Fallow Ground

In praying for the lost, You brought to my mind Romans 5:7-8:
:7 "for one will hardly die for a righteous man, for perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die,
 :8 but God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
What came to my mind was the hardness of heart, the fallow ground in the heart of the one I was praying for. How all his life he lived the first part of this scripture..."all of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us have gone his own way,...but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Is 53:6

What man, who on this earth would be crucified, the most lowly, cruel, humiliating way to die, and to suffer the deepest most painful separation from God His Father, for someone that hated Him, for a criminal, an enemy of Him? Romans 5:7 says "perhaps for a good man...." but there is ONLY one sacrifice... Hebrews 10:12 that has redeemed all sinners if they choose to receive Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness;
Jesus Christ was willing to "carry...up to the cross" my sin, your sin, the sin of the whole world for even those who do not seek Him now, for those with hardened hearts toward Him, who despise Him.

 People who have not experienced the salvation through Jesus Christ, are according to God's word, blinded by the devil, (2 Cor 4:3-4) and their hearts are fallow ground.
 Hosea 10:12 ...in speaking to Israel whose hearts had turned away from Him... "Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the LORD...
 Fallow means "untilled" ground; hardened; Break up meaning "freshly till".

In other words, yield to God so that He can sow goodness, truth, righteousness and salvation into the soil of one's heart and the blindness be lifted to see "the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." This is the only place His Glory will be found!

A Slight Thing

2 Kings 8 tells us of the battle of Israel against Moab involving three kings. King of Israel, Jehoram, King of Judah, Jehoshaphat and King of Edom, (at that time a tributary of Israel) went up against Moab to battle. As always it is amazing at the absolute power God displayed. The LORD is mighty to do according to His will!

After deciding to go up against Moab, the 3 kings above traveled for 7 days (2 kings 3:9) and there was no water for cattle and men.

They called upon Elisha to inquire of the LORD.  The message from the LORD was for them to make the valley full of trenches. Then without wind or rain, God filled those trenches to supply water for them.

What amazed me was that the LORD tells them “This is but a slight thing in the sight of the LORD”.

A SLIGHT thing! To fill the dry trenches with water.! Verse :20 says “behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.”  God can do anything!!

When Moab looking out to where Israel was camped, saw the water it looked like blood. Only God could make them see it like that!

Then the Moabites thought that the kings had shed one another’s blood and that encouraged them to attack the camp of the kings. When the they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck them down. Thus Moab was defeated in that battle.

Father You display Your compassion and power in all this.

Three kings: king of Israel, Jehoram, was evil in the sight of the LORD. The king of Edom was a heathen. But Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, had favor in Your eyes. (3:14}.

Because of Jehoshaphat, who was the one that wanted to inquire of the LORD, Elisha spoke to them and answered their inquiry.  

God’s favor on Jehoshaphat and His power to defeat the enemy shows His compassion toward His chosen people; it shows for us today that He is able to orchestrate circumstances for victories in our life.  Also always, Jesus being our High Priest at His right hand interceding for us.

The battle is never ours but it belongs to Him. We stand on victorious ground. We do not fight against the enemy because God has already won that battle by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Victory is now His forever.

As believers, God sees us as His chosen, covered with the blood of Jesus Christ and He works His power within us expressing His love, grace, and compassion to help and deliver us in the time of need.

We can have total confidence in a living God that knows our every need and cares about the details of our lives. He is the One true Living God!

Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.