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MIXED WITH FAITH

“LET US THEREFORE FEAR, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [the Israelites] : but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it .” (Hebrews 4:1, 2).   It is clearly taught throughout scripture that our ability to enter into God’s rest does not depend on our personal strength, performance or willpower, but on our faith.  The Israelites mentioned in the above verse had everything they needed to enter into God’s rest with the exception of one key ingredient: faith.    When our children were young, my wife would make homemade whole wheat bread for the family almost every week.  She would mix all of the ingredients together (including the yeast), distribute the fresh dough into loaf pans, and then set the pans with towels over them on top of the furnace floor registers to rise.  After...
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JABEZ

“And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.  And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.” (1 Chronicles 4:9, 10).   Many of you will be familiar with the Prayer of Jabez that has been shared and re-shared countless times on social media.  As I read it recently, I thought it warranted another look in order to unpack the wealth of insight contained in these two verses of the Old Testament.    At face value, this simple account of a man of God appears to fall almost randomly in 1 Chronicles.  There is no lead-up to these two verses that might tell us a little more about Jabez’ life, and there is no follow-up to tell us the details of his life after he prayed...
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JACOB'S WELL

AS JESUS JOURNEYED from Judea to Galilee, He passed through Samaria.  As He traveled through that country, He came to the city of Sychar, which was part of the parcel of land given by the patriarch Jacob to His son Joseph.  In this location was Jacob’s well, which still exists to this day.  The group stopped at the well, and Jesus sat down to rest from the journey while His disciples went into the city to buy provisions.    As Jesus sat there on the well, there came a Samaritan woman to draw water from the well.  Jesus, looking at her, said, “Give Me to drink.” (John 4:7).   The woman, surprised that a Jew would speak to her, said, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” (John 4:9).   Jesus’ response transcended the simple conversation that they were having, and went straight to the spiritual level.  He said, “If thou knewest the gift of God, a...
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