Mike Browning

Tag: Bible Reading Plan

  • Why Do We Keep Asking?

    Why Do We Keep Asking?

    If you think about it, you know why.

    We like to act like if God would just tell us clearly what to do, it would be easy.

    That’s what makes the story of Balaam so uncomfortable.

    Balak wants Israel cursed.
    So he hires Balaam, a man who actually hears from God.

    God tells Balaam the first time:

    Do not go.
    Do not curse them.
    They are blessed.

    Seems pretty straightforward, right?

    Then Balak comes back with more money and more honor.

    Balaam says the right words.
    “I can only do what God tells me.”

    And then he asks again.

    He already knew the answer. He just wanted a different one.

    God tells him to go ahead, but only say what He says.

    So Balaam goes.

    God’s anger burns against him on the way.

    Because even while his feet were moving in “obedience,” his heart was chasing money and honor.

    So God stands in the road against him.

    Balaam doesn’t see it.
    His donkey does.

    Three times the donkey turns aside to avoid the angel with a drawn sword.
    Three times Balaam beats the donkey.

    The only thing keeping him alive is the thing he’s angry at.

    God opens Balaam’s eyes and he finally sees what was right in front of him.

    He was on a road God had already warned him not to go down.

    But he kept asking until he got permission to go anyway.

    And even then, God opposed him on that road.

    That’s the lesson.

    We like to think our problem is that we don’t know what God wants.

    Most of the time, we do. (By most of the time, I mean pretty much all the time.)

    We just don’t like the answer.

    So we ask again.
    We look for a loophole.
    A technicality we can stand on.

    We want God to bless what we’ve already decided to do.

    Sometimes He gives us what we insisted on.

    That is not a blessing.
    That is judgment.

    We get our way.
    We get what we wanted.
    And it costs more than we thought.

    So what do you do with that?

    You don’t need one more conversation.
    You don’t need to “pray about it” again if God has already spoken clearly in His Word.

    You need to decide whether you are going to obey what you already know.

    Turn around while it’s still just a nudge.

    It’s a lot better than having to be stopped by force later.

    P.S. If you’d like to read through the Bible with us this year, you can join at His Word Together.

    No commentary, no telling you what to think.

    Nothing to pay for, nothing to buy.

    Nothing fancy. Just steady time in the Word.

    Check it out here.

  • We Are Never Going to Be Good Enough

    We Are Never Going to Be Good Enough

    Not on our own anyway.

    We are never going to be good enough.

    Anyone who acts like they are is lying, deluded, or both.

    The Bible does not flatter us.

    In the book of Numbers, it talks about unintentional sin and the sacrifices required to atone for it. That alone should tell you something. We are so bent that we sin without even realizing it, and even those sins carried weight.

    You can see it in other people easily.
    You rarely see it in yourself.

    Jesus raised the standard even higher.

    He said if you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart.

    If you are angry with someone, you are in danger of judgment as if you had committed murder.

    That eliminates most of us pretty quick.

    Paul writes in Romans that there is none righteous, not even one.

    Not one.

    Jesus told the rich young ruler, “No one is good except God alone.”

    There is no honest way to read that and conclude that we can fix ourselves.

    Left to ourselves, we have no hope.

    But that is not where the story ends.

    In Revelation, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

    He says, “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

    He does not say, “Clean yourself up and then come.”

    He does not say, “I’ll give you one more chance. Don’t mess it up.”

    If that were the deal, we would fail again before we ever finished trying.

    Fortunately for us, the work was already done.

    Once for all.

    So come.

    P.S. If you’d like to read through the Bible with us this year, you can join at His Word Together.

    Nothing fancy. Just steady time in the Word.

    Check it Out Here