My Sunday school lesson this week was called “Balaam’s Greed and Peter’s Pride.”
To sum it up, I think God was trying to show both the class and me that having certain things in our lives will keep us out of the perfect will of God and hinder reaching our full potential in regards to what God has in store for us.
Read Numbers 22. For Balaam, greed and lust for the things the world caused him to do exactly what God had forbade him to do. God told Balaam not to curse the children of Israel, and he didn’t. But he told Balak how to corrupt them. It’s just like how the world offers you shiny things…with big hooks hidden inside. It’s also just like the world, when dangling shiny things in front of us fails to work, to threaten.
In Peter’s case, through pride he boasted that he would go with Jesus even unto death. Less than 24 hours later he had denied three times that he even knew Him. Peter was afraid of the crowd of people, that he might be beaten and crucified himself. After his denial, he went out and wept. (See Matthew 26:31-35.) But later he overcame his pride and fear and repented. He told Jesus three times, “Lord, You know I love You.” (See John 21:15-18.) Instantly, Peter was restored to the place of being in the perfect will of God again.
For me, I had to come to grips with the fact that I sometimes let laziness keep me from operating in God’s perfect will. I have to admit that it’s easier to lay on the couch and watch TV than it is to go visit a lost or elderly or sick person. And that it’s more interesting to surf the web than read the book of Numbers. God showed me this through the Sunday school lesson. I encourage you to look at your life and notice things that keep you out of God’s perfect will for you.
Have a blessed day!
Bro Kevin Winebarger
CMBC Facebook Devotion Writer
To sum it up, I think God was trying to show both the class and me that having certain things in our lives will keep us out of the perfect will of God and hinder reaching our full potential in regards to what God has in store for us.
Read Numbers 22. For Balaam, greed and lust for the things the world caused him to do exactly what God had forbade him to do. God told Balaam not to curse the children of Israel, and he didn’t. But he told Balak how to corrupt them. It’s just like how the world offers you shiny things…with big hooks hidden inside. It’s also just like the world, when dangling shiny things in front of us fails to work, to threaten.
In Peter’s case, through pride he boasted that he would go with Jesus even unto death. Less than 24 hours later he had denied three times that he even knew Him. Peter was afraid of the crowd of people, that he might be beaten and crucified himself. After his denial, he went out and wept. (See Matthew 26:31-35.) But later he overcame his pride and fear and repented. He told Jesus three times, “Lord, You know I love You.” (See John 21:15-18.) Instantly, Peter was restored to the place of being in the perfect will of God again.
For me, I had to come to grips with the fact that I sometimes let laziness keep me from operating in God’s perfect will. I have to admit that it’s easier to lay on the couch and watch TV than it is to go visit a lost or elderly or sick person. And that it’s more interesting to surf the web than read the book of Numbers. God showed me this through the Sunday school lesson. I encourage you to look at your life and notice things that keep you out of God’s perfect will for you.
Have a blessed day!
Bro Kevin Winebarger
CMBC Facebook Devotion Writer
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