Keep Us from Temptation and Deliver Us from Evil

My prayer on the second day of the New Year is for Lord to keep us from temptation and deliver us from the evil one. [1]

The devil is busy duping so many people out of their eternal inheritance. I am relying on the Lord to help both me and those He leads me to pray for and serve with His Word.

The devil said to the first mother of humanity, Eve, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” [2] The simple answer was, “Yes.” And the best of response would have been to flee from the serpent at that moment. Don’t let him keep you on the line!

Jesus said, “Let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes,’ or ‘No, no;’ anything beyond these is of the evil one.” [3]

One’s of the devil’s sales tactics is to make the one who says “No!” to him to seem as a fool.

“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die!’” [4]

“The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” [5]

Eve did not want to be a fool so she ignored what God said and listened to the devil. The result was disastrous! She and her husband were now afraid to face God. They felt shame.

God made for the first couple garments out of animal skins to hide their nakedness. Here, the human need for God to atone (cover) our sin with a blood sacrifice of an “innocent” other is introduced. “Then the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.” [6]

This truth is reiterated when God accepts the animal sacrifice of Abel but rejects the garden sacrifices of Cain. Sin is a serious matter. “…Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” [7]

God sent Cain into exile for murdering his brother Abel. Sin creates distance between people and God. Christ came to atone for our sin so that whosoever believes in Him could have his or her sins forgiven and enjoy a restored relationship with God. [8]

Eve lost two sons in one day. One to death, and the other to exile, but the Lord provided her a third son. God had told her previously that her seed would crush the serpent’s head.

“Then Adam knew his wife again; and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, ‘God has set for me another seed in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.’ And to Seth, to him also, a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the Name of the Lord.” [9] The Lord kept the bloodline of Messiah alive via Seth.

These stories were preserved by God to help us understand our need to listen to His voice lest we be enticed away.

King David wrote, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” [10]

Those who scoff at submitting to faith in the God of the Bible will perish. [11]

King Solomon wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” [12]

The fear of God is deterrent from compromise with sin.

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not be willing.” [13]

“They lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. So are the paths of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.” [14]

How do we escape the devil’s poison-filled enticements? The answer is to… “Turn at My (God’s) reproof, behold, I will pour out My Spirit on you; I will make My Words known to you.” [15] We need the Spirit of God to fill us and make us a new creation. The Holy Spirit replaces one’s appetite for sin with an appetite to know, serve, and love the Lord. We avoid falling in with bad apples, by walking with the Lord.

“Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.” [16]

[1] Matthew 6:13
[2] Genesis 3:1
[3] Matthew 5:37
[4] Genesis 3:4
[5] Genesis 3:6
[6] Genesis 3:21
[7] Genesis 4:1-8; Hebrews 9:22
[8] Genesis 4:10-14; Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 2:12-19
[9] Genesis 4:25-26
[10] Psalm 1:1-3
[11] Psalm 1:4-6
[12] Proverbs 1:7
[13] Proverbs 1:12
[14] Proverbs 1:18-19
[15] Proverbs 1:23
[16] Psalm 3:8