Prophetic Musings

Here's the actual video the Dramatic Chipmunk came from. It's too funny how someone picked five seconds out of it and added the background music.

 

There won't be an article published today. I've got a topic, but it's just not coming together like I want it to. I'd rather hold it for a couple weeks and see if I can refine it better. Sorry if anyone was looking forward to a new one. I'll try harder next time.

My wife is giving me a strange look, just like she did when I laughed at the GEICO dog commercial. I can't stop laughing at this. I hope to find an appropriate use for it in the future, like in a Global Warming (tm) post or something.

 

My thanks to SeeDubya for this fine video.

It's wet outside. It's ridiculously wet outside. We have a pond at our office that is just about to run into the parking lot. This pond was empty three months ago.

All this to say that I finally got my rain gauge working again. It was a terribly difficult fix of putting the gauge on a level spot. It's a tipping bucket rain gauge, and if it isn't level, then it doesn't work. So, if you check out the weather link over on the right side of the page, the rain is finally accurate again.

I read this post this morning from Dan Edelen at Cerulean Sanctum and it really made me think. How do we treat our pastor? Do we think of him as the one-stop-shop of Christianity, or do we understand what his strengths and weaknesses are? You really need to read the linked post before going on, because you may not have the proper context of what I'm going to write about. I don't want to quote everything Dan said, just pick out a couple parts.

Dan wrote:

It’s popular today to speak of The Five-fold Ministry of Ephesians 4, and many churches adhere to the idea that the pastor should be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, but I can’t read the Bible and find folks who fit that mold.

...

Why are we not asking what the genuine biblical role of the pastor is? Perhaps it’s far more limited in scope than we’ve made it out to be.

If we consider the finer truth of the use of the word shepherd for pastor, what does a shepherd do?

• He protects the flock from harm.
• He tends to their wounds and diseases.
• He comforts them when they are afraid.
• He takes them out to a place where they can find the substantial food and water weaned sheep need to reproduce, tend their lambs, grow, and prosper.

Dan pointed out in an earlier passage that the New Testament word for pastor (poimēn) literally means shepherd. I want to take his word study of the five offices a little farther.

Apostle (apostolos) - a delegate, an ambassador of the Gospel, officially a commissioner of Christ

Prophet (prophētēs) - a foreteller, an inspired speaker

Evangelist (euaggelistēs) - a preacher of the gospel

Pastor (poimēn) - shepherd

Teacher (didaskalos) - an instructor

With these five definitions, where do you fall? Myself, I would think that I'm more in the mold of a teacher. There aren't many apostles or prophets out there, and I'm definitely not an evangelist. My hair isn't big enough and I don't get so worked up when speaking.

I don't think anyone can be all five of these things at once. I could venture an argument that based on the structure of the sentence in Ephesians 4:11 there are only four offices of the church. Apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor/teacher. However, I think that pastor and teacher are opposite sides of the same coin. The pastor just deals with people better.

When I compare what Dan said to our pastor, he seems to fit right into the definition of shepherd. He definitely protects us from harm by keeping people from speaking to the church who would not have our best interest in mind (there is a specific incident I'm thinking about that I'm sure many in our church will recall). He is one of the first on the scene when anyone is in the hospital or has an accident.

The best thing about our church is the freedom we have to grow in God. Our pastor and our church supports each of us starting new ministries. If we succeed, he's the first to congratulate us. If we fail, he's the first to encourage us to try something different. I've been on both sides of that and it's refreshing to know that we have unfettered support from our pastor. He's said many times in church that his goal is to equip each of us to minister in our own ways. Mine right now is through writing here and elsewhere, leading our home group, and being in the worship ministry. These are three things I really have a heart for and I've never felt a lack of support in any of them.

So, I guess I'll finish by giving our pastor a big "Thank You" from me. Thanks for the support and for the kind words.

Are we controversial today? I would say that Christianity is and always has been controversial. Why is that? There are a multitude of reasons for it, not the least of which is that in Christianity, principles are found that go against rational thinking. Thoughts like love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and unconditional forgiveness are not widely accepted in our world today. There are two different kinds of controversy in Christianity. Outside entities that feel the tenets of Christianity are controversial, and internal struggles between Christians who argue over issues of the faith.

Recently, Illinois senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama said that Christianity had been hijacked by the leaders of the Christian right. He made the comment that

At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design.

A couple of words on this. First, most evangelicals don't need to be told that Democrats disrespect our values. We know that already. When you vote for or approve of abortion and gay marriage, two things that go against our faith, we don't need James Dobson or Pat Robertson to tell us you dislike our church. Most of us are smart enough to figure that out on our own. What evangelicals do need to be told is that most Republicans aren't any different. The government is not there to serve our faith, it is there to serve the people. When we became the silent majority, we turned over the reigns to those who wanted these things.

This thought in itself is controversial. Many people equate Republican with Christian and it just isn't true, at least not to a historical definition of Christianity. While our country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics, what have we done to keep it front and center? We've shied away from controversy, preferring to sit back and let others take control. Now we complain about things not going our way. We've turned the chicken coop over to the foxes, and then act surprised when the hens get eaten.

How do we deal with the external controversies? We engage in them, head on. We don't shy away because it's the 'Christian' thing to do. Luke 39:40 says

"Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

We can't keep quiet about Jesus. If that brings us into conflict with those outside the church, then so be it. Better to be a fool in the eyes of men than a fool in the eyes of God.

However, controversy with external entities sometimes pales in comparison to internal battles. A few months ago I wrote an article about Dwight McKissic and his disagreement with the Southern Baptist Convention concerning speaking in tongues in private. Also, the most read article on this site concerns some controversial remarks made by James Dobson about presidential candidate Fred Thompson. I might have been unduly harsh to Dr. Dobson, but it shows how quick we are within our own community to pummel each other.

It seems that when we get into a theological tussle, it turns into a pro wrestling match. Before long, someone is going to break out the folding chair and the 2x4 and start swinging wildly. The only guarantee is that we make each other look like idiots when we do it. I disagree with some of the things taught by the Assemblies of God church, but that doesn't mean they are completely wrong. There are things in the Emergent church and the seeker-friendly churches that I think are diluting Christianity, but I'm not going to go scorched earth on them, at least not yet.

Controversy is at the heart of everything we do. Jesus was controversial. I'm sure Noah was controversial. Moses was controversial, as was David. Yet all of these were giants in our history. They stood up to Goliath, Pharaoh, and all the people who thought he was an idiot for building a huge boat and filling it with animals.

We do have to stand up for what we believe, but we have to pick our internal fights. When someone is preaching something obviously heretical then they must be corrected. When they are non-essential parts of the faith, then we must be able to let them go.

RC Sproul says in his book Essential Truths of the Christian Faith,

To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ.

...

We are called to avoid godless controversies. One positive aspect of Christian controversy is that Christians tend to argue with each other about theology because they understand that truth, especially theological truth, is of eternal consequences. Passions rise because the stakes are so high.

Words to remember.

Are there topics you would like to see covered on here? Have I left a thought unfinished that you would like to hear more about? Would you like me to just shut up and stop talking?

Just groping around for ideas. I've got stuff lined up for the next couple of weeks, but would like to know if anyone has anything better.

Thanks to all who are reading.

A co-worker of mine told a story at lunch a few weeks ago about a nature show he had been watching about cave diving (read: beyond insanity). The camera was in the cave with the diver, pointed at an angle where it looked as if the diver was about to come up into an air pocket. When the diver broke through the deep blue water, instead of surfacing, he kept on swimming. He was moving between the salt water and the fresh water. Much like the diver, we are swimming between two worlds. One is the enticing deep blue of the world, and the other is the fresh, Living Water of God.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." What does this mean? What are we transforming from? What would we be changing to? What changes when we transform and how long does it take?

We live in a fallen world. A dirty, smelly, rotten to the core world which rarely, if ever, has our best interest in mind. Since the day we were born we have been slaves to our human desires. Paul said in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." If a man of God such as Paul said this, what chance do the rest of us stand?

The original Greek for the word transformed, metamorphoō, means to metamorphose into something different. Much like the caterpillar sheds its old legs and ways of walking to transform into a fluttering butterfly, we are called by God to throw off the old skin of fleshly desires and become new creations in Him. However, just like the caterpillar, we do not become butterflies overnight. The process of renewal is gradual and takes time.

Transforming is very similar to what the cave diver experienced. I'm not talking about the inexplicable terror of the world collapsing on you when you're hundreds of feet underwater, though there is some of that. What I'm referring to is moving between two worlds. While undergoing that seemingly interminable process of transformation, we may find ourselves constantly slipping between the two worlds. From the clear water above, it's easy to see the dark blue below. But from the dark blue of the world, it's not so easy to see the Living Water. We have to stay dedicated to swimming in the clear water.

How can we stay dedicated? Our pastor likes to say "the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to help make the child of God more like the Son of God." That's so true. We have to keep in the Bible in our hearts. The next thing that we have to do is pray. That's really where I fall down. I'm currently reading The Power In Prayer by Charles Spurgeon. I'm hoping to get better in this area. Transformation is a process, not always a sudden change. We can't be perfect, just willing.

So where do you fall down? What do you do to stay in the clear water? Do you think cave divers are certifiably insane?

(This is part two of a series. Remember, you can read all the articles in this series by going here.) 

Nothing like starting out with the big fish, is there? What is the Ark of the Covenant and how does it relate to worship in our time? What did the Israelites use it for and where did the government store it after it was found by Indiana Jones? Let's dive right in.

The Ark of the Covenant is first described in Exodus 25:10-22. God is describing to Moses how the Ark is to be built. It was to be a chest two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half tall. In modern terms, that would be approximately 4.29 feet long, 2.57 feet wide and 2.57 feet tall. That's a pretty good sized box. The chest was to be made with acacia wood, then overlaid with pure gold inside and out, with gold molding around the rim. Four gold rings were attached to the feet of the Ark, with two wooden poles placed inside the rings. These poles were to remain in the Ark, as it was to be portable.

The lid of the Ark is referred to as the atonement cover in the NIV translation, and called the mercy seat in the KJV. This was such an important piece that the original Hebrew word for mercy seat, kapporeth, is used solely to refer to the top of the Ark. On the mercy seat, two cherubim were placed at opposite ends, facing each other with their wings spread upwards, covering the top of the Ark.

Inside the Ark were kept three things: the stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments, a golden jar containing manna God had provided while the Israelites wandered, and the rod of Aaron, Moses' brother. Sometime before the construction of Solomon's temple, Aaron's rod and the manna were removed from the Ark, as I Kings 8:9 says "There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb"

There is much more history to the Ark, but I want to concentrate on the pieces that have already been laid out. If you want more information on the Ark of the Covenant, I would suggest looking at Wikipedia or the Jewish Encyclopedia. Both articles have a wealth of good information.

Let's answer the second question posed above. How does the Ark of the Covenant relate to worship today? The Ark itself is a symbolic piece. Imagine that we are represented by the Ark. Our lives can be represented by the acacia wood. While we are rough creatures, we can be polished to look beautiful though we are still rotten within. When we believe in Jesus and are saved, our covering is different. We become like the Ark, though we are covered by his blood and not gold. The mercy seat represents the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Through his death, we are covered. To me, the cherubim on top of the mercy seat are representative of the protection that God gives us in the spiritual world.

I still haven't answered the worship question though. What does the Ark have to do with worship? As I've stated before, worship isn't just singing or going to church. Worship is life. In this case, worship is represented by the three things that were stored inside the Ark.

First. the stone tablets with God's testimony on them show that we are to worship him by holding His testimony inside us. We are to read and study the Bible and by doing that, we are taking part in worship. We are giving God our time and our energy by reading His word. We are to take the Word of God and hide it in our hearts, placing it deep inside ourselves much like the Ark was deep inside the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies.

The golden jar of manna represents the past. We are to remember what God has brought us out of and praise him for it. Through Jesus, we are delivered from a world of sin and from the wages of that sin. The Israelites were delivered from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians and were given manna from heaven to help the survive the desert. I believe that the manna inside the Ark was put there to show the Israelites how God had provided for them and how faithful he was. What better reminder for them than the very food they ate. We worship God for the depths that he brought us out of.

Finally, the rod of Aaron shows both the power and authority of God. In the Israelite culture, the rod was used by shepherds to guide the flock. Aaron's rod in particular was used to display the supernatural power of God, becoming a serpent and devouring the serpent rods of Pharaoh's sorcerers, and then producing buds overnight as a symbol of the right of priesthood of the Levites. This shows that God is worthy to be the receiver of our worship.

The story of the Ark and its place in worship is important to us today, just as it was thousands of years ago. However, the Ark itself has been replaced by the new covenant with Jesus. As a symbol of how we are to worship though, it retains its value.

Oh, and Indiana Jones didn't really find the Ark. Indiana Jones doesn't exist. It's a movie, people.

I'm a logical guy. Always have been. My wife can verify that I'm not much for emotion. I would much rather think through something rather than feel my way through it. When confronted with a difficult decision I tend to weigh the pros and cons and take a long time to come to a final decision. This is probably why I'm a computer programmer and not a social worker. When it comes to faith however, is this the best approach?

I've always maintained that I will never cheer more for an individual or group than I would for God. I don't get too worked up over sports (with a couple exceptions) and when going to concerts I don't go crazy and yell. When at church I'm much the same way. I don't get wrapped up in the emotion of what someone is saying. It's hard for me to express emotion to other people as well. Times when I should show gratitude or simply say thank you, I clam up and don't do anything.

What's the best approach when it concerns our faith? It has to be a combination of the two. Logic and reason can combine with emotion and faith to produce a fruitful experience with God. We have logic to see that what we believe is true, that what the Bible says is correct. We have emotion which allows us to plumb the depths of our experience with God, giving us hope for the future.

Many outside Christianity believe that if you want to be a born-again believer you have to check your brain at the door. There was an article a few months ago talking about the relationship between IQ and faith. There are some who feel that people who don't believe in God have higher IQs than those who do believe. To be honest, I can see why they would think that. It's hard for me to not analyze everything that happens in my life. It's hard for me to let go of something and have complete faith that God will take care of it. And when I say "hard", I mean a range between "extremely difficult" and "nearly impossible". The emotional side of me can't get enough of a toe-hold on the mountain of logic I have against it.

The frustrating part of this is I know that God can do anything. I've experienced it myself. I've had a mild case of asthma all my life. Six months ago I was fighting a respiratory infection that caused my asthma to be a near constant presence. I was using an inhaler constantly to try and keep the wheezing down and be able to take deep breaths. I saw a doctor and he gave me some steroids to take and another inhaler prescription. Well, the inhaler ran out after about a month and I didn't have the money to get another one at the time. So, my wife and I prayed simply that I would be able to breath deeply enough I could sleep and we would figure something out in the morning. Since that night, I haven't needed an inhaler once. All this to say, my logical side knows what is possible through God.

There is one place I can express emotion, and that is through music. I've been taking turns with three other people in our church leading worship or playing backup on Sundays and I do love doing it. It's more than the guitar or the singing, it's the emotion of it. It's a place I can pour myself out and be emotionally naked in front of God. I've always loved that about music.

I think that for some, emotion trumps logic. For others like myself, emotion gets trampled by logic. I also think that as a body of Christ, we need all these different pieces to be successful. My wife is more emotional than I am, and it works out perfectly for us. The most important thing to remember is balance. We have to try and balance out the emotion with the logic to make good sound decisions about our life in Christ. We can be as fired up as possible about sharing Christ, but it might not be the brightest idea to do it at 2 in the morning in front of a biker bar. Logic has its place, and God didn't call us to be stupid.

How do you view this conflict? Are you more emotional or logical and how does that affect your faith in God?

...I'm an idiot.

I had the pieces queued up for Friday and Monday. My only problem was I scheduled them for JULY 15 and 18 instead of JUNE. Minor issue. So, I changed the dates on them. Take a Stand - Emotion or Logic will post tonight, and Christ and Culture - Politics of the Day will post tomorrow morning.

(I borrowed (ok, plagiarized) the opening phrase from The Sports Guy. He can be a bit crude at times and references a lot of things that I wouldn't touch, but he's really a great writer. Some funny stuff in there if you want sports commentary.)

I don't usually watch these talent shows, but I saw this video on the internet and thought it was worth sharing.

Phone Salesman Amazes Crowd - Watch more free videos

(Originally written for the Youth Ministry Exchange) 

It seems to be an ever present question in the minds of youth and parents. What activities / music / movies / television shows should we watch? Should we only do things that are explicitly Christian? Is it OK for us to sample things that are not sold at a Christian bookstore? Where do we draw the line? How do we support youth who are trying to live in the faith, but can't seem to leave the culture behind?

Today's Christian world is dominated by a subculture which finds a Christian substitute for something that is secular. Have we gained anything by doing this? Can art and music, inspired by God, be held on its own merits without cheapening it by calling it a "Christian" version of a secular thing? We divorce ourselves from society by having Christian television, Christian radio, Christian movies, Christian books, and Christian clothing. By perpetuating this we tell those who are non-believers around us that what they have is no good, that we must have something different. Also, do we step over the line and mock the very faith we seek to demonstrate by having to copy a secular idea to get our message out?

We as Christians have a tendency to "drop out" of society into our own monastic way of living. We homeschool or send our children to private schools because we are afraid of the influence of public schools. We only associate with those people we go to church with. We expect our youth to not have piercings and tattoos, and when they show up with them, we treat them differently because of how they look on the outside. We don't give them a chance because we have already passed judgment on their attitude and heart by their appearance. How is that modeling Jesus' love to the world?

The hardest part of living a Christian life is trying to exist in the world, but not be joined to it. This can be especially hard for young people who haven't yet developed the critical thinking skills to separate the two. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" That's a pretty straight-forward exhortation by Paul to not be associated with non-Christians. However, how do we square that with what Jesus did in Luke 19 by going to the house of Zacchaeus? Even then, people said "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" (Luke 19:7).

Jesus was willing to mingle and talk to 'sinners'. He went out of his way to talk to the tax collectors and the prostitutes, knowing that they would be more willing to listen than the priests would be. Why? Because the priests already thought they knew the answer to the God-shaped hole in all of our hearts. Their hearts had been hardened to what Jesus was teaching. The prostitutes and tax collectors were using something else to fill that hole, but it did not fulfill them. If Jesus had been afraid of being near them because they were sinners, then who would have saved them. In His perfect love, he looked past the activities and the job the person had, and saw straight into their soul.

When Paul says that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, he is speaking of a deeper relationship than what Jesus entered into with those considered to be sinners. By no means are we to choose non-Christian people as our confidants or partners. However, we should be welcoming to those people and show them how to pass from the darkness into the light of Jesus Christ. The youth that come through our doors have to know that we love them regardless of clothing or hairstyle. They have to believe that we care about them, even though they may look like a porcupine that got mauled by a paint crew on the way home from a death metal concert.

How can we be aware of where the world is coming from if we are not in the world? I'm not advocating that we become prostitutes and tax collectors (though I'm sure that there are some really great IRS agents), but we can't remove ourselves completely from those around us. We can't learn how the world works without being a part of it. How best can we understand our kids' love for all things Harry Potter without reading the books ourselves? How can we understand the culture without being in it? Removing ourselves from non-believers will only weaken us, and make us less effective in reaching a hurting world. This doesn't mean that we immerse ourselves in the things of earth, but we should have knowledge of what goes on around us. There is a reason that kids watch a particular show or listen to a certain band. If we intend on reaching them, we have to uncover that reason.

Not long ago, I had plans to take our youth to a concert by the band Delirious?. I had played a few of their songs for the youth and they all seemed to warm up to them. Some even commented about how much they liked Martin Smith's hair. I thought I had them. Most of these youth had never heard a Christian band before and they seemed to be legitimately interested. So, I brought up the concert. The unfortunate thing was that it was a two hour drive to get there, but the youth said they wanted to go. As we got closer to the day however, fewer said they could. When the week finally came, only three had committed to it. On the day of the concert, right before we were to leave, all three bailed out on me. I didn't realize it at the time, but I had made a fatal mistake.

Two weeks later, three of the girls in our youth group skipped out because they won tickets to see their favorite band, My Chemical Romance. It was then that I realized what I had done wrong. Instead of trying to relate to them and understand why they liked the bands that they did, I thought that I could throw a Christian band at them that played modern music and they would fall in line. Instead of forcing myself to learn about their life, I tried to force them to learn about how I lived mine. I didn't reach out to them so much as I threw them a bone, hoping they'd take it and gnaw for a while.

Christian youth face the same struggles today that we faced at that age. They are trying to walk the line between honoring their faith, yet not be mocked by their peers. Junior high and high school are hard. We can't put pressure on youth to be perfect. There will be movies that they watch, music that they listen to, and books that they read which are not edifying to their spirit. I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't experienced that. What we as youth workers have to do is give them an outlet to express their likes and dislikes. We have to discover what drives them and what things the world offers that tempts them. Not everything that is not explicitly Christian is bad for them. However, they need to be taught how to discern for themselves what will help their spirit grow and what will cause it to crumble. When these kids grow up, they will have to decide for themselves the path they choose, whether it be in the world or of the world.

We must always remember who we serve. Matthew 6:24 states that no man can serve two masters. We can't be worldly and Christian. We have to keep our eyes on God and keep our hearts and those of our youth guarded against evil. The key is being in the world, but not bonded to the world. We must be able to function within this fallen world, and maneuver through the minefields that lie in it, while still keeping our hearts tuned to God. We should have wisdom on why the world works the way it does, but not intimate knowledge of it. Most of all, we should have faith in God and let Him direct our steps.

• It's tough having friends who live in Alaska. We saw them for about four hours today for the first time in three years and it wasn't nearly enough. They were supposed to be in yesterday but a sick kid took care of that. Maybe we can pressure them to move back (doubt it). Good friends like that are hard to come by.
• I understand that when it's raining hard you tend to slow down a bit when driving, but 20 in a 45? Seriously? At least move over to the shoulder so people can get by.
• On the other hand, even if it's raining so much that it's hard to see, don't stop under the overpass! Someone might not see you, and the hail dents you were worried about may not compare to the new rear end you'll need and the guilt over killing someone that rear-ended you.
• A math equation for you: my weather station + six months = broken. The rain gauge isn't working. Not sure why.
• Have a great weekend!

It's harvest time around here. The wheat has sprouted and is ready (or past ready) to be cut. Looking out over the fields on my way to work reminds of how I grew up, but it also forces me to think about my own spiritual journey.

I grew up on a wheat and cattle farm in south central Kansas. While many people I know currently would think it a terrible way to grow up, I loved it. I loved being out in the country, away from everyone and everything. I still get goosebumps when I smell freshly worked farmland. There was a simplicity about life out on the farm. During the summer, you get up, you work, you eat lunch, you work some more, then you come in late in the evening and do something else. My brother and I would play Nintendo or computer games, read or play board games and cards with our parents. It was an ideal lifestyle for bringing a family together. Fall brought planting season and school, meaning football games on Friday nights, and (reluctantly) up on Saturday to drive a tractor. Many days were spent listening to college football on the AM-only radio that was in the tractor I usually drove. Reflecting back on this part of my life, a few things open up to me.

It's easy to see the results of planting wheat. You have the amber waves of grain waving in the wind. You see the combines out in the field taking in the harvest. What happened to get it to that point though?

When my dad plants wheat, he doesn't plant it then go out everyday and badger it to come up. He may go back later and put some kind of pesticide or insecticide on it to protect the seedlings, but he doesn't keep hammering on the seed until it sprouts. He waits patiently for it to be ready to harvest, then he has someone come in to harvest it.

It's in much the same way that we need to treat others. We are responsible for planting the seed in someone's life. We can't force them to come to Jesus though. We can't heckle someone into accepting Christ, just like Dad can't harvest wheat that isn't ready yet. After we plant the seed, the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can prompt someone to take that next step. In Mark 4:26-29, Jesus states,

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

The mystery of how the seed grows and how the soil produces grain are taken care of by God. Nothing we can do will speed the process along.

We then have to be available to take in the harvest. Matthew 9:37-38 says,

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."

Are you available to do that? Have you said to God, "Here I am, send me"? It's a difficult thing to do. We aren't called to be amazing speakers or writers, just faithful ones. What are you doing to be available to God?