Wednesday January 03rd, 2024
« Even if you think you can stand up to temptation, be careful not to fall. »
1 I want you to remember, my friends, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea.
2 In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses.
3 All ate the same spiritual bread
4 and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.
5 But even then God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.
6 Now, all of this is an example for us, to warn us not to desire evil things, as they did,
7 nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.”
8 We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead.
9 We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did—and they were killed by snakes.
10 We must not complain, as some of them did—and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.
11 All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.
12 If you think you are standing firm you had better be careful that you do not fall.
13 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.
« Demas loves the things of this world so much that he left me and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia »
2 Timothy 4:10 CEV
Who was Demas?
Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24 tell us that Demas was a fellow laborer with Paul, just like Luke, who wrote the Gospel of St. Luke.
How could anybody be that close to Paul and end up back in the world?
I want you to get something clear: there is no one above the possibility of backsliding.
The Bible says that Moses spoke to God face to face; he had seen His wrath, yet he disobeyed Him.
Don’t think you are above the possibility of backsliding.
This was Samson’s mistake.
He had won so many battles that he started to feel invincible, so he relaxed in the lap of Delilah.
Apostle Paul said that he kept his body under subjection so that he would not miss heaven (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Backsliding does not happen at once; it is a gradual process.
The devil makes this process so slow that the one backsliding may not even realize it.
When a person reduces the time spent praying and/or reading his Bible and starts attending fewer Christian programs, before long, it will be normal for the fellow to go a whole day without reading his Bible or talking to God.
Once there is a separation, the devil will begin to introduce little things that don’t look like sin; if the individual accepts those, then he will bring in the little sins and before long, he would have started doing things he once vowed never to do again.
The devil may be many negative things, but he is no fool.
Check yourself: are you reducing the time you spend reading your Bible and talking to God every day?
Are you beginning to have certain desires that you thought were already dead?
If the answer is yes, then you urgently need another piece of iron to sharpen you; you need to be in fellowship with other Christians who can help rekindle your fire.
Take heed, the devil is on the prowl (1 Peter 5:8 ).
Application – Be sober and vigilant. The devil, your adversary is actively seeking whom to devour. Take heed.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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