And do not lead us into
temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matthew 6:13a (NAS)
A couple of weeks ago there was a
commotion at the supermarket that sent people running from the
building screaming at the top of their lungs and the aisles looking
like a tornado had struck the building. What or who could have caused
such a commotion? I'll give you one guess and if you know my puppets
you'll probably guess Harold Peterson.
No one quite knows why but on that
fateful day Harold happened to be at the supermarket looking for
something, but it wasn't food. Now everybody that knows Harold, knows
he loves food and would do just about anything for it, well anything
but work, and he is often found gobbling up all the samples he can
get his hands on but on that day he was passing them by.
One of the first things that happened
that day that let people know Harold was around was the toppling of
the cereal display that sent boxes flying everywhere. Next he knocked
over the pyramid of Spaghetti sauce cans which in turn knocked over a
pyramid of soup cans. By the time he quit crawling around on the
floor he had toppled over fifteen different types of displays.
If that wasn't bad enough, he headed
to the produce aisle next and started digging through the bins
tossing apples, oranges, potatoes, and everything else he could get
his hands on every which direction. Almost a dozen people slipped on
the bananas he threw on the floor but no one was laughing. Finally
the head manager was able to pin him down.
“Let go of me!” Harold shouted, “I
need to find Trouble!” “I think you've found plenty of that
already.” The manager said as he started dragging Harold to the
office at the back of the store. “But I have to find Trouble.”
Harold protested. “Or my friend is going to kill me.” “He'll
have to wait in line.” the manager said as a huge crowd gathered,
“There's plenty here who want their turn.”
Just as they were about to go through
the door, Harold hollered “There he is!” There's who?” the
manager asked. “Trouble, my friend's pet rattle snake.” Harold
said pointing to the five foot long reptile. The next thing the
manger knew, all pandemonium broke loose. The crowd panicked and
started stampeding towards the front door knocking all the shelves
over like dominoes.
In all of the commotion, Harold
wiggled free and quickly grabbed Trouble and escaped through the back
door while the head manager sat down in the middle of the biggest
mess he'd ever seen and cried.
How many of us actively look for
trouble? Unfortunately, we never have to go far to find it.
Furthermore, no-one is immune to it not even the Christian. When
Jesus was teaching us how to pray in Matthew 6:13 He addressed the
issue of temptation when he taught us to pray “And do not lead
us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
The Bible makes it clear that
temptation is a part of human existence so to better understand
temptation we need to know more about the original word used in the
Bible. The word used in the Bible can denote an enticement that has
the goal of causing one to sin, or it can refer to a test or trial of
the validity of one's faith. I believe it is the first of the two
meanings implied in Jesus' teaching.
Temptation to sin has a couple
different sources the first being Satan or the Devil. Paul was afraid
of this when he wrote to the Thessalonians - Because of this, when
I could wait no longer, I sent Timothy to you so I could learn about
your faith. I was afraid the devil had tempted you, and then our hard
work would have been wasted. 1 Thessalonians 3:5 (NCV)
The other source of temptation is
self. James addresses this issue in James 1:14 But people are
tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them.
(NCV) The reason why some Christians have a real problem with
temptation is because THEY WANT TO! Sort of like the boy in this
illustration I found.
"Son," ordered a father,
"don't swim in that canal." "O.K., Dad," he
answered. But he came home carrying a wet bathing suit that evening.
"Where have you been?" demanded the father. "Swimming
in the canal," answered the boy. "Why did you?" the
father asked. "Well, Dad," the boy explained, "I had
my bathing suit with me and I couldn't resist the temptation."
"Why did, you take your bathing suit with you?" his father
asked. "So I'd be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted,"
he replied. - (Pulpit Helps, November, 1991, p. 20)
Before we can be ready to pray “And
do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we need
to be willing to keep away from temptation, and to avoid evil. We
can pray “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
evil” all we want and it won’t do us a bit of good if we keep
playing with it. If we try to compromise ourselves thinking we can
get away with it, we will lose.
A hunter raised his rifle and took
careful aim at a large bear. When about to pull the trigger, the bear
spoke in a soft soothing voice, "Isn't it better to talk than to
shoot? What do you want? Let's negotiate the matter." Lowering
his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat." "Good,"
said the bear, "that is a negotiable question. I only want a
full stomach, so let us negotiate a compromise." They sat down
to negotiate and after a time the bear walked away alone. The
negotiations had been successful. The bear had a full stomach, and
the hunter had his fur coat! - (Bible Illustrations)
When it comes to temptation we should
remember God's promise to us found in 1 Corinthians 10:13 - No
test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what
others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will
never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit;
he'll always be there to help you come through it. (MSG)
Here's Something To Ponder
- How often do you tempt yourself?
- Do you rely on God to keep you from trouble?
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