“Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by
the serpents.  Nor grumble, as some of
them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:9-10).

The rebellion against the Lord
is deep and continuing.  We were born in
a world opposed to the Lord and the things of the Lord.  In salvation we come into a new life that
seeks to see the old Adam killed each day that the likeness of Christ may
increase.  Come into the new life that comes
through salvation and know the goodness of the Lord by putting on the mind of
Christ.

Lord, help me to see where I rebel against You.  Guide me in the way I need to go that I may
grow in the likeness of Christ.  Lead me
according to Your goodness that I may now and always abide humbly in Your
presence and walk according to Your precepts. 
Let me not be destroyed, but destroy within me those things which hinder
my relationship with You.  You know what
is needed.  Apply all that I need that I
may humbly walk with You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save
us.  Save me from myself and all that
hinders me from simply walking with You each day.  Lead me into the life You have in store for
me.  Guide me this day according to Your
grace that I would hold fast to the truth You have revealed.  Let me not be turned aside by those around me
who hate You, but uplifted in the way You know I need to be uplifted.  Amen.

“Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The
people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”  Nor let us act immorally, as some of them
did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day” (1 Corinthians 10:7-8).

What is the purpose of your
life?  Is it to seek after the pleasures
of the flesh?  This does not mean one has
to be austere or deny the flesh, but one should seek balance knowing that this
world is temporary and we are preparing to be with the Lord forever.  This life will disappoint, but the Lord never
will.  Do not practice idolatry, but live
in the presence of the Lord always.

Lord, help me to see where I cross the line and the worries of this
world supersede the truth of eternity. 
Grow in me a balance that sees my life lived in balance.  Guide me Lord in the way of truth that I
would now and always look to You first and know that I am always in Your
presence.  Guide me, Lord, according to
Your will that I would live life in a way that is pleasing to You.

Come, Holy Spirit, and minister
to my inner life.  Lead me in the way I
need to go and when I cross the line, convict me that I would repent and remain
on the narrow road.  You know all that is
needed and You continuously search my heart. 
Guide me in the way of truth that I would grow to become like Christ in
all things.  Help me now and always to
keep the balance You have given me. 
Amen.

“Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they
were laid low in the wilderness.   Now
these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil
things as they also craved” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6).

We seek after temporary things
to appease our desires and place our faith in our comfort.  Be not tossed about by the fickle feelings
this world encourages, but by the truth that the Lord has revealed.  Come into the presence of God and see Your
life become what it was meant to be.  Do
not be as those who wander in the wilderness, but as those who sit at the feet
of Jesus and receive the one thing necessary.

Lord, help me to be a temperate person who is balanced in this life in
preparation for what is to come.  Guide
me according to Your goodness that I may see that in You alone is the truth of
life.  Keep me from being led astray by
hunger in the belly, or a tantalizing temptation.  Hold me fast to the truth You have revealed
once for all.  Guide me in the goodness
of Your Word that I may be satisfied.

Lord Jesus, You know all the
temptations that are common to us all. 
You know where I am led astray. 
Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may now and always walk
with You leading me.  Help me in those
moments where I am tempted to wander that I may be guided by Your grace.  Whenever I meet those obstacles that come,
lead me not into temptation, but into Your presence.  Amen.

“And all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual
drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and
the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

There is One Lord who is Lord of
all.  Humans sometimes run off in
tangents wanting to be special.  We are
all created in the image of the One who made us.  Look to the rock of our salvation and see
that in Him is light and life.  It is
through Christ alone that we find our salvation.  He is the One who will lead all who follow in
the journey needed for final salvation.

Lord, I often think in terms of You . . . and.  Help me to be rid of the “and” that I may
rest in You alone.  Guide me in the path
of salvation You have established for me that I may humbly walk that path and
not seek another.  Guide me according to
Your goodness to see that in You alone is all hope.  You have come to establish the never-ending
kingdom for all who follow You.

Lord Jesus, You know what I need
this day.  Help me, I pray, to live into
the life of faith You have given me that I may build my life upon the rock of
salvation which is You.  Guide me in the
steps I need to take that I may now and always abide in You knowing that You
abide in me.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, as
only You can and keep me close to You that I may be content in Your
salvation.  Amen.

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).

Here it is.  All means all.  All those who are in the grace of Christ are
in the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.  This answers the, “What then?”  What then are we to do?  We have been crucified with Christ in order
to be raised with Him.  Be raised and put
on this new life that You have been given in baptism.  Be guided by the truth of Christ that You may
pursue the upward call of grace to ever increase into His likeness.

Guide me, Holy Spirit, in the inner life that the whole of me would be
transformed into this new life given me by grace.  Lead me according to what You know that what
I think I know would be set aside.  Help
me to be fully invested and participate in all that You have in store for
me.  Lead me to be in each moment and
live in these moments learning and growing and becoming like Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are the way.  You have established from the beginning the
way of life.  I spend much time wandering
through this world and not doing the things that need be done.  Lead me according to Your grace to live into
the life You have in store for me.  Grant
me the fortitude to hold fast and not relinquish the progress You have helped
me to gain.  Help me to be intentional
about all that I do that I may continue to walk the path You set before
me.  Amen.

“Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a
way, as not beating the air;  but I
discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27).

We are saved by grace apart from
works of the law.  But the justification
is a preparation that we might then journey on the narrow road toward becoming
like Christ.  Some think it is technical,
but this life is one of growing and learning. 
Be prepared to continue the upward journey of the call of Christ that
you may live purposefully and prepare to be with the Lord forever.

Lord, I live in a world that spoon-feeds.  Help me to see that I do have my part to play
in sanctification.  Help me to be one who
is willing to prepare and be diligent in the things You give me to do.  Guide me according to Your purposes that I
may spend my lifetime fighting the good fight, learning as You give me things
to learn, and living into the image of Christ. 
Help me to never stop this upward call.

Lord Jesus, You know the
difficulty of this life.  You know the
obstacles that are in the way.  Help me
to keep on with all that I am able to do knowing that You are always growing in
me Your image.  You are giving me the
opportunity to become more like You every day. 
Help me to not slack off, backslide, or give up; but to do my part that
I may grow stronger in the faith You give each day. Amen.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one
receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.  Everyone who competes in the games exercises
self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but
we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

The precept here is one of
temperance.  Become one who is balanced
and exercises self-control.  Easy to say,
but hard to do, it is a journey to take your eyes off of yourself and look to
the Lord for all things.  Come as one who
seeks the Lord earnestly in all things knowing that He alone knows all that is
needed.  Be guided by the Lord’s hand and
He will bring you to where you need to be.

Lord, teach me the wisdom of submission to Your will.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see
that I need to put all of my effort in one direction, but trust in Your leading
alone.  Teach me self-control that I
would learn these things that are essential to the Christian life.  Help me to not treat the race as a
competition, per se, but as a personal challenge to finish the race without
worrying about where I place.

Lord Jesus, You have come that
all of us may be saved.  Teach me to live
this salvation life such that it is my priority.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see that
in You is the hope of all.  Help me to
run the race with all I have and to hold nothing back.  Lead me, O Lord in Your goodness to become
like You.  Through Your Spirit, teach me
to strive for those fruits of the Spirit which come through You.  Amen.

“To those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Corinthians 9:21-23).

What is the call the Lord has given you?  Is it not to be emptied of self that you might become like Christ who emptied Himself to become the acceptable sacrifice for us all?  This model is not just a nice idea, but the thing itself in living the Christian life.  We are called to live into the life of Christ that we might be what the Father desires.  Come then and set your goal on the prize.

Lord, take me further up the steps of becoming like Christ.  Lead me according to Your goodness to see that in You alone is the hope of eternity.  Help me shed myself of self that I might become what You have always intended.  Guide me in the way of truth that I may now and always learn from You the things that I can and ought to do toward the goal of being like Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who
has come to lead the way and set the example for the godly life.  Guide me. O Lord, in the way You would have
me go that I might now and always abide in You. 
Teach me to empty myself that I may be filled with You.  Guide me in the goodness of the Father’s love
that I may now and always continue on the path of eternal life.  Amen.

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I may win more.  To the Jews I
became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as
under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those
who are under the Law” (1 Corinthians 9:19-20)

Listen carefully here.  In Christ you have gained freedom from obligations:  obligation in the way the old Adam sees these things, through guilt and manipulation.  You are free to be and there is nothing you need, or can do to gain what Christ freely gives.  However, if this new heart of freedom is in you, then there will be a desire to see that those around you also gain this freedom; for the new heart loves the neighbor.

Lord, help me to see the simplicity of this.  I know that in this world, even amongst those
who practice Christianity, there is much manipulation.  Let me not be this way, but come to the place
that I see it as a privilege to serve where and when You would have me
serve.  Guide me in the Gospel way that I
might now and always be led by You and the new heart You have given me.

Lord Jesus, by Your example, show
me the way of seeing the doing of good as a privilege.  Lead me to have a heart for my neighbor such
that I may live into Your likeness.  Guide
me by Your goodness to willingly do those things which You assign and never
with any sense of obligation other than to please You..  Teach me, Lord, how to live this new life
that I may forever walk in Your presence. 
Amen.

“For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will,
I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 
What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the
gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel” (1
Corinthians 9:17-18).

Look deeply at the willingness
that Paul is speaking of.  At all times
we are under compulsion to share the Gospel. 
Then, when we give our offerings also, the reward is in the increased
ability to share the Gospel.  This is not
a “jewel in your crown” economic exchange, but a new reality of the heavenly
stewardship.  Share as it has been shared
with you and in all things be equitable.

Lord, help me see that I do not need to be an economics expert, but
simply need to share with others as it has been shared with me.  Teach me that when I give from a new heart,
that heart grows and increases.  Lead me
out of myself and into You.  Guide me in
the eternal way that I would live into the truth You have revealed through the
Gospel.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You
know I need to go.

Lord Jesus, the thing Paul spoke
of here You demonstrated with Your life. 
Guide me according to Your way that I may grow in the way of truth.  Lead me according to the Father’s will to see
that in You alone am I able to come into understanding.  Guide me now and always in the narrow way of
salvation that You have established. 
Help me see by Your grace the way to walk in my daily life.  Amen.