1Cor 10:1-12, “For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil 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 rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
This passage does challenge me in many ways. Indeed, as already mentioned in some previous postings, on more than a million people who left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea and to whom God had solemnly promised entry into Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb made it. Yet, God had made the promise to all of them, as He has also certainly promised specific things to each and everyone of us as we were exiting 2010.
The apostle Paul is talking here about people who were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, people who all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink but who did not make it through into the Promised Land. He can be talking today to people who all go to church, are all baptized in water and in the Holy Ghost, people who take the Holy Communion every Sunday or every month, but who will not enter the Land of their promises, despite everything that has been rightly prophesied about them. The problem is neither God’s promises (which are always true) nor the prophets (wrongly called false) but, the problem lies with them and it can be you or me. Scary hein?
At the beginning of the year, I said that we are going somewhere; and just as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote, it is my desire that we all show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that we may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:11-12) Since these things were written for our instruction, what then are the lessons that we can draw from this passage in order to guarantee that our eyes see and our hands actually touch what was promised to us?
Let’s flee from idolatry:
We tend to think that idols are only fetishes, totems and the likes. But an idol is everything that consciously or unconsciously, takes the first place in our hearts. Each time that, when confronted to God’s will, we make a deliberate choice of following a different will, – be it ours, our friends, colleagues, boss, pals, parents, children etc. then the thing that has finally imposed its voice to us constitute an idol.
On what criteria do you make your choices? What guides your decisions? What do you mostly think about during the day? What is your main topic of conversation? What are you most passionate about? How do you react in stressful situations or when you are afraid? If you were to become a millionaire or a multimillionaire today, what will you do with the money? What is (are) the area(s) of your life in which you struggle the most to do what the Bible says? Is it money? Sex? Leisure? Relationships? Lies (all forms of)? These are a few sample questions that can help us identify any idol in our lives; and God punishes idolatry up to the 3rd or 4th generation (Exodus 20:5): let’s flee from it.
Let’s abstain from sexual immorality:
Sexual immorality in all its forms is the second cause that may hinder the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives. The Bible reminds us that every other sin is committed outside of our body; but sexual sin directly affects the body which is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And whoever destroys the Lord’s temple will be destroyed (1Cor 6:18-19 & 3:16-17). That’s why 23 000 died in one day because of this sin. Consider God’s promises in your life; is it really worth risking and jeopardizing them all for such an ephemeral pleasure?
Sanctify your eyes: be careful what you look at, even if the television, the magazines and the Internet are full of all sorts of immoral temptations.
Sanctify your ears: do not listen to just any saucy conversation or licentious song. It is not because morals are increasingly depraved and the fact seems generally widely accepted, that you should do the same.
Sanctify your body: why do you wear what you wear ? To glorify your body and curves? To attract all the stares? To reassure and comfort yourself? To show how wealthy you are? Don’t just wear anything and don’t exhibit private parts of your anatomy. Our body belongs to the Lord: He is the owner of it; we must therefore use it as He wills. Let’s not use our members as instruments of debauchery and depravity; what we are waiting on the Lord for does not deserve such a folly: it is rather well worth this small sacrifice.
To be continued…
Enjoy your week!
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