“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” – 1 Peter 2:24

About 400 AD, Augustine, during his pastoral ministry, came to know a woman in Carthage named Innocentia. A devout woman and highly regarded, she tragically discovered that she had breast cancer. A physician told her the disease was incurable. She could opt for amputation and possibly prolong her life a little, or she could follow the advice of Hippocrates and do nothing. Either way, death would not be put off for long.

Augustine reports: Dismayed by this diagnosis, “She turned for help to God alone, in prayer.” In a dream, Innocentia was told to wait at the baptistry for the first woman who came out after being baptized, and to ask this woman to make the sign of the cross over the cancerous breast. Innocentia did as she was told, and she was completely cured.

When she told her doctor what had happened, he responded with a contemptuous tone, “I thought you would reveal some great discovery to me!” Then, seeing her horrified look, he backpedaled, saying, “What great thing was it for Christ to heal a cancer? He raised a man who had been dead for four days.”

Through Christ’s wounds, we are healed from the death sentence of sin. Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord for His sacrifice for your sins.

“Evil is disarmed by being absorbed. That’s what Jesus did on the cross. Now we can’t be redeemers, but sometimes we can absorb evil and not simply isolate it.” – Earl Palmer

God’s Word: “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” – Hebrews 9:28

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2003, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN THE BOOKS OF PETER pkennedy@devotional.com