Neil Armstrong is remembered as the first man to walk on the moon. George Washington is remembered as our first president, the Father of our country. Pong was the first video game to grab worldwide attention. Believe it or not, Balaam is remembered as the first man to talk with a donkey. How would you feel if your final memorial was a picture of you talking with a donkey? Balaam was an Old Testament Bible prophet. Not just any prophet but one for hire. His business card may have read, “Have Prophecy, Will Travel”. Perhaps you are getting the idea that Balaam was not one of God’s devoted prophets? Correct! Balaam had been contacted by the Moabite King Balak, in order to place a curse on the Israelite nation as they traveled from Egypt to their Promised land. Balak was ready to pay any amount of gold or silver if Balaam would say a curse and get rid of the Israelites, who were a pain in his side. “Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials...

God, I'm ready! Please use me. Wherever you lead, I’ll follow. (Later in the same day…) God, are you sure? This sounds unusual. I'm not ready for this. Commander Joshua and the Israelite army were ready. Jesus had appeared to Joshua as The Angel of The Lord, and promised victory.   The army was awaiting the battle plans for the final assault on the closed city of Jericho. God spoke to Joshua again, and... …………………………….are you sure?   God? The is where it get’s interesting.   Are you ready for a surprise? Let's read together. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.   March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army g...

  When all this is over, who will you be?        When all this is over where will you be?               When all this is over, what will be different in the world?                       What will be different about you? I am sick of this!   Why can't things just go back to the way they were?   I miss the good old days. So...here is the news; the world will never go back to the former times and ways; however, God is in control.   That should bring peace and perhaps excitement to our lives.   Why?   Read this gem with me... But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.    2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Did y...

  Can you hear me now?   We depend on our cell phones for communication with friends, business deals, and fun.   As we move about, the phone displays how close or far away we are from cell towers using "bars."   The best communication happens when our phones display all of the bars, showing that we are in close proximity to the tower, or the source. Our relationship with Jesus also depends on our proximity or closeness to Him.   Just as one moves around while using cell phones, we may find ourselves moving out of range in our relationship with Jesus.   Fortunately,   Jesus pursues His own, always!     Jesus desires fellowship with you and me. You are probably asking, “what does the word fellowship mean?   A friend defined it as, “two fellows in the same ship.”   That definition is actually quite accurate.   Fellowship is companionship, togetherness, camaraderie, and friendly association.   It describes two or more individ...

  I love you. I want to spend my life with you. I will do anything for you. Do these words sound familiar? They should.   Many of us spoke similar words at some point during the courting period of our lives.   Step back with me.   After meeting “the one”, the most important person in our lives, we uttered one or all three sentences, and we spoke with honesty and love. Did we really understand the scope of our statements?   If asked, “will you really lay down your life for me?”   Would we?   Would you? It depends….do you mean “lay down” as in…dying? Let’s read Jesus’ words….. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 This Greek word for “love” is Agapen or Agape.   Jesus used this word especially as meaning, “devoted to, caring, and the deep love of God for His own.”   A contemporary translation reads, “ This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your frie...

  He was selfish, narcissistic, and devoid of compassion.    He cared for no one and used people for his own pleasure.    One day, he was given the opportunity to help a poverty stricken person…he failed miserably!    The situation was not what it seemed, as the one who was seemingly in poverty was actually a personage of great authority and stature.    The selfish one was given a unique punishment.    He was driven away from society and given a limited time to learn how to love and thereby earn the love and trust of another. You may have already guessed who the character is…yes, it’s The Beast from  Beauty and The Beast .    A spoiled prince was punished, transformed into a beast, for his lack of love and caring, yet he learned to love through a series of circumstances involving a lovely young lady, who by the way, learned to love him.    The climax of our story comes when Beast dies, and Belle expresses tr...