Scarlet Letter!!

I can't lie, I really don't enjoy school right now. I have been so swamped with tests, and other various assignments that have caused me to be extremely busy. I am a person, who gets extremely stressed out about stuff like school. I like to have every thing under control, but lately I have had nothing under control. I felt like I was in a bottomless pit of tests, school, work, and rehab. I thought I would never be able to overcome my stress and be able to crawl out of the hole.

There are so many people who feal this same pain and stress in their walk with Christ. We do something small and displeasing to God, that over time turns into something much bigger. You know exactly what I'm talking about! There is someone reading this blog right now who has over time, fallen deeper and deeper into a hole. A hole that ultimately causes you to fall further and further from God until you finally reach rock bottom. This is the point where we seem to get the idea, that we are useless to God. We begin to carry around our sin as though we don't deserve any better.

"The Scarlet Letter", A Romance Novel by author Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a woman who is forced to literally carry around her sin. The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. Hester’s husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter "A", along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.

There are so many people, who can relate so well with this story. We get into a hole and feel as though there is no way out. We wear our letter on our chest daily, whatever it is. Could be and "A" for alcohol addiction/ adultery, a "S" for sexual immorality, "D" for drugs, "L" for lust/language. We feel as though we don't deserve any better, that we are no better than the life we live. Take a look at the passage in Luke 22 starting from v. 48 and going to 51. We see a perfect situation, of how to get into a Jam and how to get out. Judas had just betrayed Jesus, and the roman soldiers are about to take him in. Peter a disciple of Jesus, saw what was about to go down,got the bright idea that he would draw his sword. Peter asked in v. 49, Should we strike with our swords? But before an answer was given, Peter drew his sword and quickly cut off Malchus (Servant of high priest) ear. This is our first mistake when getting into a bad situation. We ask God what we should do, but before we get an answer we jump in and do it anyway. We disregard what he has to say, and do what we feel like. Now, what we have to know is that what happened next was not supposed to happen. Peter as well as all the people of that day were highly trained with there swords.

Peter did not intend to cut off Malchus ear, he was trying to cut his head in half. They were trained to strike the top of the head and cut it off. Put yourself in Peter's shoes for a second, he was in a pretty deep hole. He just cut off the servant of the high Priest's ear. Today, that would be like cutting off a secret service agents ear. If you can imagine, I'm sure all the people standing around started to point fingers at Peter. Then Jesus stepped in and settled it right there. What happened in verse 51 never seizes to amaze me, Jesus says "No More of this." In other words, stop pointing fingers, stop blaming everyone else. No longer should people be judged for their sin, no longer do they have to carry it around, Because I (Jesus) am about to put them on my back and carry them to the cross. See once Jesus said "No More of this" he then picked up Malchus ear and fixed. There was no longer any evidence that a crime had been committed, because Jesus had fixed it and said "NO MORE." As a christian when I commit sin, I ask forgiveness and no longer can anyone hold that against me. NO ONE, because if the Son of Man (Jesus) forgives me. Who has the right to hold it against me? If you are a Christian and you are holding a Grudge against some one, STOP IT. Because all you are doing is saying, "Jesus sacrifice was good enough for me, but not you!" If you are a Christian and you think you are worthless because of your past, STOP IT! Stop wearing your SIN, we don't have to wear our sins any more because Jesus wore them to the cross. This is Satan's way of keeping us from doing awesome stuff for GOD. Every time we begin to get closer to God, Satan will whisper in you eat. "You can't do anything for God, you are worthless. Look at what you have done in your past, no one with that reputation can bring any honour to GOD." Jesus says, "No More of This" stop wearing around that sin, forget about it. Live a Life that would be pleasing and honorable to God.