Grace and Peace to You All,

I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend. Today we are celebrating my wife's birthday at home. That's so easy to do because she is a beautiful gift from God who brings sunshine to all who meet and know her (Sunshine is on her birth certificate, her mother named her well).

For those of you who are traveling we want you to know we are praying for you and your family. If we haven't seen you in awhile due to a move or transition, we pray for you too. So many who have come to Cathedral of Hope over the years have truly blessed our lives and you continue to remain on our hearts and minds.

Please take a moment to post an encouraging message to Belinda on Facebook or Instagram. If you do not use either one of those platforms you can send her an email message here. For those of you who may want to send her a gift her CashApp is $BelindaMcNatt or you can give to the church and add a note that it is for Pastor Belinda.

Speaking of giving to the church. Today would be a wonderful opportunity to sow something into the Kingdom. There are ways to give listed below.

In the book of Matthew we read a scripture that is often viewed negatively, but there is a powerful message of hope found in it.

Jesus is speaking to His disciples after healing many and teaching the Kingdom of God and in Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV) He turns to His disciples and says the following words:

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Wow! That doesn't sound like a statement full of hope. The Message Bible is even more discouraging, "When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”

Jesus stands here looking over a crowd and is heartbroken because He sees the possibility, the potential, those who's lives could be transformed by the Kingdom, but He cannot physically reach them all. Even sending His disciples out...they cannot reach them all. It's as if Jesus looked on the crowd and saw the world. Even then, over 2,000 years ago, when earth's population was so much smaller, Jesus is saying, pray for more help to get the message out!

Well I see a message full of Hope, because Jesus didn't say, there are too many so we have to give up. He didn't say there's more than we can handle so we will just let some be lost. He didn't say, "this is all meaningless." Jesus said pray! He even makes it clear that we are not alone as we labor for the Kingdom of God, because in His very statement to "pray to the Lord of the harvest for more workers" He is proclaiming there is One who is able to send more.

When it seems like the assignment God has given you is too much and every mountain before you seems impossible to climb, pray for more. Pray for more help, more strength, more support. We serve a God who hears our prayers and every time you see an impossible, heartbreaking situation there is a God with an answer just waiting to be called upon. Don't give up! God is on our side.