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WORD OF THE DAY (— Luke 11:4 )
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
MEDITATE ON THIS ( Who will you call in the day of evil?)
In what is commonly known as the Lord's prayer and also referred to as the disciple's prayer, Jesus taught the disciples to
call upon God to deliver them from evil. A portion of the prayer reads "And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that
is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil." Though we live in a world in which human behavior
is often spiritually sterilized into simple categories of genetic predispositions, social learning, and mental health diagnosis; as Christian,
we are aware that evil is real. There is a real Devil who is a spiritual person, with thousands(perhaps millions/billions) of demonic
spirits which bombard our world with evil.
So much was this evil that when Jesus walked the earth all 4 gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) reported numerous
cases of Jesus casting demons out of people. In our world of science and great and technological advancements, the same
demonic spirits which tormented(Luke 16:25), tempted (James 1:13), and tested (1st Peter 4:12) the world in Jesus days still
carry on these same functions today. These spirits torment with various ailments and addictions, they tempt people to do all
manners of wickedness, and they at times provide trials to test the faith of the believer. Though the devil may only be 1/3 of the
equation (the world, the flesh, & the devil (1st John 2:16)), this 1/3 is important to recognize so that Christians can know and
properly label evil. If we see something as simply a bad habit in need of only a therapeutic coping skill, rather than a spiritual attack
needed to be countered first spiritually, we may be less likely to reach out to God for help.
If our greatest need was only therapeutic, Jesus could have simply educated his disciples in the field of pharmacology and mental health
thereby avoiding the need to die on the cross. However since evil is real, His death on the cross was needed to provide the victory over
evil and provide His believers with the spiritual power and authority to call upon Him in the day of evil. For most mature Christians
the day of evil is everyday, because the more you set your mind to work for Christ, the more the forces of evil will identify you as a target.
Fortunately, we serve a God who is more than able to keep us from falling and also able to provide an escape for temptations (1st Corinthains 10:13),
comfort for the torment (John 16:7), and victory for every trial (Revelation 17:14). Call upon God in your day of evil, and He will deliver you.
Your brother in Christ, WNL
Thought for the week:
Evil is everywhere, fortunately so is God. Call upon Him and He will deliver you.
Prayer for the week:
Dear God, thank you for being a God who hears your children. Thank you for being a God who protects your children.
And thank you for being a God who delivers your children from evil. Please help me to keep my eyes on you, so that
in the day of evil, I will not have far to look to see my savior and protector upon whom I will call for deliverance. In Jesus
name I pray, Amen.
