Numbers 23:3 “And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.”

The story of Balaam is one of the interesting stories in the Bible!

Here is a pagan prophet who is clearly working for money, and yet God meets with him and speaks through him some of the most glorious prophesies in all of scripture.

There is an important lesson in the story of Balaam.
Being close to God is not enough.

Balaam seems, at times, to be so close to the truth.*
He even seems to be submissive to God: “Though
But Balaam is not submissive to God.

He wanted to curse Israel.
In the end the things he said about God were just words.
In his heart he was still devoted to himself.

Our challenge is to examine our motives constantly to ensure that we want what God wants.

*Are we like Balaam, saying all the right things as a preacher,but Far Away
From God.

*Do we claim that we have submission and loyalty in our heart, but deep down we would rather do things our own way?

We are like too close to God, yet very far away.

if we call ourselves a “believer!”, it is very important to practice what you preach.

Preaching what you practice is really a testimony of what God does in our life.

Jooley Mathew Z
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VERSE OF THE DAY 📜

The Diviner Who Rejected God’s Glory 🧙🏽‍♂️💫

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“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth. ‘ Numbers 24:17
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Balak, the ungodly king of Moab, was fearful of Israel’s great military might and sought out a diviner who would curse the nation and bring him victory over his enemies. He sought out a wicked prophet called Balaam and promised to reward him handsomely, if he would simply place a curse on the people of Israel.

Balaam was a sorcerer through whom the Lord spoke on a number of occasions, but his heart was wicked, and he was willing to curse God’s people for the financial reward offered by the pagan king Balak. Three times the Lord not only prevented Balaam from cursing Israel but caused him to BLESS the people with great abundance and with VICTORY over their enemies, which enraged the king of Moab.

“I see him, but not now,” Balaam declared to the wicked king. “I see a great king arising in Israel not at this present time but in the future. I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob.” This wicked man prophesised of Jesus – the brightest Star Who would rise up from the nation of Israel, destroy all their enemies and bring the wicked to naught. “A sceptre shall rise from Israel,” he continued, “and He shall crush through the forehead of Moab and tear down all the sons of Sheth.”

But a clear warning is issued to all who read of the exploits of this wicked prophet, for he finally figured out a way to claim the reward from king Balak. It was through deception and deceit, that Balaam tempted Israel to fall into sin, to worship of Baal, to commit sexual sin with the pagan women and to dishonour the name of the God of Israel.

The enemy of our soul continuously tries to shipwreck our witness and to entice God’s people into idolatry and sin, through a range of satanic and deceptive tactics. The enemy often uses false teachings, demonic doctrines, a love of the world, sexual impurity and a compromise of the truth to ruin the testimony of a child of God. Let us hold fast to the word of God and seek to do only those things that are righteous in His sight. 

PRAYER 🙏

Heavenly Father thank you for the word you have given us today. We thank You that Jesus is that Star and Sceptre, Who has gained victory over all our enemies by His death and resurrection. Thank You also for the many Bible stories that warn about the deceptive tactics of the enemy, who desires to wreck our testimony and dishonour Your name. Keep us low at the cross and broken before You and keep us from the evils of greed and from compromising the truth of Your word,
this we ask in Jesus name,
AMEN.

A lost sheep found by Jesus 🐑 ✝️