Harvest time What does that mean to you? In the natural realm, I always think of fields of wheat and corn, full and ripe waiting for reaping. In the spiritual sense, I think of souls prepared and ready to be brought into the Kingdom. Harvest time has always represented the reaping of good things. But recently, I got a much bigger picture of harvest and what it means. While watching the riots so near to our home, I couldn't help but realize we were seeing a harvest being reaped by an incident which would not have generated a riot had not the seeds already been long planted and fully matured. And as we look at the trouble in the world around us, we see harvest everywhere that took years to come to manifestation. Men thought they could live in immorality and all sorts of sin and get away with it. They never realized they were sowing a harvest of death, decay and terror. Galatians 6:7 tells us "Do not be deceived; God will not allow Himself to be mocked He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap." What does this mean to us of the household of faith? This is certainly not the time to give up or succumb to fear. As harvest time comes and all that has been sown comes to maturity, let us as believers take heart. For the enemy's harvests are often his undoing. They make ready the harvest of the Lord. You can see it everywhere even within the church. People want real answers they are tired of man's foolishness and stupidity as they see destruction on every side. Yes, it is always to a darkened world that the glory of the Lord appears. The stage once again is set. Isaiah 9:2 tells us "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of intense darkness and the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined." So take heart all you who have sown in tears in the Lord. For as Galatians 6 goes on to tell us in verse 9 "Let us not lose heart and grow weary of doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up." As surely as the evil harvest has come, our harvest time is coming too, but we must hold fast our confidence firm to the end. This last month has been so hard for us. Never have we been so tempted to fear and look at the trouble that surrounds us. And I know many of you have felt this too. But I write this month to say, "let all who are discouraged take heart for God has heard our cries and He Who is faithful will surely come and save us." Isaiah 35:4. Has He not promised and will He not also do it? He has planted His Word and desires deeply in our hearts and we are told in Isaiah 61:11 "as surely as the earth brings forth its shoot and a garden causes what is sown in it to spring forth, so surely the Lord God will cause rightness and justice and praise to spring forth before all the nations through the self fulfilling power of His Word." We thank you, dear partners, for sowing into our lives and ministry, and we trust our prayers and sharing have also been like seed in your lives. Now may the Lord of the Harvest bring forth His fruit to the honor of His name. May we rejoice together over the harvest of righteousness as it breaks upon us and may
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