Daily Bread 2-20-18

The Sermon on the mount(cont'd)

Matthew 6:12,13

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

ref. - Mt 26:41 - Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jas 1:13 - Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Jn 17:15 - I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

First, in this scripture we must address verse 12. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. As carnal men we can look at this and say, Oh good God is going to forgive me for the money that I owe him if I forgive others for the money that they owe me. Doesn't make sense right? Because the Lord is Spiritual and not carnal. We must turn the corner ourselves and start thinking spiritually, for this is where our help will come from. What can we owe someone other than money? Love, forgiveness, gratitude, repentance(an apology), acceptance, etc... Now we can say, what do I owe my Lord? If we treat others with the same mercy that we expect from God it will be then that we receive. This is not only a request it is also a statement. The prayer says, forgive me the same way that I forgive others. Treat me as I treat others, love me as I love others. Now we can understand what this means and that we can only expect from God what we give to others. Kind of adds a new twist to the saying, "treat others as you would want to be treated," doesn't it? Now, moving on to verse 13. If we read the reference verses they all pertain to this scripture. If it is not of God to tempt us and it is not of God to lead us into evil, we can come to one conclusion; all temptation is from the devil. We are merely asking God to protect us and keep us away from the devil and his devices. If we walk into temptation, we must understand that is against God's will and that we have walked into it alone. When we get on the devil's ground he will overcome us as we have walked away from God to get there. We are not under bondage and we do walk away and this is why we must pray that God create such a spirit in us that we can control our members and be delivered from evil. And finally, in our prayer, we must once again acknowledge that everything and everyone belongs to God. Give him the power in our lives and the glory in our lives and let his kingdom reign in our lives. Not only in word, but in deed and truth! Here is not going to put us in a "glass house" or take us from this world to protect us from this world. He is going to put a spirit in us that can conquer the world and the princes that dwell therein. And in Jesus name we now pray, as it is his time to be lifted up, Amen. Have a great day!!!