Magdy Samuel

Serialized Articles From:
"Peace amid Pain"

Last Published Devotions

Learn to live obedient (1)

1- Isolation from the former lusts
“As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14).

Many times, we ignorantly return to the former lusts with its greed, love of the world, money and the desire for revenge, causing to ourselves lots of pain. It was written on the people of Israel after their departure from Egypt that: “the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic” (Numbers 11:4,5).  And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt” (Acts 7:39).  “But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:5).

The Lord’s purpose of the departure of His people from Egypt is to worship Him with Joy in the wilderness, and then go up to the land flowing with milk and honey; that’s what says the LORD God of Israel: “Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness’” (Exodus 5:1). The former lusts and rebellion have turned the blessing to a curse. Let’s cut off all links to the past with its lusts and let’s say with Apostle Paul: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13,14)

Let’s forget what was in the past and renew our minds and thoughts. Let us also not conform the sons of this world not only in their appearance but also in their thoughts, principles, lusts and ignorance. “Do not be deceived: “Evil Company corrupts good habits,” (1 Corinthians 15:33). That’s what happened with the people of God when the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving, therefore, the Bible warns us saying: “Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:9,10).

Magdy Samuel