Saturday, October 28, 2017
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength.
ONE LITTLE WORD CAN FELL HIM
Martin Luther's classic Reformation hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," includes the line "Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us . . ."
There are no new tricks in the devil's arsenal. He stays with the tried and the true. "Has God said . . . ?" By that question he introduces false doctrine into the world and into the church. "You shall not surely die." By that bald-faced lie the devil creates indifference in sinful man who thinks that he shall live forever, or that he need not be responsible for his actions. "Your eyes shall be opened, and you will be like God . . ." So the devil creates conflict between man and God; man thinks that God is not treating him fairly, or that somehow he knows at least as much as God, if not more. The reaction of Adam and Eve to the presence of God? "I was afraid because I was naked . . . " "The woman whom you gave to be with me . . . " "The serpent deceived me . . . " It is not our fault!
Are we any different? "The problem in my family is not my fault . . . The problems in the church are not my fault. . . . I am certainly not responsible for any of the evil in the world." Look at yourself in the mirror. The face God shows you in His perfect Law is yours. The roaring lion you see behind you is not after another. He is after you!
Nevertheless, we are bold to sing: "He [Satan] can harm us none, He's judged; the deed is done; One little Word can fell him." The Word shows us the Savior who has taken our sin on Himself, giving us in its place forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation. May God and His Word continue to be our Mighty Fortress and trusty shield unto life everlasting!
-- Adapted from the "Lutheran Spokesman"
