Gleanings From Grace

TEXT:GEN. 25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Laha-I-roi.THE WORD Lahairoi MEANS WELL OF LIVING WATER. Further text is GEN 26:11-18 IN GEN 26

INTRODUCTION: IT is the story of Abraham’s wells and the story of Isaac’s wells. It is the story of one generation digging wells and the necessity of the next generation digging wells. Water is the most common substance on the earth. 70% of the earth’s surface is water. 97% of all water is in the oceans. The availability of water has given rise to some of the great civilizations of history. Civilizations have fallen when water supplies failed. The reason being that water is one of the great needs of life and essential to sustain life. People have killed over a muddy water hole. Man can live an average of 2 months without food, but only 1 week without water. In the semiarid climate of Palestine, the availability of water was priceless. In a land where water was scarce, wells were extremely important. It is not surprising that wells were a source of strife and fighting. {Read More…}

TEXT: Heb. 11:8-19

Intro: Abraham is one of the great men of the Bible. When we think of men like him, we tend to see them as being larger than life. We seem to imagine that they started off at the top of the game and them just stayed there. Then, if we are foolish enough to compare ourselves with them, we feel like we are always struggling, always failing, and always facing some obstacle or another. We may begin to think that we will never succeed spiritually, but that we are doomed to a life of struggles and defeat. Well, I want to let you in on a little secret. Abraham didn’t start off as a man of God! Neither did Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Elijah, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, etc., etc. They started off just like you and me! In fact, Abraham started off as a idolater, a sinner a million miles away from the Lord. But one day, God did for Abraham what He did for you and me, if you are saved. He called Abraham to follow Him. Abraham did and by that simple, small step of faith, he began a new life with God. Don’t think for a minute that it was any easier for him than it is for you. Abraham had to overcome some very real obstacles before he became the spiritual giant we read about in the Bible. He had some very high mountains to climb before he earned the title “Friend of God”, James 2:23. Allow me to share some of the obstacles that Abraham had to overcome and you may find that you have more in common with him than you thought. Because, thee are several obstacles that we must overcome before we can become the men God wants us to be! (Ill. The need for FAITH! At home, at church, in the community!) {Read More…}