It’s Time To Turn

Time to turn away

from everything that is distracting us –

towards Our Heavenly Father/Messiah.

In Hebrew culture, the time to turn, is designated to the appointed season of Teshuvah in the annual cyclical calendar. For believers in Yeshua/Jesus our Messiah, it is an ongoing daily attitude of heart and mind, so that we can walk as His disciples.

In Luke 22:31 the adversary demanded to have you people for himself to sift you like wheat….But I prayed for you Simon Peter that your trust might not fail.

When Jesus/Yeshua spoke of little or faith that might fail, He was referring to faith that was immature and needing further experience to grow by tests and trials; just as our faith grows and matures with every test and trial we go through.

Messiah continued…And once you have TURNED back in repentance strengthen your brothers.. Teshuvah turning..

Strong’s Hebrew: 8666.

תְּשׁוּבַת (teshubah) — a return, answer

תְּשׁוּבַת (teshubah) tchuvä;

בַ

Recall the hebrew letters b and v bet/vet בַ

are the same.

In the Hebrew mindset, Turning is not Conversion but repentance.

It is the ability to turn back to Him and seek healing for our brokenness.

Psalm 51 is sometimes called “Perek Teshuvah

the great chapter of repentance

which includes the well known scripture:

Create in me a clean heart …..

tchuvä;

Teshuvah is better translated as “return” and signifies:

a return to the original state,

and there we will have our ‘answer’, the place of restored relationship and peace, true shalom.

Teshuvah has 3 parts:

first, the regret of our sins,

secondly, the decision to change,

and third, a verbal confession of our sins.

We could also say there are the 4 R’s of Repentance:

Recognize: what we are doing wrong

Regret: with godly sorrow

Resolve: to change and do better in the future

Refrain: from exposing ourselves to things and people where there is temptation.

In truth, whenever we sin, we should immediately do Teshuvah;

to turn from evil, and to turn to the good.

2Cor. 7:10 godly sorrow worketh repentance For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation–and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death

Acts 3:19-21 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from

 the presence of the Lord,

After repentance

sins are blotted out

and

times of refreshing come.

and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

The season of Teshuvah is the month of Elul,

the 6th month of the Hebrew spiritual Calendar.

This is the equivalent of the months of August /September for the Gregorian calendar months and are observed over a period of 40 days.

August 26th is Elul 9, Elul is the 12th and final month in the Jewish civil calendar, or the 6th month, from nisan. (Recall Israel has 2 calendars Civil and Religious. These are covered in previous posts).

Elul 1 5783 began on August 18th 2023

Rosh Hashannah is on September 16th this year.

It is a month that connects the past year with the coming year..

Elul ( אֱלוּל)

Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and a time to review one’s deeds and spiritual progress over the past year.

This month is set aside for Teshuvah/Repentance in anticipation of the Fall Appointed Times/Feasts. The month of Elul is a time to prepare for Yamim Nora’im, The Days of Awe by getting our spiritual House in order.

This is a time to look into our hearts and ask the Ruach HaKodesh to search them and reveal any hidden sins, resentments, forgiveness, pride, anger, bitterness etc. and to repent, make Teshuvah and work at walking according to the Spirit and not the flesh.

For Messianic Believers in Yeshua/Jesus we look back and rejoice over our past redemption and deliverance during the Spring Appointed Times /mooedim/ Feasts of Messiah, With the Fall Appointed Times /mooedim /Feasts we look forward to our future deliverance and exodus from this earthly realm and to the return of our King. This is a time that we prepare ourselves as His Bride and make sure we are ready to hear the Sound of the Shofar! For the trump will sound.

Link below for more on the Appointed Times/feasts of the Lord

https://www.minimannamoments.com/disciples-divine-design-moadiym/ 

Notably the last 10 Days of this season of Teshuvah come between Rosh Hashanah and leading to Yom Kippur are specifically designated for Teshuvah, when in Hebraic tradition the gates of prayer and repentance are said to be more open than at any other time during the cyclical Hebrew year.

For messianic believers, Yeshua/Jesus is our sacrificial lamb. He has paid the price for our sin and as we have repented/teshuvah/ turned to Him; we have forgiveness of sin and are restored to a relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We do not have to wait a whole year to be forgiven because of Yeshua/Jesus we can repent immediately we sin, trusting in the power of His shed blood to not only cover our sins, but erase them. Then we are forgiven and the broken fellowship, the separation because of sin is restored.

Strong’s H8666

teshuvah; an abstract concept meaning,

“returning;” from 

Strong’s H7725

 שוב shuv,

a primitive root meaning,

“to return.”

The 3-letter root is:

shin + vav + bet.

shin ש =

two front teeth, sharp, press, eat, two, again.

vav ו =

the tent peg, add, secure, hook.

bet ב =

the house, household,

family, in, within

To put these together we have:

Again (shin) secure oneself (vav) to the house (bet). The house we have left, (like the prodigal son), to which our Heavenly Father returns us, is His house, because Genesis, His story, began with the Father, a beautiful garden, and the two children He had made to dwell with Him forever, to be a part of His household. His story will eventually be complete…full circle!

Shuv is the root of teshuvah, “repentance.” The term most often used to describe this restoration in the New Testament, is salvation or justification.

The abstract concept of teshuvah is used sparingly in the Hebrew scriptures; most English translations of repentance and restoration are of the verb, shuv.

Here it refers to Simon Peter / shimon kefa, RETURNING to unshakable trust after denying Him three times.

John 21:15 – 17 strengthen your brothers,

which he effectively did/ fulfilled in the early messianic community. Acts 1-15

This is what we are also called to do after we stumble into sin – once we have TURNED back in repentance and are restored and refreshed we are to strengthen our sisters and brothers..

Sifting exposes weaknesses that need to be, and can be strengthened by the infilling of His Spirit Acts 2:14 Peter stood up and said let me tell you what this means

and later in verse 41, 3000 were added.

Sifting is part of the process our Heavenly Father uses and applies to our lives. Then the weaknesses that surface and are exposed can be dealt with accordingly; salvation includes freedom, deliverance from all bondage.

Messiah prayed for Peter by name because He knew him and his previous stumblings.

In the same way He knows each of us our strengths and weaknesses. However just as with Peter and the talmidim/ disciples, He does not leave us in our weaknesses.

In the last three posts we have looked at His Spirit of Holiness. Ruach haKodesh, and His role in our lives. Peter was filled with that same spirit, a holy boldness spoke through him, he was never the same again.

The same can happen for us also, however we must be willing to surrender all, holding nothing back. If we have been saved for many years and feel a dryness in our walk and relationship with Him…

then it’s probably time to teshuvah –

to return to our first love ….

Click link below for more:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/returning-to-your-first-love/

The Lord had breathed on them in John 20:22, and it would seem that was the point of their being born again from above.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: Aramaic Bible in Plain English. 

This would mean that this infilling of His spirit was a separate occasion, different from the salvation moment and different from water immersion.

Paul also found this to be true in Acts 19:22

There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  3“Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.…

…46For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,

Acts 10:47 Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.”

 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:38.

Is it possible that a lack of true heartfelt repentance is a spiritual block to receiving the fullness of His spirit?

According to scripture,

Repentance is a commandment and

only the obedient receive His spiritual gifts?!

And if we love Him we will obey what He asks of us?

So much of what our Father wants to accomplish in our lives is prevented by us; we are a stumbling block to ourselves, it is not our Father Who is withholding from us, it’s our self centered disobedience!

Acts 11:17
So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”

Acts 15:8
And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

In Matthew 3:11 John declared two separate immersions or baptisms – one out ward cleansing the other inward cleansing

 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Here is a question for every reader to consider and ponder.

Have we ever come to the point in our lives where we can say the words from this verse..

I indeed …but He?

Until that moment comes we will never know what the baptism/infilling of His Holy Spirit means.

I indeed am at the end of myself and I cannot do anything more.

We have been struggling trying to walk a spiritual walk with only physical carnal tools, abilities and weapons; and we simply get worn out because it has been in our own strength.

We indeed are out of options, our energies and resources are completely spent, leaving us exhausted and feeling like we should just give up.

But He begins right there at that point of complete lack.

He does the things that no one else can ever do.

Are we really, truly, honestly, prepared for His coming?

When Jonah/Yona/Dove, preached in Nineveh they made a choice…and repented before judgment came upon them, a sign Messiah referred to..

We know He is coming again but He is also coming first in a personal way to each individual. He cannot come and do His work in and through us as long as there is anything blocking the way, whether it is something good or something bad.

When Messiah comes to us, are we prepared for Him to expose every wrong thing we have ever done into the light?

Because that is exactly where He comes and wherever we know we are unclean and need to repent, is exactly the place where He will stand and highlight the need and wherever we are clean, where we have dealt with that sin that hinders our relationship with Him He will walk away; expecting us to follow Him.

The sifting is in process in our lives and like Peter, there is the option of repentance, of turning.

Repentance does not produce a sense of sin, it produces in us a sense of unworthiness that words cannot express. It is not just an emotional feeling of being sorry for doing something and then turning around and continuing to do it again and again.

Derived from the Greek word METANOIA it means:

to have a complete change of mind; and to have a renewed mind in Yeshua HaMashiach /Jesus Christ. It means to forsake the old way of thinking, living and doing and to humbly seek our Heavenly Fathers will for our lives.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.

When we find that true repentance, we realize that we are absolutely helpless and that like John, we are not worthy even to carry His sandals.

Have we ever repented like that, or do we have lingering thoughts of trying to defend our actions?

Perhaps the reason our Fathers Holy Spirit is restricted from coming into our lives in fullness, is that we have not come to the point of complete repentance in true humility.

In verse 11 he will baptize you….. John is not speaking here of the baptism of Holy Spirit as an experience, but as a work performed by Messiah Yeshua/Jesus .. He will baptize you.

The only experience that those who are baptized with His Holy Spirit are ever conscious of, is the experience of being aware of their absolute unworthiness, of how truly dependent we are on His mercy, grace and forgiveness.

I INDEED was us in the past, BUT HE came and something miraculous happened. We must get to the end of our ourselves, where we can do nothing but He does everything. It feels like a point of complete helplessness and it is because…. without Him we have nothing and we are in big trouble when we think we don’t need Him. He looks for our complete and total surrender, not just our acceptance of His offer of salvation and belief in Him.

Have we surrendered all?

Is there any part of us that we are withholding from our Heavenly Father?

Is there any area of our lives that we still want to be in control?

Today is the day to make certain and to allow the sifting process to complete its objective, then we can turn like Peter did and strengthen those Father puts in our path.

True repentance leads to complete surrender, then we, as the prepared vessels can be filled with His Spirit of holiness.

Christ in us, not only the hope of future glory, but present power to accomplish His will, plan and purpose and for His good pleasure. Let us be sure, certain, that we do not miss the day of our visitation. Let us grab it with both hands. We are only promised today so let’s surrender all to the only One who surrendered all for us. We don’t know the day nor the hour He is coming back for His Bride; a body of believers who are ready, without spot and wrinkle on their robes of righteousness.

The season, the time of Teshuvah is constant for the messianic believer; we are to be those wise bridesmaids with our lamps filled with oil/spirit of holiness. It’s a wake up call to all of us to be ready spiritually, prepared mentally with the mind of Christ; focused and not sleeping, looking for His return. Every day believers leave this world behind – one day it will be our turn.

The same cry that John called out is echoing through the ages into our hearing…repent for the kingdom of the heavens is near

…its the same cry that Messiah preached in Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We cannot be saved without true repentance, being sorry is not enough. Acts 17 warns us… it’s a command, not an option; and when Messiah said it 2000+ years ago, how much closer are we today?

Time as we know it will soon run out,

we need to hear truth not ear tickling, comfortable messages from our pulpits; because only truth will make us free. We must have ears to hear, because only the truth we hear and apply will change us into vessels He can use….

There is a timely warning for us all to wake up in

A basic part of focusing on teshuvah is Who our Father is; and we can see that in the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that were revealed to Moses after the sin of the golden calf in Ex. 34:6-7:

Link below to the Thirteen Attributes

13 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD’S MERCY.

Our Heavenly Father’s great compassion, in Hebrew His rachamim, is for us to make it to the end, to endure and mature and grow in grace and faith; so that once we return to Him we are to strengthen our fellow believers. Because everyone goes through the refining fires, the times of sifting and separating. This is the work of His Spirit of Holiness in us as we saw last post.

Again everything is connected, we cannot compartmentalize His working in our lives, nor can we say we don’t need this part or that part. We cannot choose His method or the instruments of His preparation for our promotion. Listen to what the Ruach HaKodesh is saying to us and showing us, as we submit ourselves more and more to His Way, His Truth and His Will for our lives.

Do we as Believers in the Messiah need to Repent, to do Teshuvah?

What does the Word say?

Read again His message to the 7 Assemblies/Synagogues in Revelation and we will see correction from our Messiah and His warnings to repent. Revelation 2-4

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19

 

Prophets like Jeremiah and Joel were calling the people to return to the Lord:

They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Jer. 25:5

Joel 2:12-13 AMPC Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep on coming to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning [until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored].

The verb ישׁוּב, turn oneself, turn about, is here used in a double sense: first, as turn away from one; and then turn towards him, return again. 

In the new Testament in Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. 

This season also reminds us of Esther and her willingness to prepare herself before coming into the Kings presence so she could approach him and ask for mercy for her people. This is a reminder that in humility with a truly repentant heart we can always approach the King of Kings and allow His countenance to shine on us.

Prophetically,

Teshuvah’s 40 days of repentance,

prepares believers for Messiah’s appearing!

We must choose to allow our Father’s Ruach HaKodesh, Who loves us, to rebuke and chasten us so we can bring true fruits of repentance and go forward a Bride without spot or blemish ready for the Wedding Feast!

Turn and keep on coming to Messiah family, for surely this is our hearts desire that every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship with our Lord is restored.

This is His desire for us…

and it’s time to turn!

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎,

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Peace to friends and family.

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

Not sure ..you can be…

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,

SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name

Planting Season –Time To Break Up Your Fallow Ground!

This is still the season of

counting of/ from the Omer.

Sefirat HaOmer

העומר‎ ספירת

Which is an appointed season between

Passover and Pentecost.

Leviticus 23:15

This is the 50/49 days between two of the

the three Pilgrimage Festivals

or

Shalosh Regalim in Hebrew: שלוש רגלים

They are the three major festivals:

Pesach –  Passover,

Shavuot – Weeks or Pentecost, and

Sukkot – Tabernacles, Tents or Booths

when all Israelites who were able, would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah.

This season is a very important time in personal preparation, because it is one of introspection, of self searching and examining our lives, and the motives of our hearts.

The disciples were told by Messiah to wait in Jerusalem during this period of time. Acts 1:12-26

They would have been counting from the Omer according to the instructions given in scripture.

Click on links below for more on the Omer.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/counting-our-blessings-with-omer/ 

https://www.minimannamoments.com/daily-devotions-for-the-49-days-of-omer/

During that time leading up to Shavuot/Pentecost, the disciples would have been praying reading Torah/ Old Testament and preparing themselves spiritually for the promise Messiah Jesus/Yeshua had given them.

Right on time, perfectly fulfilling the promise from the Father and Jesus/Yeshua, His Spirit of Holiness descended on these obedient, patient, faithful disciples.

These prepared vessels were not disappointed. Old Testament prophecies, (Joel), were fulfilled and the disciples who were ready, were totally submitted and committed to Him and they received the fullness of the equipping they would need, to do the will of the Father; and with it came the promise that He would be with them always. The spiritual seed they had planted and the obedient preparation time they had set aside was fully rewarded.

Messiah often used agricultural and farming references when teaching spiritual principles and in Hosea 10:12, 13, there is a similar agricultural reference.

Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” KJV

Amplified Bible
Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the LORD [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

In the days before sowing any seed, there is a very critical work to be done. When Messiah spoke of the types of ground in Mark 4, He said some of the seed fell on rocks, well worn paths and hard ground.

So what kind of Farmer plants in hard, untilled ground? or as Hosea says fallow ground. Is this farmer evil and wicked, is he sinful and corrupt in his ways? It is this why he sows in untilled soil, in fallow ground? Is he just lazy or not a very well educated farmer?

Or maybe a combination of the above?

Hosea tells us that a farmer who has failed to break up the fallow ground has in fact lost His way.

Fallow is not a word often used today, however it’s familiar to a farmer.  It is land that is not doing what God designed land to do. Fallow land is just sitting there, doing nothing but produce weeds. Although it may have potential, until the farmer does something with the land, it is simply fallow; hard, dry, unused ground, useless and not helping anyone.

At this time of year many folks are out in the garden, imagining the beautiful harvest from the tender seedlings they are planting. We should remember that untilled/ fallow ground can be soft and moist at the surface and look like it is ready to receive the plants. Even though it may look good and seeds may be sown at a healthy depth from the surface; not too shallow, and not too deep, for a while it may look that the planting is successful. However the future of the crop becomes clear and proves devastating when, in the hard and unbroken ground below, the seedlings do not have anywhere to let their roots grow down.

The tender crop is then also in danger of being overrun by weeds that have been lying in wait to take advantage of them.

To make a parallel with our spiritual walk, when we leave our fields fallow and untilled, they quickly become overtaken by unwanted weeds that proliferate in the shallow soil. These weeds soon silently slither like serpents across the surface and choke the life out of our crops.

Without good healthy roots, these seedlings will burn up and be destroyed as they have no means to take in the cool life-giving moisture hidden deep in the soil. Hosea says in such ground we can only plow wickedness and will reap only perversity.

Why?

Because we did not break up the fallow ground,

till the soil

and remove the weeds.

Instead we trusted in our own way, in the abundance of our might and understanding, trusting in self.

Self-sufficiency, self righteousness and our own opinions; it is the carnal natural thinking of the life lived in the flesh. We think we are right and know how to do everything in our own strength and abilities; and doing everything without God, walking as if we don’t need him, this is pride.

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man… Matthew 15:18-20.

In Matthew 13:3-8, the Word of God is referred to as seeds for sowing, and our hearts are as the soil in various conditions.

Some hearts are stony, hard to breach and have no root, others are thorny, with many barbs entwined with the lusts desires of this world. However some hearts are soft and good, having fertile soil, they have been cleansed of weeds, refuse and trash and are prepared to receive the Word of God.

In Matthew 13:24-30, Messiah teaches that it’s not only our Heavenly Father who sows His Word into our hearts – the adversary is always trying to sow evil seeds into our hearts when we’re not paying attention. These seeds can be in the form of doubt and un-forgiveness in relationships, they can be seeds of coveting, lustful, unclean thoughts, or seeds of hate, cruelty and spite.

In Matthew 12:34-35; 15:18-20. Messiah said that everything we do and say is rooted in our hearts.

Our hearts are vulnerable too if we do not guard them.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence with the utmost care; for out of it are the issues of life. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 

We tend to pray, or even go into fasting, with a deep desire for our Heavenly Father’s intervention in our lives and situations, yet we often overlook this important aspect of our lives, and it is one that can either help or hinder our answered prayers, it can enhance or diminish our good works before our Father, and this is always before Him.

We do well in the areas of offering our praise, worship, time, tithes, and our sacrifices, however it’s time that we make certain we offer up our whole heart to the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we are newly born again, or are mature discipled believers, we cannot play with our salvation, nor can we afford to be near to God with our lips yet having our hearts far from Him.

We are in the end times and now more than ever, we cannot afford to lose our place in eternity because of hard, stony hearts. As Hosea 10:12 says, “break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord…”

Sometimes we can mistake our relationship with our Heavenly Father and the work we do for His kingdom as the same thing, when really, they are separate.

Taking our relationships with people as an example, we may be doing things for them without actually knowing, or wanting to know them on a deeper level. Sometimes we may not be doing these things from our hearts, but only as a means to get something in return or to further our own interests. On the other hand, when we have a close friendship/relationship with an individual, it goes beyond what you do for each other; a level of intimacy is established with that person, and we find we want to spend quality time with them. This is the same with our Heavenly Father, He wants us to know Him beyond us doing works and seeking/receiving the blessings, through Messiah. The key for us in developing a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father is only gained through a heart that has been regenerated by His Spirit and by the Truth of His Word. John 4:24.

This is why the scripture says to obey is better than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22!

It’s about our hearts.

Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26. tells us that the regeneration of the heart is a precise moment when the Holy Spirit of the Living God touches us, takes away our stony heart, and gives us a heart of flesh. This heart He gives us is tender, willing to hear and obey His voice, and is a productive ground for His Word to grow. Only when we have a heart of flesh can we truly forgive and forget.

Ezekiel 11:19 shows that the heart is the seat of our relationship with our Father and it links the body, soul, and spirit together and it’s only through a regenerated heart that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth, and fulfill His commandments Romans 2:28-29. This clearly shows us why God is so interested in our hearts.

Again, this is why Proverbs 4:23 tells us tokeep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

It takes a heart that is mature, to not forget Him along the way, as we handle the abundant blessings that our Father has prepared for us. Deuteronomy 8:16-18.

Concerning the area of spiritual warfare in prayer, the need for our hearts to be right before the Lord, cannot be stressed enough. We need to ask for His mercy every day, and for Him to cleanse our hearts from every emotional burden before we begin to intercede. This is because according to 2 Timothy 2:3-4, we are not to intercede in prayer based on our emotions, anger, hatred, anxiety or fear. All negative emotions are based in the natural carnal part of us, but the fight we are fighting is not a natural carnal one, it is spiritual in nature. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:12. In the same way that soldiers fighting in the natural become exhausted mentally and emotionally and are prone to make mistakes, when we fight based on our emotions, it can leave us exposed to demonic attacks. 

 When we are not breaking up the fallow, hard areas of our hearts by spending time with God, reading His Word and in prayer, it becomes dry, cold, hard, and unproductive.  When we are aware of these dry, cold, hard, unproductive places, we are to make some changes. If we don’t, and we leave those fallow parts of our lives untouched, they become hard to our Heavenly Father, His Word and hard towards other people.

It would be easier if God said,

Let me break up the fallow ground of your life”

but he didn’t.  He told us to do it.

So if we care at all about personal growth, being of value to His Kingdom, and making a difference both in the world and in eternity it means we have to start digging!

We have to get out the plow by applying His Word to our lives, we must look for and identify those hard, dry places in our lives and then break up that soil with His Word and by spending time with our Heavenly Father in prayer.  We have to break up that dry ground, and by seeding His Word in those places we find then digging out the spiritual weeds that have no doubt grown up while we were ignoring those areas.

If we ask Him to reveal the state and content of our hearts searching deep within ourselves, we will maybe have a shock when we see what is in there. Our Heavenly Father desires that werend our hearts, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord our God” Joel 2:12-13.

This is the time more now than ever, for us to be sincere, open and honest with our Father. It doesn’t matter if we are mature or babes in the Lord, we still need to ask Him for an ongoing heart transformation. 

Matthew 5:8, assures us that with a pure heart will we eventually see God and with a heart that is clean we may according to

1 John 3:20-21; 4:17.

have confidence before the judgment seat of Christ.

We always have a choice because our Heavenly Father has given us free will to choose. He says choose this day and choose life.

Deuteronomy 30:11 – 20 19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! We can make this choice by loving the Lord our God, obeying Him, and committing ourselves firmly to Him.

Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.

3 For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [[b]subdued, overcame, [c]deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice],

4 So that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fully met in us who live and move not in the ways of the flesh but in the ways of the Spirit [our lives governed not by the standards and according to the dictates of the flesh, but controlled by the Holy Spirit].

5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and [d]pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and [e]seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that [f]comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot.

8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].

10 But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].

11 And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.

12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh.

A farmer takes a plow to that ground, turns it over, breaks it up and plants his seed.  Then a month or so later he returns to see what has grown.  

If we choose to not allow our hearts to remain cold, hard, dry and fallow then even hard hearts and fallow ground can become places of great blessing.

Two passages of Scripture challenge us to grow, mature and change and both are from prophets in the Old Testament warning the people of Israel, because in their service of the Lord they had become lazy and disobedient.

“Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem..

Jeremiah 4:3-4a

Jeremiah 4:3
HEB: יְהוּדָה֙ וְלִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר
NAS: and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
KJV: and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,

“Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12)

Hosea 10:12
HEB: נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר וְעֵת֙ לִדְר֣וֹשׁ
NAS: Break up your fallow ground, For it is time
KJV: break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time
INT: kindness Break your fallow is time to seek

 Just what does it mean for me and you to do that?

The phrase unplowed ground or fallow ground

is the Hebrew noun:

nîr,

the tillable, untilled, or fallow ground.

Strongs 5213b nir: to break up, freshly till

Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nir
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: to break up, freshly till

Strong’s Concordance 5215

niyr: ground

Original Word: נִיר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: niyr
Phonetic Spelling: (neer)
Definition: a lamp

fallow ground, plowing, tillage

Or nir {neer}; from niyr; properly, plowing,

i.e. (concretely) freshly plowed land —

fallow ground, plowing, tillage.

נִיר noun [masculine] the tillable, untilled or fallow ground;

Hosea 10:12Jeremiah 4:3 till you the untilled ground (figurative of unaccustomed moral action)

It’s land that could be productive, but has not been broken up, tilled, plowed, and prepared for planting. The prophets speaking from the Lord are commanding the people to break up that land and (spiritually) to plow the land that they have. 

The two things the prophets spoke about fallow ground were:

one, the Fallow ground is unusable, and two, Fallow ground is unused.

A crop cannot grow in unplowed ground because it’s rock hard, and it prevents seeds from pushing into the earth, germinating, putting down roots and growing to maturity. Every gardener knows that when it’s time to put in the plants the soil must be broken up to enable the seeds to grow into it and let their roots go down deep where moisture can be found.

They were sowing seed, but because they didn’t bother to prepare the soil and pull out the thorns and weeds, the seeds planted did not produce.

By applying this farming comparison to spiritual things, the question is: What must be done so the soil is ready to receive the seed of God’s word?

For us, as we stand before the planting fields of our lives, there is a choice we have to make. Are we going to plant in the hard, unbroken, unyielding, fallow soil with a pointless and ineffective future without any promise of a harvest? Or are we now prepared and ready to break up that fallow ground in our hearts and lives? Are we ready to dig it, to lift it up, turn it over and do it again, and do it deep, really deep?

We need to ask ourselves, 

What type of heart do I really have?

What has been growing in my heart up to today?

Hatred, bitterness, lust, greed, worldliness? These must be removed by their roots so a new crop can be planted. Grain crops do not flourish under the shade of trees. They must be removed so the new crop can grow in the light.

Hardness must be broken up. A plow does the hard work of opening up the ground. It is true we can dig it one shovelful at a time, but that is too slow a process. Farmers can harness some cattle or horses or use other equipment, however there are farmers without animals who have harnessed themselves and pulled their own plow while his wife or son guided the plow. It takes energy to pull the plow and guide the plow, keeping the furrows straight so the field can be plowed to it best advantage.

Is there hardness in our hearts?

Is there unbelief that is hiding in our souls?

Those who have been hurt in relationships or by a parent or guardian, they may have sealed off an area of their lives because it’s just too painful to return to it. We need to let our loving Heavenly Father break up those old simmering resentments and heal all those past hurts. He will take the strain and pull the plow, but we must point it toward those hard places in our hearts that we know we must deal with.

Sometimes our hearts have been hardened by unbelief which must be faced head on and broken up, then our Father can plant something new and fruitful in there. One way of plowing deep is by confession and heartfelt repentance.

How many of us remember the last time we were broken and humbly knelt before the Lord?

Larger rocks must be dislodged and completely removed and sometimes during the plowing process we find large, immovable rocks. If we are serious about making this field produce a harvest, it will require extensive digging along with power to lift them and move them from the field.

These can be rocks of un-forgiveness, stones of stubbornness, deep twisted roots of bitterness and jealousy that need to be severed and pulled out. Rotting remnants and dormant seeds of rejection, pride and rebellion from previous years that wait, patiently, for the perfect climate and the environment to sprout and rear their ugly heads when favorable conditions, circumstances and situations present themselves. The list is endless, yet these are the hidden things that prevent our spiritual growth into maturity and stunt the harvest that would otherwise be seen in a fruitful life.

If we have been plowing our heart, have we found some big rocks that need to be removed, but we are not able to move them by ourselves? Maybe it’s time to talk with our pastors about the rocks and stones? They will have had some experience moving rocks out of their own life because every field has rocks and stones in them.

When a field goes unplanted for several years it often become covered with thorns or other weeds the thorns must be gathered up and burned; let the purifying fire of His Holy Spirit cleanse away all that is not of the Father.

As this is also a season when we are planting for a future harvest, we are reminded again of Messiah Jesus’s parables of the sower and his seed.

 In the parable of the sower, Messiah uses thorns in a field to describe obstacles in the human heart; but what kinds of thorns make the fields of our hearts unproductive?

“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22

“The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19 

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” Luke 8:14

Depending on the type of land, the thorns may represent temptations and lust toward other people, self-indulgence, pride, anger, selfishness, a love of entertainment and recreation, addictions, greed, and many other thorns.  It is important to know that any and each of these thorns can choke the Word of God; and each one has a devastating effect on the crop and subsequent harvest that God wants to produce in His children, so we must show them no mercy just get them out!

Fallow ground, unplowed, unprepared soil is unusable for any serious crop, we must “break up” our fallow ground so that it is usable.

 We may have much of our lives surrendered to the Lord and they may be being nurtured and refined to produce a crop of righteousness and the fruit of His Spirit, which is great! But just maybe there’s a piece of ground, an area of our life that we’ve never quite got around to dealing with, no digging, no planting, and no harvesting, there, but it is going to waste. Just maybe we’ve put off plowing this area of ground because it’s too painful or difficult to deal with. 

If we’ll break up the additional fallow ground in our lives, He will extend and enlarge our fruitfulness.

For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God?       1 Peter 4:17

The axe is laid to the root of the trees

Luke 3:9 and

Matt 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Deliverance, freedom from oppressing evil spirits is not as popular a message as prosperity teaching. Yet true biblical prosperity is of the spiritual life and it cannot be lived in fullness without being set free from the bondage of sin, death and the consequences of a life lived without God.

Prov. 5:22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

These cords are the same as the rocks and stones and if we have been at the same place in our walk with the Lord for some years and are not moving forward, or desiring to go higher and dig deeper with Him, there maybe some rocks, roots and cords holding us back. These prevent our growth to maturity and it’s time to allow His spirit to not only identify them but remove them once and for all and do it deep. Only then will we become a field ready to receive the implantation of His righteousness and yield an abundance of the fruits of His grace through/by delivering freedom and healing.

While there is still time today, which is the day of salvation, let us break up the fallow ground for ourselves by yielding to Him and seeking His face. Don’t hold back any longer but let’s submit our lives completely to His Will, plan and purpose for us.

As a true disciple, willing and obedient, we must lay down our lives because it’s time to seek the Lord until he comes and rains righteousness upon you.

and He promises that

Is 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;

NOW

is the time

to break up

these unplowed fields in our lives

and

yield them to Him and allow His growth in us.

Let our Heavenly Father expose every evil seed that the enemy may have planted in our hearts, then He can touch, cleanse, and regenerate them.

Why?

So that we may truly know Him and the power of His resurrection, obey Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Clean, stable, properly prepared vessels, are those which the Father can fill with His power.

Thank you Father for your loving kindness and goodness today; show me the fallow ground in my life. Teach me by your spirit how to break up the fallow ground of my stubborn and prideful ways and to continually seek you until you come on rain your righteousness on me. Take the seed of your words of truth and plant Your ways deep inside me so that the fruit I bear is worthy of your Name.

Break up the dry lumps in my life Father, lift me up, turn me over and then do it again and do it deep, pulling out all those hidden roots by Your Spirit of Holy Fire and cleanse me from the inside out; burn away all that is not of You. I know Your Word says that judgment begins in the house of the Lord, therefore let the shaking and sifting begin with me so that the Bride you are returning for is without spot and wrinkle; and we will be accounted and found worthy to stand before you, cleansed by your blood, separated from everything that would keep us from your presence.

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎,

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Peace to friends and family.

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

Not sure ..you can be…

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,

SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

 

Isaiah 45:8
Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

2 Corinthians 9:10
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Proverbs 11:18
The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.

Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

Proverbs 11:18
The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

Galatians 6:7,8 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.