THE TIMES OF THE REAPERS

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

When we think of the harvest, as in the Bible, we think of one harvest. But the truth is, the Hebrew harvest was made up of several different harvests. The first harvest began in early spring - the harvest of flax and barley. Then in late spring and early summer came the harvest of wheat. That was followed by the harvest of fruit and in the late summer, early autumn, with the harvest of grapes and olives. There wasn't one harvest but many - each different - and each appointed for its specific season. Some harvests happened over the course of just a few weeks. If you didn't reap it, it was gone. If you didn't reap the barley in the early spring, the barley would go bad. If you didn't reap the wheat in late spring, you lost the wheat harvest. If you didn't bring in the grapes and olives in the autumn, the harvest would be lost. The wheat and barley would wither in their fields, the grapes would wither on their vines. There's a harvest all around you - a harvest of souls, eternal life, righteousness, good works, ministry, blessings, the fruit of the Spirit. But just as the biblical harvest is not just one but many, so too there are many harvests in your life - and each with an appointed season. You want your family to come to the Lord - There's a set season for it. Don't miss it. They won't be here forever, nor will you. You want the people you work with to come to the Lord, there's a season for it. Things will change. They will pass out of your life. Don't miss the harvest. You want the unsaved of the world to come to salvation. They too have their season. There are the people you meet in the store, the cashier in the supermarket, the waitress. With these too is a harvest time, a very short time. If you would share with them, you have to do it now. And then there is the harvest of righteousness and good works. There are those you need to ask forgiveness from, and those to whom you need to express love. You won't have forever to reap these either. Then there are the needy of this world, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the sick, and the poor. They too have their harvest. Some may perish even now if they don't get help. Now is the time to help them. And then there's the harvest of your calling and the life of righteousness, holiness, and fruitfulness God has for you. This too has its season. If you don't answer the call and rise to it now, you may never answer it or rise. This life is filled with harvests, each with their own set season, some longer, some shorter, but set. Everything in this world changes and passes away. Don't put it off until tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes. Don't hold back. Share the Gospel. Give. Step out in faith. Do what you have to do. You pass through this realm once, but what you reap in the harvest will be forever. This month, do what you know you need to do - and reap your harvest. And may God greatly bless you as you do! Your brother and co-laborer in His love and service, Jonathan

See Message: Seasons of The Harvest