LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates.”

"Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to Him.”

“If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of His covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.”

Deuteronomy 16:21, 17:1-7

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the final of Deuteronomy, chapter 16, into the first seven verses of chapter 17, we see God’s Word once again addressing the matter of proper worship. You’ll remember that the Israelites are on the verge of crossing the Jordan River to take over the land God had promised them. Within Canaan, God fully knew about the pagan, polytheistic practices of its inhabitants which included the erection of Asherah poles and sacred stones to worship their gods.

This was obviously completely counter to what God commanded His people to do because He had made it clear that He was the only true God and there would be no rooms for any other gods worshiped ahead of Him. This included the forming of any idols.

So with Israel entering a land where the people showed reverence toward many different gods, the Lord had a genuine concern that His people might be influenced adversely to adopt the worship standards of the idol worshippers, lifting up “other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky”. In doing so, they would be doing “evil in the eyes of the Lord…in violation of His covenant and contrary to (His) command.”

We should note that this evil wouldn’t go unpunished for we read where God imposed the death penalty on offenders as long as there was solid evidence against them. The God of Israel (who is our same God today) cared deeply about justice and so before a person would be put to death, there had to be two or three witnesses to testify about the sin committed. A single accuser wouldn’t cut it, largely to prevent someone from getting killed as a result of one person who might have a grudge against that person, making a false accusation.

Through these verses, we see where God expects us to stay true to His Word and way, no matter where we are or who we are around. You see, Satan too often surrounds us with the things of the world, sinful things that run counter to what God desires, things that try to entice and draw us in. Too often, we give into these temptations, or in other words, we turn from good toward evil, mostly because we place our wants ahead of the Lord’s.

If sex is our desire, then we will pursue and find it, regardless of what God has said. And Satan is ready to tempt us and lead us astray (Romans 1:24-25).

If alcohol, drugs, or any other substance is our desire, then Satan will make the way for us to access them, regardless of what God has said (Ephesians 5:18).

If money and wealth are our desire, then Satan will work hard to get us obsessed with materialism, regardless of the dangers that God has warned about (1 Timothy 6:10).

I could go on and on but you get the point. There are many things in life that we seek to tempt us but when it comes to surrendering to those temptations, it’s all on us. There’s no question that we have a choice.

But…there’s also no question that we serve a God who is ready to grant all the power we need to fight off the temptations of the devil, granting us strength to stay rooted in good.

Let’s all give thanks to God for this truth, keeping in mind these words found in the prayer that Jesus taught us:

Thanks be to God for His strength and guidance. Let us ever continue to recite these words from our savior Jesus:

“…lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.“ Matthew 6:9-13

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.