"Branded"

"Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good." (Psalms 119:39)

  Here is the deal we have all been given: Stand in the Light, and your darkness will be hidden; Abide in Christ, and your sins will be forgiven. David makes a plea for reproach to be turned away, a plea that takes into consideration the harm which might be caused from his own iniquities and the shame that he has put upon the reputation of the Lord. Oh, that we were more sensitive to what we do and how it might cause others to stumble. There are some things that just cannot be taken for granted, the grace we have been given is one of them. When it comes to asking and receiving, our hearts need to be right and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is speaking, especially when it comes to the Light we have been given. As I have shared before, this Light is not something we can turn on and off as if it has a switch; we are branded with a mark, the mark as one of God's children, and there is no way we can turn it off. Does that mean we still cannot sin? Absolutely not! It means that we get seriously convicted when we do sin, because our sin does not agree with what we are in Christ. If we have caused shame to the reputation of our Lord, then we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading; whatever it is He might be telling us to do. When it comes to God's ways of making things right, His ways are always the very best, even if they might seem to be the worst. Beauty from ashes, and glory from shame; God's way of doing things will require us to die to ourselves and to let His Light shine...

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." (Romans 7:24 - 8:2) NLT