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 a while, the loaves would puf