Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, March 12, 2021

"Then He [Jesus] said to His disciples, "'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"¹

Tradition says that the man who invented the game of chess was told by the Chinese emperor to name his own reward. The man simply asked that a grain of rice be placed on the first square of the chess board: two grains on the second square, four on the third, eight on the fourth, sixteen on the fifth, and so on, the grains doubling each time. The emperor quickly agreed, but was horrified when he came to the sixty-fourth square.

The only hope of mankind for peace for today and hope for eternity is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. If I tell one person about Jesus, and we both tell another, that makes four people sharing the Good News. By the time I've told twenty-one people, and if all the others do the same and so on, more than one million people will have heard the gospel in no time.²

Jesus started the entire Christian message with twelve disciples who consisted of ordinary men who were willing to be used by God. By Ascension Day it had grown ten times to 120. "A little over a week later, on Pentecost, it increased to over 3,000. By the time the last of the twelve died, there were an estimated half-million followers of Jesus Christ.

"That was at the end of the first century. By the end of the second century, this number had increased to almost ten million. By the close of the ninth century, there were 100 million Christians. Today, the number has grown to over one billion believers around the world. None of this growth would have been possible had Christians not been excited and supportive of each other and prayed to 'the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"³

Our society, especially over the last year, has become extremely "virtual". Companies have had to make changes to adapt to the needs of the times. With access to social media, apps, and the internet in general, it has never been easier to share with those around us. God has given us the message and commissioned usâ€"you and me includedâ€"to take it to all the world. He has given us the methods. All He needs is His people working together, all doing their share to reach others for Christ. Will you allow God to use you in reaching others? A simple text, phone call, or message could provide the hope that someone desperately needs today.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for Your great salvation which has given me the gift of eternal life and a home in heaven to be with You foreverâ€"a life that has been saved from eternal damnation. I am available for You to use to be a part of Your plans and what You are doing in the world today. Please give me a passion for lost souls and help me to be as Christ to every life I touchâ€"and use me today to help spread the gospel in whatever way I can. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Matthew 9:37-38 (NKJV).
2. Dorothy O'Neill, Encounter magazine (Australia), March/April 2002.
3. Dennis Kastens, "Echoes of Eternity," from the sermon: "Laborers Needed for the Harvest."

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