DEVOTION HEBREWS WE NEED JESUS Heb 2:14-18 14 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— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. NIV It is a sure thing that we are but flesh and blood, a creation of God, not anything less or anything more. It would also appear that no matter what anyone says, we all are afraid of death, because it is for the most part, at least without God a very big unknown. Sure, a lot of people, especially unbelievers, say that when we die, we go to heaven. Why do they think they get to go to heaven, if they do not believe in God, and his word, and that they must be born again? Is it just a cover up for their fear of death, to which they are enslaved to by the devil? We believers surely have been set free from that fear, in fact, we have been set free from death itself. God came in the form of flesh and blood, so that he could suffer the ordeal of temptation so he would know how we feel. It seems difficult to imagine God not knowing all about us as he made us, but because he is completely holy, pure and without any sin, he came to experience what he creation experiencing and thus he truly is our high priest. Because Jesus was able to overcome all temptation he was able to satisfy the need for justice. Sometimes that is so difficult for people to grasp. Some think just belief in some form of God is enough, but the devil believes in God and he is not going to escape the second death. The choice is simple, either be a slave to the devil and sin, or be freed from that by being born again. In order to escape death, a person has to accept the provision God made for salvation. They must turn to Jesus Christ and make him their high priest, they Lord and Savior. They simply is no other way, Jesus himself said so when he said that no one comes to the Father except through him. It is such a joy to know salvation, to know death holds no power over us. But is also is a great relief to know that temptation also holds no power over us. Because Christ was tempted he is able to help us when we are tempted. Temptation is not sin, but the giving in to it surely qualifies as sin. We should be able to withstand that temptation if Jesus is helping us, if we are actually seeking his help. That is the question, when we are tempted, do we seek Jesus, or do we just try to defend ourselves alone against that temptation? Surely without his help, we will fail. All in all we all need Jesus.