Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to engage in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel (1 Corinthians 10:6-10).

It’s not about the specific sin. 

It’s not about the specific punishment.

It’s about the attitude.

I mean, you can look up all the episodes that Paul is referencing here–they’re in Exodus; knock your socks off. But the common thread in all of them is that God’s people were putting themselves first. They were ignoring God and His commands because they wanted to please themselves.

That’s the heart of every sin.

Including mine

and 

yours. 

So, take the hint, and keep your eyes on the prize.

And the Prize-Giver.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

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. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Paul finished Chapter 9 with the admonition to “Run in such a way as to get the prize.” He wanted the Corinthians to take their relationship with God seriously. He continues that theme into Chapter 10 by turning to look at Israel’s history. God’s people have always found strength in the story of the Exodus. We take comfort in the displays of God’s power on behalf of His people. We imagine what it must have been like to witness the plagues, the parting of the Sea, the manna, water gushing forth from the rock…

And yet, the vast majority of them died in the desert.

They never made it to the Promised Land.

Paul’s message is clear–It is not enough to call yourself one of God’s people.

You have to live it.

You can partake of His blessings and still fall short, if your heart isn’t His.

So, heart check: Do you follow Christ because He blesses you, or do you belong to Him, heart and soul?

It’s a matter of life and death.

Happy Monday, Beloved

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the  law (though I myself am not under the law) so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel, that I might share in its blessings(1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

To the druggies I became like a druggie…

Just had to go there, didn’t you?

Look, I think we can all agree that there were lines Paul would not cross. He even says, “I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law.” But Paul was not going to let non-essentials get in the way of the essentials.

Remember his conversation back in Ch. 8 about food sacrificed to idols?

That.

For all his learning and theological understanding, Paul kept his personal mission very simple: 

1. People need Jesus.

2. I get to introduce them.

So what about you, Beloved? Are there people who are just too different, too out there, too icky for you to love and serve? Or are you willing to be the slave of all, that some might be saved?

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Gird your loins, Beloved. We’ve got a big chunk today.

This is my defense against those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas (Peter)? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this from merely a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right  (1 Corinthians 9:3-12). 

I told you it was a long chunk.

But you can see how it’s kinda one unit. How was I gonna split that up?

Anyway, the key to it all is in that last line: But we did not use this right.

Paul had legitimate rights to all sorts of support from the Corinthians, but he chose not to exercise them. He didn’t want anything to get in the way of the Gospel.

Beloved, our society is so very concerned with rights. Are we willing to lay ours aside for the sake of the Gospel? And not just the big, grand rights, but the little ones–like our right to the last of the ice cream, or our right to that parking space?

Sorry–was that a little close to home?

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone who has a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall  (1 Corinthians 8:9-13).

It’s not about who is right and who is wrong.

It’s about loving your brother.

Consider this: you know that God does not forbid drinking–only being drunk. So you can go to a party and drink responsibly and know that you are fine with God. But a brother is there who is convinced that drinking is wrong. Watching you drink makes him feel like he is a wuss for not drinking, but he still thinks it would be a sin for him to drink. He is conflicted, and tempted, and a mess.

Hey, you think to yourself, it’s not my problem.

Except it is.

Because he’s your brother.

Yes, you’re right

But

Is being right worth it?

Happy Friday, Beloved