Lead Us NOT into Temptation

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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

VIDEO

And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.  Matthew 6:13^(NLT)

OK, so the Christmas and New Year holidays are behind us, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet; that chocolate-drenched Valentine thing is this coming Sunday.  And then you have Easter, and then…

Well, you get the drift; it’s always something.

You know where this is headed.  If you’re a person who owns a scale you’re already imagining what this devotion would look like lining your garbage can.

I’m not entirely certain an open fridge was the #1 thing Jesus had in mind when he taught his disciples to pray for strength against temptation …but it has to be close to the top! 

Our friends down at LG Electronics came up with that which is the ultimate challenge, for those of us who constantly fight the urge to splurge with a fork – a refrigerator with an 8” display telling you exactly what’s inside the behemoth icebox.  And if that isn’t enough, when you walk by it, the thing’s sensors see you and both doors open! 

Talk about the jaws of death! 

Well, take courage, because humans are not totally devoid of brains; enough wise people refused to purchase one of these contraptions, and, according to the website, the SmartFridge™ is now a discontinued item! 

Thank you, Jesus!

Now, if you’re not one of the wise ones, and you actually bought Delilah the food temptress, I have but one addendum to the Lord’s Prayer for you:

Stay out of the kitchen; don’t walk past the refrigerator!

And this is true for any kind of temptation. 

   ·       If you’re a smoker and you want to quit, trash the ash trays

   ·       If you’re an alcoholic and working on it, change your way home so you don’t pass the bars

   ·       If you’re into porn, and you know how badly this violates what God said about sexual purity, don’t allow yourself alone time with the computer

   ·       And if you can’t put down that phone or tablet so you can look into the beautiful eyes of a               living, breathing human being…

Well, you get the drift.

For You Today

God gave us good and wonderful gifts of life, beauty, food and other human beings with which to experience the fullness of relationship and joy.  And He meant for none of that to take over our lives as addiction.

So the next time you pray Lord, lead me NOT into temptation, hang out with God a little longer before you say “amen”. 

He just might tell you to disconnect that refrigerator and put it on eBay!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title image: LG Refrigerators

Rescue!

Friday – September 27, 2013

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.   Matthew 6:13 (KJV)

Writing something fresh every day isn’t as easy as it may seem.  Writing something fresh that can relate to just about anyone’s experience is next to impossible (for me).  What do you do with an empty page at 5am?

Of course you read the Scriptures – I use the Lectionary texts devotionally, and today the Lord’s Prayer spoke anew to me; especially the word “deliver”.  I looked it up and the newer translations’ use of “rescue” works very well.  The word pictures drawing as you would snatch something out of a river.  The act of drawing brings the rescued person rushing towards you like a raging river.  The picture above is Mary Chind’s Pulitzer prize-winning photo of a river rescue.

And so, at 5am I was thinking of the rescues in my life. 

have you ever been rescued?

·        I’ve been rescued Physically just like the river rescue (okay, it was a lake, and the canoe…well…I was a kid).   

·        I’ve been rescued Financially (too often to count). 

·        I’ve been rescued Emotionally (the ups and downs of life presume occasional rescue).

·        And I’ve been rescued Spiritually by the Christ who forgave (and forgives) all my sins.

The truth about spiritual, emotional, financial and even physical rescue is that it’s an ongoing divine project.  Delivering His children from evil (sins, moods, bills and rush hour traffic) fills our God’s Day-Timer™; talk about multi-tasking! 

It’s almost like the Father has all these toddlers running around all over the earth, and just when he rescues this half of the planets’ goofiness, the other side of the world is waking up to all sorts of trouble.  I’ve often thought the prayer would’ve been more accurate if it was deliver us from our “nincompooperies”!

Rescued FROM is always rescued TO

When you’re in the thick of it – problems up to your ears, a dangerous situation, or an unexpected dental bill – it’s easy to picture the rescue “from” that difficulty.  You can see and pray get me away from the evil driver in the other lane.

But what are you being rescued to?  If you believe the toddler image above, that we are rescued from this goof-up, only to rush headlong into another, you’ve got the human side of the equation.  But, from the Father’s side, He doesn’t rescue just so we can turn right back to the water.  The rescue, or “rushing” is towards Him; he rescues us from whatever evil to draw us close to His side.  He loves us that much!

Today – a three-step plan:

1.      Consider the rescues that have happened in your life.

2.      Give thanks.

3.      Repeat!

Part of that involves going to church this Sunday.  

See you at Dad’s house.