Revelation 2:14

But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication.

From Background Notes [BN] for June 8^th & 9^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

We could say that Balaam commoditized the divine Word, treating it like merchandise to be received freely and sold at a price. Had he succeeded in manipulating the Word as a sorcerer might, cursing rather than blessing Israel, there was no doubt a bonus in the bargain with Balak. Failing that, he collected his pay, and then went on to a new project, less direct, more oblique, to tempt God’s people in subtler ways.

So how does God successfully correct us? Clearly we need to be willing to receive His correction, unlike Balaam who had the words literally put in his mouth. To what extent do we hedge our bets with God’s Word in our lives? Do we try to have it both ways? Do we try to serve God and capital (see Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13)? Are we the involuntary recipients of God’s voice, corrected by the seat of our pants, or do our hearts open freely in submitting to His Word to us?  [BN, 9]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am