Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Did you ever wonder why you don't read that much about the devil in the Old Testament? Oh, he's there among the stories...you see him in Genesis....there are a few verses about him in Isaiah and Ezekiel...but for the most part he seems to be hidden.
Then when you get to the New Testament, the devil seems to explode on every page. We have the temptation of Jesus....the downward spiral in the life of Judas as he eventually falls prey to the devil and turns Jesus over to the authorities....
Jesus refers to the religious folks as being from "their father, the devil." Over and over and over again we keep running into either the devil himself, or references to his work and purpose.
You see, in the Old Testament the presence of Jesus had not yet come in the form of man. The devil could hide and peek and boo himself into the lives of people and bring destruction and death. Who do you think was behind Pharaoh and the whole "Kill all the male children by throwing them in the Nile river" thing...
The devil! He knew that God was going to bring forth a Messiah, a deliverer...the Christ so it only made sense that whenever God was perceived to be at work, the devil would try to thwart it and stop it. If God was going to come down in the form of a baby boy....then let's kill all the baby boy's.
The idea behind this posting is that Jesus is the answer to my problems....Notice I said answer...I didn't say fairy god mother..
Jesus did not come to wave some magic wand and make all my problems and troubles disappear. He came to break the power of something so heinous and hellish, that it has enslaved countless millions and has sealed their fate for all eternity.....what would that be? Sin.
Sin is the reason that 20 children lay dead in Connecticut.
Sin is the reason that people get behind the wheel of a car when they're drunk. Their brain tells them one thing....sin whispers, "It's o.k., you can do this..go ahead and drive." Once the wreck happens....or you get stopped and arrested for DUI, then sin laughs and points to you saying...."What an idiot! I can't believe you actually did that!"
Sin is the driving force behind all demonstrations of hatred.
Sin fuels jealousy and anger and rage....
Sin is behind every needle...every pipe....every line of dope...every pill.....promising that it will make you feel better.
Sin is behind every adulterous affair that breaks up homes and destroys the lives of families.
Yet....
Jesus came to destroy that presence of sin...the penalty of sin and the power of sin...Giving those who believe the hope of a new life with Him.
The greatest Christmas present ever!
You no longer have to fall prey to sin.
You no longer have to count yourself a victim of sin...
You no longer have to identify yourself as "addict"..
You can be free this day....
This isn't an empty promise.
It is a fact.
God on you.....
mb
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