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Guest Post by Dave GriffithsA lot of people are asking, why is the world the way it is? What’s going on here? What on earth is God doing?  Of course, most of these people have never considered God before, but now, there is this terrible international crises, Corona, that is killing thousands daily across the world.At times like these, one can be tempted to doubt the love of God, when actually, an assurance of how much God does love us is what we need to carry us through this time.Whenever we are tempted to doubt God’s love, we should read John 17, slowly, listen to God talking to God, and thank Him for including us in the story of His glory. The glory of God is the display of His excellence. Jesus not only prayed for Himself, but also for His apostles and then for those of us who would believe in Him.The story of glory will go on forever. One day, we will personally beheld the glory of our Saviour, see the display of His excellence, and join the heavenly community of the family of God. Love to all God's people at New Harvest.Dave John 17: Jesus' Prayer After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.Jesus Prays for His Disciples6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are…

by Calven Celliers Once a week I drop my boys off at our local tennis club for coaching. As I dropped them off one afternoon I noticed some graffiti on the wall of an electrical substation at the Recreation Center next door. Not only did it grab my attention, it got me thinking. In fact I took the photograph below with my phone when I went to fetch them, so that I would remember it for a sermon or a devotion or … a blog post one day. Little did I know at the time that it was in fact a famous quote by Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, and sadly his criticism of Christianity. So what did Monsieur Voltaire have to say? Now, regardless of what Voltaire might have initially been thinking when he first penned these words, let me share with you some related thoughts on the topic. You were saved to make a contribution. God designed you to make a difference with your life. In his letter to the Church at Ephesus the apostle Paul makes this statement: “10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10NIV) At first, what we read here might disconcert us. Hasn't Paul gone to great lengths to emphasize that our salvation is not by works? Why is he now saying that we have been created in Christ to do good works? Yes, our salvation does come by grace received through faith. We do not earn our salvation through anything we do, but this clearly doesn’t mean that good works don't matter or are unrelated to salvation. In fact, this passage makes it abundantly clear, salvation and good works are closely connected. Whilst good works don’t earn salvation, they do follow salvation. To put it differently, we are not saved by good works, but for good works. Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept His grace? Why does He leave us in a fallen world?  My suspicion is that salvation is not simply a ticket to heaven after death. Rather, salvation means being brought from death to life by the love and grace of God, through the saving work of Christ on the cross. And when we are saved into new life, we begin that life in the here and now, on this earth, in an altogether different way. At least that's God's plan for us. God prepared what He wants each one of us to do once we’ve surrendered to His lordship. He has a unique plan for each of us, as His ambassadors who serve Him in this world. This includes certain spiritual gifts and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to lead us to works that contribute to His restoration of the world; works that build up rather than break down, works that make our lives meaningful,…

by Graham MolI was thinking about how we as Christians are to be shining lights in this world. Our vision at New Harvest for this year is: "Shine! A broken world in darkness waits for the light of Christ in you," based on Matthew 5:14. As I thought of the many different ways we can shine for Jesus, the virtue of perseverance came to mind.In Philippians  2:14-16a the apostle Paul says the following:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life.It takes perseverance to "do everything without grumbling and arguing." I'm sure we all have days where we got out on the wrong side of the bed, we all have our "off" days. So it's not always possible to do everything without moaning or getting irritable, we're human after all. Yet for a believer this should be the exception and not the norm. For someone who has placed their hope in Christ and finds their joy in the Lord, tough times and difficult circumstances won't keep us down.This is one of the things that makes Christians stand out from the world, the fact that even though we face many of the same struggles and obstacles everyone else experiences, we keep going. Somehow we remain standing, somehow we still have joy in our hearts, somehow our hope is undiminished. Somehow we persevere.The Bible speaks a great deal about perseverance but one of the most beautiful and inspiring passages be found in Isaiah chapter 40: 30 Youths may become faint and weary,and young men stumble and fall,31 but those who trust in the Lordwill renew their strength;they will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not become weary,they will walk and not faint."Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength." This is how we can keep on loving, keep on sharing, keep on caring and praying and praising even when we go into day how-ever-much of lockdown (day 90 today!) Our perseverance is and will be a witness to God's power and glory. When people look at us somehow persevering, we can then point them to Christ who is our strength.I want to encourage you to persevere. Find your strength in your relationship with the Lord, allow the Holy Spirit to refresh and renew you, and shine!"Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in," (Galatians 6:9 AMP) God BlessGraham