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“No iniquity was found in the camp.” Numbers 23:21

Just reading the story of Balaam this morning. It’s quite a story of what happens when I say I am a follower of Jehovah but live like I’m a follower of myself. In the margin of my Bible I have written this quote from Ellen, “Balaam was once a good man and a prophet of God; but he had apostatized and had given himself up to covetousness; yet he still professed to be a servant of the Most High.” PP 439 He was a good man gone bad while still professing to be good. And the one character descriptor of Balaam that can guide me today as I look at my own life is “covetousness”—wanting what is not mine, which often leads to doing whatever it takes to get it.

The heathen King of Moab and his friends the Midianites realized that they were about to be defeated by Israel so they sent for Balaam and asked him to curse God’s people. Offering him great wealth he acted like he was seeking God’s will while it appears by his actions that he is more interested in getting the gifts of the king than protecting the people of God. The short version of the story—he failed!! The only reason I saw t his morning in the story that he failed was, beside the fact that these were God’s people, my verse for today simply says that while Balaam was up on the mountain top trying to curse them, they were down in the valley just living for God- “no iniquity was found in the camp.” I wonder what God has delivered me from without my knowledge when I am just focusing, not on the potential dangers around me, but wholeheartedly on Him? I wonder what lessons I can learn for the challenges the devil is throwing at me today that would have no effect on me if I am choosing to just follow Jesus and live my life for Him. “No iniquity in the camp” = “no power to curse me,” or cause trouble in my life. Focusing on the Father defeats fretting over a failing future every time. Faithfulness to that Father beats fuming over the foulness of the unfaithful in our global family. I’m just focusing on being in the family of God!

Have a great day assured of God’s faithfulness to you by just focusing on Him,

Pastor Rich

Quote for the day: “It may look like Satan is winning a bunch of battles right now, but make no mistake, God still wins the war.”

PS Christ on Demand @ 7:30 tonight in the Atrium. Join your peers for 30 minutes of focusing on Jesus. Bring your Bible; bring your friends and be blessed by the fellowship. The theme, 1 Corinthians 13 “Faith, Hope, and Love.”