Each of us, believer or unbeliever, has to face the reality that there is a time to die. As I approach my own eightieth birthday, I become ever more conscious of the fact that ‘here we have no continuing city’ (Hebrews 13:14) and that a future and permanent eternal home awaits those who know and love the Lord.
I’m also conscious that the pressures of war, finances and social circumstances are making people think more seriously about the greater issues of life – and, also, death. But, how do you communicate with people who in our agnostic age have no spiritual knowledge or framework within which to consider such issues?
As you will have seen from my recent Blogs, God has been impressing upon me the urgency of bringing in an end-time harvest. Jesus’s lament about the man who wanted to build bigger barns in which to store his wealth has always impacted my spirit, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you . . . this is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God” (Luke 12:20-21). Clearly, in the overall scheme of things, being “rich towards God” is of pre-eminent importance.
The world we live in today is a far cry from God’s original plan. How far we have fallen. More than ever, there is an urgency for believers to recognize that time may be shorter than we think and that the harvest is waiting to be gathered in. Do we really want to ignore Jesus’ final plea for the salvation of lost souls?
Recently, I was asked to write something that could be sent, emailed or given to an unbelieving friend, that could start him thinking about the issues of life, death and eternity. I prayed much about what to say and how to say it. The result is a piece I have entitled “The River of Life” and which I am now publishing for the first time.
This Blog is simply an explanation of what will follow in the next one! I have issued The River of Life as a separate piece, so that you can forward it to anyone you wish – especially to those who don’t yet know the Lord or who could use it in personal evangelism. This has not been written as a comprehensive theological statement, but as a taster to start people asking the right questions.
As the days get darker the urgency of the Gospel must take priority in our thinking. I pray that God will use this to direct many towards the Gates of Heaven, so that, at the moment their life will be demanded of them, they will know where they are going.
Copyright © Peter Horrobin 2023. To subscribe to Peter’s Blog please go to: www.peterhorrobin.com
Thank you John
Good to hear from you again
I will be addressing the subject of how the end-time harvest might be brought home in my next blog.
Blessings
Peter
Hello Peter,
Many thanks for sharing your inspirational articles.
I have been a believer for a number of decades and a “follower” of yours for many years. Without knowing me you have accompanied me through many of life’s ups and downs. So I thank The Lord for using you to first speak to my heart many years ago when I was living in Argentina.
In as much as I am a fervent believer and follower of Jesus Christ and are anxiously waiting for the Rapture, I do not comprehend how Our Heavenly Father wants us Christians to bring in the harvest by witnessing to the lost when I look around and see few sons and daughters of The Almighty (including myself) living a life from victory to victory.
For non believers it is extremely complex to understand the all important Biblical concept of an eternal afterlife in Heaven. If added to that they do not come across many believers who in their eyes are not living a “better” and more fulfilling present life than non believers, how does Our Lord expect our witnessing to be bountiful ? If as a Body of Christ we were collectively increasing the harvest we would be seeing more lost souls accepting Jesus Christ as their one and only saviour. Instead believer’s numbers are decreasing fairly rapidly with more and more empty churches closing.
I know God’s ways are not our ways and believe that His ways are perfect and infinitely superior to mine/ours, but I find myself confused when attempting to understand His strategy.