A Letter from the Pastor October 2026
Temptation will come to each of us.
You’ve often been told that “God will never give you more than you can handle.”
Well, that’s kind-of a paraphrase of 1st Corinthians 10 which actually says: “with the
temptation He will also provide the way of escape” (1st Corinthians 10:13).
Temptation is the enticement to act against God’s will. It can come upon us from our own desire or from external influences, but it is not sin until we yield to it. Scripture reveals temptation as a universal human experience that even Jesus faced. All human beings undergo temptation even those who think they have special spiritual abilities.
It’s in the Lord’s Prayer we pray: “Lead us not into temptation.” Luther explained that “God indeed tempts no one.” That’s why we pray in this petition that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature should not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, or other great shame and vice but that through the power and mercy of God in Christ, we may finally overcome our temptation to sin and win the victory.
It happened in the Shenandoah Valley, in Staunton, VA. Sidewalks sank to levels beneath the surrounding walks & roads; houses disappeared, toppled over on their sides, or sank to levels so that they were only partly seen. This unusual thing was caused by a cave-in. An underground river had worn away the roof structure that held the earth in place.
A father took his son to see this curious sight but the boy was never taken close to the place of danger. There was a margin of safety observed in every move they made.
Now that this boy has grown older, he still remembers how carefully his father, again & again, led him around life’s spots of danger. Today it’s not at all difficult for him to understand that when he trusts his life to the keeping of his heavenly Father he can count on a margin of safety.
Our Father will not keep putting us to the test to see how much we can stand, or take us as close as we can go to see how near we can come without falling in; or put us under pressure exerted to the breaking point. Yes, our heavenly Father will do what a good father will do to keep us safe from all harm & danger affecting our well-being.
When we pray: “Lord, lead us not into temptation,” we’re saying as much as: “Father, don’t allow me to be led by my own inclinations too close to evil & don’t let others lead me where the pressures of life can be exerted upon me until I am broken & defeated. Rather, Father, lead me by the hand so I shall have, like a great bridge -that built-in margin of safety from You, which will enable me to carry the load I must and with strength to spare.”
Yes, God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endue it. Be assured that He provides you with the Word of Christ, the Holy Spirit, Baptism, Absolution, the Lord’s Supper, and the gift of prayer as armor and weapons against every temptation known to man.
Prayer: Jesus, grant that balm & healing in Your holy wounds I find, every hour that I am feeling pains of body & of mind. Should come evil thought within tempt my treacherous heart to sin, show the peril, and from sinning, keep me from its first beginning. Amen
(from LSB 421:1)
May the Word of God dwell within you richly. Pastor Dean Rudloff