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In more than three decades of my Christian life, I have been blest by 2 types of Daily devos'
(matter not exceeding 500 words) in universal Christian literature. Not only those Devos'
which have a different theme everyday but also the ones which revolve around a certain
theme over a period of time, say a fortnight, have richly edified me. In fact, both
styles have their own inherent advantages. If the former style caters to the varying
spiritual needs of a christian from day-to-day, the latter aims 'to ground'
a child of God in a certain subject in order he derives the full benefits of the
deep insightful study of a certain topic, spread over a fixed span of time.
In my Daily devo page, I have consciously tried to go in for 'a blend of both the
styles' whereby within a constant theme, I would be aiming to focus on different
facets of it which admittedly is a closer imitation of the 'Constant theme' style
than the 'Varying topics' one.
Having dwelt on the topic of Christian journey and the “Conquest of Canaan”
in the previous months, now in the month of March, considering that
we are in the season of Lent, I intend to focus on the subject- “Lent season”.
Once again, let me wish you a happy and an edifying read…
Suresh Manoharan
7th Lent Day
The weak links in the chain
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. –
II Cor:11:3
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Can any meditation on the subject of Lent and its incidental topic “temptations”, ever be
complete without focusing on the great deceiver and his subtle tactics? In fact God’s word
exhorts us to be wary of his tactics, in order we do not get outwitted by him –the master
deceiver
(II Cor 2:11).
Speaking about the Bible one wise soul put it so insightfully “ It’s not arranged interview
style-one line questions followed by two paragraph answers from the Almighty. The deep
paradoxes of life and existence cannot be neatly wrapped up like that. Instead God tells
us what we need to know for successful living through a variety of formats: people-stories,
poetry, direct messages or prophecies and most clearly of all, the Earth-visit of Jesus.
And whatever the style, it has undeniable ring of truth”. While on the subject of Satan’s schemes,
we only need to do an autopsy of some of the people-stories such as Adam’s fall and Samson’s
subjugation to arrive at a truth that Satan sometimes uses someone very close to us to lead us astray.
If in Adam’s case, the “weak link” was Eve
(I Tim 2:14), then in Samson’s life it was Delilah.
That’s why it has been said that one needs to test everything in the light of God’s word
(II Tim 3:16/
I Thess 5:21) before proceeding ahead with action, especially on dicey issues’
where half the mind says “Do” and the other half says “Don’t”. In these kinds of situations,
the best thing is to opt for selfless, “more difficult to perform” action. Remember father Abraham,
in the most testing moment of his life, of taking his precious son to Mount Moriah to sacrifice,
did not consult his Eve…I.e.…his wife Sarah for a second opinion, rather he did not even tell her
about the purpose of his journey
(Genesis 22:1-18). He set his face like flint to go about the
work God had called him to do.
Let me state affirmatively here that I am not suggesting that a godly man should always look
suspiciously at his wife or someone close to him as one with potential to lead him astray.
But to call here is to be well grounded in scriptures so as to handle Biblically (using scriptures)
satanic temptations.
Prayer:
Father, your holy scriptures teach us so many historical lessons, we can ignore only at our own peril.
Enable us to absorb lessons from thy scriptures in order we live lives worthy of our calling.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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