The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Monday, 19 January 2015 “The half-truth: no temptation can force you to sin”Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:11 These things happened to them as a warning to us. All this was written in the Scriptures to teach us who live in these last days.
12 Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. 13 You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.
14 My friends, you must keep away from idols.
Reflection Questions:
People usually base “God won’t give you more than you can handle” on verse 13 (God “won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities”). Paul was explicitly talking about temptation, notably the temptation to go back to serving false gods (verse 14). Israel fell into that trap in the desert (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1-10). It was a very live issue for the Corinthian Christians. Paul said that no temptation could force them to sin, to abandon their devotion to God. He did not say all life situations are within our power to “handle.”
• Temptations to worship pagan gods abounded in Corinth. Many business dealings and relationships came about at feasts honoring pagan idols. Social status often relied on attending such feasts. “Priestesses of Aphrodite” (i.e. prostitutes) had many clients. What powers and pressures today can push you to compromise, abandon or hide your commitment to Christ? Can any of them leave you with no choice but to give up your faith?
• Pastor Kenneth Chafin wrote, “[Some] in the church in Corinth felt that the fact that they had been baptized and had partaken of the Lord’s Supper made them immune to the temptations of idol worship … We cannot trust in religious ceremony that does not usher us into a different kind of life.” Have you ever hoped that your service to others, your church attendance or your giving made you spiritually “immune”? Ask God to “nudge” you inwardly if you need to heed verse 12’s warning in some area of life: “Those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall.”
Prayer: O Lord, I want to excuse myself when I’ve wandered off your path, to say, “I had no choice—I had to do it.” Remind me that that’s never true, and keep me living in ways that are responsive to your principles. Amen.
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
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• Temptations to worship pagan gods abounded in Corinth. Many business dealings and relationships came about at feasts honoring pagan idols. Social status often relied on attending such feasts. “Priestesses of Aphrodite” (i.e. prostitutes) had many clients. What powers and pressures today can push you to compromise, abandon or hide your commitment to Christ? Can any of them leave you with no choice but to give up your faith?
• Pastor Kenneth Chafin wrote, “[Some] in the church in Corinth felt that the fact that they had been baptized and had partaken of the Lord’s Supper made them immune to the temptations of idol worship … We cannot trust in religious ceremony that does not usher us into a different kind of life.” Have you ever hoped that your service to others, your church attendance or your giving made you spiritually “immune”? Ask God to “nudge” you inwardly if you need to heed verse 12’s warning in some area of life: “Those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall.”
Prayer: O Lord, I want to excuse myself when I’ve wandered off your path, to say, “I had no choice—I had to do it.” Remind me that that’s never true, and keep me living in ways that are responsive to your principles. Amen.
Insight from Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
In 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul shares just how we can avoid temptation: RUN AWAY! Simply put, he says to run away from anything evil and to stay close to that which makes us want to do right.
If only it was that easy. But the reality is, we continually lead ourselvesinto temptation.
God doesn’t give us the temptations in our lives, but he does give us what we need to overcome them. That strength, that power, that resistance is found through Jesus. See – we don’t have to be like Jesus to have Jesus. We are not required to be perfect and always resist temptation and be without sin before we can ask Jesus into our hearts.
God isn’t giving us more than we can handle (or less than we can handle or even exactly what we can handle). God is giving us Jesus.
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