March 29

Hebrews 2:10-18: ^{10 -13}It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family, saying,
   I'll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know
      about you;
   I'll join them in worship and praise to you. Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says,
   Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again,
   I'm here with the children God gave me.

^{14 -15}Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.

^{16 -18}It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it all himself-all the pain, all the testing-and would be able to help where help was needed.

Jesus came down to earth as one of us.  God has given us free will - yet we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.  Jesus came to earth to free us- with his body and soul. He came and experienced, first hand what temptation was like.  God didn't know temptation- he needed to feel what we went through. The constant struggles of our weaknesses.  When he brought the great floods to Noah- it was to cleanse the earth of all sin with water.  When he came down as Jesus- it was to see why we could not escape from sin and to cleanse the earth with His blood. 

Thank God I'm Not The One 

By The Afters

How could You walk
When You went down that dusty street
How could You speak
When all your friends checked out
How could You love
After the great betrayal
How could You reach out
When they nailed You down

(Chorus)
True as true can be
That's what they say You are to me
When I'm so fake
Does Your heart ache
If I had been the one
I would not have been that strong
If I had been the one, yeah
I'd have been long gone

How could you hang on
With Your mama crying
How could You keep on breathing in and out
How could You watch
While Your whole world was dying
Did it all happen
Cause we let You down

(Chorus)

And all the things we think of as eternal
Would come undone
All I have to say is when I'm praying
Is Thank God I'm not the One

As we go from the rejoicing of Palm Sunday to the blackness of Good Friday- let us take time to reflect the gift of salvation and reconciliation which we have been given through grace and faith.  Amen

Jeff and Denise Clayton

jcdckc@verizon.net