Friday, July 17
Read Ellen G. White, “The Gospel in Samaria”, pp. 103-111, in The Acts of the Apostles.
All around us people are seeking for the things of eternity. As Jesus so aptly put it, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). The problem was not with the harvest. With eyes divinely anointed, Jesus saw a plentiful harvest where the disciples saw only opposition. What was Christ’s solution to the problem? “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). The solution is to pray that God will send you out into His harvest.
Why not pray this prayer? “Lord, I am willing to be used for the advancement of Your kingdom. Open my eyes so that I can see the providential opportunities You are opening before me each day. Teach me to be sensitive to the people around me. Help me to speak words of hope and encouragement and share Your love and truth with those I come in contact with each day”. If you will pray this prayer, God will do some extraordinary things with your life.
Discussion Questions:
1. If you have worked to bring souls to Jesus, one thing you know: it is not always easy, is it? Yes, of course, only God can convert hearts, but in His wisdom He has chosen to use us to be part of that process. To work for even one soul takes time, effort, patience, and a love born from above. What choices can you make that will help you have the death to self that you need in order to be an effective witness for Christ?
2. Who are some of the people you come in contact with who don’t know the Lord? What have you done, or are doing, or should do, to witness to them?
3. Think about Saul of Tarsus. Here is someone who appeared to be about as unlikely a convert as one could imagine! And yet, we know what happened to him. What should this tell us about the danger of too quickly judging others by outward appearances?
4. Keeping in mind the story of Saul, what do we do with a text like Matthew 7:6: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”?
