Thursday, June 13, 2013

By: Rachelle Hitt Bilbo

 

"The Lord's Prayer" Series Day 10: "Deliver us from evil."

 

Monster Gumbo

 

2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His Heavenly Kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

My little boy must have recently learned about monsters at summer camp. He has come home a couple of days saying that he is scared of the monsters. My husband reminds him that daddy got rid of all the monsters and put them in a gumbo (not a recipe that I'll be trying anytime soon). As silly as that Cajun remedy sounds, our son has peace in the security that HIS dad took out the monsters.

 

The final plea of the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6 is "Deliver us from evil." Just as a child irrationally fears monsters, we irrationally fear the devil. Does that mean the devil is not real just as monsters are not real? No, Satan does exist. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8-10 that he "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." However, we are further instructed to "resist him" and "stand firm in the faith."

 

Although the devil is real and we will all face trials, our "Dad" has it under control. 1 John 3:8 says, "...the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

 

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has made victory over the enemy available to us. When we pray to The Lord to "deliver us from evil," we can be assured that although God allows times of testing, He has NOT brought us to this earth to be overcome by the enemy. Instead, 1 John 4:4 reminds us that we are overcomers. "The one Who is in you is GREATER than the one who is in the world."

 

Even Jesus was tempted by Satan, but Jesus combatted the temptations by speaking forth the Word of God. The closer we draw near to God through His Word, the more strength and power we will have in times of temptation. James 4:7-8 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will FLEE from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you..." The word resist in the Greek means "to push against."

 

I challenge you today to draw nearer to God. In doing so, you will be strengthened and better able to "push against" sin and be free from the grips of a persistent enemy.

 

Dear Father, Please reveal to me areas that I have not resisted sin and temptation in my life. Help me draw nearer to You.

 

I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.