Day 37 – And deliver us from evil…

What is our struggle against in this world? I struggle with how many cups of coffee I can truly stomach without the feeling of it gurgling like a rusty tea kettle all day. I struggle with the temptations of greed, power, self importance, and the reality of my humanness. I fight the urge to flee when the going gets tough – because the tough get going right? If 2 Timothy 4:18 is true can I hold fast to such words – that "the Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom" then truly I have nothing to fear, nothing to dread, and certainly could cut back on the coffee. The apparent evil in our world is ever around us – we don't have to look far. It is the evil that declares keeping ones distance to our neighbors valuing private distance rather than finding community with those around us. The evil of greed which speaks against holding things in common and giving to all according to their need. We would have a very hard time existing in this modern age as an Acts 2 type of religious community. We would be called fanatics, people who have fallen off the hay rack, and those who take it too far. But perhaps our Lord is saying that we haven't been radical enough. We need to as Christians be able to define evil for what it is and be prepared to deal with it in a way which mirrors how our Savior Jesus lived, died, and rose again.