March 19, 2019
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 Good News Translation (GNT)
Today is the twelfth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.” Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God. God offers his children of faith every spiritual advantage, but we cannot lust after the things of the world; it is spiritual rebellion. Faith in God’s Word must govern our choices; therefore, we hunger for God’s holiness. The Word living in us brings a holy alliance with the Lord. Do you realize every passage we read in Scripture is relevant for our lives because it reveals something about our Holy God, as well as the lessons we can learn from either the faithfulness or faith-failures of his people?
We can learn quite a bit today from the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness. They have given us much to ponder. According to Scripture, in the wilderness the people lusted after false gods and immorality (remember the golden calf). They tested the Lord and then complained when he disciplined them. In the book of Numbers, Moses records the complaints of the people, “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness! Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle. Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt” (14:2-4). The people made a choice to rebel, their faith was positioned as they verbalized their will, and God’s power rested on it. Therefore, many died according to their own rebellious words. They put faith to their words in the corrupt system of Egypt (symbolic of the world) and their hope in another leader whom they could control. They preferred bondage over freedom and death over following God. So, God honored their request. Do you understand faith, your will, and the power of your words?
During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart. P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield. May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.
1 Corinthians 10:1-11 Warnings against Idols
10 I want you to remember, my friends, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea. 2 In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All ate the same spiritual bread 4 and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself. 5 But even then God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.
6 Now, all of this is an example for us, to warn us not to desire evil things, as they did, 7 nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.” 8 We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead. 9 We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did—and they were killed by snakes. 10 We must not complain, as some of them did—and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.
11 All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for your mysterious, yet valuable Word to teach me the Truth about your heart and my need to apply faith properly. I need the warnings. I repent for the times I have sinned against you by verbally misdirecting my faith; I know I must place my faith in you. Please forgive my faithless grumbling. I ask for greater discernment about faith; please keep teaching me as I want my faith to grow. I yield to your will for my faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.