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Romans 12:21 – Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)
I have resurrected my fanny pack, a small leather pouch with several zippered pockets, which belts around my waist. Within it, I now carry a bear banger to frighten off bears. The device looks a lot like a fountain pen. At one end, it has a place to screw in a cartridge. On the upper side near the other end is a small knob attached to a lever with a safety catch. Once the cartridge is in place, the pen is to be pointed vertically, the knob is pulled over and down to release the safety, and the lever is flipped right to the bottom of its channel and released, which in turn fires the cartridge high into the air. Upon reaching its maximum height, the cartridge explodes with a terrific noise.
There are many things in life which can be scary when we encounter them. I'm not just talking about wild animals. I am thinking of things such as affliction, persecution, injustice, hatred, and prejudice — evil that can threaten a person's faith, health, and mental well-being. But just as I carry a bear banger to help protect myself from wild creatures, God has also provided His children with wisdom to protect us and overcome evils that we may encounter anywhere, at any time.
In Romans 12:9-21, we discover some of that wisdom with which to do battle. We are told to hate evil and cling to good. We are to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. We are to bless and not curse those who persecute us. We are not to repay evil for evil but to live at peace as much as possible with everyone. We are not to avenge ourselves, but to wait and trust in God's judgment. We are to feed our enemies if they are hungry and give them something to drink if they are thirsty. By so doing, we have the power to overcome evil with good — in other words, to scare off the devil who seeks to frighten and destroy us as God's people.
Much like my bear banger, which I can easily carry with me anywhere, with Christ within us, we, too, carry all the power and wisdom that we need to battle against the evils of this world.
Whenever evil, affliction, persecution, injustice, hatred, prejudice, and the like confront us in our daily lives, let us remember that we need not fear them. For in Christ, we have the strength, power, and wisdom to send them packing in a hurry, as we apply the truths of Scripture to our situation.
Prayer: Father, thank You so much that You have provided the wisdom, through Your Word, to equip us to fight against the evils of this world. May we thus remember daily not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good, not in and through our own strength, but through the strength and power of the Spirit of Christ dwelling within us, in Whose name we pray. Amen.
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Thank you.
Great post and reminder, Lynne! God bless you!
Thanks, Lynne. This is a very intriguing application!
Thanks for your words of encouragement and the reminder that Christ is within me!
Thanks Lynne, this was a good devotion for me today with all that is going on. Do take care and have a good day.
Blessings.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us! Where does one get a bear banger? We’ve got black bear who are bulking up just now. Thankfully no Grizzly that I know of. Blessings.
Thanks, Lynne. Such good words of wisdom.
We don’t expect you will need your bear banger this week! The weather report for the coming days is great. ENJOY! We’ll be thinking of you.
Hi Lynne
What a wonderful analogy of the bear banger to having Christ within us to fend off the evils of this world.
Blessings.
Beautiful and helpful and memorable – all in a wonderful ball that rolls towards the reader who is running to pick it up! Unforgettable and profound. You are an inspired writer especially as you use the small things as the great truths they become in your hands.
I enjoyed your bear banger illustration, Lynne, and appreciated the application of taking Christ with us wherever we go to give us power to face evil in our world. These thoughts have been high in my mind, especially as we face the dangers of COVID in addition to hardening resistance to ways of dealing with it.
I think, Lynne, I need a bear banger… not for bears but for the coon family that cannot wait to see if I remember to bring the bird feeders inside! And, then there are the armadillos and the deer, the latter have decimated our yard this year in spite of a high fence. More fencing going up this weekend.
And, of course, thanks as usual for a well-written and thoughtful devotional.
Good morning, Lynne,
Thanks for another of your deeply meaningful devotionals. Yes, we need be so grateful to our Lord for the strength and power we are given through faith in Him. Whatever circumstance we are faced with, He is ready to serve us and guide us in the right direction. Blessings for these writings you do. I always enjoy reading the way you correlate how faith in our loving Lord brings positive results in our daily life.
Hey Lynne,
Good morning.
Thanks for the devotional which my wife and I used.
This morning, I am chairing a property and finance committee meeting at our church.
Found your words so topical of our times, with the current anti-vax street demonstrations, and the raw politics of vaccination programmes, across the Western world. So I will be using your devotional this morning with which to open our meeting. Many thanks.
Grace and Peace.
(Australia)
Good morning, Lynne,
I have never heard of a bear banger and it would probably frighten me as much as a bear. My granddaughter uses my fanny pack – they must have come back in style. She bought herself a white one so I thought I would get my black one back but she still needs it.
A good reminder of the evil that creeps up on us and that the Holy Spirit can help us not fall into the trap. It took me a long time to realize the many different types of evil besides the ones in the Ten Commandments. The more people share in devotionals, the easier it is for me to get it. When I started to do Bible study and share with others, my eyes were opened to many truths that I did recognize before. My life was not as busy and less people to do for which gave me more time to learn. It would have been helpful to know earlier but I believe God makes those opportunities available when you are ready to learn.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you never have to use a bear banger.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you in and through Jesus Christ our Lord.