Sue J Love
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- Mar 27, 2015
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I am reading in John 9:1-41 about the man who was blind from birth whom Jesus healed. But I am only going to quote portions of this here, due to the length of it, so please take the time to read the whole chapter in context on the internet, or in your Bibles, for I will be summarizing much of this.
Jesus saw a man blind from birth. So he spat “on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing” (vv. 6-7). So the people who had seen him before he was healed were questioning whether or not he was the same person. But the man Jesus healed kept saying, “I am the man.” And then he gave credit to Jesus as the one who had healed him of his blindness.
In reference to Jesus Christ as the one who had healed the blind man:
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him” (vv. 24-31).
The thing that was standing out to me about this passage of Scripture today was the fact that the man told the truth but the people did not believe him. Even though he told them the truth multiple times, still they did not believe him and they questioned his account of what happened more than once. And even though he went into detail regarding how Jesus had healed him, in response to their questions, still they would not believe him. For they were not really listening to what he said, for their minds were already made up.
Have you ever encountered any situations like that? I have, more than once. It is a terrible thing to not be believed. I can understand that if the person not believed is a compulsive liar and has a reputation for spreading lies. But I am speaking here of someone telling the absolute truth and still not being believed, even if the person speaking has a reputation of being a truth teller.
Do a lot of people tell lies as a matter of practice? Probably the numbers are high in that area. So, because lying has become so common place, at least here in America it has, many truth tellers are not being believed, even if they can give solid evidence that they are telling the truth. And many liars are convincing the masses to believe the liars and to reject the truth tellers. And so those who are literally telling the truth get treated as the liars, while the liars get treated as though they are the truth tellers. It’s all backwards!
So, how do we tell truth from lies? If it has to do with the Scriptures, we study them in their full context and we test what we are hearing against the Scriptures studied and taught in their appropriate context. And we do this prayerfully, open-mindedly, truly seeking truth, with a willingness to change our beliefs or opinions if we realize that what we always believed is wrong and now we are seeing things in a different light. And we do this under the direction of the Holy Spirit, trusting the Lord to guide us into all truth.
But when we are talking of things said outside of the Scriptures, in the times in which we live, it is difficult to know who is telling the truth and who is not. So, how do we separate truth from lies? Evidence demands a verdict. But what if they ignore the evidence, like these people did with the man Jesus healed? What if they will not even look at the evidence or even consider it, and so they not only do not believe you, but they accuse you falsely of things you did not do or say? Then what? You trust God with the situation.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains (vv. 35-41).
We put our trust in Jesus. And we trust him to work it all out. We trust him to expose the lies and to proclaim the truth and to change people’s hearts and minds. And we worship the Lord despite our circumstances, and despite the lies which may be being spread about us. He will deal with those who spread lies and who will not believe the truth, even though they know the truth. And he will bring comfort and encouragement to the abused, and to those who are being slandered, and he will reveal himself to them.
Oceans
Songwriters: Joel Houston / Matt Crocker / Salomon Lighthelm
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
And I will call upon Your Name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Caution: This link may contain ads
Jesus saw a man blind from birth. So he spat “on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing” (vv. 6-7). So the people who had seen him before he was healed were questioning whether or not he was the same person. But the man Jesus healed kept saying, “I am the man.” And then he gave credit to Jesus as the one who had healed him of his blindness.
In reference to Jesus Christ as the one who had healed the blind man:
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him” (vv. 24-31).
The thing that was standing out to me about this passage of Scripture today was the fact that the man told the truth but the people did not believe him. Even though he told them the truth multiple times, still they did not believe him and they questioned his account of what happened more than once. And even though he went into detail regarding how Jesus had healed him, in response to their questions, still they would not believe him. For they were not really listening to what he said, for their minds were already made up.
Have you ever encountered any situations like that? I have, more than once. It is a terrible thing to not be believed. I can understand that if the person not believed is a compulsive liar and has a reputation for spreading lies. But I am speaking here of someone telling the absolute truth and still not being believed, even if the person speaking has a reputation of being a truth teller.
Do a lot of people tell lies as a matter of practice? Probably the numbers are high in that area. So, because lying has become so common place, at least here in America it has, many truth tellers are not being believed, even if they can give solid evidence that they are telling the truth. And many liars are convincing the masses to believe the liars and to reject the truth tellers. And so those who are literally telling the truth get treated as the liars, while the liars get treated as though they are the truth tellers. It’s all backwards!
So, how do we tell truth from lies? If it has to do with the Scriptures, we study them in their full context and we test what we are hearing against the Scriptures studied and taught in their appropriate context. And we do this prayerfully, open-mindedly, truly seeking truth, with a willingness to change our beliefs or opinions if we realize that what we always believed is wrong and now we are seeing things in a different light. And we do this under the direction of the Holy Spirit, trusting the Lord to guide us into all truth.
But when we are talking of things said outside of the Scriptures, in the times in which we live, it is difficult to know who is telling the truth and who is not. So, how do we separate truth from lies? Evidence demands a verdict. But what if they ignore the evidence, like these people did with the man Jesus healed? What if they will not even look at the evidence or even consider it, and so they not only do not believe you, but they accuse you falsely of things you did not do or say? Then what? You trust God with the situation.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains (vv. 35-41).
We put our trust in Jesus. And we trust him to work it all out. We trust him to expose the lies and to proclaim the truth and to change people’s hearts and minds. And we worship the Lord despite our circumstances, and despite the lies which may be being spread about us. He will deal with those who spread lies and who will not believe the truth, even though they know the truth. And he will bring comfort and encouragement to the abused, and to those who are being slandered, and he will reveal himself to them.
Oceans
Songwriters: Joel Houston / Matt Crocker / Salomon Lighthelm
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
And I will call upon Your Name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Caution: This link may contain ads
