From: "Beverly French" <frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us>
To: "Heritage" <gheritage.ga@verizon.net>
Subject: Greetings to All
Date: Sunday, October 20, 2002 6:46 AM

"Sow with a view to righteousness,
 Reap in accordance with kindness;
 Break up your fallow ground,
 For it is time to seek the Lord
 Until He comes to rain righteousness on you."  Hosea 10:12

What a wonderful verse of Scripture this is.  In farming, with the unseen
hoped of the harvest, comes the preparation of the ground, the sowing of the
seed and the tending of the field; this all before the reaping.  Scripture
reveals that there is a time of preparation (sowing) before the blessing
(reaping) as well.  Let's look at some preparation before blessings verses.
We see that there is:

No Water for the army until ditches were dug:
"And he (Elisha) said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Make this valley full of
ditches.'  For thus says the Lord, 'You shall not see wind, nor shall you
see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your
cattle, and your animals may drink.'"  2 Kings 3:16-17

No Oil until the vessels are gathered:
"Then he said, 'Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your
neighbors--empty vessels;  do not gather just a  few.  And when you have
come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into
all those vessels, and set aside the full ones...Now it came to pass, when
the vessels were full, that she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.'
And he said there is not another.  So the oil ceased."  2 Kings 4:3-4 & 6
[Read the whole account, Vs. 1-7, to see her need (funds),
preparation(gathering the vessels) and blessing (more than enough).]

No Healing until the leper had dipped seven times:
"And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan
seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be
clean."  2 Kings 5:10  (Read the miracle of Naaman's healing Vs. 1-15)

In our opening verse we see, there is No Harvest until the ground is
broken up.

No Reconciliation without repentance:
"Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."  Acts 3:19

No Vision without obedience:
"And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is translated,
Send).  So I went and washed, and came back seeing."  John 9:7

Our verse tells us to sow with a view to righteousness and reap in mercy.
Proverbs 11:18-19 says,
"The wicked man does deceptive work,
 But to him who sows righteousness will be a sure reward.
 As righteousness leads to life,
 So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death."

"In the way of righteousness is life,
 And in its pathway there is no death."  Proverbs 12:28

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he
will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life."  Galatians 6:7-8

Therefore, seek the Lord and He will rain down His righteousness upon hearts
that are yielded to Him.  For Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 9:10,
"And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also
provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of
your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and
charity].

I close with Philippians 1:11 in the Amplified Bible,
"May you abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness (of right
standing with God and right doing) which come through Jesus Christ (the
Anointed One), to the honor and praise of God [that His glory may be both
manifested and recognized]."
Amen.