The other night I was walking back to my room and looked toward the sky to see a very tremendous sight. The moon shinning in all its glory, yet even then something wasn’t quite right. The clouds and haze had covered it just enough that the light peaked few, but all will still fuzzy. Now this may sound a little Odd, but at the moment I stopped and my jaw dropped, That has been how the world has been for me and in everyone’s lives so much and especially for me recently.
So what am I saying exactly? Well there are so many directions this concept can go, but the main one that applies to everyone is that we see God’s Glory through the stories and writings in the bible, in the people we see, and the world he created, but still we can’t quite get it; Were still a little off or things maybe are just a little fuzzy. We don’t have all the fine details and everyone will never agree on every point.
But we can all see the light, and most would agree that it’s really there and not a figment of our imagination.
But he called us to be a light so that his light might shine on earth, yet we are all separate, and with numbers comes strength. So when we come together as a Christian body we not only are worshiping, but we are also reflecting the very thing God shows us. We reflect a body of light one that is not all completely the same and maybe a little blurry on some thing, but people should not be able to overlook the light. They have the option of ignoring or not accepting it, but if the light is not being shown then we have to ask why?
Why can no one see the light, why can we as a body not even see the light?
We spend enough time looking at ourselves and making sure we look presentable in the Earthly realm, but how often do we look to the spiritual? When was the last time we compared our spiritual lives and activities with what the spiritual world calls for; once a day? Week? Month? Maybe even year or years? And yet God calls you to keep our minds on that continually.
So next time you look in a mirror or the son just stop think, am I going the right direction?
When was the last time I focused more on spiritual perception than earthly? And I’ll admit I fall into this trap over and over, yet with a group of believers tied together with the common bonds of Christ and the bible as a guide we should together build a strong light one that does begin to resemble the spiritual realm and then, will we truly begin to make progress towards accomplishing our goal of spending eternity with our Father in the beautiful mansion he has prepared for us in a land of Paradise.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Proud to be Different
We were all made different; to act different, have different talents. Then why do we all try to be the same? It has been the worlds curse to us to dictate the culture and many beliefs the world holds as truth. We were all made in the Image of God, yet we all are different and for good reason. We are also called to be different, to stand out from the world and to be a shining light of hope and eternal happiness.
In Ezekiel we read about the many strange doings of the prophet and how he not only made the point and explained things, he also stood out. But he did not just stand out because of who he was he went out of his way to have people as him what the purpose for what he was doing.
So when was the last time someone asked you, what are you doing? How many times to we just blow it off and say nothing. This is our chance to explain whom we are, to create a deeper relationship and to be the shining light. Now that doesn’t mean run around and act stupid and then shove your beliefs down other’s throats, and that also doesn’t mean stand on the corner of the street and scream about the final judgment and how all sinners and need repentance.
It also does not mean you have to make that many changes. You may have to be slightly more outgoing or ignore normal traditions of the world you’ve been influenced by (which in a few years will be completely different, just look at how fast clothing styles come and go!) But it means you have a talent. You have something or things that you can use to show a light even just a glimpse to the world.
I’ve recently changed to a belief not to hide the gift God has given me for art. I know I’m not the best and I never will be, but I have a gift for using it and making it appealing to others. I can sit for hours and work alone or on a crowded street, and it everyday helps strengthen my love and passion for what I Love and have adored and what I feel I was made for.
Now the question is how to use it? What do I do when I’ve discovered my gift? Or how do I start to begin learning to look?
They’re is no one way or correct way to reach a use for a particular use of a gift one can use, But there is a wrong way. The wrong way is: A) to not use it at all and B) not give god the glory.
But how do we use it? How can you not see is really the question. It will be something you love anyway and you will want to participate and use it in some way or another. It may not come to you over night or even in a week or two, but over time it will be revealed to you, it is something to think, pray, and meditate about. But in the mean time do whatever you can to cultivate and grow your gift to something great to show God’s glory and power.
I do not know where this training will lead me. I do not know how I will influence or use this gift as a light, but I do know I will not ignore it. I will leave it to him, do as much as I can with it and see where it and my heart takes me and where God guides me.
So don’t sit back, be a Christian and do what your called, find your gift by trying everything (and it can always change with time) find something you love and use it. Whether its art, music, writing, teaching, speaking, listening, encouragement, even if your good at babysitting or serving food you can still be used in God’s service. We were not all created equal or the same, but different; and these difference should be acknowledged and capitalized on to spread the light.
We have all been given something special from God to use, so lets use it!
In Ezekiel we read about the many strange doings of the prophet and how he not only made the point and explained things, he also stood out. But he did not just stand out because of who he was he went out of his way to have people as him what the purpose for what he was doing.
So when was the last time someone asked you, what are you doing? How many times to we just blow it off and say nothing. This is our chance to explain whom we are, to create a deeper relationship and to be the shining light. Now that doesn’t mean run around and act stupid and then shove your beliefs down other’s throats, and that also doesn’t mean stand on the corner of the street and scream about the final judgment and how all sinners and need repentance.
It also does not mean you have to make that many changes. You may have to be slightly more outgoing or ignore normal traditions of the world you’ve been influenced by (which in a few years will be completely different, just look at how fast clothing styles come and go!) But it means you have a talent. You have something or things that you can use to show a light even just a glimpse to the world.
I’ve recently changed to a belief not to hide the gift God has given me for art. I know I’m not the best and I never will be, but I have a gift for using it and making it appealing to others. I can sit for hours and work alone or on a crowded street, and it everyday helps strengthen my love and passion for what I Love and have adored and what I feel I was made for.
Now the question is how to use it? What do I do when I’ve discovered my gift? Or how do I start to begin learning to look?
They’re is no one way or correct way to reach a use for a particular use of a gift one can use, But there is a wrong way. The wrong way is: A) to not use it at all and B) not give god the glory.
But how do we use it? How can you not see is really the question. It will be something you love anyway and you will want to participate and use it in some way or another. It may not come to you over night or even in a week or two, but over time it will be revealed to you, it is something to think, pray, and meditate about. But in the mean time do whatever you can to cultivate and grow your gift to something great to show God’s glory and power.
I do not know where this training will lead me. I do not know how I will influence or use this gift as a light, but I do know I will not ignore it. I will leave it to him, do as much as I can with it and see where it and my heart takes me and where God guides me.
So don’t sit back, be a Christian and do what your called, find your gift by trying everything (and it can always change with time) find something you love and use it. Whether its art, music, writing, teaching, speaking, listening, encouragement, even if your good at babysitting or serving food you can still be used in God’s service. We were not all created equal or the same, but different; and these difference should be acknowledged and capitalized on to spread the light.
We have all been given something special from God to use, so lets use it!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Can You Live Without…?
10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Which Way is UP?
Some times the world feels far away, sometimes you feel it up close and personal. Right now I have had little time to sit and reflect, little time to spend looking and seeing the spiritual or even stopping to breathe.
This has been a trying week or two, so many decisions, work to be done, tests, projects, and answers to be decided. The work is nowhere close to concluding, but I need to breathe. I need to stop and breathe in and reflect and see what value I’m getting from these few days, this work?
I’m meeting new people, making friendships, learning, and I feel something reaching deeper. Paul speaks of growing stronger in trials and trying times, I feel this may not be as intense or trying as things he faced, but even now I can feel a closeness closing in; now that I can see, breathe, hold.
I’ve been wondering and no answers are coming, I’ve been pointing up and screaming inside for answers and peace, I feel like a psalmist in which all answers remain unseen. But then I remember on one of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos I saw so long ago, one of complete silence and words. I’m reminded that silence can speak louder than words, and that sometimes we need to be quiet to hear God. Patience is the key to understanding, but sometimes we also need to be assertive.
Abraham asked God to save Lot and his family from destruction in Sodom and Gomorrah. And He didn’t stop once he continued, and eventually they all escaped the wrath poured out on Sodom (besides lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt).
So I’m saying I don’t know which way is up! I don’t know where I’m going, what I should do, where I’m heading. I’m calling for answers to find the narrow path set before me. I need a light to get brighter, a path to start coming to view and stop treading the dangerous dark waters. Maybe this is calling for trust in him? Maybe it’s reminding me that I’m not in control? But I think I’ve hit a turning point, a point where I need to find the light, direction.
Maybe I can discover which way is up!
This has been a trying week or two, so many decisions, work to be done, tests, projects, and answers to be decided. The work is nowhere close to concluding, but I need to breathe. I need to stop and breathe in and reflect and see what value I’m getting from these few days, this work?
I’m meeting new people, making friendships, learning, and I feel something reaching deeper. Paul speaks of growing stronger in trials and trying times, I feel this may not be as intense or trying as things he faced, but even now I can feel a closeness closing in; now that I can see, breathe, hold.
I’ve been wondering and no answers are coming, I’ve been pointing up and screaming inside for answers and peace, I feel like a psalmist in which all answers remain unseen. But then I remember on one of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos I saw so long ago, one of complete silence and words. I’m reminded that silence can speak louder than words, and that sometimes we need to be quiet to hear God. Patience is the key to understanding, but sometimes we also need to be assertive.
Abraham asked God to save Lot and his family from destruction in Sodom and Gomorrah. And He didn’t stop once he continued, and eventually they all escaped the wrath poured out on Sodom (besides lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt).
So I’m saying I don’t know which way is up! I don’t know where I’m going, what I should do, where I’m heading. I’m calling for answers to find the narrow path set before me. I need a light to get brighter, a path to start coming to view and stop treading the dangerous dark waters. Maybe this is calling for trust in him? Maybe it’s reminding me that I’m not in control? But I think I’ve hit a turning point, a point where I need to find the light, direction.
Maybe I can discover which way is up!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
He Went That A ‘Way
Raindrops keep falling on my head… yes it’s raining outside! And having to be in it has just reminded me of my last post and looking to the sky to see God’s glory. But the rain also showed me something else.
We can’t completely focus on the sky and outside ourselves. He has never left us; he’s in the world right now he is in the chair your sitting in, the trees outside, and even the worlds and the computer your looking at now; but most of all he’s in your hair, your hands, your feet, your nose, your mind, your elbows, your armpits, and your heart. He’s in everything. We can sit and see god’s creations all around us. We can sit and watch the sky above us move and change, but we can also look in the mirror and see God’s likeness. We can see beauty, tenderness, and compassion. We can see careful craftsmanship and a Love for us his sons and daughters.
We can look around and see God in some many people in so many ways that it’s astonishing to think He can be so creative, and perfect and yet we can all be so different. It’s also amazing how you can look at yourself and even if there are things you don’t like or aren’t please with, they make you who you are, who God made and loves. Maybe you have freckles or a mole on your neck, or you’re bald and you don’t like being that way, but maybe God wanted you that way, not everyone can look exactly how they want, or we’d all look very similar, and I believe diversity is a Gift from God. And the little things we perhaps don’t like can also teach us that were not perfect, that’s why were human, but we die to this world and then it’s not our human bodies that really matter anyway, it’s the spiritual wellbeing that is the most important. And you are unique and have a special gift that no one else has that you can use to share your spiritual wellbeing, to those still worried if his or her hair looks perfect.
So sit and stare at the sky, take in his beauty, but when the rains start coming down don’t forget to look inside and rejoice in being different and unique, because God lives inside of you, not just all around you.
We can’t completely focus on the sky and outside ourselves. He has never left us; he’s in the world right now he is in the chair your sitting in, the trees outside, and even the worlds and the computer your looking at now; but most of all he’s in your hair, your hands, your feet, your nose, your mind, your elbows, your armpits, and your heart. He’s in everything. We can sit and see god’s creations all around us. We can sit and watch the sky above us move and change, but we can also look in the mirror and see God’s likeness. We can see beauty, tenderness, and compassion. We can see careful craftsmanship and a Love for us his sons and daughters.
We can look around and see God in some many people in so many ways that it’s astonishing to think He can be so creative, and perfect and yet we can all be so different. It’s also amazing how you can look at yourself and even if there are things you don’t like or aren’t please with, they make you who you are, who God made and loves. Maybe you have freckles or a mole on your neck, or you’re bald and you don’t like being that way, but maybe God wanted you that way, not everyone can look exactly how they want, or we’d all look very similar, and I believe diversity is a Gift from God. And the little things we perhaps don’t like can also teach us that were not perfect, that’s why were human, but we die to this world and then it’s not our human bodies that really matter anyway, it’s the spiritual wellbeing that is the most important. And you are unique and have a special gift that no one else has that you can use to share your spiritual wellbeing, to those still worried if his or her hair looks perfect.
So sit and stare at the sky, take in his beauty, but when the rains start coming down don’t forget to look inside and rejoice in being different and unique, because God lives inside of you, not just all around you.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Kid's Play
Someone told me the other day they can't remember the last time they really looked up at the sky and the clouds.
Do you find yourself starring at the sky?
or are you focused on what is going on in the here and now?
Does it seem childish?
In ancient times and even not that long ago when the world lived by their own agriculture, People looked to the sky. The looked for rain, they praised the rain; most civilizations even devoted a God to that of the sky and rain and placed them in the sky.
In the early 20th century we finally captured the power to fly, before that all we had were air balloons and gliders.
As children many lie on their back and look at the clouds or play with kites or just lay back and enjoy the great big blue sky.
So what is it about the sky that draws us in?
Why have Humans been so interested in the sky that we live? It hasn’t really changed or grown or shrank, it still looks basically the same? So what is it?
Well I’ve always enjoyed nature and the sky, and recently I’ve made some connections. To us the sky doesn’t end. We can’t see the ends we know it keeps going we have faith in that. The sky is continuous, eternal like God. We must trust that it will still be there and we have faith it won’t end or change, because it never has. God doesn’t change either; just how we perceive him does. Blue is a calming color and that is what God generally is, he calms us he’s strong and stable. The sky gets lit up with beautiful colors from time to time and it just shows Gods glory and beauty like he himself is. He also gets angry and fills the sky with clouds and storm, yet even in this time he still is beautiful in a new way. He’s firm, just, and strong.
These religious applications are only a few, but you can see just focus on one thing in nature and you can see god’s glory shine through in so many ways. But then again he did make it.
Have you ever looked at an invention? You can see what the inventor was trying to accomplish just by looking at it. A microwave: used to heat things up quickly. The pencil: someone wanted something to write with that was easy to make and cheap an something everyone could use.
What about the world? He made the world, to show his power, made us to show his love…
So why do we feel childish when we sit and relax in God’s creations? Why do we feel inferior when were outdoors to those making money in their office? I think the world needs to literally stop and smell the roses, maybe then people could understand God’s power and love.
But even more maybe people will remember what it was like to be a kid again. I think that is the bigger problem. Yes as we grow we are suppose to get older, but we make excuses for knowing things or doing things just because we are older.
Well Christ called us to be like the little child, and I think it’s more than having a pure heart I think it’s also being a little naïve and not fully understanding this world, because we don’t really belong here anyway. But even more than that it’s having creativity, not caring what the person next to you thinks, and enjoying the world we live in.
So maybe next time you have time just go outside sit relax maybe look at the sky or the trees or even be a little kid, play in the dirt, get dirty and just have fun and worship God by your actions of enjoying his creation and not complaining.
Just be a Kid!
And leave it to him, your father.
Do you find yourself starring at the sky?
or are you focused on what is going on in the here and now?
Does it seem childish?
In ancient times and even not that long ago when the world lived by their own agriculture, People looked to the sky. The looked for rain, they praised the rain; most civilizations even devoted a God to that of the sky and rain and placed them in the sky.
In the early 20th century we finally captured the power to fly, before that all we had were air balloons and gliders.
As children many lie on their back and look at the clouds or play with kites or just lay back and enjoy the great big blue sky.
So what is it about the sky that draws us in?
Why have Humans been so interested in the sky that we live? It hasn’t really changed or grown or shrank, it still looks basically the same? So what is it?
Well I’ve always enjoyed nature and the sky, and recently I’ve made some connections. To us the sky doesn’t end. We can’t see the ends we know it keeps going we have faith in that. The sky is continuous, eternal like God. We must trust that it will still be there and we have faith it won’t end or change, because it never has. God doesn’t change either; just how we perceive him does. Blue is a calming color and that is what God generally is, he calms us he’s strong and stable. The sky gets lit up with beautiful colors from time to time and it just shows Gods glory and beauty like he himself is. He also gets angry and fills the sky with clouds and storm, yet even in this time he still is beautiful in a new way. He’s firm, just, and strong.
These religious applications are only a few, but you can see just focus on one thing in nature and you can see god’s glory shine through in so many ways. But then again he did make it.
Have you ever looked at an invention? You can see what the inventor was trying to accomplish just by looking at it. A microwave: used to heat things up quickly. The pencil: someone wanted something to write with that was easy to make and cheap an something everyone could use.
What about the world? He made the world, to show his power, made us to show his love…
So why do we feel childish when we sit and relax in God’s creations? Why do we feel inferior when were outdoors to those making money in their office? I think the world needs to literally stop and smell the roses, maybe then people could understand God’s power and love.
But even more maybe people will remember what it was like to be a kid again. I think that is the bigger problem. Yes as we grow we are suppose to get older, but we make excuses for knowing things or doing things just because we are older.
Well Christ called us to be like the little child, and I think it’s more than having a pure heart I think it’s also being a little naïve and not fully understanding this world, because we don’t really belong here anyway. But even more than that it’s having creativity, not caring what the person next to you thinks, and enjoying the world we live in.
So maybe next time you have time just go outside sit relax maybe look at the sky or the trees or even be a little kid, play in the dirt, get dirty and just have fun and worship God by your actions of enjoying his creation and not complaining.
Just be a Kid!
And leave it to him, your father.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Game, it has no Rules
1 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, [b] in his native land. Balak said:
"A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
Numbers 22:1-6 NIV
(Story continues through chapter 24)
The Search for weapons of Mass destruction plagued our Televisions for months and still does from time to time. I do not want to talk about the politics or even if anything was right or wrong for the United States or what other countries have done, but What if these weapons were located in certain people(s) or countries hands and were operational (which more than likely some has them somewhere...)?
This could cause great panic in the world if others knew of the lingering threat upon their delicate body, surroundings, and family. This sense of Fear and searching for the last resort is what Balak is feeling. He sees a massing army of people threatening his countries well being. He has also seen what these people can do and acknowledges that this is the Weapon of mass destruction of the day. These people from Egypt Contain power over their surroundings and he is sacred.
So he calls on one man to curse these people so that he may live. The ironic part is, this man Balaam is from God (he receives his answers from God the same God as the Israelites, whether he Knows or acknowledges that or not…), the same Destructive power represented in the army he is trying to curse. So since He will not curse himself he instead blesses the destructive power knocking on Balak’s door.
I feel this is how we have begun to view Christianity.
We view it as me verse Satan, a type of game we’ve created using the Bible as the foundation. We see him crouching at our Door and we hurry and sweat to find a cure or a way to keep him out because we know he is more powerful than us. So we call on God to curse Satan, we call on him to hide us from his sight and to bestow on us great peace and prosperity.
Yet we have forgotten that he has given us what we need, he will keep from us what we cannot handle, yet he will not stop testing and strengthening our lives to fight the fight. We need to stop hiding in the hills calling on curses of Satan, but we need to go down and join God’s army.
Now Balak could not go down and join the Israelite, but we have been given that opportunity from God, and Christ.
But this is not the only Lesson that we can learn from this Story. In fact there are innumerable lesson, but I would like to point out one last thing. Balak and Balaam look down at Israel from a hilltop and Balak asks for Balaam to bring down his curse on the people that are laid out before him. It seems very similar to Satan when He tempts Christ on the mountaintop, but more significantly if shows that People are always watching. And Him being scared reveals that other people generally know how good of a job we may be doing, even more than ourselves. Balaam and Balak are watching the Israelites form above, and I am guessing Israel has no idea these men are even near by. Yet just their presence creates something significant where they go. So next time you enter your office or classroom remember you never know who is watching. How is scared of who could be effected by just you mere presence in their area could result in tremendous things, but that is not to say one should not confront others, that is also important to express feelings and grow a relationship and connection to spread the joy you know!
2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, [b] in his native land. Balak said:
"A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
Numbers 22:1-6 NIV
(Story continues through chapter 24)
The Search for weapons of Mass destruction plagued our Televisions for months and still does from time to time. I do not want to talk about the politics or even if anything was right or wrong for the United States or what other countries have done, but What if these weapons were located in certain people(s) or countries hands and were operational (which more than likely some has them somewhere...)?
This could cause great panic in the world if others knew of the lingering threat upon their delicate body, surroundings, and family. This sense of Fear and searching for the last resort is what Balak is feeling. He sees a massing army of people threatening his countries well being. He has also seen what these people can do and acknowledges that this is the Weapon of mass destruction of the day. These people from Egypt Contain power over their surroundings and he is sacred.
So he calls on one man to curse these people so that he may live. The ironic part is, this man Balaam is from God (he receives his answers from God the same God as the Israelites, whether he Knows or acknowledges that or not…), the same Destructive power represented in the army he is trying to curse. So since He will not curse himself he instead blesses the destructive power knocking on Balak’s door.
I feel this is how we have begun to view Christianity.
We view it as me verse Satan, a type of game we’ve created using the Bible as the foundation. We see him crouching at our Door and we hurry and sweat to find a cure or a way to keep him out because we know he is more powerful than us. So we call on God to curse Satan, we call on him to hide us from his sight and to bestow on us great peace and prosperity.
Yet we have forgotten that he has given us what we need, he will keep from us what we cannot handle, yet he will not stop testing and strengthening our lives to fight the fight. We need to stop hiding in the hills calling on curses of Satan, but we need to go down and join God’s army.
Now Balak could not go down and join the Israelite, but we have been given that opportunity from God, and Christ.
But this is not the only Lesson that we can learn from this Story. In fact there are innumerable lesson, but I would like to point out one last thing. Balak and Balaam look down at Israel from a hilltop and Balak asks for Balaam to bring down his curse on the people that are laid out before him. It seems very similar to Satan when He tempts Christ on the mountaintop, but more significantly if shows that People are always watching. And Him being scared reveals that other people generally know how good of a job we may be doing, even more than ourselves. Balaam and Balak are watching the Israelites form above, and I am guessing Israel has no idea these men are even near by. Yet just their presence creates something significant where they go. So next time you enter your office or classroom remember you never know who is watching. How is scared of who could be effected by just you mere presence in their area could result in tremendous things, but that is not to say one should not confront others, that is also important to express feelings and grow a relationship and connection to spread the joy you know!
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