“Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’” Matthew 9:37-38

“Where is it?” That was the question I asked 3 different store employees, 3 separate days in a row. NO ONE had an answer! At my house, our day STARTS with coffee! And coffee, for us, included Half-n-Half! Katie likes her coffee frothy on top, and the fat in the half n half makes that possible. No Half n Half… no froth! But the store has been out of it for 4 days now! I just want to know WHY???

This morning I did what I COULD have done on day 1 but, unconcerned, I didn’t take the time. After days of the dilemma, I finally Googled the question and got an answer. YES… cows have NO control over how much milk they produce! YES… cows CANNOT go on strike to hold out for more hay! YES… cows CANNOT quit working at producing product… even if they want to. But PEOPLE can!

After researching, I discovered that the problem with the Half n Half supply isn’t with cows, it’s with PEOPLE. There are simply not enough people who want to work at collecting milk to turn it into usable products. But this problem isn’t isolated to the Dairy industry… it’s LOTS of industries. Depending on the type of business and location, workers are just too hard to find these days!

The frustration over my coffee creamer has spiritual overtones. Not believing in coincidence very often, I found myself, earlier than usual, reading The Word… where my eyes fastened upon today’s Bible verse. Apparently today’s labor problem isn’t an isolated ‘time or place’ incident. Back in Jesus day, He TOO saw employment opportunities everywhere. Today, I see an even bigger problem!

I’m just coming clean here and saying what I see. And what I see… I don’t like. Peering into the spiritual world of Jesus, I not only DON’T see people who want to work, I see people who don’t even want Jesus’ PRODUCT! And THAT is a concern I don’t really know what to do about. So I am going to do what Jesus did and pray to His Father to not only send workers, but some RESPONDERS as well!

Will you join me in praying for workers AND for a Harvest? Will you join Team Jesus and get out there for Him? Cuz if there aren’t any more takers, we oughta be praying for Him to shut this whole thing down and take us home! WhatdaYOUthink? Cuz, like Him, I’m not too happy with just a Half n Half out kinda supply and demand!

“I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

“Do you have the keys? That was the question being asked over the phone as I listened to my voicemail. I had to play the message a couple times because I didn’t recognize the person speaking. But soon enough I put it all together and understood the what’s, the wheres and the why’s. Now, the only question in my mind was… “do I know where those particular keys ARE?” So I went looking.

Years ago I was given a set of keys to a home of one of my church members. The owner had asked if I would mind checking in on their property when they were away for the summer. Those keys went right into the consul of my truck, where I had about 40 OTHER keys. Having recently sold my truck, I had nonchalantly taken all those keys and thrown them into a box. Now I had a problem!

I really don’t know what all the keys I have, go to. Over my lifetime I have had access to dozens of doors. Some mine, some belonging to others. But as time passed, access to those doors were no longer needed or available. Keys are important because without them, access can be denied. I just don’t have the heart to throw away something that important. And it was a good thing!

The ‘voicemail person’ had left their phone number, so I called. The family had lost track of the keys to their winter home, but remembered that I had been given a set. Grabbing all the keys I had, I drove

to meet them. Thankfully, I had the key they were needing. And while the key didn’t go to anything ’I’ owned, it brought me joy to be able to help them not have to kick a door down!

Today I have the privilege of presenting ‘THE KEY’ to a group of Middle Schoolers. It is the same ‘Key’ presented to me years ago. But unlike my other keys, I make SURE I don’t misplace or lose it, because the VALUE of what THAT Key accesses, is PRICELESS! It was entrusted to me by The Master of the Universe, and it came with 2 conditions. 1. NEVER lose it. And 2. ALWAYS share it with others.

DO YOU hold ‘The Key?’ Do you know what it is? Do you hold its value above all things? Is your Key well worn and used? Do you have a habit of sharing The Key with others?

“God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are His child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:4-7

“Ohhhhhh!” is what I said! Which meant I was frustrated! While working in the garage, I had plugged in my drill… and it didn’t work! I immediately KNEW from experience that it wasn’t the drill that was the problem. The fault was in the outlet the drill was plugged into! Everything LOOKED right, but there was NO POWER! And I knew exactly why… which frustrated me even more!

This light switch, in my entryway, has 4 switches. The second one from the left is the culprit. It USED to power a light outside my entryway. Long ago I converted it to power a wall fountain for decoration. It ran for years until Katie just put a plant in it. Now, the switch runs power to an outlet that ran the light, and then a fountain. BUT… having been turned off, it WASN’T running my drill!

Since electricity is invisible, I can’t SEE if power is running to the outlet or not. The only way I can determine if the drill I am going to use will work, is to pull the trigger! If it doesn’t WHIRRRR, it’s because the switch in the entryway is turned off! I must then walk inside the house and turn it back on. With 4 switches, forgetting what goes where means that ‘on’ or ‘off’ is a random state!

I was reading Psalm 19 verses 7-11 when it hit me that the adjectives describing ‘The Law’ of God are exact adjectives that describe Jesus Christ. And why not? Since Jesus IS ‘The Word,’ His characteristics; perfect, right, pure etc., are who He IS. For He and I to share those characteristics, we must be connected. And sometimes, like my garage outlet, we are not. ‘I’ have to turn us on.

The point of this story is to admit that, the older I get, the more ‘Ohhhhhh’ I feel! Today’s verse tells me that I am His son, therefore His heir! An heir is one who gets stuff after the Father dies. But I don’t WANT His STUFF!!! I want HIM! But until He returns, I will always be fighting for connection! Oh how I look forward to the Day I can just BE with Him! “When ‘Ohhhh’ becomes “AHHHHH!”

Are YOU looking forward to continually being in the presence of Jesus? Do your prayers include the sigh of “Maranatha,” which means ‘Come, O Lord!’ Are you keeping the connection with Jesus Christ ‘ON’ and notice when it isn’t?

Reading the Word this morning I happened upon a hidden treasure or Golden Nugget that just blessed me. Romans 14:17-18 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit! I couldn’t help but think, “WHAT A PACKAGE!” Then I received this devotion from Katie and it only confirmed what I had just read! So I am sharing.

Called to Be

… fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you (Romans 12:2, MSG).

Romans 12:2 clearly shows us that, while we are called to obey God’s Word, we are also called to simply be.

All too often, we get caught in a cycle of listening to an inspirational message, doing the right thing for a week, then falling back into old patterns of behavior, trying to act our way to a good Christian life. But we are called to be.

We must let Jesus permeate the very core of our being. Otherwise, we won’t be truly transformed, but only have partial behavior modification. We’ll become actors in a drama rather than pilgrims on a journey.

Today, allow God to work in you from the inside out. Allow Him to perform the heart-work needed so He can work through you in awesome ways. Then you can just be!

TODAY’S REFLECTION
Is there a part of your heart or life you need to open up to Jesus today?

Would YOU love to have His Righteousness, Peace and Joy? Here you go!

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Today’s the day! I’ve known it was coming for a couple months now. And now it is here. Soon, I will be transported by my daughter, placed on a gurney, and rolled into a room where they will knock me out and do some internal inspection! I made the choice to have the double procedure done to get them both out of the way. Smart planning, since I’m getting old. A 2 fer 1!

I’ve had an Endoscopy and a Colonoscopy before. After 50 you’re supposed to get them done when you have conditions like mine. That way there are no surprises like, “REALLY??? So what did he DIE FROM?” If they catch things early, prevention adds more life. So every 5-7 years I get ‘viewed’ from the inside! They’re going to put instruments into my top and bottom and check me out.

It’s not a hard process… but it’s not fun either. I wasn’t allowed to eat for 24 hours before today, and I had to drink mass quantities of icky liquid to force me to clean out my colon and bowels. Let’s just say that last night I spent a lot of time getting too close to John! Now that I’m all cleaned out, they can get a clear picture of how my insides are working. A process God uses all the time.

I WAS a dirty sinner. That is until Dr. Jesus came to my rescue. Headed for the Lake of Fire due to spiritual failure, I needed a way to get saved from that prognosis. So years ago, Jesus and I traded lives. Now He spends time with me, viewing my inside motives of mind and heart, and working on changing them to look more like His. It’s a forever kind of process that guarantees I’ll live forever!

While the doctor uses special tools and equipment, God has His ways as well. His preference is using the Word to speak to me and give me pointers and prescriptions for a healthy Spirit. He wants me fit and trim because He has work for me to do. Special stuff made only for Me. If I’m not in the fit condition, I can’t do what He asks of me. And I WANT to do what He asks.

Are YOU spending time with Dr. Jesus and getting your checkups?

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13

THANK GOD I know a guy! It’s tax time again. And one more time, as happens EVERY year, I’m a little freaked out. Having NEVER been a numbers guy, and with my elderly ability to grasp complex matters waning, I grabbed all the info I had on hand, balled it up and took it to my savior… my guy… the one I am blessed to have met many years ago. Handing him my stuff, his smile says, “Cute!”

Everything in life has some form of measure to it. Height, weight, income, expenses, kids and even time. As the clock ticks, I sense I am running out of it in more ways than one. Thinking I am doing ok by looking around at my stuff, I count it up and it looks pretty good. Until I realize ANOTHER entity is looking at my life… and THEY have a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT measuring system than me.

Lots of things have been happening in my world. Things that make me feel kind of paranoid. Health, family, Church, society, politics and finance ALL leave me wondering if I’m living in the plus or minus column of life. To make matters even more sticky, each one affects the other! So much so, that a domino effect can topple the whole mess because of 1 error. Enter my GUY!

For taxes I have a guy who makes me feel special. In the face of the dragon, he doesn’t run. He tells me to remain calm and give him the info and he will face the dragon on my behalf. Because he is a GREAT dragon slayer, but more so because he is a friend I can trust, I don’t worry. I just do what he says. He has never failed me. In the game of life and death, I have another guy.

I met Jesus when I was 12 years old. Though 12 doesn’t seem to be an age where things can go so wrong, I realized I was in BIG trouble when it came to my sin and getting into Heaven. When my Savior introduced Himself as such, I did not hesitate to make Him my Guy for LIFE! And He has NEVER let me down! And though I know I have given Him reason to be disappointed, He never is!

How do YOU add up in the accounting and accountability problem? DO YOU have a guy you can trust? Do you give Him all your stuff? Because Jesus is standing by with a twinkle in His eye.

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” Revelation 22:12

“How soon?” That’s the natural response to the Bible verse above. And depending on the goal of the hearer, could excite someone to either work harder for Jesus, or to buy more time to slough off! The one asking that question is the only one who knows for certain. That is the nature of time. Not that I have it… but how I’ll be rewarded for what I DID with it later. THAT is what matters.

After many years of working, Katie and I are blessed to have a vacation rental home. The question of “when” comes up a LOT in this business. “When is it available? When can we get in? When do we have to be out?” The point of those questions center around the word VACATION! People work hard and want to enjoy themselves when they take a break. The longer the break… the better.

Last week we took our family vacation and all 21 of us went to Miami for 3 days. Knowing how rentals work, I knew there was a possibility that the house was open earlier, or maybe even later. So I called the manager and asked the questions “can we get in sooner or stay a little later.” The GOAL was to STAY as LONG as we could because time together is precious. Which should be a clue!

Too often I get caught up in the ‘here and now,’ forgetting about the ‘there and later!’ It is easy for me to forget that Jesus is building a Kingdom of FAMILY HERE, and that He is going to take us, His Bride, HOME to THERE! And while He has a purpose for me HERE, the POINT of my life will only clear when we all get THERE! So why do I not focus more on ‘His coming’ instead of my staying?

I’m thinking of a wedding. The procession, service and seriousness of the vows. Weddings are good things. But honestly, I prefer the Reception… the place where everyone celebrates the event by having a good time dancing and partying! With that in mind, I’m inclined to look a little more serious at my service here, so I will be able to better Party THERE! Where’s YOUR focus? Now or later?

“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Matthew 19:14

“Joyfully worn out,” is my current condition. I sit here bringing up memories to pacify my aches and pains, because I have plenty of both! Last week we had the pleasure of spending 4 days with all of our kids and grandkids. All 21 of us… ages 1 to old fart! My body may be in rebellion, but the heart and mind are ready to go again! I have no doubt that Heaven will be just like this – minus the aches!

We rented a big house in Miami, the house having been built for fun. One of the main attractions was a Pickleball Court, something I had heard about but never experienced. Thankfully, some of our kids knew the rules and quickly had everyone pickled in fun. The sport, a smaller version of tennis, allowed the older folks and little kids a chance to participate. Interestingly enough, EVERYONE did!

To say my whole family is competitive is an understatement. Watching the older folks hit the ball, the little ones grabbed extra paddles and walked out onto the court to play. It was a joy to see them want to join us. When someone brought up the idea of a tournament to produce a Championship team, that mentality changed! I noticed when seriousness grew, the little ones became obstacles.

Memories flooded back to my childhood when my parents and grandparents got together and played pool or croquet. When I saw the fun they were having and wanted to jump in, “Hey… get outta the way,” was as nice as it got. Since running and swinging paddles is not safe with little ones randomly walking around, creative interaction and special games were made to help our kids learn and play.

Jesus LOVES little Children. The verse today is proof. The whole ‘Church’ concept, which He created, INCLUDES children. Far too often, kids are looked at as hindrances instead of ‘the point!’ It becomes far too easy for grownups to make everything about them, instead of using the children’s youthful enthusiasm to train and teach THEM about the Savior. Jesus NEVER sees kids as a hindrance.

My kids are all grown up now and have kids of their own. All of them were in competitive sports and contests where championships were on the line. All of them tasted victory. What a joy it was to watch my kids coach THEIR kids on how to play life. It was even more deliciously relevant that 3 of my GRANDkids won the Championship, leaving parents exhausted. Done well… the pickle passes on!

Are you learning about Jesus with the enthusiasm of a little child? Are you teaching kids, especially yours, how to enjoy and love The Savior? Is His Family growing because of your participation?

“…give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:8-9

“hey…HEY!!!” At least that’s what I THINK the guy was yelling from down on my front patio. But I couldn’t hear him because, pressure washing my roof, I had headphones on and was listening to music. My pressure washer was also making a racket. Making a sign like I couldn’t hear him, He wouldn’t stop yelling, so I figured I’d better take a break and go down to find out what he wanted.

When I got down and turned the engine off, he immediately started telling me his need. At first I was confused, because I couldn’t understand why a stranger would interrupt my work to tell me about HIS place. Then it hit me. He had a job that needed done on HIS house, and he was wanting me to come and give him a price! He got really embarrassed when I told him I was the OWNER this house.

This has happened to me before. While working on my own house, people have assumed I was either an employee, or the owner of a maintenance company. Having a need themselves, they sought to hire me to work on THEIR house. Knowing a man in my church who DOES that kind of work, I asked him to wait while I got Rob’s contact information. Then used the time to speak to God.

Lately I have been asking God to send people to me to share the Gospel. Many times I have dropped seeds on the paths of people’s lives, only to watch the enemy immediately come and steal them away. I don’t want to waste time, thus my prayer. Looking for Rob’s number, I asked God if THIS guy was THE guy I had been praying for. Returning, I asked, “Are you a Jesus guy?” He was the one baffled!

The answer I received from this older gentleman was typical, “well I grew up in the church and my uncle was a pastor…” “But do you go to church anywhere now?” “No,” he replied. I went on, ”so if you were to die today, would you know FOR CERTAIN you were going to Heaven. His answer to that one was standard too, “Well I HOPE so.” Giving him a 60 second Gospel presentation, he left.

I am praying and asking God what to do next. I would LOVE for the man to call my friend Rob to do the work, because Rob is a Jesus guy and TALKS about it. But experience tells me that there is a much greater chance that he WON’T call Rob. Why? Because in our discussion, the man seriously believes he has a ROOF… NOT a HEART problem. Today’s verse says God only satisfies the hungry and thirsty!

Are you actively engaged in God’s business of working the field of souls? Are you brave enough to ask God to send you where there is a need? Are you prepared or preparing?