September 20, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: Sixth Petition

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40, Ephesians 2:1-22

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Any time our family is traveling somewhere we’ve never been, we try to visit a zoo that we’ve never seen. There’s just something incredible about seeing God’s creation up close and in person. But while penguins, parrots, and monkeys look like they would make great pets, the lions, tigers, and bears (Oh, my!) put off a different vibe. These beasts don’t look cuddly. They have teeth and claws that look like they were designed for tearing things limb from limb. And that’s the image–a lion–that the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to put in our mind about the devil, that old evil foe, and the first tempter of mankind. I’ve always found Luther’s explanation of the Sixth Petition to be simply brilliant. From the start, he quotes James 1:13 and the simple fact that God tempts no one. “Lead us not into temptation” is a plea that God would lead us away from temptation, that He would guard and keep us out of the clutches of the “unholy trinity,” which consists of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. 

These enemies wage war against us. But take note of this: their deception aims to mislead us, first and foremost, into false belief; then, despair; and, almost as an afterthought, other great shame and vice. When most people think of temptation, their minds go to shameful sins and vices first. The devil’s aim in tempting us is not primarily to make us sin. He certainly can use sins and even our conscience to mislead us into thinking that we’ve “outsinned” God’s forgiveness, or that we are so forgiven that it doesn’t matter if we sin. His target isn’t just sins or conscience, though. His aim is to corrupt our faith. After all, false belief is what damns. The devil prowls like an angry lion, all eager to devour us. But for us fights the valiant One. He cannot overpower us. Our Champion is a Lion, too, you know. John heard about Him in Revelation 5:5. He’s the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and by His death He has been declared worthy to open the scroll in God’s hand so that His plan of salvation might come to pass. God grant that our faith in Christ may be guarded and kept secure. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You justify the ungodly and desire not the death of the sinner. Graciously assist us by Your heavenly aid and evermore shield us with Your protection, that no temptation may separate us from Your love in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

-Pastor Dustin Beck is pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Corpus Christi, Texas.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

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.