Harvest Thoughts

Jim and Casper Go To Church

Endurance!

"And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one will be saved." - Mark 13:13

God has called us to a life of endurance. Endurance has been defined as "the ability to last despite fatigue or other adverse conditions."

Now I know it's a cliche to call life a race (it's a marathon not a sprint) but the reason cliches exhist are because they are generally true.

Christianity is a life long commitment. Too many have lasted 20-30 years, only to drop out in the end. We all know life can be extremely hard, but we can always know God gives us what we can handle.

"If God so commands you, then you will be able to endure." - Exodus 18:22

There are several ways to help ensure that we all obtain spiritual endurance. First, we must be reading our Bibles. (I know everyone says that, but the Bible holds the examples for the life God wants us to lead.

Secondly, we must all be connected with other believers. Having a great support system will allow you to "go the distance." (Cliche Number Three)

Doing these things will allow all of us to live the life God desires for us and help us to live this life until the end.

Christian

God, I Need You Now.

"When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him (God), you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption," - C.S. Lewis "A Grief Observed".

I've found in my own life that the times when I seek God the most are the times when life is hard. When things are going easily, it is so easy to lose diligence and focus. But, when disaster strikes, it is those times that we seek God the most.

In Jeremiah 37, it says that "neither he (Zedikiah) nor his servants...listened to the words of the Lord." But when the Chaledeans had surrounded and beseiged Jerusalem, verse 3 says "King Zedikiah sent Jehucal... to Jeremiah the prophet saying, 'Please pray for us to the Lord your God.'"

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with crying out to God when things go wrong. I just believe that all of us, myself included, should work harder at seeking after the Lord when times are easy.

"Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His presence continually." - 1 Chronicles 16:11

"Britain (Might Have) Talent"

At Harvest we have series coming up concering "Britain's Got Talent." So, I decided to prepare everyone for that series with this very well done spoof of Britain's Got Talent. Enjoy.

Mercy - Part One

I wanted to talk about mercy and as I thought about it, I realized that there are really two main directions one can go with mercy. The mercy of God and the mercy we need to show others. I have decided that I will break them up into two parts and address them separately).

This time, I would like to talk about the mercy we need to show to those around us. Webster's Dictionary has many definitions of the word mercy (including a link to the article Mercy Killing but we won't go there). The definition that stood out the most to me was, "Compassionate treatment of those in distress."

There were several definitions of mercy that involved forgiving even though a person did not deserve it. But, I believe that there should be a greater emphasis on the aspect of mercy that involves caring for those in need and those less fortunate.

I know that quite often I will see horrible things in the news and not give it a second glance. Even this week there were headlines such as "Bomb Kills 10 Civilians In Eastern Afghanistan",  "Pilots Killed In Crash Of Cargo Plane In Japan", and "Terrorists Could Launch 'Dirty Bomb' Attack."

It seems that most of the time, our attitude towards others can be like this picture.

















I believe that all of us would do well to take a little more time to think about others and to help out when the opportunity presents itself. When we show mercy to the people we come in contact with, Jesus tells us what we are actually doing in Matthew 25:40. "And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"

- Christian Walker (Harvest Norfolk Worship Leader/Media Director)