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Day 47, or February the 16th. Balaam or his donkey? You choose.

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Our thoughts today are from Numbers chapter 24 verse 13.

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Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of

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my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the commands of the Lord, and I must say only

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what the Lord says.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse.

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Just imagine the scene. A whole nation turns up and lands on your doorstep. This is what

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happened to Balak, king of Moab. He is extremely worried because he knows just how powerful

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the God of these people has proved to be over recent years. He decides to fight fire with

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fire, and recruit a prophet to curse them. He won't come cheap, but it will be worth

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it. Sadly, the prophet won't obey the king, as he is answerable to a higher authority.

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His donkey! Actually, God speaks through the donkey, and Balaam refuses to do the bidding

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of the Moabites, and the Israelites remain on the east side of the Jordan River, all

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ready to cross, when the time is right.

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Now our action step for today. Money is not the root of all evil. Check 1 Timothy chapter

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6 verse 10, and you will find that it says, For the love of money is the root of all kinds

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of evil, and some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith, and pierced

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themselves with many sorrows. No, money is not evil, but making it the basis of your

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life is foolishness, because it can never deliver what you really need. Only God can

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do that. In the account of Balaam, he declares clearly that a palace full of silver and gold

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would not be enough to go against God. Having said that, Balaam really tried to avoid this

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conclusion, and it was only when God intervened with a speaking donkey that Balaam finally

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saw sense. Irrespective of how much wealth we have, we are merely stewards of it, and

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when we leave earth, it remains here for the next steward. The more we invest in God's

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kingdom, the more we may see the results. If we only leave it in our will, someone else

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gets the thrill of seeing how it's used.