Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 145:3 & 5

Great are You, LORD, and most worthy of praise;
No one can fathom Your greatness.
I will meditate on Your wonderful works
and tell others of the glorious splendour of Your majesty
Amen.

Reading

John 4:27-38

As the Samaritan woman went to gather her neighbours and friends to come and meet Jesus, saying, “‘Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’ all the disciples could think about was how Jesus had spoken publicly to a woman, and how hungry He must be. But Jesus’ mind was filled with anticipation of what He called a “harvest”: He said,

‘I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life …’ (v.35-36)

In plain English, Jesus was commanding them (and now commands us) to be constantly alert to those around us who are in a state of spiritual openness. Like a field that is ripe for harvest, all around us there are people who, like the Samaritan woman, experience a deep inner longing for God and are ready to come home to Him if only they knew that His arms are open wide to receive them and give them Life.

As disciples of Jesus, it is our responsibility and it ought to be our delight to both “sow the seed” and “reap the harvest”.

There will be times when we are called to “sow”. In Jesus’ analogy this refers to showing and telling others the Good News of Jesus, without an immediate response.

There will be other times when we are called to “reap”. In Jesus’ analogy this is to help others to respond and to come home to God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. “Reaping” is the privilege of having that crucial Gospel-conversation with someone and then guiding them as they express their desire to Jesus in prayer. It is helping them to ask the Lord to forgive their sins, to grant them new spiritual life, and to usher them into relationship with God the Father as His beloved children. What a privilege that is!

But this all starts with us obeying Jesus’ command and keeping our eyes open to see the harvest of spiritually hungry people right in front of us! Will you open your eyes today?

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will keep my eyes open to notice the spiritually hungry people right in front of me!
• I will grasp every opportunity to speak of Jesus and His love.
• I will not shy away from guiding people home to Jesus in prayer.

Holy Spirit, please open the doors for me to have fruitful Gospel-conversations with people today. And when the door opens, give me the courage to walk through and “reap the harvest”. Amen.