The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:9
As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by the Rev. Kenneth R. Klaus, 2002
Hundreds of years ago, when European explorers set out across the sea, they may well have prayed “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night. Good Lord, deliver us!” With maps based on guesswork, the unknown was a constant terror. Would they sail to the end of the earth and fall into a bottomless abyss? When these explorers returned, mapmakers pored over the ships’ logs and began to fill in the great unknowns across the sea. But there were still expanses of ocean that had not been seen, where much was still unknown. In such places the mapmakers wrote: “Here there might be dragons.” Knowing little, they imagined the worst.
All of your dragons have been slain, haven’t they? There is no unknown, unexplored spot in your life where you could scrawl, “here there might be dragons.” Or is there? Have you heard the doctor say the words cancer, AIDS, terminal, or “it doesn’t look good”? Are you worried about the health of your child? Has the joy of marriage become a drudge? Whatever it may be, the unknown says, “Here are your dragons.”
Only trust in God can release us from the fear of the dragons. Only Jesus can slay Satan. Jesus, who conquered the dragon of sin by living a perfect life; Jesus, who conquered the dragon of the devil by resisting every temptation to evil. Jesus, who conquered the dragon of death by His physical resurrection on the third day. Your dragons in the New Year have been slain, if you believe in this Savior.
Jesus, send down Your Holy Spirit and grant us victory over our dragons. In Your Name. Amen.
Taken from A Message of Hope: Proclaiming the Promise (selections from messages broadcast on *The Lutheran Hour, celebrating 75 years of proclaiming the promise).
Copyright © 2005 by Lutheran Hour Ministries
*The Lutheran Hour is the longest-running Christian radio broadcast in the world. It is a production of Lutheran Hour Ministries. For more information, visit www.lutheranhour.org.
Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 1-3 Matthew 1
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