Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland. Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert. When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him and he uttered his oracle"
Numbers 23:27-30, 24:1-2a
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Twice Balak has tried to curse Israel through the diviner Balaam. Twice he has been thwarted by God who has not allowed any mere man to curse the people He has blessed. But as we see at the end of Chapter 23 and the start of Chapter 24, Balak refuses to give up. He takes Balaam to a third location, "the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland" where Balak once again built seven altars and "offered a bull and a ram on each altar". This was all in hope that "it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." Balak still didn’t understand that God was not to be manipulated by man so that He would carry out man’s will. No…God’s will reigns supreme with man and woman expected to seek it and be obedient to it.
After the altars were built and sacrifices made, Balaam once again goes before God and for a third time, receives an oracle or message. But this time wasn’t like the other times. For scripture tells us that Balaam "saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel" and so "he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert". Right before our very eyes, we have witnessed a change inside of Balaam, all brought about by God. It took two oracles prior to make it happen but Balaam learned a very important lesson and one we need to learn as well:
God expects us to bless others, not curse them
Notice that when Balaam’s heart entered into a spirit of blessing, then "the Spirit of God came upon him". And the same will happen for any of us as well.
Indeed, the spirit of blessing is rooted in the Spirit of God…the Holy Spirit…the Counselor, Friend and member of the Trinity sent to us from the Father and His Son to guide and lead us through life. And filled with this Spirit, we can’t help but be led into a life attitude that is filled with love and mercy and grace and forgiveness and reconciliation and righteousness and edification of others through all of these. In other words, we become a blessing to others, just as the Lord is a blessing to us. We seek to bless others because He ever seeks to bless us. And what a joyous life we gain when we live a life of blessings.
Consider the words of Jesus as He opens His Sermon on the Mount, His first significant teachings in ministry. Here’s what Jesus said:
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Matthew 5:1-12
These verses, called the Beautitudes, all begin with the word blessed which translated actually means to be happy. And I have heard one pastor, a Navy chaplain, say that these verses can be considered the "Be Attitudes" with "being happy" as the main theme. Thus, we have the "Be Happy Attitudes". In other words, the first Beautitude would read "Happy are the poor in spirit for theirs is the spirit of heaven." And this would be followed by "Happy as those who mourn for they will be comforted." In other words, no matter what our life circumstance, we are to feel blessed and happy because we have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with us…always there to guide us…always there to protect us…always there to heal us…always there to comfort us…and always there to love us.
Through this truth…through this life attitude, the "Be Happy" attitude as the Chaplain called it, we can truly find our way to rejoice and be glad in life. It’s my prayer that you realize this in full measure today and in every day yet to come…every day that God blesses you with. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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