Greed Blinds and Donkeys Speak

Numbers 22:1,2,6,12,13,16-20,22,28,32,33,37 Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites… “Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse”… But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will not let me go with you”… They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me. I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!” But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God. But stay here one more night, and I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.” That night God came to Balaam and told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do”… But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along… Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam… “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey”… “Didn’t I send you an urgent invitation? Why didn’t you come right away?” Balak asked Balaam. “Didn’t you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?” Balaam replied, “Look, now I have come, but I have no power to say whatever I want. I will speak only the message that God puts in my mouth.”

A bizarre story it seems and what is with all the confusion about God saying go and then threatening Balaam with death when he does go? How does this relate to us today?

The Only Certainly In Life

Exodus 33:1-3,5,11,13-14,17-20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way”… For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you’”… The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent… If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest”… And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God’s anger is intense as is evident from His instructions to Moses regarding His presence with the sinful Israelites on their journey to the promised land. It is a righteous anger and scares the living daylights out of the Israelites who have taken God for granted this far.

However Moses, who seems to share a wonderful relationship with God, continues to find favor in God’s sight and grows in love and respect of God. Is God so biased towards those who love Him and what then would become of those who don’t know Him or love Him yet?

One of the great realities of God is the fact that He does not go back on His promises. God kept His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as we know from History and therefore is faithful to His word.

We can hold God to His word but can God hold us to ours? We make great promises in times of strife with the hope of getting out of our painful situations but when things come to pass, we are quick to forget and slow to acknowledge God’s hand of favor in our lives.

The Israelites who were there witnessed God’s favor on Moses and realized their guilt and put away their ornaments to show God their mournful hearts.

Is it not such a reflection of our lives when we live in the path we believe we know best and often stumble, are picked up, claim to learn from our mistakes and get back on the same path only to stumble again?

Brokenness is such a reality of our lives that we don’t see an issue with being broken. Our sinfulness has grown to a point where we are comfortable in our brokenness and can explain it away as just a yin in the yang of life!

Today it seems easier to make an idol and appease a God more to appease the inner need in ourselves to make peace with this unknown God. Is that the God we follow and can we find favor with God as Moses did?

With the unpredictability of life these days, death is the only constant we live with and that is not comforting. Would we rather live in the painful certainty of death or do we want hope that is beyond this physical life itself?

Jesus Christ, the only son of God is the hope God gave us. He lived among us, led a pure and sinless life, was betrayed, flogged and killed, was raised up from the dead to live again and all of this was for the sole purpose of bringing us back to God again.

God provided through Jesus a way back to Him and all we need to do is humble our prideful selves before Jesus, submit our sinful lives to Him, ask for His total forgiveness and the rest is His work in our lives.

Like Moses, every person who submits themselves to Jesus Christ is transformed by God for His glory and used to transform the lives of others by leading them to the cross.

Are you transformed by God’s love and leading others to this ocean of love or are you still trying to live life blindfolded?

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

If you would like to know about Jesus, then please click here.

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The Long Road To Eternity

Exodus 23:10-11,13,20-22,29-30 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove… “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips… “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you… But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

Being agrarian and shepherds by profession, these laws were written to deal with every issue the Israelites might encounter but the one purpose they were given these laws was to keep them walking God’s path and not falling away.

Today we do not follow these laws and therefore we wonder what God’s purpose is in revealing this to us?

The Only and Lasting Hope

Exodus 14:2-4,10-12,25,30-31 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this… As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”… He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt”… That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Clearly the Egyptians responded to this whole episode just as we would today. We try to control everything with our human intellect and judgment and are often humbled by factors outside our control which mystify us.

As I type this, there are scores of people suffering in different parts of the world including New Zealand which was rocked by powerful earthquakes a few days ago and all of man’s wisdom and power could not stop or control the earthquake.

What is God speaking to us today and is there any hope for humanity or are we simply doomed to a humiliating death?

A God Who Sees – El-roi

Genesis 16:2,4-9,13-15 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai… He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence. Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority”… Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

We continue with Abram, who was found righteous in the sight of God, and note a new trial in his life. Sarai was barren and frustrated about not being able to provide Abram a child even though God had promised Abram that he would be the father of the nations.

Sounds like a problem we often encounter when we are waiting on the Lord for an answer to prayer and our reaction when there seems to be no answer.

Abram is obedient to his wife rather than his God but in washing his hands off from taking responsibility for his actions, he confuses us and Sarai’s actions make us all the more concerned as to God’s justice for the underprivileged.

Do we serve a just God and is his response fair?

The Final Message

Revelation 22:10-21 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

I am amazed how this challenging book of Revelations turned out not to be as hard as I imagined because it is nothing but a revelation of Jesus Christ who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This book has been used and still is used by several scholars to predict the future (now mostly past) and to determine the Lord’s coming. There are other great scholars who have shown Revelation reveal itself through the ages and trying to determine when the Lord will return. However, we are reminded in verse 18 and 19 that we are not to add or take away from these words because these are from God to us. Also, we are not to belittle John or the words of this prophecy as a dream and disregard them but accept them as God’s word to us and that we are to ask God for wisdom to reveal and He will do so.

What then is the purpose of this book if not for the doom and gloom, pain and suffering and poetic words that make little sense?

Saved or Judged?

Revelation 18:1-3,8-11 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality”… “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more

As I read chapter 18, my mind raced through the many countries, cities, power houses, etc. that could be referred here. Is it the commercial capitals of the world, the gambling cities, the largest corporations that drive the world economies??

Who could this great Babylon be and what could her sins be that God is so furious with her? Why is God so furious at this great city and what is He speaking to us this day through this great warning?

Bitter Sweet Truths

Revelation 10:8-11 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

As you might imagine, this journey is getting harder as we dwell into these visions of John. There is much to be understood but it seems like it will be clearly understood only when these things take place but until then, we are to use these revelations from God as a warning for what is to come and what we can hope for as His children born of His spirit.

Two things stood out in today’s passage that I enjoyed meditating on. One was the instruction to John to eat the scroll and the other was the direction he was given. What is the significance of this scroll, how could one eat it and what prophecy was John expected to do?

A Worthy Lamb?

Revelation 5:1-5,12 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”… In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

The imagery of majesty and supremacy continues in today’s chapter with God holding the scroll that refers to what is to come, then a question asked by a mighty angel about who is worthy to open the scroll and the answer coming from a lamb! In all the might, splendour, power and majesty of heaven, what’s a little lamb doing there? Should it not be Jesus?

One of the realities of the christian faith is that we are to the world nothing but a broken set of people who admit failure and defeat and operate in God’s strength alone. We are not a clan of intelligent, strong and wealthy people who have been chosen to fit God’s standards and furthermore what we become after God transforms us is for His glory and not ours.

To save us from our brokenness and poverty in spirit, God sent His own and only son Jesus Christ to come into this earth in simple human form, live a life of absolute simplicity, show us that only He could meet the requirements of the law and finally was sacrificed like the perfect sacrifice that could atone for every human’s sin.

This was the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the entire world by taking the curse of human sin on Himself and dying on the cross of Calvary for no fault of His. This lamb was raised up by God after 3 days and seated on God’s right-hand side to one day judge the living and the dead. This Lamb is the one who is worthy to open the scroll of God.

As we realize the significance of Jesus in our lives, I pray that we along with the countless hosts of heaven are able to sing praises unto Jesus’ name for only He is worthy!

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Painful Truth and Direction

Acts 27:21-25
After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.

Eventually Paul was sentenced to prison based on King Agrippa’s ruling and this began a treacherous but significant journey for Paul, the other prisoners, the guards and the crew of the ship transporting them. Against Paul’s advice, the centurion, based on the ship crew’s advice, decided to proceed to Phoenix because they believed it to be safer to berth the vessel there rather than Crete. Paul spoke up after many days of suffering in the storm and gave them an assurance of safety revealed to him by an angel of God. This might have sounded reassuring to those seeking God’s intervention or ridiculous to those who were cold to the very mention of God. What is God saying to us this morning?

We like to hear good things about ourselves and our situations and dislike being corrected. Paul’s initial warning might have sounded silly to anyone who had no faith in Paul or his God or to anyone who felt they knew better. Doesn’t that sound like us? We would rather focus on reading what astrologers have to say because they always have nice things for us than read God’s word which seems harsh and painful. God’s direction is like our parent’s advice that seems hard and painful but really is meant to build us up. We need to open our hearts and minds to Jesus through his word because through obedience to him, we have an assurance of salvation, forgiveness of our sins and an eternity in God’s presence whereas without him, we have the world and all the frustrations and disappointments that come with it.

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy