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Lessons Learned

¹ Listen to me, cowboys and cowgirls. Let's not forget the lessons we learned from our ancestors who came out of Egypt with Moses. Their trail guide through the wilderness was a cloud in the sky and they all walked across a sea on dry ground. ² This was their baptism as they followed Moses. ³ They all ate the same food from heaven ⁴ and drank the same spiritual water. They drank from the rock that traveled with them and that rock was Jesus. ⁵ Despite all they saw and experienced, God was not pleased with them. As a result, their bodies are strewn all through the wilderness.

⁶ Learning from our mistakes might be good, but learning from their mistakes is even better. We should stay away from the things that resulted in their deaths. ⁷ Don't do like they did and worship idols or anything other than God. The Good Book says, "The cowboys and cowgirls sat by the fire and ate and drank, and then had a wild party." ⁸ We should not commit the same sexual sins as they did during their parties. Because of this, twenty-three thousand people died in one day. ⁹ Some of them even decided to test Christ and died because of snake bites. ¹⁰ You might be saying to yourself, "I would never do anything like that," but remember that the angel of death came in and killed. Why? Because of their complaining and grumbling.

¹¹ Don't make the same mistakes they did! These things were even written down so you'd pay attention and not make the same foolish mistakes they did. These warnings apply to us today. ¹² So, anyone who thinks they are doing just fine ought to get off and check their cinch. ¹³ You have the same temptation today that they had long ago. But you can trust God to help you. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you are capable of handling. There is never a temptation God hasn't already provided a way of escaping. With God's help, you will succeed. Without it, you will fail.

¹⁴ So stay away from worshiping idols. ¹⁵ I'm not talking to a bunch of dummies. Y'all know what I am saying is true. ¹⁶ When we bless the cup during the Lord's Supper, aren't we sharing the blood of Christ? And when we bless the bread, aren't we sharing the body of Christ, too? ¹⁷ We all eat from the same loaf because we are all of the same body. ¹⁸ It's no different than the people of Israel eating food sacrificed on the altar.

¹⁹ Am I saying that food sacrificed on the altar at the main church is the same as food sacrificed to idols? No! An idol is a stick or a rock or a demon, not God. ²⁰ Have nothing to do with anything sacrificed to demons. ²¹ You cannot drink from the cup of Jesus and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot share the table of Jesus and the table of demons. ²² This ain't going to do nothing but make the Big Man upset. You don't want to do that, do you? He doesn't share his table with demons.

Use Your Freedom for God

²³ Y'all keep saying, "I'm allowed to do whatever I want." But I'm telling you that just because you can doesn't mean you should. Some things don't help people, and that's our main mission. ²⁴ We need to be doing what's good for others, not just the stuff that's good for us.

²⁵ If you go to the butcher, just get the cut of meat you want and eat with a good conscience. You don't have to grill the guy about where it come from. ²⁶ If God made it and it's meant for eating, you can.

²⁷ An outsider might invite you over for sup one night. Don't worry about what you are served. You can eat it with a clean conscience. Don't question where it came from. ²⁸ Now if someone else comes and tells you it came from an idol sacrifice, then don't touch it. The person telling you might think it's wrong to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²⁹ You'll just be looking out for the other person when you do it like this. That's the only reason to keep from eating it. Don't freak out and worry about what everyone else is thinking about what you're doing. You know what is right and what is not. ³⁰ I eat everything with a thankful heart, so I'm not going to let someone criticize me for being thankful.

³¹ I don't care if you're eating or drinking, do it for the glory of God. ³² Be mindful of your reputation with Jews, Gentiles, and anyone else for that matter. ³³ I do this, too. I try to respect everyone in every way. I'm not just looking out for myself. I am trying to do what is best for every individual I come into contact with so they too can be saved.