5Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
I love this dialog between Jesus and the man who was once blind. Even though this man can see, he is still in the dark, in a way. He went to the temple, but the leaders reject him, throwing him out of the place of worship. Nevertheless, he is still very curious, still very in need of God.
Jesus finds him and begins to really open his eyes. The man's eagerness to know Jesus and to know God is amazing! I love this part: Jesus says, "You have now seen him." This is in fact what Jesus has done; He has enable this man to not only see from a physical, human standpoint but also in a spiritual manner as well.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
stone throwing.
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7)
This is my plea to You, Lord. Help me to not throw stones at others. Help me to be only concern with my own life, and let me strive to be pure before You. Regardless of what they have done, despite their influence on my life, please let me be at peace. Don't allow me to pick up the stones in order to fight back.
This is my plea to You, Lord. Help me to not throw stones at others. Help me to be only concern with my own life, and let me strive to be pure before You. Regardless of what they have done, despite their influence on my life, please let me be at peace. Don't allow me to pick up the stones in order to fight back.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
38 years.
14Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (John 5)
For 38 years he was invalid. For 38 years he longed to be made well. For 38 years he held the hope that he might one day be healed. 38 years is a long time, and finally, after all his yearning and longing, Jesus came to him and changed his life instantly; he was whole and he could walk again.
The amazing part is that Jesus was able to find him again; this time at the temple. I wonder what he was doing there. I wonder whether or not he had faithfully been going to the temple and this was just one of his routine trips or maybe he never had the luxury or ability to go to the temple because of his handicap; so, being now able to walk, he immediately goes to the temple to show his praise and thanksgiving. Either way, this implies that he was a man of faith.
Interestingly, despite his faith, he was still a sinner. Therefore, Jesus tells him to stop sinning. We can learn a lot from this man. The first thing is to never stop praying and hoping for something. It might take 38 years, but God is faithful to answer our prayers. Secondly, we need to show our thanks whenever we can. Lastly, we need to remove the sin from our lives lest something bad should happen.
For 38 years he was invalid. For 38 years he longed to be made well. For 38 years he held the hope that he might one day be healed. 38 years is a long time, and finally, after all his yearning and longing, Jesus came to him and changed his life instantly; he was whole and he could walk again.
The amazing part is that Jesus was able to find him again; this time at the temple. I wonder what he was doing there. I wonder whether or not he had faithfully been going to the temple and this was just one of his routine trips or maybe he never had the luxury or ability to go to the temple because of his handicap; so, being now able to walk, he immediately goes to the temple to show his praise and thanksgiving. Either way, this implies that he was a man of faith.
Interestingly, despite his faith, he was still a sinner. Therefore, Jesus tells him to stop sinning. We can learn a lot from this man. The first thing is to never stop praying and hoping for something. It might take 38 years, but God is faithful to answer our prayers. Secondly, we need to show our thanks whenever we can. Lastly, we need to remove the sin from our lives lest something bad should happen.
Monday, December 17, 2007
growing.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
We should never stop learning, never stop growing, never stop trying to become better. The qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love are not acquired in one single activation. They require a continual maintenance and a constant striving for improvement and refinement.
If you or I think this current existence is good enough, we are deceiving ourselves. Our life is not meant to reside on a plateau, but rather on an increasing curve whose tail continues upward toward infinity. We can't settle for this meager life. We must want and hope and dream to become better and more like Christ, especially during the times when we are waiting and not fighting. We are must vulnerable during those quiet times..
We should never stop learning, never stop growing, never stop trying to become better. The qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love are not acquired in one single activation. They require a continual maintenance and a constant striving for improvement and refinement.
If you or I think this current existence is good enough, we are deceiving ourselves. Our life is not meant to reside on a plateau, but rather on an increasing curve whose tail continues upward toward infinity. We can't settle for this meager life. We must want and hope and dream to become better and more like Christ, especially during the times when we are waiting and not fighting. We are must vulnerable during those quiet times..
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