Numbers 23: 19God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not human, that he should change him mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Those are rhetorical questions. But how awesome is the truth they emphasize! These are words from God, spoken by a prophet. They are not words made up by someone. Think about what they truly say: God never speaks and fails to act. If He says it, it will happen. He will never make a promise and fail to carry it out. All those 7,000 promises in the Bible… yeah, He’s not lying about them. If He promises it, it will happen. I have a hard time remembering these things. But, God is not like me. He isn’t human. He doesn’t lie – He IS truth. He doesn’t go back on his promises like we do. He knows the future, so he knows how it will all work out. He is constant and can be depended upon. How awesome is that?! (Small side note about the rest of Balaam’s story: the king asks Balaam two more times to curse “just some of these people” after the first blessing. Each time Balaam delivers another blessing instead of a curse. You’d think this king would learn faster. Finally, he says, “Listen, if you aren’t going to curse them, at least don’t bless them!” Silly people, we just don’t learn!)
I was reading Psalms 94-98 today, which is not where I usually am in the morning. But a couple of things stuck out while I was reading. Prophets – David, or whoever is writing these particular Psalms talks about a time when God judges the earth and rescues His people. He says that God won’t abandon His people, that He owns everything, them included. This is so encouraging. If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know that my family is struggling with a lot of financial issues brought on by stupidity and a vast number of medical bills for our 2 little boys. Prophecy and Promises are a giant part of keeping our hopes up (When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer – Ps. 94:19). One of my dearest friends is a prophet, and the words she has spoken over my family, and especially over me and my children have been a huge comfort. When I doubt, I will often remember what God spoke through her, and it gives me hope and cheer. Yeah for prophets! Praise – These Psalms are full of praise! Over and over it says to sing to the Lord, a new song, the whole earth joining in the chorus! I love this! Singing is near and dear to my heart and it’s one of my favorite ways of worshiping God. I go through phases when I just want to listen because I feel like I’ve “lost my voice”, but eventually, whether by choice or by obedience, the song breaks free. There are so many times when God has used a particular song to speak to my heart when I needed it. Publishing – Yes, you read that right. Publishing. Psalm 96:3 says “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” So, there you have it! God endorses blogging, too! Peace – Right now we’re in the process of moving out of my in-law’s home and into my mother’s home. It’s a daunting process. It’s not that we have a lot of stuff. We don’t. And I’ve been mercilessly throwing out “stuff” for days now, too. But in the chaos before the calm, the place is a wreck so it feels like I have so much more to do than there is time to do it in. But, I can pray for peace in the storm knowing that one way or another, it’ll get done. God is faithful! Yeah God!
Numbers 11: 25 …He [The Lord] took some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon the seventy leaders. They prophesied as the Spirit rested upon them. Some Thoughts – If just a small part of “Moses’” Spirit reset upon the men and it caused them to prophecy, can you only imagine how much Presence he felt and what he could do through the Spirit’s power?? It must have been overwhelming! God took some of the Spirit from Moses and gave it to the others. I wonder if the Spirit was more limited before Jesus’ sacrifice because of the covenant system of sacrifice and the law? When the Spirit came in Acts, it seemed to rest fully on everyone. Question – is prophecy always a result of being filled with the Spirit? It seems really common when the Holy Spirit comes to people. What an incredible gift that would be!