Jesus bids us ask (“pray”) the Lord (not the church) to send out labourers to work his harvest (his, not our harvest).  Meanwhile, it seems, our church suffers massive spiritual unemployment.  Why?  Maybe we are unemployable.  Perhaps we lack the skills and knowledge to fit us for the work God has in mind.
Action:
A. Pray.
B. Get training.
2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

It is amazing, and quite disturbing, to realize just how many people are growing up in our modern westernised society without knowing the story of Jesus.  The Christian content of religious education in schools has been watered down with secular topics and other religions to the extent that many people grow up without knowing of the treasures contained in the new testament.

We need to pray for ways to help those who suffer from spiritual starvation, for the consequences of this phenomenon are far worse than for those who are physically starved.

The world is the harvest, or to put it another way, both the Church as the family of God and the rest of society. People use their gifts in many ways, both in the traditional caring professions, or, in whatever work they do, not forgetting the equally important role by those working at home, raising families or whatever. We need to be dedicated, wherever God has placed us, and take on the challenge to let him work through us in thought and deed.

I think Jesus is asking us to pray for our fellow workers - in modern terms, for vocations. In the past, vocations have been thought of very narrowly - to the ordained priesthood. But God needs all sorts of different labourers to bring in the harvest - priests, Readers, evangelists, Sunday School teachers, youth workers, pioneer ministers, ‘Messy Church’ leaders, PCC secretaries, treasurers and fund raisers, people who are good at hospitality - and those who support all of the other ministers with prayer. What sort of labourer am I called to be?

The Harvest is within all those people who call themselves Christians yet hold no allegiance to their local church. Is the church an insurance policy for future eternal life or is the church a platform for those who wish to deepen their journey into the heart of God? Or is the church simply to appease organisations like English Heritage who make expensive demands on already hard strapped congregation who want a live active church but are constantly spending asked more and more money on the building and not reaping the havest of souls.

The Lord use ordinary people like you and I to do His work here on earth. He unlocks our “doors” but we must turn the door knob and do the work to harvest (cash in) on His abundant blessings