Mixed With Faith

At fourteen years of age, I traveled as part of a team to Brazil to build a church. One of the things I learned is how to make cement. Cement required equal parts of sand, water, gravel and cement. Too much sand and the cement became loose or too much water the cement became soupy. Poorly made and mixed cement could compromise the structural quality of the building. So we circled the mound of cement digging in our shovels turning it over until it was well mixed and usable.

Another example is baking a cake. The recipe requires certain ingredients to be measured and mixed together. Those ingredients collectively form a mixture to make the cake. Too little of this or too much of that ingredient could cause the cake to fall flat or the texture to be hard or runny.

The writer of Hebrews 4:2 says in speaking of the Israelites who died in the wilderness , "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." (KJV). The word mixed in Strong's means "mix together into a superior compound". Truth and trust form the substance or the compound of faith which is why we can hope even when the evidence of faith is unseen (Hebrews 11:1).

Beloved, the right mixture of the right ingredients mixed well in faith will strengthen our understanding of Christ.

Faith mixed with truth will produce good fruit in our lives. There is a remarkable difference between a sweet apple and a crab apple! Faith mixed with trust will make us structurally sound in our understanding of His nature. Peter gives a list of "ingredients" in 2 Peter 1:5-8 and ends by saying, "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How many people have mixed into their understanding of Christ second hand opinions, rituals, traditions or this how we always have done it to form a Christ who is anything but the One found in Scriptures. This impure mixture impacts their view of God and their attitude toward Him in times of difficulty. Sadly their faith is weakened in an unseen God to become visible in their lives. Such impure mixture is the yeast of unbelief. Yeast is a corrupting agent so too their understanding is compromised, structurally weak and bound to fail.

Beloved, ask God for open eyes, ears and heart to hear His truth. Ask for faith to receive the Word of God rather than argue in human reasoning. This will prevent impure mixture of unbelief. Recall faith (i.e the substance of truth and trust) ability to move mountains is in proportion to purity. The more pure the mixture the stronger in faith we become in Christ!