March 17, 2004



The Lord of the harvest
sends out workers into His harvest.
(see Matt 9:37-38)

On Monday of this week, five Southern Baptist relief workers were the victims of a drive-by shooting in the city of Mosul, in Northern Iraq. At this writing, only one survives in critical condition (see below). We are setting aside our regularly scheduled devotional to thank God for their lives and pray for their families.

Where do we turn in the Scripture at a time like this? There are many different verses that relate to sacrifice and death but we can keep meditating in the same text that has been guiding our prayers.

We have been looking at the words of Jesus that relate to the harvest. Notice again the words in Matthew 9:37-38;

“Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Who is in charge of the harvest? God is called the Lord of the harvest.
Who owns the harvest? It is described as HIS harvest.

Through our earthly perspective, we have trouble seeing Iraq as a harvest field. But, Jesus, through the eyes of eternity, sees the hurting and empty hearts and He sees the multitude as sheep without a shepherd.

These workers responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. They went to an extremely dangerous place because they heard the call of God. They had a deep sense of being sent by Him into His harvest.

In Hebrews 11, we read about many heroes of the faith. Some have called this chapter the “Hall of Faith.” We read of many who did miraculous things “by faith.” We also read of many who suffered and died “by faith.” Now today, as we remember the lives of these workers and the pain in the hearts of their families, we know that they too lived and died “by faith.”

Take a moment to think about what it means to live and die by faith. We must learn from their lives and pray for their families. That’s what Christian brothers and sisters do at a time like this….

Father,
We know that we are not our own, we have been bought with a price.
We honor the memory of these brothers and sisters who poured out their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
We pray for their families that You will comfort the deepest needs of their hearts.
We pray that you will teach us about Your work and Your workers as we face the pain of this earthly loss.
We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen

*See articles honoring these workers at: www.bpnews.net and www.imb.org