The Thief
Friday July 25, 2014
How many of you have had your house broken into while you were out? I have! In fact it happened to me three times before I got a burglar alarm system. In the Bible Jesus talked about another kind of thief. He said, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)
The thief that came to my house took my goods and probably deceived others into believing that they were his so that he could sell them or do whatever he liked with them. The thief that Jesus is talking about is like that thief. His name is Satan and He wants to steal, kill and destroy you and me. Satan treats with great disrespect that which Jesus declares is precious. Jesus came to earth because He greatly loved His own creation and wanted to redeem us from sin. We rightfully belong to Jesus because He paid the price of sin so that we could live in His house forever.
The thief that came to my house took my goods and probably deceived others into believing that they were his so that he could sell them or do whatever he liked with them. The thief that Jesus is talking about is like that thief. His name is Satan and He wants to steal, kill and destroy you and me. Satan treats with great disrespect that which Jesus declares is precious. Jesus came to earth because He greatly loved His own creation and wanted to redeem us from sin. We rightfully belong to Jesus because He paid the price of sin so that we could live in His house forever.
In the scripture we have just read Jesus also says that He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Satan wants to steal from us what is rightfully ours through Jesus. Sometimes, like me with the first two break-ins at my house, we only clean up the mess that the thief created. Then back the thief comes and steals even more from us. At some point, like me, we need to take action and do something that will stop him from stealing from us for good. Now, how can we set up a burglar alarm system to keep Satan out of our lives and let Jesus give us the life of goodness and peace that we desire?
For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. (Matthew 12:29 NKJV)
Jesus is the person who came to tie up the strong man called Satan. We are the ones who are precious and of great value to Jesus. He gave His life for us. When we understand the truth of what Jesus did on the cross then we will no longer be deceived by Satan. Satan’s greatest power over us is keeping us in sin which leads to eternal death. Jesus, by His resurrection, won victory over death for everyone. When we accept the victory that Jesus won on our behalf then the kingdom of Satan has no power over us. We move from darkness and deceit into the kingdom of light and life with Jesus. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and we will live forever with Him in His kingdom. The thief’s house has been plundered by someone stronger and the precious goods that Satan thought were his have been bought back with a price.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NLT) explains how, through Jesus, the thief no longer has any power over us: Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s not let the thief steal, kill or destroy any more in our lives. Let’s acknowledge that Jesus is the victor and let’s live in the freedom that He has bought for us with His precious blood.
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