September 2
It is said of the Lord Jesus that he shared in our
humanity so that "by his death he might destroy
him who holds the power of death--that is, the
devil--and free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews
2:14-15). As you can see, the power of death is
here attributed to the devil. This clearly shows
that he has a hand in death, in our dying. Does
this not seem to take place through the spirits
of sickness that he sends, countless numbers
who stand ready to do his bidding?
Death is something that crept in. It was not
something originally willed by God--the devil
achieved it by giving man the fruit that resulted
in death. If this is so with death, is it not also the
same with most sicknesses that cause death?
One can almost say that with each new sick-
ness something in a person dies; sickness
kills a man bit by bit, robbing him of one faculty
after another until, finally, the last flicker of life
departs.
Should it not occur to us that it ought not to be
like this--and particularly not in the church of
Jesus Christ? It cannot remain like this if it is
true that a deliverer and Savior has come; a
victor over the devil has arisen to destroy his
works!
Johann Christoph Blumhardt, from
The Proclamation, The Spirit of Sickness.
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A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Blumhardt's prayer for today and every day of the year.
http://blumhardts.com/bl/DailyPrayer.htm?source=Breakfast
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