Saturday Night Musings

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men” Hosea 10:12,13. 

Do you want the abundant of blessings in your life that could grow to some 30, 60 or even a 100 fold, or do you want thorns and thistles? Silly question!  

To break up your fallow ground is getting back to be fundamental and foundational truths of the Bible. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” Galatians 6:7-8. Make no mistake about it, when God’s principles for right living has been spurned and forsaken there will be a harvest that you did not ever plan to see. You can not thumb your nose to God and have His blessing.    

To break up your fallow ground means loving the things that God loves and hating the things that God hates. Our desire is to love God will all of our heart, mind, soul and body. And to love our neighbor as God loves them. Times it means forgiving them for the cruelty and harsh things they have said about us. God loves sinners. God forgives sinners. God wants sinners to come to Him in faith and receive forgiveness.  He hates the sin that sinners do but loves the sinner even while he is in his sin. If we fail to hate what God hates, we will love what God hates. This my friend will harden your heart and will produce a calloused skin. The Bible calls this backsliding. “And my people are bent to backsliding from me…” Hosea 4:16. 

When you do break up your fallow ground, then God says: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.  I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.  His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.  They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon” Hosea 14:4-7. God’s grace is greater than our sin. There is a second chance with God. He has a plan of redemption detailed just for those who have erred and have fallen into the trenches of sin. There is hope and there is redeeming grace that comes only from Him. Our best life is never found in us, it is always found in Him.  

Break up your fallow ground by falling down on your knees, weep over sin, and commit your life as a tool in God’s hands for His work. Ask God for forgiveness and to use you in His vineyard. 

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But God was not at all pleased with what David had done, and sent Nathan to David. Nathan said to him, “There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. It ate off his plate and drank from his cup and slept on his bed. It was like a daughter to him. “One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest.” David exploded in anger. “As surely as God lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this ought to be lynched! He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!” “You’re the man!” said Nathan. (The Message) 

Some say there is a dark side in every person’s life. God exposes the good, bad, and the ugly and at times, shouts it from the house tops and writes it the sky. Some are made an example as in  case of King David, the man after God’s own heart. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then ordered the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. The dark side now has been written in ink for God and everybody to see. 

There is no sin that has ever been committed that there is not a chapter and verse where that sin has or can be forgiven. No man has the liberty and the license to sin without paying a price which he can afford to pay. Sin has it’s consequences and many times is carried unto the fourth and fifth generation. The sword of judgment may never leave one’s house—casualties never ceases. However, God is greater than our sin and has the power to put away our sin. Our loving, compassionate Heavenly Father is greater than any sin and can provide grace that is sufficient to live if need be with a limp or a thorn for the remaining our days. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When the burden of sin has been lifted then the peace of His forgiveness will pass all understanding. 

Someone will point out our sin. No sin can be swept under the rug without full exposure sooner or later. Justification can never excuse sin by way of comparison. It is not the pot calling the kettle black, both are black! To see clearly the mote in our brother’s eye will be by pulling the beam out of our own eye. We will never be able to see our sin until the Holy Spirit of God, the Holy Word of God, or Holy men of God reveals our sin. Do not, do not, harden your hearts or there may be a searing of the conscience.  

Confess your sin unto the Lord. Call it by name. A lady said once to her Pastor: “I just feel like there is some sin in my life, but I don’t know what it is”. The wise Pastor said: Why don’t you just kneel down at the altar and guess what it is”! She did…the very first time! If we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. My sin is a clenched fist, an out stretched arm and a mighty blow in the face of God. All of our transgressions are against God and His Word. When there is a deep sorrow for sin and repented rightfully, then there is an immediate forgiveness. It is not a wait and see attitude with God. He delights in loving and forgiving His children. Christ’s suffering on the cross, His death and His resurrection from the dead is our only hope of salvation and a full pardon of sin. 

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