Jesus’ conversation and subsequent healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda provides us with great insight into sin and its consequences.

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath.
~John 5: 2-9

The man couldn’t move fast enough. I’ve found out that sin slows you down. Sin makes you use fifty years to do what you could do in five days. Sin can make people spend forty years in the desert rather than three days. It’s not just enough to get things done; you must also get things done at the right time.

Moses, the great servant of God said:

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
~Psalm 90:12

There are so many opportunities around us. In every sphere of life, for example, business and ministry, there are so many opportunities.  Yet, a lot of folks can’t just seem to take advantage of these opportunities. In ministry, I’ve come across this syndrome, called “Near Success” syndrome. You see folks who almost get something, and then they never get it.  The fact is that ‘almost’ can never kill a bird. In their lives, you always hear stories of how they almost got something, but then, it slipped away.

What causes this phenomenon is that there’s a kind of force that slows the person down, so he doesn’t get it on time. So sin can attack your speed. It’s important that you look into your life, because when Jesus told the crippled man to stop sinning, he gave us a clue. The man’s condition was a result of sin!

“Later, Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. ”
~John 5: 14

You need to stop sinning so that your life can accelerate. You need to desist from sin so that you can accelerate in your walk with God; your finances; your relationship; your destiny; and in everything that has to do with your life. Ask God today for the help to stop sinning.
Amen.

Memory Verse:
John 5: 14
“Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please help me to stop sinning. Deliver me from every sinful habit, and cause me to accelerate in everything I do, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.