DEAD WRONG
 
1 Corinthians 10:1-121 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scatteredover the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not beidolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

 
The Hibernia oil platform in the North Atlantic is 189 miles (315 kilometers) east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. As a fixed structure, it stands firmly in 88 yards (80 meters) of waterand is fastened to the ocean floor. Sixteen concrete teeth surroundthe Hibernia, protecting it from large icebergs. It appearsinvulnerable to even the harshest weather conditions.

The Corinthians believed that their standing in Jesus and theircorresponding freedom allowed them to sin without consequences. They thought their faith would protect them amid the immoral "conditions" they had chosen. Paul wrote them about at least five temptations to which the Israelites had yielded. These same things threaten abundant living today (1 Corinthians 10).
 
Paul began with their evil desires for the pleasures of Egypt,summarized in their plaintive cry, "Give us meat to eat!" (Numbers 11:4-34). God gave them what they wanted, but while the meat was still between their teeth He struck them with a plague.

The second failure was idolatry, and they paid for it with their lives (Exodus 32:1-6, 28-35). The third failure was sexual immorality. In the Israelites' case theimmorality was associated with idolatry (Numbers 25:1-2), which also characterized much of the pagan worship in the first century. The fourth failure was testing God. As a result, they were killed by snakes (Numbers 21:4-6). The fifth failure, which God disciplined with death, was complainingand grumbling against God's appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron(Numbers 16:41-49).

Ask yourself these questions: Do I crave the pleasures of the old life more than the pleasures of God? Am I giving my allegiance to anyone or anything besides God? Have I compromised my sexual purity? Do I question God's purposes? Am I a constant complainer and grumbler?

If we believe that our standing in Jesus and corresponding freedomallow us to get away with sin, we are dead wrong.  --Marvin Williams

DESTINATION POINTS
 
* How has your standing in Jesus caused you to live a more holy life?
* How will you use the Israelites' example as motivation to stand against the temptations that they yielded to?

bottom line: Begin with the end in mind.
 
soul journey