While we celebrate the manger and the cradle during this advent season, we need to remember that Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8) And the works of the devil are sin and sickness. God has given authority to his church over sin and over sickness. This does not mean that we will never sin or that we will never be sick, but it does mean that he has given us extraordinary authority to triumph over both sin and sickness.