Don’t Stall Out - Encouragement Café - September 11, 2017

Don’t Stall Out
By Carolyn Dale Newell

Monday, September 11, 2017

“So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”  Matthew 20:16 NKJV

Our world spins out of control, shrouded in darkness. Terror spreads everywhere, and we tremble wondering when it will once again reach our home shores. Political assassinations are attempted as Congressmen play baseball.

Gang violence sweeps through our cities and towns. Police face ambushes. Storms of protests frequent our living rooms, and division accelerates worldwide.

Was it only sixteen years ago that we stood united in churches? People gathered holding hands and flying American flags. Patriotism was at its peak. The September 11th terrorist attack united us. Now we are crumbling from within.

On 9/11, we watched two planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A third plane flew into the Pentagon in Washington DC. The fourth flight victoriously crashed into a Pennsylvania field as American hero sacrificed their own lives for the lives of strangers.

As we reflect on that horrific day, how do we muddle through a world gone mad? Replace fear with faith. The origin of fear is Satan. Faith is a gift from God.

Pray rather than protest. Pray safety over your family and church. God is our refuge and fortress.

Make a difference by witnessing. Serving Jesus can be discouraging. We get weary, and sometimes we stall out. In the Parable of the Workers and the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), the landowner found laborers to work his vineyards, around sunrise. He returned throughout the day finding men standing idle. Up to the eleventh hour, he hired laborers paying them equal wages.

Have you grown tired? Has your get-up-and-go, got-up-and-gone? Are you standing idle like the laborers in this parable?

Friend, it is the eleventh hour, and Jesus is calling laborers. We cannot change the past days of weariness, but we can begin anew today.

Outside our front doors, lays a dying world without Jesus. It may even begin within our own four walls. We cannot stop the attacks, murders, and evil, but we can aid in the rescue of lost souls.

Plant a seed and tell them about our Savior who died for sinners. Show them the love of Jesus. Be encouraged today. The fields are ripe with harvest. Go out into the fields, and God will reward your work.

You cannot spare them from bombs and bullets, but when they come to Christ, their eternity is secure in heaven. It is time to roll up our sleeves and get busy with our Father’s business. Will you join me today?

Heavenly Father, energize us to continue working as this world grows darker. Put people in our paths today and prepare their hearts to hear the message You give us to deliver. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

© 2017 by Carolyn Dale Newell.  All rights reserved.

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Originally published Monday, 11 September 2017.

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