“Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil“– Luke 11:4

There is a balance to successfully avoiding or facing any temptation. On the one hand, we have a responsibility to turn away from any situation, person, or opportunity that draws us away from God.

We cannot, with any sincerity, be praying for our heavenly Father not to lead us into temptation, if we are not ourselves striving to avoid temptation. If we are praying “lead us not into temptation” while rushing headlong into sin, our prayers are a farce and will be ineffective.

On the other hand, Jesus’ model prayer reminds us that we do not, in and of ourselves, have the strength to face or overcome temptations to sin. This is why we pray for our Lord to deliver us from evil.

We need His deliverance. We need His strength. When it is all said and done, we must confess that any sin we have ever overcome or been delivered from was overcome through the grace and leadership of our heavenly Father.

It is for this reason that we are taught to also pray, “thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.” May that be our heart’s song as we face every temptation through the strength of His Spirit. (Baptist Bible Hour)

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”— Psa 42:5, Psa 42:11; Psa 43:5.

These two Psalms…. are generally allocated to that sad time in David’s history, when the rebellion of his favourite son, Absalom, drove him as an exile beyond the Jordan (2Sa 15:14). But amid the great sorrows that rolled over his soul, there was one glad ingredient. Thrice over the Psalmist encourages himself to Hope! For many a sorrowful soul, this is a true emblem. Amid all the disappointment and despair of life, there is always one chord of Hope–God! We may stand amid the wreck of our earthly hopes. Through misconduct or mistake, as the result of folly or sin, we may have reduced ourselves and those dear to us to the last degree of misery; but the soul may always turn from its low estate to God, sure that He will have mercy, will abundantly pardon, and will turn again the adverse pressure of the tide.

See how the broken-hearted may still speak of God! This man had grievously sinned. He seemed to have forfeited all claim on God’s recognition and care. He had brought shame and disgrace on the cause of religion. All down the years the story of his wrong-doing would give the enemies of truth abundant reason to blaspheme. And yet see how he dares to speak of God! He describes Him as the God of his life, as his Rock, as the Health of his countenance, the God of his strength, and the Gladness of his joy. This is a great lesson! We may change, but God changes never. We may turn our face from Him, or allow some evil thing to loom between ourselves and the clear shining of His face. But he shines on, and when we confess our sins, and put them away, we find ourselves afresh in the clear shaft of His illuminating rays. You may have lost all hope in yourself, your friends, your circumstances, but you must never lose your hope in God.

The past, which can only be viewed with repentance, is forgiven; the present, in which God is willing to be All-in-all; the future, when again the soul shall praise Him with joyful lips. Hope looks into the future. “I shall yet praise Him.”

Our Father, forgive, we pray Thee, our murmuring and discontent, our perverseness and waywardness. Teach us to discern the silver edge of the lowering clouds, and to trust Thy love, which is leading us safely and by a right way to our home. AMEN.—F. B. Meyer

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: “–2 Cor. 1:8-9

“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities“– Isaiah 53:5

It was love that sent Jesus to the cross. It was “the joy set before Him” that kept Jesus on the cross. But it was our sins that necessitated the cross.

Why couldn’t Jesus simply come to earth and preach and call for repentance and then go back into heaven? Why was it not good enough for Him to live a perfect life and then return to His Father in heaven? It was because sins, before a holy and just and good God, require punishment.

Because God is just, He will not allow us to go free without punishing our sins. That would be like a judge letting a convicted serial killer back onto the streets.

Because God is good, He will avenge every one of the countless wrongs in the world. He will not allow victims of violence and deceit to be victims for ever.

Most importantly, because God is God He will not allow His holy character and position to be ignored and violated without consequence. Therefore, our sins must be paid for.

The great beauty and tragedy of the cross is that there the perfect Jesus received the wounds for our transgressions, there He was bruised because of our sins. He chose to take our place and receive our punishment.

How can we dare to willfully sin any more, knowing that precisely those sins were what caused the great wounds of our great Savior?–BBH