Lord of all days, may the gratitude of time spent with You be in the heart of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our conversation and study of Jesus' prayer continues with "And lead us not into temptation," (Matthew 6:13a KJV)
In the 60's, a television comedian would don female clothing for a character he played named Geraldine and would proclaim, "The devil made me do it!" Laughter would follow and all would know what a great scapegoat we have in the devil and his wiles. Geraldine was probably the result of something a preacher may have preached on Adam's classic, "I was okay until you gave me that woman!" You and I have our scapegoats and it is so much easier to blame someone else for the temptations that come our way. This part of the prayer seems to read in that way; "Lord, please don't lead me down the wrong path!" But it doesn't mean that. It means as we walk with God, we trust God. We trust that if we let God do the leading, God's way will not take us to temptation. It is us that sometimes tugs a bit harder or we want to let go of God's hand completely. Once our children learned to walk and to talk, their favorite expression was, "Walk!" And that meant "Put me down and let me explore on my own!" The other night our two year-old grandson said that very thing in the fine China department of one of the stores. Uh, let's hold hands was Grandpa's response. Not what he wanted to hear.
Temptation is out there. The funny take on this part of the prayer is, "I do a pretty good job of finding temptation on my own, " which for all of us is true. But as Jesus prayed this, He meant, "I'm trust You to be with me at all times, especially when temptation comes my way." When it comes let our minds turn to God and the things of God and temptation will not have the same pull and attraction that it once had.
PRAYER: Loving God, hold my hand and let me not lead You; You do the leading. Hear me as I pray and let me hear as I pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever." Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
