Divine(r) Prophecy

Numbers 24:1-9,15-19 By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness, where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel! They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows. Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you”… This is the message Balaam delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the foreheads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth. Edom will be taken over, and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel marches on in triumph. A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”

Balaam, the renowned diviner of the land undergoes a character transformation as noted in the last 2 chapters and now speaks wisdom that can only come from God. How is this relevant to us today?

Faith Like The Ancients

Hebrews 11:1, 3, 32b-35, 39, 40
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see… By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible… I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection… These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Firstly, I recommend that you always read the entire chapter featured before you continue as it is vital to understand God’s message to us in its context. The word of God should be read as God’s word to us and not just the author’s because they have written it based on the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our first and last source for spiritual direction is from the Bible and not man and therefore do not quote your preacher or a great Christian but quote the word of God. Today God reminds us about what the ancients were respected for, their faith. We live in the age of instant gratification and so living by faith is not even a concept understood. We want everything NOW and proof is naturally demanded for everything without a 2nd thought. Worse still, our desire is to seek God primarily for blessing, peace, health, prosperity, Christian friends, etc. Is that what God wants for us and what is God saying to us today?

Servant King

Acts 4:24-28
“Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

I penned the reaction of the leaders a day too early and I suppose it is what we would expect from hard hearted people, not unlike ourselves before we were saved by God’s grace. As I read through today’s chapter, the grateful prayer of the new church caught my attention. They prayed not thanking God for Peter and John’s release but glorifying God. They praised God for how he brought about his perfect will through the meaningless sacrifice (In the eyes of the Jewish elect) of his son and servant, Jesus Christ, and that the Lord would enable them to perform miraculous signs in Jesus’ name for his glory. What could God achieve by sacrificing his own son and what glory is there to work among the common folk?

As we continue to journey through life, the reality of how short life can be keeps looming close to our hearts and minds. There are no safe havens anymore here on earth as crime and corruption have reached the very core of our souls. In these times, what hope can we have in trying to live for ourselves when nothing is for certain? However, with Jesus, we have hope of eternity in God’s presence and that’s a hope no one can ever take away. We are encouraged again this morning that our lives are for the service and glory of Jesus and that’s all that matters. His life was not one of power and authority the way the world sees it but of meekness and majesty. He is our Servant King and we are his grateful servant followers.

In His Loving Service,
Vineet

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The Joy of Giving

Luke 16:25-31
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Over and over again, Jesus keeps warning us about worldly riches and it’s effect on our lives. The issues are not about having or accumulating wealth but rather understanding the purpose of it. In the passage above, we see the end result of the lives of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus. On earth, the rich man lived a life of luxury that the world envied and in death he lived a life of pain and disaster. On the flip side was the poor man Lazarus who lived a life of pain and longing for his basic needs but in death he lived in the presence of God by the side of Abraham. What is the Lord asking of us today? Are we expected to live lives of beggars or rich men and what is the outcome of our lives?

Several people mentioned in the Bible grew in wealth, became prosperous and were spoken highly about including King David, Abraham, Job, among many others. Therefore Jesus is not condoning prosperity. At the same time Jesus tells the rich young ruler that to attain salvation, over and above living a life of perfect adherence to the law, he needed to sell his riches and give it to the poor. So what then are we expected to do? The issue being highlighted by Jesus here was not the riches that the rich man had but obviously his lack of understanding as to why God blessed him with much. Jesus came to give his own life for our salvation and that is the greatest sacrifice known to man. He does not expect us to sacrifice our lives but to share what he has blessed us with so that we can help share his love in a real and physical way. Jesus said earlier in this chapter that those who can be trusted with little shall be given more and I hope this Christmastime, you are again encouraged to share your joy with those less fortunate without an expectation back and he will bless you with more in his time and ways that you can use for his glory more and more!

In His Loving Service,
Vineet

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