Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1 Corinthians 10:12 — Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
God promises to help keep us upright. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Paul cautioned the believers in the Corinthian church not to make the same mistakes as the people of Israel had made in the past. In essence, Paul said, “Do not think that this cannot happen to you, because it can.”
Recently, a young student in one of my classes said that if she had been tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden, she would not have eaten the forbidden fruit like Adam and Eve did. That was not the first time I had heard someone say something like that. We all like to think that we are better, wiser, and stronger than people who have fallen into sin, but we are not.
Pride makes us think that we can flirt with temptation and not be seduced by it. Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, said that pride will lead us to destruction and cause us to fall. Mighty Samson kept returning to Delilah’s home thinking he was strong enough not to fall into her snare, but he was wrong. He lost his strength and had his eyes gouged out by the Philistines.
The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, kept lifting himself up in pride. He built a towering image of himself and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it. He boasted of his self-made greatness. God taught Nebuchadnezzar a valuable lesson. One day when Nebuchadnezzar was making himself sound like he was a god, God made him live like a donkey for seven years. He ran wild on his hands and feet through the fields and eat grass.
God tells us in His Word that we should be humble and take the way He provides to escape temptation. We should be like Joseph who ran from Potiphar’s wife and her wicked invitation. We should remember Jesus who relied upon God’s Word when temptation came and used it to resist the devil. In humility, we can stand in grace, but in pride we will always fall.
10/23/2024 Devotional
“Pride makes us think that we can flirt with temptation and not be seduced by it.”
It is important to be sensitive to signals such as temptation.
Psalms 51 reveals the true nature of sin as a broken relationship with God. “ Against you, you only, have I sinned,” King David cries out.
Afterward King David prays for God to use his experience as a moral lesson for others.Perhaps, by reading his story of sin, others might avoid the same pitfalls.
The best king of Israel has fallen the farthest.
But neither he, nor anyone, can fall beyond the reach of God’s Grace and Love.
Thank you for your Word!
10/23/2024 묵상
“교만은 내가 유혹에 흔들려도 유혹에 빠지지…