September 9.
Branded With New Blood

Matthew 1:21

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

When I was young and still today I enjoy watching westerns. I watched them herding cows. They would catch a cow and take it to the person with a branding iron and put a brand on the cow. The cow may have been a stray before they got it. But after they put the brand on him, they would take the rope off and turn him loose in the herd. And I imagine the cows would start talking to each other, “Hey man what happen to you?” “Well a few minutes ago they caught me and branded me.” “Say what does that mean?” “Well I don’t know everything it means, but I do know this. It means I’ve got a new owner. And I have to abide by the rules of my new owner.” When the Lord saved you, he took his blood and branded you and turned you loose where you used to be but you can’t act like you use to act. If I go to a cafe now I’m not going to drink Bud Lite. Instead, I’m going to tell the bartender Jesus died one Friday and got up Sunday morning with all power in his hands.

Now since I’m messed up by blood, how can I rectify my problem? Aren’t you glad God thought of that before he made the first man? He designed the woman to carry a fetus. The mother gives the baby all the minerals, vitamins, protein, the shape, and sometimes the color, but not the blood. The blood does not come from the woman; the blood is created through the fetus from the man. Why did God do that? Because he had a plan scheduled. He needed to bring forth a savior that would come and have the characteristics of a man, but would not have sinful blood in his veins. That’s why in a little town called Bethlehem the Lord caught up with a girl named Mary who had never been intimate with a man. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and she conceived and in nine months she gave birth to a son. And they called his name Jesus.