Weekly Theme January 12 through 18

A Friend for the Journey
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.”
-Genesis 2:18


It is a truth that we all need friends.  We particularly need friends where the relationship goes deeper than having an occasional cup of coffee or seeing a movie together.  We need spiritual friends.  Spiritual friends are soul mates who share our spiritual longings and help us to become the best person we can be. 

It is just not possible to walk the Christian journey alone.  We need people in our lives who share our faith.  We need people who are willing to listen to us when the journey is hard, and we wonder if we can go on.  We need people who can love us and help us turn to the love and strength of God.  We need people who care for us enough to be willing to take the risk and confront us and hold us accountable.  We need people who can rejoice with us when we have that spiritual breakthrough where the reality of Jesus becomes even clearer.

Our independent society tells us we can make it on our own.  We don’t need anything or anyone except a desire to succeed and a willingness to work hard.  No matter how much we want to believe it no person is sufficient unto themselves.  We all need companions.  Spiritual friendships feed our souls, and when our souls are nourished and calm and strong, we tend to handle the rest of our lives with less friction and chaos.


Saturday, January 11, 2014

Numbers 22:36-41
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?” 38 “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” 39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him. 41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.



 Reflection
Our scripture today reminds us that the world may not like our new found ways after God has set us on His path for us. Take time right now and think about something you could do that would show the love of God so as to cause people to question your sanity. What is keeping you from doing that?

Friday, January 10, 2014

Numbers 22:32-35
32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” 34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” 35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.


Reflection
Again, God tells Balaam to say only what He tell him. This time God’s message is from an angel but God is very serious. In fact it’s interesting that the angel says he would have killed Balaam but he didn’t want to hurt the donkey. It is also a key role reversal. Earlier in the story Balaam threatens to kill the donkey and now the angel threatens to kill him. So many times we get upset at those things that keep us from moving forward. We say things like if I only had... or if this person would not have done this…life would be better. But what if like the donkey, the very thing we are angry at is not the perceived object that is  in our way but we are angry with God. Angry  that God has not given us what we think we want. Do you find this to be true about anger? Why or why not?

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Numbers 22:26-31
26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of theLord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. 28 Then theLord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

Reflection
Hopefully God does not have to make a donkey talk for us to get the point, but God wants the best for us. Is it hard for you to let go and let God? Why?



Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Numbers 22:21-25
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his
donkey and went with the Moabite officials.22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

Reflection
The scripture today points that God becomes angry with Balaam. The reason God is upset is because Balaam is not listening and trying to go his own way, on his own terms. Many times in our lives, we say to God and other people that we can do things ourselves and do it our way. Interestingly in our scripture today, God tries to keep Balaam from making a mistake.  Have you ever felt like you were running into a brick wall and that something was trying to hold you back? What do think about the possibility that in some of those situations God is trying to tell us to go a different way?



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Numbers 22:9-20
9 God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’”12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” 13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.16 They came to Balaam and said: “This is what Balak son of
Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. 19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.” 20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”


Reflection
In our scripture today, we have a great reminder that God will take care of us. Look at the last word of verse  12. The word is “blessed.” We, like the Israelites, are blessed people. Whatdoes that mean in your life to be blessed? Is it a struggle to think about being blessed? 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Numbers 22:1-8
1Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

Reflection
This week we will look at the odd story of Balaam. This story is set toward the end of the journey of the people of Israel. They encounter a king named Balak that threatens to
destroy the Israelites. Balak summons Balaam to curse the Israelites and something strange happens to Balaam on the way.  Balaam’s story gives us a good reminder to reflect on our life and decisions with God. Do you take time  with God to reflect on your life and the plans God has for you? Take some time right now to spend time with God. 


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