Category: Biography

Balaam

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A famous character with a timeless message. Life is not about getting rich, and certainly not about using the weaknesses of others against them. Rather, life about knowing God, and helping others to know Him.

By Mark D. Harris

From the earliest days in Sunday School, children learn about Balaam, a magician whose donkey spoke to him. It is a fun story, acted out in person and with toys countless times in church classrooms across America and the world. The story seems simple, as recorded in Numbers 22-25.

  1. The Israelites under Moses arrive at the border of Moab on their way to the Promised Land. They had just destroyed the armies of Og and Sihon, powerful local kings.
  2. Balak, the king of Moab, fears that the Israelites will overwhelm him and his people.
  3. Balaam is a magician from Pethor, a town near the Euphrates River, who is famous for his power.
  4. Balak sends a delegation to Balaam to ask him to curse Israel and give him military victory.
  5. Balaam replies that he cannot curse Israel because God has blessed them. In fact, he cannot even travel with the delegation back to Moab. The delegation returns to Moab.
  6. King Balak sends another, more distinguished delegation, and offers Balaam more money.
  7. Balaam agrees to go with the delegation but again refuses to curse the Hebrews.
  8. On the way to Moab, Balaam’s donkey stops in a narrow road. Balaam whips her to move forward, but the donkey then lies down.
  9. Balaam beats her more and threatens to kill her.
  10. Balaam donkey speaks audibly to her master, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”
  11. God allows Balaam to see that an angel with a drawn sword was blocking the path. Had the donkey not turned away, the angel would have killed Balaam.
  12. Balak sacrifices to his gods.
  13. Balaam continues to Moab, but despite Balak’s continual encouragements, enticements, and threats, did not curse Israel.
  14. Instead, Balaam blesses Israel, incurring the wrath of Balak.
  15. Balaam departs to his home in Pethor.

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A. Reid Jepson – Pastor, Missionary, Mentor

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 5 Comments

God gives us faithful men and women to lead us and shape us in our journey towards Christ. A. Reid Jepson was a mentor of mine. 

The classroom was empty, but I was sure it would soon be full. A junior at Biola University, I was excited about my developing relationship with God and expecting the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach the world in my lifetime.  A leader in the Student Missionary Union (SMU), I had arranged a prayer meeting to petition the Lord on some pressing missions concerns.  I had invited a dear friend, Reverend A. Reid Jepson, a long time pastor and missionary with the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) and the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), to address the group.  Reid had traveled many times behind the Iron Curtain and had dozens of examples of the powerful work of God in his life to share.

I had invited all of the active members of the SMU and many personal friends, selected the time and place to coordinate with their schedules, and even used my meager college income to buy a few refreshments.   Reid had known my mother for years, had taught me many things about the Lord, and he was the most faithful Christian man I knew.  Always punctual, he arrived about 20 minutes before the prayer meeting was to begin.  I arranged and rearranged the chairs, the missions materials and the snacks, and we chatted as we waited.

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Adoniram Judson, a simple man used mightily by a mighty God

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Adoniram Judson was a bold, faithful Christian who wanted to bring word of Jesus Christ to the Chinese. He did, and millions of Christians in that great land have been blessed as a result. 

By Mark D. Harris

Each man has only one life and most that I have known start out with big dreams; dreams of riches, influence, and the ability to change the world and make it a better place.  Some of these dreams are dashed early, many are dashed later, and most are modified into something far more humble by the time the man is in his thirties.  It is the rare man, perhaps less than one in a million, who actually achieves what he dreamt of in his youth.  It is the rarer man still whose dreams as a boy were the same that God had for him as a man, and carried through faithfully in life to achieve them.

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Jonathan Potts – American Revolutionary Physician

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

Military physicians, just like all soldiers and military officers, should read military history. We will be better if we do.

By Mark D. Harris

Napoleon suggested “Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. … This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war. …” As true as this maxim is for line officers, it is also true for leaders in the Army medical department. By studying the struggles, victories and defeats of our forebears we can better surmount the obstacles we face today.

Dr. Jonathan Potts is a medical officer worth studying. He was born in Popodickon, Pennsylvania in 1747 and, with Dr. Benjamin Rush, attended the famous medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. He returned to the colonies on learning of the illness of his fiancé, Miss Grace Richardson. Potts married her in May 1767 and completed his Doctor of Medicine at the College of Philadelphia, the first institution to grant medical degrees in America, in 1771. He began a private practice in Reading, PA, but responded to the call of independence, seeking assignment with the Continental Hospital Department, comprised of Northern, Middle and Eastern Departments.

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