“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
I Corinthians 10:12-13 NKJV
Escape
As a saved Christian, a lowly sinner, saved by the blood of Jesus, I no longer have to worry about where I am going. That has been settled as Jesus went to the cross to die for my sins. Because I am His, nothing can separate me from His love.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””
John 10:27-30 NKJV
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NKJV
The battle for the disposition of my soul is finished. What I do in this world as a child of God, has bearing on my reward in eternity and, more importantly, on how many I take with me. I live to preserve my testimony, that I be able to represent Jesus.
Earlier in chapter nine, Paul finishes by telling the Corinthians, and us, of the battle, of the purpose of striving for Christ. It is all about the imperishable crown. It is not about the acquisition, but about the opportunity to cast it at Jesus’ feet.
Long before any of us who have been saved after the cross came on the scene, the children of Israel had walked into freedom accompanied by Christ. He was the cloud that covered them by day, and the pillar of fire by night. He cooled them, from the sun, and provided the light. He was the Rock that provided the water they drank.
God also fed them with manna and quail from Heaven. Their clothes did not wear out, they did not become sick, they had no illness. But, they gave into temptation and sinned against the Lord.
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
I Corinthians 10:1-2, 4-5 NKJV
They had a proximal position with the Lord, in that He was near. We who have been born again, have God in us, as the Holy Spirit provides guidance. Those who came before are our examples, as we too can find ourselves giving into temptation.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, provided by the soul saving penal substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross, we have the way of escape, if we choose to take it.
In salvation, we are free of sin, no longer slaves. Any servitude we have is by choice, and not the will of God.
When we fail, we know that there is no condemnation, that there is room for repentance and renewal. There is also increased strength always available, again, if we choose to receive it.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 NKJV
Brothers and sisters, let us draw close to the one who has the power to deliver us from temptation, and build us up to resist the wiles of the evil one.
Let us also keep our sin accounts short, running to the throne of grace, making sure our fellowship with the one who saved us.
If you are one who does not know the Lord, and you have somehow read this to the end, you too can be saved.
You might be one with a persistent habit, which is actually sin, that has ensnared you and made life difficult. Know this: Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for that sin, and by His resurrection, provides the power to turn from it and be free.
I have provided a link below with lots of information and a video to help you. Know also that I am praying for you!
THE PRAYER CHAIR IS OPEN! Send me your requests!
Musings from an idle mind 
Thank you Bernie! I love the scripture that you tied together at the beginning!! Thanks for your hard, Holy Spirit lead work, my friend.
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