God's Work

Devotion by: Prue Welsh

Matthew 9:35-10:8 ³⁵ Then Jesus went aboutall the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’ ¹⁰Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. ⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

Jesus said to his disciples in verses 37 and 38, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Just as Jesus called his disciples to tell others about God’s love, as Christians, it is our duty to continue Jesus’ work today. We too can harvest the fields of nonbelievers or those who have strayed from their faith.

Invite a family member, friend, neighbor or coworker to share Advent and Christmas worship with us. Reach out to those in need offering your time, talents and gifts. Helping others brings us closer to God and helps others see the power of Christ’s love for us.
Prayer: Lord, help us to have the courage to reach out to others in need, to help or share our lives as Jesus taught us to do. Amen.