Wednesday’s Wellspring of Joy
Hebrews 2:14
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil—
God brought Jesus back from the dead, proving he'd broken the power of sin and death.
Pondering Point
Any sacrifices that followers of Jesus make are to flow out of a response to the goodness that He has poured into our lives. For God the Father, having Jesus become human was a critical factor in being able to pour that God-given goodness into our lives. It started with His miraculous conception, included His prophesied birth, and made world-wide waves with His death and resurrection. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that sin, death, and the devil are already conquered. So, although we may still struggle with the grief that death brings and the debilitating (and distressing!) nature of sin's impact in life, we are still victorious in Christ.
Prayer for the Day
Jesus, thank You for breaking the power of sin, death, and the devil in our lives -- both for now and for eternity. Let that truth soak deeply into our souls so that it changes the way we view life at our very core. In Your name Jesus I pray. Amen.
To read about a gift from God that produces a Wellspring of Joy, check out 2 Kings 4:1-7 and see how Elisha trusts God (and how this widow trusts Elisha and acts in obedient faith). Now imagine how many vessels God has at Hope that could be “filled” with an “oil of joy” that could be seen as the Holy Spirit!
2 Kings 4:1-7
The Widow’s Olive Oil
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”