Mixture

At fourteen years old, I learned to mix cement while working on mission team in Brazil.

Equal parts of sand, gravel and cement needed to be thoroughly mixed, along with the right amount of water. Each component was important to cause the mortar to bind to the bricks to form a solid structure. Too little or too much of the right ingredients or something else added to the mixture could result in compromised cement, poor binding and loose bricks.

Hebrews 4:2 says, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."

You can hear gospel truth but it requires the right mixture of faith to receive and believe it. Doubt will destroy any pure ingredient of faith so nothing of truth adheres to our hearts.

For those who desire to overcome besetting sins, we have to ask the Lord about the mixture in our hearts. A little leaven causes bread to rise. So too a little compromise or a little side step away from truth or a little shortcut creates mixture so you are unable to stand, unable to walk in true holiness before the Lord. Your view of God becomes distorted, your relationship with Him is disjointed and reading and praying is very selective.

After the northern tribes of Israel were defeated by the Assyrians, the were interspersed with other nations that served many gross deities, including child sacrifices. Sadly, after all that transpired, they persisted in practicing idolatry and mixing false religion with what they were taught by Moses, the prophets and teachers of the law (2 Kings 17:40-41). Centuries later we read of the woman at the well, a Samaritan, who lived in mixture. She had religious ideas and five broken relationships until Jesus talked about a different water. Pure living water with nothing else added to it.

Brothers and sisters, it's time to separate ourselves from the things of the world. Toss out the beer, shut off the television, throw out that magazine or whatever else causes you to be weakened and compromised. It's time to pray and ask the Lord to give us a desire to mix the right things in our lives to produce strength and hope in these troubling times. The Scriptures tell us having done all to stand and we can only do this when only when we have the right mixture of truth and faith in our lives.