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Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Hebrews 2:14
When we read this verse, we see that Satan has the power of death. This is far more than physical death. It’s spiritual death. It’s emotional death.
It’s this kind of death that keeps us from fulfilling our dreams. It’s just kind of death that keeps us from being victorious over the struggles in our life. It’s this kind of death that feeds our fears. It’s the kind of death that defines our doubt. Is this kind of death that keeps us from winning over worry.
When Jesus rose from the dead he defeated death at every level. Paul writes that because of Jesus’ resurrection the sting of death is gone. What he’s not saying here is that when a believer dies there is no pain. The pain of grief is real regardless of your faith. But when a believer dies we know we will be reunited some day and for all eternity.
By rising from the dead, Jesus offers us power over the death of our dreams, our relationships, and our ability to enjoy life in the present.
Our great enemy, Satan came to rob, steal, destroy…to bring death to us beyond the physical. He is intent on filling us with fear of the future to cripple us. His goal is to destroy our dreams of contentment. His purpose is to rob us of the joy Jesus died to give us.
Because of Jesus’ resurrection we can be victorious. Death has no power over us. Yet many who believe in Jesus still struggle with lost dreams and lost hopes. Claim the victory that Jesus bought for you on the cross every single day.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5
What is the biggest thing you have ever hoped for that ended in disappointment? I remember one Christmas growing up when I hoped for a certain toy to be under the tree. I laid as many hints as a seven-year old could about what I wanted. I even prayed for it to happen. I figured if Santa couldn’t come through, at least God would.
I think you know what happened. I got some really cool gifts that Christmas, but not the one thing I’d hoped for. I was disappointed.
Now, years later and many disappointments later I quite honestly can’t remember what I even wanted that Christmas. I just remember the disappointment.
To be fair, in spite of my not-so-subtle hints, my parents either missed the messages or simply couldn’t afford the gift I wanted more than anything.
We all hope for things. I can’t imagine anyone walking the wedding aisle without hoping this marriage will last ‘til death do us part.’ Yet more than half of all marriages end broken.
No one takes a drink of alcohol with the hope of becoming an addict. Yet addiction to drugs is a rampant scourge on society.
No one drives a new car off the lot hoping it will be repossessed soon. But debt attacks us from all sides with no mercy.
No matter how hard you try, more often than not our hopes end in disappointment. We’ve tried our hardest. We’ve prayed. We’ve looked in the Bible for answers. Still, with all our efforts, many of our hopes end in disappointment.
With all the disappointments we face in life there is one hope we can count on to not disappoint. Simply stated, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know”.
Others will fail you. Some will malign you and reject you. Hopes for ‘things’ will fall empty to the ground. But, ‘Jesus Loves You’ and that’s a hope you can bank on!
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. Proverbs 12:26
In his book “When to Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People”, Gary Thomas talks about the power and danger of toxic relationships. Toxic people can destroy relationships and steal our freedom to be all we could be.
Toxic people can be found in the church and sometimes spread their toxicity ‘in the name of Jesus’ love’. Stories abound of people who stray from God because of toxic people who came into their lives and drew them away to a life totally foreign to what their upbringing taught them.
I have a friend who nearly lost his family because of his drinking. He was on the way to being an alcoholic when his wife walked out with his two daughters.
As we spent time talking about the situation he shared with me that he’d go into a bar with his friends with no intention of drinking, but once there, he was coerced by his friends to have ‘just one’, which unfortunately led to many.
Thankfully, he made the choices he needed to save his family. He chose to avoid the bar crowd and focus on more wholesome friendships. He and his wife are back together and are in the process of healing.
Am I saying we should only have ‘Christian friends’? Of course not! Jesus hung out with the socially outcast more than the ‘spiritually secure’. Yet, through the power of the Holy Spirit we need to be open to sharing our faith in a gentle way and get our strength from relationships that celebrate Jesus.
Influencers can be negative or positive. Choose to follow the positive, Christ centered influencers!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 