Open Heaven 3 March 2026: Sin is a Reproach 1
MEMORISE: Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
READ: John 5:1-15
1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
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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 Mark 2:1-12, 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 (Proverbs 14:34). 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 (1 John 1:9).
KEY POINT
Sin can stop God’s light from shining upon you and His blessings from flowing into your life.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Deuteronomy 30-32
Open Heaven 3 March 2026
