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Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God's wonder and grace didn't seem to mean much - most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased. The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did - "First the people partied, then they threw a dance." We must not be sexually promiscuous - they paid for that, remember, with twenty-three thousand deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them. These are all warning markers - danger! - in our history books, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel - they at the beginning, we at the end - and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence. No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. (1 Corinthians 10:1-13 The Message)
May this be a wonderful and tremendous Tuesday for you, dear Friend! May the blessings and joys of the Lord be with you and yours on this day.
If you grew up in a big family, chances are the description given above of the people of Israel may describe you family. "They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God,." Momma's menu was simple, eat or go hungry. It was not a restaurant she said in later years, once we knew what those things were; all had the same food and drink choice. We praised and thank God for His provision, for the food came from Him, and Daddy's hard work. Yet, we sometimes complained, and certainly, we all came out different; just like the Hebrews. Perhaps your family did as well. Paul's warning comes as a way of instruction. He sought to build up the people called Christians by reminding them of their ancestors in the faith. The forty years in the wilderness were years of instruction; God sought to build a people out of all who left Egypt under Moses' leadership. It was an arduous task, and even at times Moses was exasperated. It is a call to a strong faith, with complete confidence and trust in God. We will, and are, being tempted. Yet, Paul writes, "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face." All we need to remember is "that God will never let you down." We will never be pushed beyond our limit, and God will always be there to help us come through it.
Dear one, if you feel you're being pushed during this point of your life, mark it as an unopened blessing. All can serve to build us up while teaching us new and marvelous things we did not anticipate. Yes, it may be difficult at times, but we trust God and we claim the promise, God will never let us down.
PRAYER: Loving God, I count on You, and I know You will never let me down. Strengthen me so that I never let You down. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Tell someone about God never letting them down!
Eradio Valverde
