white for harvest

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest

Evangelism has always been hard for us. For me, (Josh) it is for many reasons. 1, I naturally just don't like talking to strangers. When I am in public, I tend to want to get whatever task I am doing done as quickly as possible. I am not one for small talk or for the awkward comments cashiers tend to make when it is taking longer than usual for your credit card to work. When I hear something like "Oooo, they need to replace this machine because Darla spilled coffee on it", I typically smile, force out a chuckle, and hope to God that the machine works so I can get the heck out of line and be done with that uncomfortable interaction. 2, I would much rather share Jesus with someone I have befriended. Someone I know, that knows me. I tend to feel like giving a gospel presentation to a complete stranger is like a hit-and-run. What happens to them, I think? Does anything actually change in their life? 3, I generally assume that people do not want to hear the best news in the Universe. 4, evangelism is awkward. 5, I am afraid of what people will think of me.

While all of these feelings are valid, they are all excuses. That's right. All 5 reasons I don't like sharing the love of God with people are ultimately selfish excuses that I make, which I end up using to validate and justify my inaction and disobedience to the Holy Spirit. Like we shared in earlier posts, the Lord has been convicting us of how sharing our faith is not optional. Jesus says the fields are white for harvest, and all we must do is look up to see them.

Two weeks ago my wife and I and some of the Off The Wall students partnered with Souled Out International, an evangelistic ministry, and went to Cleveland to share our faith with people on the streets. We ended up spending most of our time in Tower City Mall, engaging with all sorts of people. For all of us from Off The Wall, this was an initially intimidating, but an extremely rewarding experience. We really appreciate the guys from Souled Out, because they do evangelism in a way that is biblical. There are no tracks, no turn or burn signs, and no trying to make converts. I think God can obviously use anything He wants for His good (Romans 8:28), but I just don't see a lot of the methods of evangelism we see in our culture done in Scripture. When Jesus preached the gospel, He did it out of compassion and love for people. He wanted people to be redeemed and their relationship with the Father restored. When Jesus healed, one of the reasons He did is because He had compassion. The Lord used the guys from Souled out to open my eyes to what sharing the love of God is really about. We spent the afternoon in Cleveland praying for people, engaging in dialogue about important life questions, and sharing our testimonies of how Jesus changed our life. There are a few stories I could share, but I will share one interaction I had in particular that has still stuck with me.

I was walking with my wife and one of the OTW students in the Tower City mall by its entrance. My wife and the student were a few paces ahead of me and were asking the Holy Spirit if there was a specific person He wanted them to talk to. I passed a man in the corner leaning against a post. he was a little older than me, had a little extra weight on his frame, and had a red hoodie on. He looked like he had some Latin in him. I noticed his sleeve of tatooes when I got closer. I felt a nudge tell me to "talk to him". So I went over, introduced myself, and asked him if there was anything that I could pray for him. He looked at me, almost perplexed that I had asked him that specific question, and said, "Actually I am having a really bad day. Something happened between my mom and sister and I, and they both packed their things, and left the state". He let me pray for him and as I did, he began to tear up. When I was done, I told him that I didn't think it was a coincidence I felt God nudge me to talk with him. He told me he was catholic, believed in God, and tries to be a good person. I shared with him the assurance of salvation through Christ and encouraged him that God wanted him to know that He loves him very deeply, knows exactly what was going on between his mom and sister, and cares enough to send a stranger (me) to tell him that.

Jesus said 2000 years ago that the fields are white for harvest and all we have to do is lift our eyes to see it. That's all I literally had to do on that Saturday afternoon in Cleveland at tower city mall. I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to interrupt your day. I can't tell you how many times I have felt Him tell me to talk with a stranger and my response was a flat out"no, and I just continued on with my day. It is when we act on His prompting that we may see something miraculous and reap the harvest of what someone else has labored for.

Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

John 4:35-38







JN

answered prayer in a deli

My husband and I have been on a journey since being married. One of the greatest privileges we have shared together is seeing God work through us and move as we pray for people and specific things. I keep a prayer journal of my own to write down the things I pray for. I do this so I can look back to see what prayers have been answered and the day and time I prayed them. We have had the joy several times while we've been married to look back through my journal and to see what God has done. I wanted to share with you just one of these answers to prayer. This past August I had a job at a deli here in New Phili. It was not a very environment to be in and I very possibly was the only believer there. I was not sure what I should do, whether I should stay and build relationships, or to go back to the coffee shop I loved. After a lot of prayer with my husband, I ended up leaving my job.

on Sept 1, 2013 I wrote:
"Lord, I want to continue in prayer for my boss and all of those I worked with. First I pray though, that You will bring in a strong believer who loves people and who will enjoy the workers and connect with them. God, I pray they will love their work at the Deli and will see it as a way to make disciples. Until these believers come, and after do they come, open all of the workers eyes and hearts of those working there to You. Awaken them to their desperate need of You. Do whatever it takes in their life to get them and to bring them home to You."

A few weeks ago two of the students from Off the Wall got hired at the deli. One was hired first for a week. For the first week, she would come home drained because of the environment. A week or so later, the other girl got hired. Since then, they have been working together and already changing the environment. They are bringing the joy of Christ in with them and it is contageous.

I just wanted to point out a couple of things first. Without realizing this while I was actually writing the prayer above, notice that I said "that You will bring A strong believer in.." I made it singular. One strong believer to come in. I didn't notice until today that when I continued, I made my plea plural. "I pray THEY will love THEIR work...until THESE BELIEVERS come..." I prayed for multiple believers to come. First one, and then others to follow.

God completely answered my prayer. I have been so encouraged that God has answered my prayer and is really intentionally putting believers in this environment all for His glory. This Sunday morning, I was so excited and proud to hear that these two girls that got hired have become the bosses favorite. He loves when they come in because of their joy and encouragement. Also, one shared with me this morning that they got to have a great conversation with a coworker which lead into really getting to share their hearts for Jesus.

Last night one of the students took my husband and I out for dinner. Our waitress happened to be one of the girls who was working with me before I quit the deli. My husband and I knew God was at work when this specific waitress happend to be the one to take care of us while there were over 20 waitresses working that night, and 50 people on the waiting list, in a completely full restraunt. We just happened to come at the perfect time to be seated in her section. We recognized eachother immediately. We both were eachothers favorites at the deli and actually quit at the same time. I have a had a few conversations with her about my faith and how I even ended up in Ohio, but I could tell she did not know Jesus. So last night, I wanted to take up the opportunity to share with her. Sadly, I did not get to talk to her. She was very busy and only stopped at our table for a few short and quiet moments to clear off the table, but I left a note to her and left it ontop of our tip sharing the gospel. I am sad that I didn't get to share with her in conversation, and maybe I should have tried harder to engage in a conversation, but I am so glad that I still had the opportunity to share with her in some small way after not seeing her for about 6 months. I want to try to come more often and see if I may get so lucky to have her as a waitress again.

So, I believe God is on the move in this deli. I can't help but get so excited that I know that people coming in are going to hear the gospel. I love how God answers prayers and how we get the joy of seeing our prayers answered. I know I did not share any names of the workplace or the people's names, but I do ask that you will be praying. Lift up the off the wall girls in your prayers, that they will be bold and courageous for Jesus. That they will share the gospel without shame. Pray for their coworkers and the relationships they are building. Pray that they will continue to have favor in their workplace and that you will soften their coworkers hearts to recieve Jesus into their hearts as their Savior. Also, pray for the waitress. That she will recieve Jesus Christ as Lord, and become a disciple of Him. Lastly, please continue to be in prayer for Josh and I as we hope to grow in obedience and passion to share the gospel with all we encounter without fear but in great boldness and love.

WN