"Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. They came to Balaam and said: 'This is what Balak...says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say." (Numbers 22:15-17a, NIV)
"....I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say"---- A charlatan's dream. Peter said of such people, "They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness."
Why is it that some just keep "pushing the envelope"? It is easy to say that one really wants to "do the will of God," yet when Jesus makes His will known, the temptation is to tweak it to our own convenience. This was Balaam. The deceivers came and made him an offer, and, of course, when Balaam would accept the offer there would be a handsome wage. The first to come were ordinary folk, and they with a good offer. Now Balaam seemed very "spiritual," and when God told him not to go with them, viz., it was not His will, Balaam obeyed. But then, as is the Enemy's want, "Balak sent...more numerous and more distinguished," people. Balaam is a classic example of Brother Charles' quote, "The only thing worse than God not giving us our way is when God gives us our way."
"They have...loved the wages of unrighteousness," has been key to the downfall of Christendom. I use the term "Christendom" many times, because Christendom is different from the Church or the Kingdom. "The gates of Hell," cannot withstand the Church. Through the centuries, the Church of Jesus has stormed those gates and rescued millions from that Satanic grasp. And Jesus' Kingdom?---- "Thy Kingdom is an everlasting (forever) Kingdom." But Christendom, that which is a cultural-dominated, religious, and hence, distorted expression of, "the faith of Jesus," that is another matter. It is Christendom which is the predominate expression of Christianity which the world sees. Through the centuries, it has been classic "Religion For Hire." As I have said before, I do not agree with all of the conclusions of the author of The Great Evangelical Recession, but the statistics he relates are something every contemporary Follower of Jesus should read. It reveals the true, albeit, alarming trend of, "the wages of unrighteousness."
Someone once offered to totally underwrite Derek Prince's ministry. He refused. Need I say more?
Father, in Jesus' Name, help me and warn me to always look to You and You alone------------------ and to always refuse, "the wages of unrighteousness." Amen.
**********************
* Great and powerful time in DC yesterday. Thanks for any prayers that were offered.
"....I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say"---- A charlatan's dream. Peter said of such people, "They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness."
Why is it that some just keep "pushing the envelope"? It is easy to say that one really wants to "do the will of God," yet when Jesus makes His will known, the temptation is to tweak it to our own convenience. This was Balaam. The deceivers came and made him an offer, and, of course, when Balaam would accept the offer there would be a handsome wage. The first to come were ordinary folk, and they with a good offer. Now Balaam seemed very "spiritual," and when God told him not to go with them, viz., it was not His will, Balaam obeyed. But then, as is the Enemy's want, "Balak sent...more numerous and more distinguished," people. Balaam is a classic example of Brother Charles' quote, "The only thing worse than God not giving us our way is when God gives us our way."
"They have...loved the wages of unrighteousness," has been key to the downfall of Christendom. I use the term "Christendom" many times, because Christendom is different from the Church or the Kingdom. "The gates of Hell," cannot withstand the Church. Through the centuries, the Church of Jesus has stormed those gates and rescued millions from that Satanic grasp. And Jesus' Kingdom?---- "Thy Kingdom is an everlasting (forever) Kingdom." But Christendom, that which is a cultural-dominated, religious, and hence, distorted expression of, "the faith of Jesus," that is another matter. It is Christendom which is the predominate expression of Christianity which the world sees. Through the centuries, it has been classic "Religion For Hire." As I have said before, I do not agree with all of the conclusions of the author of The Great Evangelical Recession, but the statistics he relates are something every contemporary Follower of Jesus should read. It reveals the true, albeit, alarming trend of, "the wages of unrighteousness."
Someone once offered to totally underwrite Derek Prince's ministry. He refused. Need I say more?
Father, in Jesus' Name, help me and warn me to always look to You and You alone------------------ and to always refuse, "the wages of unrighteousness." Amen.
**********************
* Great and powerful time in DC yesterday. Thanks for any prayers that were offered.
* I now have enough for the David's Tent Mission. Thanks to all who gave.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
