“The fear of death keeps us from living, not from dying,” says a quotable quote in the July 2002 Reader’s Digest.

Have you ever asked the question, “Who holds the power of death?” Where do we find the answer to that question?

Graveyard

The answer to that question is found in the Bible. The Bible says that the devil holds the power of death. You can read that in the book of Hebrews chapter 2:14.

But the Bible has even more to say about the power of the devil.

Job 1:12: The devil is allowed to do harm to the righteous.

Luke 4:6: The devil claims authority over the world.

Acts 26:18: Sinners are under the rule of the devil.

Second Corinthians 4:3 and Second Corinthians 4:4: The minds of those who do not believe the gospel are blinded by the devil.

Ephesians 6:12: He battles with the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second Thessalonians 2:9: The devil inspires counterfeit miracles.

I mentioned already that it says in Hebrews 2:14 that the devil holds the power of death. But what does the context say?

Hebrews 2:14,15 says:

“Since 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 – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

The Lord Jesus Christ died for us to free us from the fear of death.

SEMINAR DAY in Kaitaia

I attended Session ONE and FOUR:

“The Signs of the Times” and

“Authority & Power in Intercessory Prayer”

The Cross

“O God, whom I praise,

Psalm 109:1-5

Intr.:

do not remain silent,

1.  for wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me;

2.  they have spoken against me with lying tongues.

3.  With words of hatred they surround me;

4.  they attack me without cause.

5.  In return for my friendship they accuse me,

but I am a man of prayer.

6.  They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.”

End:

To win a copy of Maud, Emma, Evangeline, tell us your favourite heroine.

There is a book on my bookshelf called

REPENTANCE

The Joy – Filled Life.

Not only a date is written in the book by the reader, but it looks as if whole paragraphs are underlined, sentences are highlighted, the reader has lavishly written in the book, not only with pencil, but also with pen, and it looks as if the book is almost coming apart.

The date in the book is the year 1998, and the author of the book is BASILEA SCHLINK.

“M. Basilea Schlink is the founder and director of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in Darmstadt, Germany, and Phoenix, Arizona. She is the author of many books and holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Hamburg.”

It happens very seldom that I underline things in my books and write in them.  

Long ago I heard in a sermon that the Lord’s sheep have two marks.

SHEEP

In John 10:27 the Lord Jesus Christ says,

“‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.'”

They have a mark on the ear and on the foot.