Day Fifteen: Do not follow the culture, follow the Holy Spirit.

Word quickly spread about what the Lord had done to the gods of Egypt. Everyone in Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey that God was giving to the Israelites, was on notice that this God was more powerful than any of their gods. 

And His people were on the move… towards them. God was going to give Israel their land because the current inhabitants had defiled it with idol worship, immoral practices and wicked deeds.

Fearing a fate similar to Egypt, King Balak sought Balaam the prophet to curse Israel. While Balaam was motivated by the king’s rewards, Balaam couldn’t curse the people God had chosen to bless. So Balaam suggested a different strategy – persuading the Israelites to sabotage themselves by tempting them to indulge in the wild parties of Canaan. These included sexual immorality mixed with idol worship. 

And, unfortunately, the plan worked. God’s anger burst out against the Israelites that day.

So, it’s not enough to be blessed with freedom. We can easily fall back into sinful behaviors if we continue to go with the flow of cultural currents that normalize many immoral practices. These influences, deeply embedded in our music, literature, entertainment, and even business practices, often go unnoticed.

We need to break free from these patterns. We must allow God to renew our mindset, and a powerful way to achieve that is through worship—not confined to church alone but reflected in what we choose to read, hear, watch and do.

Scripture Reference: Revelation 2:14
- But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don’t you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel’s holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties? 

Scripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2
-  And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

Prayer Prompt: Pray for God to transform your thinking and unveil His perfect will for you. Seek His grace to empower you in breaking free from the prevailing sinful patterns ingrained in today's culture.