The seventh and final petition of the Lord’s Prayer (and the original concluding words of the prayer) are “but deliver us from evil.” This petition stands in parallel to the preceding petition, “lead us not into temptation.” Each helps interpret the other. We are to live lives of continual vigilance, recognizing the ongoing danger of […]
Kerux Christou, aka Herb's Blurbs
Kerux Christou is a phrase from New Testament Greek meaning “herald of Christ,” i.e., a preacher.
Deliver Us From Evil
Lead us Not Into Temptation
“Why does Jesus teach us to pray, ‘lead us not into temptation’? God wouldn’t lead us into temptation anyway would he? Isn’t it Satan who tempts us?” This conundrum was posed me in a recent Sunday school class. It’s a great question, especially given the biblical context of a text like James 1:13-15: 13 When […]
Lead us Not Into Temptation
No one plans on tramping through a poison ivy patch (at least not anyone (like me) who has a known poison ivy (hyper)sensitivity!). No one purposes to swim in shark infested waters, or in a toxic waste dump site. No one intentionally gets ambushed by banditti. These dangers befall the unaware, the unsuspecting. It isn’t […]
Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive Our Debtors
The fifth petition is “forgive us our debts.” A consideration of God and his holiness, will, and kingdom will necessarily make us cognizant of our own sin and need of forgiveness. We can’t draw near to God without simultaneously recognizing how far we are from him. Repentance is always the appropriate response to a holy […]
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Sometimes prayer becomes a laundry list. “God, please help me get this job. Please heal John’s gout. Please help Marie with her sciatic pain. I’d love to have good weather for Sunday’s picnic. Also…peace on the earth.” And so on. We all have stuff we’d like to have from God. There’s nothing inherently wrong with […]
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