Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer, Seventh Petition

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 

But deliver us from evil. What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven. (Small Catechism: Seventh Petition) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday, we heard about the temptation which Cain gave into that caused him to sin. The Lord had warned Cain that sin was "crouching at the door" (Genesis 4:7), waiting to pounce like a lion ready to kill its prey. Peter writes, "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). You can hear the same language in what Peter writes as you do when the Lord speaks to Cain and which Luther echoes in the catechism. 

Evil is all around us. We don't have to go searching for it. It finds us. Like a lion crouching in readiness to pounce on its prey, so the devil, along with the world and our own sinful flesh, is ready to unleash all sorts of evil on us in an effort to cause us to reject God and His gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. 

Thus Jesus teaches us to pray for ourselves and all other Christians that our Father in heaven would save us. Save us from the assaults of the evil one. Save us from the unbelieving world that wants us to be just like it. Save us from our own flesh that would rather indulge in sin and  would reject salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Save us He does. In love, the Father sent His Son into this world to rescue, to save us from sin, death, and every evil, including the evil one, the devil. Jesus has taken an evil death away from us by His death on the Cross and given to us His blessed resurrection, so that when our time on this earth comes to its end, we can fall asleep in Jesus in peace. In Jesus, we have been delivered from the great evil of unbelief and we look forward to the day when Jesus will call us to Himself where we will be eternally freed from all evil of body and soul. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, but help us by Your Spirit to subdue our flesh, to turn from the world and its ways, and to overcome the devil with all his wiles. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.

-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.