Like Pulling a Pet From a Pit: Healing

I. Healing: Like Pulling a Pet From a Pit

 

Have you fallen in a pit?

Well, God wants you out of it!

It’s an awful place to sit.

So, if you’ve taken a hit,

Read the gospels and you’ll see:

It is God’s will to make you free.

He wants you to be whole

(In spirit, body and soul).

Jesus compares healing to saving a life and to pulling a pet from a pit. See the following examples:

I. The Man With the Withered Hand

One time in a synagogue He saw a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees asked him if it was lawful to heal on the sabbath. They wanted to accuse him. (see Matthew 12:10.

Jesus answered by asking what they’d do if their sheep fell into a pit on the sabbath. Wouldn’t he lift it out? He then adds (in verse 12) that a man is better than a sheep and that it is lawful to do well on the sabbath. Jesus then had the man stretch his hand out and it was made whole.

(In Mark 3:4 Jesus knows their thoughts and equates healing with doing good and saving lives.

 

II. The Man With Dropsy (Edema)

The second time where Jesus compares healing a man to pulling an animal from a pit is in Luke 14:1-5

In this case, a chief Pharisee had invited him to his house to eat bread on the sabbath day. There was a man there who had  “the dropsy” (edema). In this case, Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. They didn’t say anything. Jesus healed the man and let him go. Then he answered his own question concerning the healing by asking what they’d do if their ass or ox fell into a pit on the Sabbath day. Wouldn’t they pull it out right away?

(Methinks the answer be “yes”)

 

So, we see that healing is compared to pulling an animal out of a pit. It is also compared to saving a life, rather than killing it. Jesus is all about saving lives, not killing them.

Do you find yourself in a pit,

(And you know it doesn’t fit)?

Despair may be its name.

Getting out is no game.

But there are steps you can take

To get a faster “break.”

 

To get out of the pit, you must know God wants you out of it. He doesn’t want you depressed, defeated, or gripped with despair. Take a look around and see:

 

I. Recognize That This Pit Does Not Define You

Not much light gets down into the bottom of a pit. You can’t really see much of anything down there. Any reflection bouncing off those bumpy walls is bound to be distorted. This pit is not a magic mirror. It can’t show you who you are. Anything you see in there is bound in misery: a mind set on the flesh and all its failings.

For to be carnally minded (focused on the flesh) is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6).

When you focus on yourself, you tend to see the bad stuff. And focusing on the bad just leads you deeper into that pit. How can you climb out if you’re focused on how bad you are?

That attitude, I believe, is what causes talents to get buried. That’s what happens when you let your pit define you. But Jesus wants you out of that pit, which brings us to the next step:

 

II. Know You Can’t Get Out the Same Way You Got In

People fall and/or get thrown into pits. I doubt that few decide to jump in, but those that do cannot get out that way. The force of gravity makes it easy to slide, fall or leap into a pit. Doubt and discouragement do the pushing. Gravity does the pulling. To get out of the pit requires that you resist all those things. Resistance involves work, a true fight of faith. Are you up for the challenge?

The faith you need to wage that sort of resistance comes from God’s promises, as written in His Word. This brings us to the next step:

 

III. Get a Vision for Overcoming

Proverbs 29:18 tells us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The best vision we can have, of course, is that of Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 instructs us to keep our eyes on Him who is the author and finisher of our faith.

“For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

I John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Our faith in Jesus is the vision that enables us to overcomes the world!

When King Jesus Swoops In

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Surprise: When Jesus Sneaks up on You

When Jesus sneaks up on you, what a surprise!

Death is upended, with all of its lies.

When He takes the worst of your fears by surprise.

Discouragement shatters, and all compromise.

 

God’s elect have been crying out all through the night,

Longing to see dreams and visions take flight,

The things they’ve been hoping for so many years.

“Lord, save us from bondage. We’ve so many fears.”

 

Prayer warriors knocking upon heaven’s door

Cry, “God, grant us justice we’ve not seen before.

The enemy’s raging. We cannot hold back

These poisonous darts of his latest attack.

 

“We stick to your Word and your promises claim,

Yet satan’s been getting the glory and fame.

We’re weary of battling the spirit of death.

Silence rules while we fight with our last dying breath.”

 

Then, behold! Jesus enters the temple: Surprise!

He conquers all fear with one look from His eyes.

“Treason!” shouts Athaliah, the wicked old queen,

As the brightness of His sudden coming is seen.

 

The thief sent the whirlwind that shattered Job’s house,

And made the poor sufferer feel like a louse.

His heart had been broken, success stripped away,

Disease gripped his body, he cursed his birthday.

 

His friends sought for reasons. Why did this occur?

But their words held no comfort. Their words could not cure.

Then, surprise! God showed up. Through a whirlwind He spoke,

And by His appearing, fresh faith He awoke

 

Restoring the joy that those old guys had lost

(And reminding a few of the lines they had crossed,

In not speaking right of the life-giving One

Who endured greater loss but the victory has won.

 

For, many years later, upon a long road

That led to Emmaus, two sad people strode.

Then a stranger snuck up, someone they did not know.

Where did this man come from and where would he go?

 

They spoke of their sorrow and all of their strife.

“We’re so disappointed right now with this life.

We thought we had found our Messiah at last.

But now He has died and our hopes are all past.”

 

 

Then, how their hearts burned as he opened God’s Word

To understand scriptures they knew they had heard.

They begged him to stay, and with them he shared bread

Which opened their eyes to great truths they had read.

 

 

When Jesus sneaks up on you, what a surprise!

Death is upended, and all of its lies.

Watch HIM take the worst of your fears by surprise

Revealing the truth behind your greatest “why’s.”

 

https://atomic-temporary-102676306.wpcomstaging.com/faith/seeing-believing/

 

When You’re Born Different: Identity Crisis

I. When You’re Born Different

When you’re born different, people look at you funny – like you’ll never measure up to their perfect standards. I should know. From a young age I struggled with self-worth. At school I had to wear a “pirate’s” patch to correct my lazy eye and plates in my shoes to help flat feet develop arches. Shorter than most of my peers, I had a painful shyness that kept me from telling the so-called “beautician” not to crop my locks to match my height. No other girl in my kindergarten class had a pixie cut. I hated that boyish look and the way my teachers tried to fix me.

“Why don’t you keep a tidy desk like other girls?” they asked.

“What TV programs keep you from getting your homework done?”

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t bite. Why won’t you talk?”

Maybe I clammed up because I felt so messed up inside – identity crisis city. My hair could not grow fast enough to hide the shame I felt. Why didn’t this late bloomer fit in with everybody else? I tried to please them but all I got was frustration. That’s where all this garbled chicken scratch came from: multiple ideas bottled up inside, exploding like warm soda once the cork is popped. Piles of unorganized papers strewn everywhere litter my office space. This makes no sense.

CRINKLE, RIP, SHRED!

II. Identity Crises Caused By Peer Pressure

Tears roll down my cheeks as hours of exhaustive research get flushed down the drain. At least, that’s how it feels sometimes. But perhaps I can salvage this mess. Meanwhile, this is what it feels like:

Pearls before swine. Fruit rotting on the vine plops into a sinkhole for creativity. What a waste of time and ink and trees! Identity crisis. Who am I? Help!

Living to meet others’ expectations is like the Israelites gathering stubble to make bricks. It doesn’t blunt the crack of Pharaoh’s whip. After you’ve been under it a while, you start to wonder, “Who am I anymore?”

Aaron tried to please people, and look what happened. Caving to peer pressure, he cast aside faith more precious than gold in favor or worldly gold. He took wealth plundered from Egyptians – God’s favor so richly poured out on His people – and from it formed a killer calf which caused three thousand deaths – all because they had their eyes fixed on absent Moses. Tired of waiting for his promised return, they sought an excuse to reconnect with old bondages.

Like Esau, they squandered their birthright on temporary feel-good pleasures. Then there’s Samson who was born different – meaning, he had a special purpose. Yet he yielded to Delilah’s badgering. Close-up and personal peer pressure foisted upon him an identity crisis of major proportions.

Snip, snip! There went his locks.

Back to the hair thing again.

I wear it the way I want to know, rather than how others want it styled.

III. Free to Be Different

Because I’m different. I don’t need to wear my hair the way they say I should. Instead of giving in to others, I’ll fight to keep it long. I’m not changing it to fit their mold, or other aspects of my personal appearance for that matter. And when it comes to personality, I’m free to be myself – which means, I’ll gladly be the person God wants me to be. Because that’s what’s it’s all about for the Bible believer – believing who God says you are in Christ.

“For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. All things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17)

So, don’t let your identity crisis define you.

I pray that this article blesses someone.

https://atomic-temporary-102676306.wpcomstaging.com/poetry/afraid-to-forgive/

When People Pull Your Strings, Abide in the Vine

I. Controlling People Know What Strings to Pull

Controllers like to pull people’s strings to make them move. Instead of dangling like strings from a branch, Jesus invites us to live as branches as we draw upon Him, the vine. In so doing, we’ll bear good fruit. Do you see the difference? Strings are flimsy but a vine is strong. But people tend to come with strings attached. The question is, who pulls those strings?

When someone knows what strings to pull to get their way with you, then maybe they have too much control over your life. If they know that pushing certain buttons makes you jump, they’ll just keep pushing them until they drive you mad.

There’s a word for that. It’s called “emotional manipulation,” which is a form of abuse.  Abusers take advantage of needy people who are desperate for affirmation. With a smile for a lure and a hug to reassure, they draw their little “fish” into a cozy little nest.

The “s” inside the nest stands for “security.” If your security is in man, then the “s” will fall out of the nest, leaving you with nothing but a net.

It doesn’t feel like a net, though, until you realizing that you’re gagging. Then you see that the relationship is not as nearly as strong as it first appeared to be. The flimsy threads have become a trap for you, because to please the person you must follow their rules. Like a robot, when they pull your strings you must obey.

 

II. Pulled Strings are Tied to Fear

When people strings get pulled, they often have knee jerk reactions. Such reactions may come in the form of an automatic “I’m sorry” which pops out of one’s mouth before the other can explode. Knee jerk reactions usually cause more harm than good, however. It’s like throwing grease on a fire, because such reactions spring from fear:

Fear of what the person thinks;

Fear of what they’ll do;

Fear of any and all repercussions resulting from their anger (repercussions the Grim Reaper cannot cushion).

Fear attracts more fear and makes anger escalate. People try to placate anger, thinking  they can make it stop. But it simply doesn’t work that way.

 

III. The Fear of Man says “Man Will Save Me,” Breeding Insecurity

The fear of man lays a snare (Proverbs 29:25).  When we look to people to make us feel secure, we put way too much pressure on them to provide for us.

There’s an old country song where a man pleads with a woman, “I’ve got to know if your sweet love is going to save me.”

Is he kidding? God’s word is clear: no mere human love can save us. Salvation comes from God alone, in the form of His only Son Jesus Christ whose blood shed on a cross paid for our sins to be forgiven. He didn’t come to pull our strings or push our buttons. His goal was not to manipulate us into obeying God’s laws in order that we might somehow earn our way into heaven. On the contrary, He became THE bridge that draws us near to God. He didn’t come to take from us but to give us abundant life (John  10:10)

Instead of commanding us to, “Do God’s will or else,” he invites us to abide in Him so we might bear much fruit: the fruit of His grace.  (John 15:1-5; Ephesians 2:1-9;  Galatians 5:22-23).

Isn’t it time we as believers found our identity in Him instead of looking to man to tell us who we are?

What if They’d Thought to Praise Him?

I. What if the Boatmen Had Thought to Praise Him?

 

What if they’d thought to praise Him?

Might Christ’s followers in the boat

Perhaps have been commended

For keeping it afloat?

 

Instead, they woke the Master

With rebukes like “You don’t care!”

And “How can you sleep while we sink?

It simply isn’t fair!”

 

What if they’d thrown a praise party

When first they saw the storm

Begin to rage around them

Like a yellow jacket swarm?

 

Might they have scared the devils

That were stirring up the sea

And threatening to drown them

In that lake of Galilee?

 

And what if they’d praised God

When they saw Jesus walk on water

Instead of crying “Ghost!”

Like any fearful son or daughter

 

Whose trust in God lasts for a day

But in the night grows dim?

What if in every thought and deed

They’d sought to honor Him?

 

What if they had, like Peter,

Dared to step outside the boat,

Declaring with great boldness,

“Lord, you make my feet to float!”?

 

Imagine Jesus’ pleasure

As he watched their budding faith

Spring to life in awesome ways.

But no, they feared a wraith.

 

II. What if the Farmers Had Welcomed Him?

 

And what if those who saw the man

Who once was demonized

Clothed, sitting, and in  his  right mind –

What if they’d recognized

 

The wonders God had done for him?

What if great joy they’d voiced?

Instead of begging him to leave,

What if they had rejoiced?

 

The farmers in that last tale

Would have surely been commended

Had they not focused on the way

Their lives had been upended.

 

But when they lost their livelihood,

They forfeited their joy,

Rejecting Christ’s deliverance

For creatures that annoy.

 

Yet who expects a pig

To sing a happy worship song?

But when we offer praise to God,

It makes our frail faith strong.

 

Based on events recorded in  Matthew 8:23-34 and Matthew 14:23-32

 

 

Faith Working Through Love: The Fruit of Patience

Patience (aka long-suffering) is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). It is also the first attribute associated with love in I Corinthians chapter 13.

How many people these days exhibit patience though? I know I struggle with it. I want people to be nice to me NOW.  When they get impatient, I get upset. I am impatient for them to be patient! Oh, what a flawed world we live in. We have more flaws than we know.

But God is patient. I John 4:8 tells us that God IS love.  To know God is to have this patient love living in us. As God the Father’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ demonstrated that love toward us (see John 3:16). It is a very patient love.

Acts 10:38 declares that Jesus did good and healed everyone that the devil oppressed. Out of love – the Father’s perfect love – He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out devils. His love was full of patience  and endured  much  unbelief.

One time there was a man whose son had a deaf and dumb spirit. Jesus’ disciples could not cast it out. When Jesus heard this, it frustrated him. “O unbelieving generation! How long must I remain with you?” he said. “How long must I put up with you?” In other words, “How patient must I be?”

Why did he say that? Perhaps it is because people still questioned His ability to heal, despite the many miracles He had done.  Imagine, for example, that you are an expert table maker.  If anyone can make a table, you can. But despite the fact that people know you built thousands of tables, they question your ability to build another one. Perhaps they suspect your “table-building anointing” has run out. They asked your workers for help but they weren’t as skilled, so they wonder if perhaps you  have resigned from the business.

“I know  you did  it before, but are you sure you can do it again?” they ask.

You know you still have what it takes to build tables, but most people doubt you can. Even after seeing you at work, they’re still not sure. You feel the patience draining out of you.

“Oh, puh-lease! You’ve doubted me a hundred times and I’ve had it up to here! No more, that’s it, I’ve reached my limit. I’m finished, do you hear me? Completely finished with you!”

That’s what Jesus could have said. But love is full of patience – aka long-suffering – meaning that it suffers long. Despite the continual episodes of unbelief His people demonstrated, Jesus showed them patience.

He said, “Bring the boy to me.”

The father made another mistake. He said, “If” – as in, “If you can do anything, please help us.”

Again, Jesus showed patience, by encouraging him. “If you believe, all things are possible to the one who believes.”

The father asked Jesus to help his unbelief and Jesus did.

The fruit of love is patience, and patience comes from God.

 

 

 

 

 

Jumping Through Hoops to Get Healed?

Have you ever tried jumping through hoops to get healed,

In search of a cure not yet fully revealed?

For example, how long do you think you must pray

To maintain your health so it won’t go away?

 

Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Isaiah 53:1

 

Perhaps if you could, you’d get healing right now,

Because if God would, He could heal you somehow.

But do you believe you must first act just right?

Because jumping through hoops might just make you uptight.

 

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

 

Does unconfessed sin seem to block healing’s path,

requiring hoop jumping to shun God’s fierce wrath?

If so, how many sins would you have to confess

In order to get relief from all that stress?

 

When the evening came, they brought unto him many. . . with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick  (to fulfill Isaiah 53:4, which says), “(He) Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” Matthew 8:16-17

 

Do  you have to wait for the right place and time,

Jumping through hoops with no reason or rhyme?

While religious guys urge you to “Just go away,”

To “Come, get your healing some other bright day”?

 

 

And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? Luke 13:16

 

 

“Do you want to get healed?” Jesus asked someone lame

Whose condition for decades had stayed just the same.

He desired to be well,  but the line was too long.

Besides, to jump such a hoop, he wasn’t strong.

 

Jesus said unto him, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” And immediately the man (became) whole, and took up his bed, and walked. John 5:8-9

 

 

But what if something tragic has beaten you down,

Because death’s own shadow just entered the town?

You can’t bear the facts staring you in the face.

Where can you find a trace of God’s unending grace?

 

 

Didn’t I say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? John 11:40

 

 

We don’t need to jump through hoops to find healing. We just need to reach out to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

 

https://miracle-times.com/faith/seeing-believing/

 

Where Can These School Shooting Victims Find Healing?

The school shooting described in Speed of Sight, a Superhero Adventure has many victims. First there’s Jack Tamer, the genius boy with the super high IQ. The slime that hits his head is clearly toxic, but he refuses to see a doctor. After all, he’s convinced he’s going to die, so why bother?

Jack’s own pride turns him into quite a victim. It does him more damage than the shooting itself.

Secondly, we have the bullies who shot the slime. They’re running scared, victims of the very fear that caused them to attack the innocent. The school shooting that they perpetrated has traumatized them as well. Yet the unseen forces driving them to crime show no signs of giving up.

As for the driver of Jack’s bus, he shows no real signs of alarm. In his mind, Jack’s head needs nothing more than a quick wipe with a used handkerchief. Then there’s a nearby policeman who gets a glimpse of the shooting but does nothing to stop it. He’s too busy doing paperwork, a victim of excessive rules. Like most good citizens of Jericho, he has no time to see the bullies brought to justice. Like the rest of the town, he’s too busy being tolerant to protect his own citizens from harm.

“But what about the other adults in charge of keeping order?” you may ask. Sadly, the teachers are too busy packing up for summer break to pay any attention to the parking lot. The few security guards on staff are taking a class on how to be polite to everyone. However, the thought police are out in full force. Nobody is safe.

Meanwhile, guilt hounds mild-mannered Pete Plain because he wasn’t fast enough to shop the shooting. How he wishes he had the strength and speed to protect his best friend from the gooey blob – not to mention super powers with which to heal him!

And what about the illegal comic book Jack gave him to hide – the comic book with the ability to transport its readers to a different realm? Can it empower him to be the hero he always wanted to be?

Speed of Sight, a Superhero Adventure holds the answer to these questions. It is available for purchase on Dove Christian Publisher’s website. You can also find it on Amazon – currently available in print form, soon to be available as an e-book.

https://miracle-times.com/book-blogging/poking-fun-powerless-religion/

https://miracle-times.com/spiritual-gifts-like-super-powers/

 

 

Emotion: Energy in Motion

Emotion: Raw Feelings

 

Emotion is like energy in motion

Revolving ‘round the hub of our devotion.

When such devotion lacks a worthy notion,

It brings forth sounds of dissonant commotion.

 

Raw feelings, such a vast variety,

Spawn drunken songs that mock sobriety,

With incoherent odes to notoriety

And wicked strums that lack all sense of piety.

 

But, oh the energy those sounds impart!

Each cymbal clash exudes a fiery dart,

An all-consuming noise that hits the heart,

The breeding ground where wild emotions start.

 

Misguided tunes and idle words resound

When idols of impure desire abound,

Their winds of doctrine carried on a flute

Which floods the atmosphere with evil fruit,

 

Resulting in a knowledge overload

That hits a guy before he hits the road.

The chaos in his head turns into rage.

Then comes the crunch, alas the sinner’s wage.

 

Emotion, Faith and Deliverance

 

But what his heart believes lies at the root

Of every single leaf and fruit and shoot

That travels through his bloodstream, reaching out

With movements born of faith or tinged with doubt.

 

Emotion is like energy in motion

Revolving ‘round the hub of our devotion.

When such devotion lacks a worthy notion,

It brings forth sounds of dissonant commotion.

 

It’s how we think deep down, what we suspect

To be the truth. Such thoughts we shall reflect.

The feelings we receive we’ll resurrect,

But what we disagree with we’ll deflect.

 

Foul moods lie at our fingertips each day,

Enticing us to put them into play,

To bang the piano keys and make them zing

With sounds so loud, they’ll make your eardrums ring.

 

God’s Word, however, teaches us to pray

“Your will be done, Lord.” That’s what we should say.

“I yield myself to you. Please light my way,

And keep my reckless energies at bay.”

 

Emotion is like energy in motion

Revolving ‘round the hub of our devotion.

When such devotion heeds a worthy notion,

It brings forth songs of joy and not commotion.

 

Deborah and the Foreshadowing

Deborah was a prophetess looked to for guidance during the oppressive rule of Jabin king of Canaan. The book of Judges chapter 4 tells the story. Jabin was a “jab-bin’” sort of guy.

“Jab, jab, jab. Ow, ow, ow.” “Get your rotten chariot off my foot!” Oh, for a ditch in which to pitch his iron war machines!

The tyrant was mean and well armed. But Deborah was wise. She received strategy straight from God detailing how to beat him. She shared her battle plans with a man named Barak, telling him exactly where to go and what to do.

“God says He’ll hand the jab-bin’ guy’s Army General Sisera over to you. So, go to it and do it!”

Barak hesitated. “That Sisera guy is no sissy,” he must have thought. So, he told Deborah, “I’ll only go if you go with me.” Was Barak acting like a sissy by insisting she support him?

“Sure, I’ll go with you,” Deborah said. “But because you’re being weird about it, it won’t be for your glory. God will hand Sisera over to a woman.”

The men in this story are nothing without the women. But that’s how it has been from the beginning.

“It’s not good for man to be alone,” the LORD had said when he made Adam, the first man (see Genesis 2:18). “I will make a helper for him.” How was Eve to help him? Well, God had given Adam a job to do, tending to the garden of Eden. He warned Adam not to eat from the knowledge of good and evil, but the serpent deceived Eve, who in turn led Adam into temptation. Could he have resisted the forbidden fruit she offered to him?

Obviously, he should have, but he didn’t. The result was tragic: a life of grueling toil for men; hard child-rearing for women (raising them is ten times harder than giving birth); and a lifetime of slavery to sin. For they had both sinned against God and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3:23). However, Adam is the one who passed sin down to all of us  (Romans 5:19). Through his offense, death reigned (Romans 5:17).

Yet God did not look to fallen man to solve this problem, for it is not man but the devil who had the power of death. Adam was simply the one who handed it to him, after he listened to his wife who helped lead him into temptation. Satan had used a serpent to deceive Eve, who gave her husband bad advice. The Apostle John in Revelation 12:9 describes the devil or Satan as the old serpent who deceives the whole world.  

Deborah encouraged Barak to do the right thing and “resist the devil” if you will. The devil in this case was working through Jabin and Sisera to keep God’s people in bondage. Deborah was not deceived but believed what God had spoken to her. She knew that God had called a man to battle this devil. He wasn’t strong enough to do it by himself, however. The job required a woman’s touch.

Jael, a woman Sisera trusted, helped lure this devil to his doom. He was deceived into believing that she had his best at heart. But while her enemy was sleeping, she took a nail and crushed his head, thus bringing deliverance to the people. By way of a metaphor, she parallels the virgin Mary, who helped fulfill God’s promise given in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee (the serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed (Jesus); he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Hebrew word for “bruise,” which some translate as “crush,” carries with it the idea of breaking or overwhelming. Satan bruised Jesus’ “heel” upon a cross, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:14