Bible Thoughts

March 4, 2001

Isaac trusted in the Lord to take care of him and his family. He was willing to make sacrifices in order to please the Lord knowing the Lord would guide and bless him in whatever occurred. In the passage above, Isaac gave credit to the Lord for the blessings he was receiving and the fruitfulness that he would receive from the Almighty.

The Philistines had covered the wells dug by Abraham. Isaac now needed water for his flocks and begin digging for water to satisfy his needs and the needs of his flocks.

Isaac was a patient men. When he dug the first well of "flowing water," the Philistines claimed it for their own. The man of God dug another well, and the Philistines quarreled over it, and Isaac moved again. When he dug the third well, there was no quarreling with the Philistines and his persistence prevailed.

It is not easy to work and then give up something that you have acquired. Isaac was a patient man who desired to live in the land, be at peace with his neighbors, and more than that, to please God. He took the abuse of the Philistines and gave up two wells that he had labored to open. In the end, he did receive what he needed because God blessed him.

The Lord will bless his children when they are patient. There will be sacrifices and accommodations to be made, but, if one is faithful, the Lord will bestow his blessings. The Lord made room for Isaac and his family as he made them fruitful in the land. So he will for the faithful of today.

Isaac did not intend to give up his faithfulness to the Lord because of the opposition he faced. His persistence paid off and he was blessed by the Lord.

Whatever obstacles we face, let us follow the example of Isaac. Make it our aim to continue in our faithfulness and dedication to the Lord, even when we suffer losses. If others take what we believe should be ours, do not give up, but resolve to let nothing stand in our way as we please the Lord. If we must sacrifice, do so; if we must suffer, accept if for the Lord's sake; if we are mistreated, endure it and resolve to try even harder to serve the one who created all of us. Let us learn from Isaac's example. The Lord will make room in Heaven for all of the faithful .

A long time ago, there were hunters who had decided it was time for a hunting safari in Africa. They all set off on this trip, and all went well for them. They arrived safely and their first few days were quite enjoyable. Well, the story goes on and tells us of the many animals they shot and they were all proud of this, but there was just one thing missing from their collection: a lion, a big male lion. So they decided that it would be a waste if they did not at least try for one. So they set off early in the morning with the trackers in search of this great lion. The heat of the day soon started to beat down on the hunters, but they kept their hopes up. They were determined to get their lion. They walked throughout the day trying to find any trace of the kill. The day was closing and the hope was fading fast. But then, just when all seemed lost, the trackers spotted fresh tracks. They were from a big male lion. They followed closely, and then, there he was, the king of the jungle (how nice he would look on their wall). They crept up, taking cover behind a small shrub. The one lifted up his gun to his shoulder, took aim and fired. But the one thing they forgot to do in all the excitement was to load their guns. Well, as you would expect, the lion thought of the hunters as food so he gave chase. They fled to the only tree in sight, a thin old palm tree. They all climbed one at a time, but with the palm tree being so thin it just bent and by the time you got to the top you were on the ground again, so they went around and around and around. The lion sat and watched them. He got so dizzy that he could hardy walk. The men seeing this jumped down and fled in the other direction and got away. The lessons it teaches us: In our busy and hectic lives we must not forget to arm ourselves, like the hunters did. God gave us the armor to use, because he knows that we are going to need it. We, too, are going to face the “lion” sometimes. This story teaches us one other thing: don’t give up. There will always be a way to get through the trials. Just as the hunters got home safely, we will get home one day and be with our God.-Vaughn Botha

In John 4, Jesus spoke with a certain Samaritan woman while she was at a well drawing water. At this time, society dictated that men just did not speak with women in public. And to make matters worse it was virtually unheard of for Jews to associate with Samaritans in any manner. Jesus ignored social grace and Jewish tradition by His actions. So we might ask: just what was it that He found so important that He would dare risk alienating Himself from His people and the world about Him? And what does this text have to teach us? Jesus spoke of worshipping God in spirit, but just what did he mean by his use of the term spirit? Joshua told the people of Israel something very similar to what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. “Now fear the Lord and serve him in all sincerity and truth."(Joshua 24:14). By noting the parallel in the texts we can better define that which we seek. In John, the word spirit is used; in Joshua the word sincerity is used. The use of the word spirit in the text simply means the true sincerity and earnestness of our worship. In our quest for worshipping in truth as Jesus has commanded it is all too easily possible for us to fall into the trap of going through the motions and not being as sincere as we should be. Often it may be a result of busy lives or an overburdening of secular affairs. Whatever the case, though, let us not forget that part of following Christ’s commands to worship in truth is to be sincere in that which we do. Without true sincerity involved, our worship means nothing.-Joe Cook