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 […]
Deliver Us From Evil
September 1, 2016 By Rich Herbster
Filed Under: Bulletin Board, Rich's Blog Tagged With: evil, Evil One, Lord's Prayer, Satan, temptation, the Devil
Lead us Not Into Temptation
August 24, 2016 By Rich Herbster
“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 […]
Filed Under: Bulletin Board, Rich's Blog Tagged With: God's Sovereignty, Lord's Prayer, temptation, theodicy
Lead us Not Into Temptation
August 4, 2016 By Rich Herbster
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 […]
Filed Under: Bulletin Board, Rich's Blog Tagged With: alert, Lord's Prayer, temptation, watch out