Message
In today's Bible reading, Jesus healed a man who had been sick for 38 years. Shortly after that, He found him in the temple and warned him to stay away from sin or a worse illness would afflict him. Jesus’ warning shows us that a fellow’s sin can attract reproach and bring the fellow under the influence of the forces of darkness. If a person sins and does not repent, today’s memory verse tells us that such a fellow will be paid for committing that sin, and that payment is death.
In , the Bible tells us about a paralysed man who was brought to Jesus. It took four men to carry him on his sick bed to the house Jesus was preaching in, and because the house was so full that there was no space to pass through at the entrance, the men who carried him had to break through the roof to lower him into the house. When Jesus saw him, He knew the man needed a miracle, and the first thing He said was, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” In other words, Jesus was saying, “Unless we get your sins out of the way, you won’t get the miracle you need.”
Sin always hinders people from receiving their miracles, and there is always a need to take the sins that have blocked their access to God’s blessings away so that the path to their miracles can be opened. The paralysed man’s sins landed him in a mess, but when he came in contact with light, it destroyed the mess. When a person comes in contact with light, it destroys every form of darkness in his or her life. If there is any reproach in your life that was caused by your sin, as you ask God for forgiveness today and promise not to return to it, I decree that the Lord will send His light into your life to take away the reproach, in Jesus’ name.
Beloved, sin is always a reproach; it brings shame and death. Righteousness, however, attracts God’s upliftment (). To receive God’s promotion, you must confess and repent of any sins that might exist in your life. Jesus is willing to give you a brand-new start when you turn to Him. Don’t let your sins keep you from enjoying God’s help; confess them and repent of them today, and your heavenly Father will remove everything that represents a reproach in your life ().