"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them"- 1 John 5:18 (NIV).
You've seen the movies: A person is walking along and a ferocious dog begins to growl, then begins to charge snarling towards the person, but within mere feet, the dog's chain reaches its limit and the dog is jerked to a stop, like he was "clothes-lined" right before reaching the person. Now, the dog can only bark and lunge, but cannot reach the person. The chain is holding the beast back. For the briefest moment the person would have been understandably fearful. We all have moments of fear in our lives when evil is coming our way. Evil is in this world and evil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But, Jesus came to give life (John 10:10). Today's Scripture promises that the evil one cannot harm us if we are born of God. Scripture also says wisdom comes from fearing the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). It's a healthy fear; a life-giving fear. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). There is a Chain holding evil back from us; it will still be frightening, but trust the Chain. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! [Jesus has] overcome the world. He is our Chain.
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