Lead Us

Greetings In The Name Of The Lord:

Matthew 6:13 (ESV) 
¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

One thing that becomes unmistakable to a new believer is that this Christian life is not always a bed of roses. In fact, sometimes it’s hard work! In the first part of v. 13 Jesus says, “And lead us not into temptation…” Lead us not into temptation. Up until now, the prayer has been dealing with our relationship with the Father and with those around us. Here the prayer changes, now dealing with us going out into the world with the message of God’s love and forgiveness. The Greek word translated temptation does not mean “enticement to do evil” but “testing.” Sometimes God allows his people to be “tested” by temptation. But this testing is never without a purpose: God is always working to refine his people, teach them to depend on him, and strengthen their character to be more like him. How he does this differs in every person’s life. The prayer, then, is that we not yield to temptation(Barton, 32). “When you take us out into the world, Father, to do your bidding, to advance your kingdom, give us the strength to be in the world but not of the world.” We need to pray daily for the strength and wisdom to pass the tests that come our way. In Matthew 26:41 (NLT2), Jesus says, “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”  Everywhere we look and go there is temptation. There’s temptation at work. There’s temptation at the grocery store. There is temptation in the parking lot and on the highway. There’s temptation at school. There’s certainly temptation on the internet. So, we need to constantly be asking God to protect us from these things. Guide us, Lord, as we seek to follow you every day.

In Christ,

Pastor Mark