39. Concluding Chapter 10

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

1 Corinthians 10:13
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?"
10:16
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful;

all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify."
10:23
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

10:31

Lord, would it be considered to much to gather that all of these can be connected in one way? would i be insulting Your inspired word by taking such verses out of context? Let it not be so, i only desire to honor You.

What i gather is this. That God is faithful to provide and protect us, though we may feel very much alone in our trials, we have never endured anything that someone else before us had not also endured. And we are so victorious in our Lord Jesus that even when we are tempted in seeingly defeated circumstances we are always able to escape as He provides a way out for us. Priase God! All the while, we must live our lives according to the fellowship which we have with Christ. "He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit (John 15:5)" Knowing that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:23) we must learn to lean on the will of Christ, trusting fully in Him for all things. Furthermore, this knowledge (of 10:13) is not to be abused, for even though we are safe as far as the faithfulness of God is concerned, we are still humans prone to sin. Don't put yourself in situations testing the Lord. Struggle with alcohol? why are you at the bar? Do you struggle with sexual purity? Why are you alone with your girlfriend (boyfriend)? Don't test the spirit in this manner, though it may be lawful, it would most certainly not be beneficial to be unwise and lacking discretion. Finally brothers and sisters, do all things for the glory of God! We are protected by our Lord and in communion with the Son, therefore avoide foolish situations and do it for the glory of God. Ask yourself, would this honor Jesus and bring Him delight? If not, than why are you doing, saying, listening, watching, partisipating in such a thing? Is acceptance more important than devotion? Are the things of this earth more important than the things of God?

Jesus, Thank you for always putting Your mercy and grace on display in our lives. I know i myself have personally failed so many times at putting You frist in my life. Let it not be so my Lord. Let my life be a sacrifice to You, one that honors You and brings You the priase. Search my heart my King, and find the things that are not bringing You glory, allow me then the grace to honor You with such things, or cut them off and honor You still. Be my the prize and goal of my heart! And may the things of this earth which are passing away never catch my eye in such a manner that they compete for Your priorty in my heart. Delight in Your servant my Lord, for it is my desire to bring You joy.