8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:8-11

These were three very different sins committed by three groups of people, but they all shared the same horrible fate. As the text states, they were examples for us. Many people think God is up in heaven looking for us to sin, and when we do, He’ll zap us! That’s so far from the truth. We have a loving Heavenly Father. He doesn’t want us to sin and goes out of His way to help us. In fact, tomorrow we’ll read the one verse that is the key to unlocking God’s power over sin and temptation in our lives.

But today we are warned. It’s not just about those three sins but about the sin you know is haunting you, or the sin you don’t like to talk about. God is very patient; just look at the world to see that. But, as verse 9 warns us, we should not test Christ.