Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 but if ye forgive not men of their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Foundational biblical truths found in The Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Today we are going to look at: Where there is injury, pardon.
Have you ever been injured by someone?
Have you ever caused injury to someone?
Injury:
Words spoken. Failed relationships. Life circumstances – minimal to horrific.
Injury is everywhere. In the church, in the world. At work. In marriages. In families. It is very easy to take offense and to cause offense. We don’t easily let go of our offenses. We keep that someone in jail so to speak. The incident locked tight in our heart. Injury is common, pardoning is not.
Here are a few common responses when we have been injured.
Where there is injury let me – have at it.
Where there is injury, let me pardon and then let them pay.
Where there is injury, let me major on the minors.
Where there is injury, let me always have the last word.
Where there is injury, let me always be right.
Knowing that these responses are not very Jesus – like:
What does Jesus have to say about this?
Matthew 6: 9-15
“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10) your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11) Give us today our daily bread. 12) Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14) For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15) But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Sobering stuff.
We are asking in this prayer for Jesus to pardon us just as much as we choose to pardon those who have injured us. No more. No less.
For us it is about settling accounts.
Being right.
For Jesus it is about pardoning.
Being reconciled.
Matthew 18: 21-22“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’
Seventy-seven means times without number.
No limit how many times we are to pardon, forgive those who have injured us.
It is clear that Jesus means business.
There is no wiggle room when it comes to pardoning.
The cool part about that challenge is that Jesus didn’t just tell us to do it but He modeled it for us.
The ultimate act of forgiveness was going to the cross for all of us.
The ultimate pardon.
When He hung on the cross, He said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Luke 23:34
Is it more important to you to be right than to reconcile?
Is it more important to you to hold onto your grudges and injuries than it is to be pardoning?
To hold on to your offenses rather than pardon?
To hold that person in the jail of your heart?
Not far from dying, in a condition of unspeakable sufferings, we have Jesus’ spoken words about pardoning as well as His model, yet as we stand here today with our injuries and the memories of injuries that we have afflicted on others.
We may end up looking like the elder son in the Prodigal story.
Let’s look at the Rembrandt painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son.”
Let’s put a face on this.
The elder son was angry, cold hearted, unforgiving. He was one that kept his heart locked tight. Kept his younger brother locked in the jail of his hard heart.
We don’t know what happened to the elder son. Scary.
He would rather be right in his own thinking, to hang on to his offenses than trying to welcome home and forgive his brother.
BEING RIGHT VS. BEING RECONCILED.
Remember: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
We are asking for Jesus to pardon us just as much as we are willing to pardon all those who have injured us.
“Search us, Help us Lord to stop settling accounts, stop holding our offenders prisoners in our jails and to pardon out of obedience to You and Your word.”
PRAYER: “Lord, show us where we are hanging on at all costs as if our very lives would utterly crumble to being right and are unwilling to be reconciling.” “Show us areas where we have been injured and have chosen to carry the grudge until…that person comes to us and apologizes.” “Show us where we have now hardened our hearts to receive forgiveness from You, there by passing up the attempts of the Father to love up on us.”
Our Kingdom Living for What Purpose? God’s Kingdom to Come ….
Matthew 6:9-10 Authorized (King James) Version
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
From simple to complex, most of us face many, many choices each day.
What clothes will I wear?
What will I have for breakfast?
What route will I take to work?
What do I need at the store?
Which projects, which tasks will I focus on?
There is one choice, however, far more important than all the others:
Which kingdom will I serve?
How will I spend my money, time; on what efforts—the kingdom of God or the kingdom or domain or country or community or family that I am dwelling in?
Jesus teaches us to pray, “Father . . . your kingdom come.”
As we pray these words, we are making a true commitment to living God’s way.
“Your kingdom come” means, first of all,
“Rule over me! Master my soul. Make me a loyal citizen of your kingdom.”
It means,
“Lord, rule in my whole life, master me such a way my deepest desire is to walk only with you. May your principles and ways be the only air that I breathe.”
“Your kingdom come” also means God’s Kingdom alone.
“Help me to see your kingdom advance in the people around me—my family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and neighbors, to foster a love and a depth of integrity, truth and highest respect for thy kingdom, living in them as well.”
This also means seeing churches, High Schools, institutions and organizations align with the principles of God’s kingdom. And as the Lord’s kingdom comes, any forces that dare to revolt against him will be overwhelmed and shattered.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
T0day, marks the 23rd anniversary of the attack against the United States known simply as 9/11. That day is a day that is ingrained into to each of us old enough to remember. Looking back, it is hard to believe 23 years have passed.
I recall hearing of the first tower being struck by a plane. At first it seemed it was a horrible accident. It was not even clear what type of plane it was, whose plane it was, was it Hollywood special effects, a preview of a new epic movie?
What is your story from that day?
Where were you on that day?
Where on earth or in Heaven Was GOD?
On that day, the death toll from the four commercial aircraft, the Pentagon, and the World Trade Towers totaled 2,996 with another 6,000 injured. That is not the whole story. Nearly 10,000 first responders and volunteers have since been diagnosed with cancers caused by the toxic fumes & dust. Quoting the USA Today newspaper, “By the end of 2018, many expect that more people will have died from their toxic exposure from 9/11 than were killed on that terrible day.”
I had questions……. If we are honest with ourselves, …I bet we all had questions following that day.
Why would a religion that was supposedly built upon peace, teach and demonstrate that much hate & violence towards others?
Do you recall all of the celebrating & parades shown from the Arab world?
…. More importantly to me, and my faith, Where was GOD during this? …. Why does GOD even allow such violent and murderous things like this to happen?
I was shocked. I was confused. I was hurt. I was crying I was angry, I was scared.
I didn’t know what was coming next.
An all out attack upon the United States?
Had somebody made a declaration of war against us?
Was God’s day of judgement coming and coming right quick?
I was questioning GOD….and I didn’t even know if it was alright to question GOD. For all I knew, GOD might strike me down just for challenging HIM.
After all, I just saw what happened on television and who knows any details, who knows how many people were just suddenly killed and severely injured?
Today, I’d like to share what I’ve discovered since.
Maybe this will help some of you as well. The first thing I have learned is that GOD, His Kingdom is definitely big enough to handle our stresses, questions.
He has a whole universe which He created. HE has broad shoulders. GOD is not petty. HE did not give up on me, even when I was close to giving up on HIM.
The second thing I learned was that I wasn’t even the first person to question GOD. In fact, the Bible offers several examples of this very thing.
In Psalm 10:1, the writer asks Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
Jesus Himself asked this same question in Mathew 27:46about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The destruction of the Twin Towers was devastating to me, watching it over & over the collapse of the buildings, the billowing black clouds of smoke, the dead being carried out, the ash collecting upon cars and on the faces of those on site.
Your Kingdom Come
“This . . . is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. . . .’” — Matthew 6:9-10
Most of us are confronted by many challenges – some simple others are not so simple but greatly challenge our faith, face many, many choices each day too.
On a daily basis, What clothes will I wear? What will I have for breakfast? What route will I take to work? What do I need at the store? Tasks will I focus on?
There is one choice, however, that is far more important than all the others: God, His Word’s on the matter before us and Prayer, Which kingdom will I serve? Where will I spend my best efforts—in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom or domain or country or community or family that I am dwelling in?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and Holy Spirit, where can I help, how can I serve, how can I support those around me, who need it most?
Jesus teaches us to pray, “Father . . . your kingdom come.”
As we pray these words, we are making a commitment to living God’s way.
“Your kingdom come” means, first of all, “Rule over me! Master my soul. Make me a loyal citizen of your kingdom.” It means, “Lord, rule in my life and master me in such a way that my deepest desire is to walk with you. May your principles and ways be the air that I breathe.”
“Your kingdom come” also means, “Help me to see your kingdom advance in the people around me—my family, friends, classmates, coworkers, and neighbors. Help me to foster a love for kingdom living in them as well.”
This also means seeing institutions and organizations abide, align with those principles of God’s kingdom. And as the Lord’s kingdom comes, is revealed and acts, any evil forces that revolt against him will be overwhelmed and shattered.
My Lord and Savior’s Prayer and My Life’s Prayer
Philippians 3:7-14 The Message
7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.
10-11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Focused on the Goal
12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
I read where researchers in Europe went door to door, asking people about their belief in God. One question was this:
“Do you believe in a God who intervenes in human lives, who changes the course of history, and performs miracles?” A typical response to this question was “No, I don’t believe in that God. I believe in the ordinary God.”
I admit that it can be tempting to fall back in our faith, prefer “the ordinary God”—that is, a God who is there when I need him but who remains mostly quiet and who cares how distant in the background while I go about my life.
Fortunately the Scriptures do not let us settle with that notion of an ordinary God. The Jesus we meet in the New Testament entered our world, carried our burden of sin to the cross, bled, died in our place, and then rose from the dead and later ascended to rule with God in heaven. This is not any “ordinary God.”
The God of the Bible does in fact break into our lives in all kinds of surprising, beautiful, and disruptive ways.
John 3:16-18 The Message
16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
In fact, the one true God is beyond anyone’s broadest definition of the term extraordinary. And all of this is conveyed in this remarkable prayer of Paul:
“God, I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings” and then to experience that resurrection as well.
What a prayer!
How would my life, your life, our lives change if this became our life’s prayer?
What could happen if we all prayed this “Lord’s Prayer” this “my life’s prayer” for the people in my life, in your life and in all our fellow Body of Christ lives?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 32 The Message
32 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean.
2 Count yourself lucky— God holds nothing against you and you’re holding nothing back from him.
3 When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans.
4 The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up.
5 Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”
Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.
6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we’ll be on high ground, untouched.
7 God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.
8 Let me give you some good advice; I’m looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight:
9 “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track.”
10 God-defiers are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around.
11 Celebrate God. Sing together—everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
126 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
“God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.
4-6 And now, God, do it again—
bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.
Genesis 3:1-6 The Message
3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Few people have not been here: Once you received some mail from a popular sweepstakes company claiming you had already won a $$$$ grand prize.
Your mind almost instantly races at all the possibilities that someone is going to knock on your door, put a camera in front of your face and hand you a check for some gargantuan amount of money per week for the rest of your natural life.
Then the excitement which is now locked into your mind is likely to race ahead and tell you, and show you, all that you could and should do with the winnings.
You look at raising Power Ball and Mega Millions Jackpot figures on a billboard or when you are in your favorite super market doing your weekly shopping for your family and you walk over to the customer service area and buy your tickets.
You are undoubtedly thinking – well, there will always be a winner, a someone who will suddenly have their mundane struggling lives changes in one instant.
You have this back and forth conversation with yourself – “someone has to win it, someone will win it, maybe, just this one maybe, this one today, it will be me.”
Never mind that the calculated odds that it will be you is probably hundred of billions to one if not higher.
But not caring one iota about the odds, you throw your money into the world.
What, and how much have you gained?
What and how much have you lost?
What have you just been reminded of?
Who is doing the reminding?
Spouse, Children, Mortgage Company, Lawyers, your Boss, your Enemies?
God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit?
The Lord and Master of ALL Lies – The Serpent, Satan, the Devil, Lucifer?
Yourself countlessly repeating – “Does this sound too good to be true? Did it sound to good to be true? Do I care if it is or if it sounds too good to be true?”
“Yield Not to Temptation For Temptation is Sin?”
Well, from the world’s perspective it is too good to be true.
Not that one day you might just win for yourself that Mega Millions Jackpot – in which case I offer you my utmost congratulations on such a windfall of income.
God Bless you as you navigate your new found riches with the tax folks at IRS and every one of those “relations” that’ll suddenly come out of the woodwork.
But, we are humanity with too many faults, fragilities, frailties, and failures to count in countless thousands, millions of lifetimes – we cannot help ourselves.
Things That Seem Good, Even Too Good to Resist.
Genesis 3:6 The Message
6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
As Eve suddenly found herself gazing longingly at the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, it’s fairly easy to understand just why she was drawn to it.
Delightful to the eyes and desirable for wisdom, it was too tempting to resist.
Many of us can relate to Eve’s dilemma as we encounter things that seem good—too good to resist, too good pass up – “just that once – but never ever again.”
But in the end, some of those seemingly irresistible good things lead us away from the intended path God has for us – leads us to run away, hide in shame.
And, the delight of our eyes can leave us with an unsavory mess of unfavorable consequences we are seldom in any mood other than embarrassed to explain.
One practical example would be buying a car.
You set out to replace your old, unreliable car for something newer.
However, the moment you step onto the lot, your budget-friendly goals are met with stars-in-your-eyes options, offer the latest and greatest everything.
Those brand new, shiny vehicles are a delight to the eyes.
And there is a pull for your affections that’s difficult to resist.
Another practical example is buying your first house or your next house or your final retirement house.
Everything about that home is advertised to sell, to maximize its market value so the seller can achieve the very best price possible and can move on with life.
To avoid unforeseen, unnecessary repair costs we do our inspection homework and negotiate with the realtors for the best price for all the parties concerned.
Another practical example is “what about planning for realistic career plans, all the promises of the “worlds best job and company, that next great promotion?”
You want more for your family, you want to be the best provider, mother and the best father, so what are you willing to risk and just how soon do you risk it.
The thing is, there are myriads and myriads of temptations that seem so good, then too soon, will often lose their appeal (and value) once you give in to them.
That so called dream job – how did that pan out, were all of the big promise real or were they so much efforts at entrapment, manipulation, fakery and fraud?
That top-of-the-line vehicle depreciates the second you drive off the lot.
And the hefty monthly payment soon becomes a burden you wish you didn’t have to carry.
The cost of that first repair bill, the cost of the monthly mortgage, the cost of the utilities and the homeowners insurance will soon bring reality to the front.
What always seems so good, too good, at the moment almost always opens your eyes to the undesirable consequences that reality will always soon bring with it.
I wonder how many times Eve thought about that fateful moment in the garden.
Did she and Adam lay awake at night, talking about how different things could have been—should have been?
Genesis 3:6 describes the battle of the flesh—the tendency to follow our own desires.
Yet, there was another element to Eve’s dilemma that happened right before she considered the forbidden fruit.
How easily the enemy slithered in without warning and disrupted her thoughts.
As she went about her day, without a single care in the world, the serpent swept in with a single question, slithered right by her side, opened the conversation.
The life of contentment Eve had was suddenly disrupted by a hint of doubt.
And it’s no different for us.
We smilingly go about our lives doing just fine until one thought, one question, one suggestion, one crisis, suddenly offers us something too good to pass up.
Eve’s story can be an effective “how to avoid trouble” guide for us; an example of how NOT to listen to the whisper of the enemy – if we recognize the enemy.
Even when something seems so good, we can (and should) stop, take a moment to pray and ask for God’s wisdom, and Jesus’ invaluable lessons on living life.
His Holy Spirit will then either confirm that it is good, or He will open our eyes to the truth of the situation – if we’ll automatically acknowledge and trust God.
Imagine if Eve had recognized Satan’s question as a diversion from the truth.
If she would have first instinctively stepped away from the situation and called out for God’s help, talked with God, imagine what a different world it would be!
The next time something seems too good to resist, allow yourself some time, space to ask for God’s direction – one good course of action you won’t regret.
The Enticement of Evil
Genesis 3:1The Message
3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
Let us move on to consider the strategy that the Tempter employs.
This is most instructive because it is exactly the strategy he employs when he appears as an angel of light to us—not that we shall see visions of shining beings—but the charismatic and charming personality that he exemplifies, the character in which he appears, is the same now as then – he is an angel of light.
Scripture makes clear that the devil can also appear as a roaring lion, meaning he can strike in tragedy, in sickness, or in physical evil, as he struck Job or Paul, with his thorn in the flesh, which Apostle Paul called the messenger of Satan.
When he appears as a lion, he can instantaneously strike fear into our hearts.
But his most effective strategy is to appear as subtle, someone good, someone attractive, something or someone who highly appeals to us as an angel of light.
If you learn how to recognize the strategy of the devil, you will find that he invariably employs the same tactics.
There is a sense in which he is very limited, and doesn’t vary his tactics widely.
Sometimes we feel too easily disarmed, too easily feel as if we shall never learn how to anticipate the devil.
But we can learn.
Paul said that he was not ignorant of the devil’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11).
If we learn how he works, we can easily learn to detect him in our lives.
James has described this strategy very plainly in one or two verses.
He says, … each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death(James 1:13-15 The Message).
13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: named sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
There is the strategy of the devil.
He always approaches us in the same three stages, and those steps are outlined clearly in this text.
His first tactic is to arouse desire.
James says that every man is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed(James 1:14).
Each step the devil takes with us is always to arouse desire to do wrong, to create an insatiable hunger, an irresistible lure, or enticement toward evil.
The second is to permit intent to form an act to occur.
James describes this: after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin(James 1:15).
Notice that the symbol he employs is that of conception and birth.
There is first a gestation period in temptation, for once desire is aroused, there occurs a process within which sooner or later issues in sin, an act that is wrong.
The third stage is that the devil immediately acts upon the opportunity afforded by the evil act to move in and to produce results that Scripture describes as death—sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
This is the devil’s ultimate aim.
Jesus said that he was a murderer from the beginning(John 8:44).
He delights in mangling, smashing, twisting, destroying, blighting, blasting.
We can see his activity present everywhere; it is going on around us, in our own lives, in the lives of others, in the lives of vulnerable children and their parents.
These are the works of the devil, says the Scripture (1 John 3:7-8 The Message).
7-8 So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways.
Lead Me Not Into Temptation, Deliver Me from Evil
Matthew 6:9-13 English Standard Version
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.[a] 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done,[b] on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread,[c] 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.[d]
When Rabbi Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13), he was not merely suggesting that it was all about someone else subtly, or suddenly, drawing us into temptation.
We are responsible too.
Dealing with life’s host of temptations calls for our heightened and maturing awareness of the tempting power of sin.
It includes recognizing that others, like the proverb writer and our parents, know the powerful temptation of sin.
Proverbs 1:8-19 The Message
8-19 Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you; never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee. Wear their counsel like a winning crown, like rings on your fingers. Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you, don’t go along with them. If they say—“Let’s go out and raise some hell. Let’s beat up some old man, mug some old woman. Let’s pick them clean and get them ready for their funerals. We’ll load up on top-quality loot. We’ll haul it home by the truckload. Join us for the time of your life! With us, it’s share and share alike!”— Oh, friend, don’t give them a second look; don’t listen to them for a minute. They’re racing to a very bad end, hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on. Nobody robs a bank with everyone watching, Yet that’s what these people are doing— they’re doing themselves in. When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens: the more you get, the less you are.
The words of the tempter can seem so enticing or desirable, and they may wear us down.
Temptation is everywhere in our lives.
A wise person knows this.
A wise person hears the proverb writer say, in effect,
“It takes away the lives of those who give in to it.”
Sin is self-destructive.
It’s terribly sad and tragic when we subtly or suddenly succumb to temptation, we ultimately end up hurting others and ourselves – sometimes irreversibly.
Following God’s wiser instructions, however, leads to life as God intended it.
Jesus put it this way: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
If you’ve been blessed with parents who taught you these words, thank God.
If not, give thanks that you know them now.
And if you don’t know what they mean, seek out someone who can help you learn and understand – it will always and forever be time vastly well spent.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 46 The Message
46 1-3 God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
4-6 River fountains splash joy, cooling God’s city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says.
7 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”
11 Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 