Today's Reading:O.T. - 2 Chronicles 30 - 31
N.T. - Hebrews 2
Focus Verses: Hebrews 2:14-15
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Insight:
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent; I attended a worship service in the morning. At one point in the service, I went forward where a minister put ashes on my forehead, looked me in the eye, and said, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return." At the same time, I remembered Jesus' words, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25,26).
In Jesus, through the incarnation, God shares our humanity. Jesus suffered death, in order to destroy the power of death. Jesus, the one human being who is not guilty of sin or bound by death, willingly laid down his life in our place in order to free us from the bondage to death and the fear of death.
Response and Action:
I will put my trust and hope in Jesus. I will praise and thank God for the great deliverance Christ Jesus has made possible by sharing my humanity and through his sinless death destroyed death's power and grip on me. I will live with hope and purpose and joy, believing that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. I will live today in the confidence that I have eternal life in Jesus. I will encourage others to take hold of eternal life through faith in Jesus.
I will rejoice in you, O God. You are my salvation and my strength. I bless and thank you, Lord, because you are a God of deliverance -- the escape from death belongs to you. Even when walking in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. You are worthy of my praise, my life, my all. Because you have freed me from death, I will live for you. Amen.
Proverbs: 23:17,18
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
Resources:
Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in an Everyday Life
by Eugene Peterson
