deliverance

Colossians 1:21-22

"Christ is my shield. I know the Bible says this, and I’ve always thought that was talking about my protection from harm. But I think it also means He is my shield against a holy God who must deal justly with sin. (And if you think of it, you wouldn’t want it any other way. If God isn’t just, there’s no justice anywhere.) That’s why Jesus took it so badly on the cross. That’s what all the blood was about. So God would look at us, looking for sin, and crane His neck trying to look around Jesus, and be unable to see us outside of what Christ has done for us. And Jesus is saying, 'Forget trying to find any blame with John. I’ve got him covered. Don’t worry; he’s mine. Remember I took care of all this on the cross. Your holiness and justice are in good shape—by the way—and John, and all these people here who believe in me, are safe in my arms.' Too much, huh? Now does that make you want to just go out there and see how much sin you can get away with? That’s the farthest thing from your mind. Once you get this, you know you don’t deserve it, so you want to do everything you can to live a life worthy of what Christ is doing for you right now. He’s your stand-in." -John Fischer