I believe many of the things we do that we know are wrong are the result of us giving in to temptation. Many of these temptations are put in our minds by the Devil. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

One of these temptations is acting out of rage, anger and revenge. It is so easy for us to wish for revenge, and terrible consequences for those who do wrong to us or to others, but that is the temptation we need to overcome.

Paul tells us also in Romans 12:19 “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.”

Our solution to evil, is given in Romans 12:21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Dear Lord, Thank you that we can leave our anger and desire for revenge to you, knowing you will address all injustice with your omnipotent wisdom and unlimited power. Give us the strength to face evil, not with rage, but with good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Why is it that people like the typical characters played by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, or in more recent movies, Vin Diesel, or Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne? I think part of the reason is their display of courage.

Courage comes down to, risking harm to your self for something more important. The harm may be pain, intimidation, insecurity, threat of death or injury, shame, or personal loss, or other risks. I think we like these characters because they display both physical courage, risking life and limb for a what is right and moral courage, going against the crowd or the easy way in order to do the right thing.

God tells Joshua in Joshua 1:9, “be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We need to think of ourselves like these courageous characters. We may not face physical risks for living our faith, without apology, but we may face risks of embarrassment, intimidation or ridicule. Our faith is more important than avoiding embarrassment.

Paul writes in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.”

Dear Lord, we know we should be courageous in living our Christian lives, without backing down from what is right in your eyes. Work in us to have this courage. In doing so, maybe we can be one of these courageous characters that leads others to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Mark 5 includes a number of well known accounts of Jesus’ miracles. In verses 21-43 Jesus was asked by Jairus, a leader of a local synagogue (church), to visit his home to heal his daughter who was dying. As Jesus was traveling, he was interrupted by the crowds. Before Jesus and Jairus reached Jairus’ home, messengers arrived to tell him that his daughter had died.

How difficult this experience must have been for Jairus. He came to Jesus having heard that he was healing people around the countryside. As Jesus had become a “celebrity” Jairus must have been hopeful and optimistic when Jesus agreed to come to his home. Then to have Jesus delayed in the crowd and then ultimately hear that his daughter had died must have crushed his hope and spirit.

Verses 35-36 say, “They told him, Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now. Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

Don’t we all have those situations when we could lose our hope for a positive outcome. At those times Jesus says to us, “Don’t be afraid, Just have faith.”

We don’t know what God has in store, but we do know that he loves us and has plans for our good.

Dear Lord, help us remember to put our faith and trust in you even when it looks to us like all hope is lost. You have powers we cannot imagine and plans we would not expect. Thank you Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Old Testament books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles tell the genealogy from Adam through the captivity of the Jews and exile of the Jews to Babylon. The books also have some accounts of events that occurred during this time.

In reading through a section about a battle engaged in by one of the Jewish tribes, the words in 1 Chronicles 5:20 made me think. It writes, “They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him.”

One message for us in this account is that believing and trusting God will answer our prayer, affects God’s response. Their trust in God was given as the reason he answered.

Dear Lord, sometimes it is difficult for us to believe that you will answer our prayers, particularly when we see no hope or solution from our mortal viewpoint. Help us remember to believe and trust that you have power over all things and can find a way even when we cannot see a way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you have seen the movie Karate Kid, you may remember the scenes in the movie, where Mr. Miyagi, the older Japanese man who promised to teach Karate to Daniel, the boy and main character of the movie, in order to defend himself from other boys who were bullying him. Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel, but makes Daniel agree he will do whatever Mr. Miyagi asks, without question. Daniel agrees, and the first thing Daniel is told to do is wash and wax Mr. Miyagi’s cars, with a specific motion, he is told “wax on, wax off.” After that, Daniel is told to sand Mr. Miyagi’s deck, again precisely as Mr. Miyagi describes. Finally, Daniel is told to paint Mr. Miyagi’s fence and house, also in precisely the way described. After several days of these chores, Daniel is frustrated and confused by what he has been doing, which appears to have nothing to do with Karate. He complains to Mr. Miyagi, who in a dramatic scene of attacking blows, ties all the chores into defensive Karate movements, and the reasons for all the hard work and frustration becomes clear to Daniel.

In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. When Peter resists, thinking this was disrespectful and wrong, Jesus tells him in John 13:7, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Many things in our lives are like this, we are following what we think is the right path, doing the right things, and difficult circumstances occur that we cannot understand. At those times, we should remember these words of Jesus, “…later you will understand.” We should stay on course, doing the right thing, with our faith firmly in Jesus’ protection and guidance.

Dear Lord, so often we cannot understand what you are teaching us through our experiences. We can know, however, that you are in control, and we will understand some day. Help us remember this and stay in faith doing your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.