SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2016 11:28 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Last SD on John 9
My Worship Time
Message of the verses: In
our SD yesterday I said that we were finished looking at John chapter nine, but
the more I thought about it the more I wanted to quote the concluding remarks
that Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote in his commentary. I have used his quotations from this chapter
of his commentary on John chapter nine earlier, and mentioned how I love the
title he has for this 9th chapter of John, “The Blind Man Calls
Their Bluff.” So we will look at the
last few paragraphs from his commentary.
“Jesus is
the Light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5).
The only people who cannot see the light are blind people and those who
refuse to look, those who make themselves blind. The beggar was physically blind and spiritual
blind, yet both his eyes and his heart were opened. Why? Because
he listened to the Word, believed it, obeyed, and experienced the grace of
God. The Pharisees had good physical
vision, but they were blind spiritually.
Had they listened to the Word and sincerely considered the evidence,
they too would have believed on Jesus Christ and been born again.
“In what
sense did the Pharisees ‘see’? They saw
the change in the blind beggar and could not deny that he had been healed. They could not deny that he had been
healed. They saw the might works that
Jesus performed. Even Nicodemus, one of
their number, was impressed with the Lord’s miracles (John 3:2). If they had examined the evidence with
honesty, they would have seen the truth clearly. ‘If any man wills to do His [God’s] will, he
shall know of the doctrine’ (John 7:17, literal translation). ‘And ye will not come to Me, that ye might
have life’ (John 5:40).
“John 10 is
actually a continuation of our Lord’s ministry to the Pharisees. The healing of the blind beggar is the
background (John 10:21). In fact, the
word translated ‘cast out’ in John 9:35 is translated ‘puts forth’ in John
10:4. The beggar was cast out of the
synagogue but taken by the Good Shepherd and added to His flock! The emphasis in John 10 is on Jesus Christ,
the Good and True Shepherd, as opposed to the Pharisees who were false shepherds.
“We never
meet this healed beggar again, but surely the man followed Jesus closely and
was among those who witnessed for Him.
We hope that he was able to win his fearful parents to the Lord. While being excommunicated from the synagogue
was certainly a painful experience for him, he certainly found in his
fellowship with Jesus Christ much more spiritual help and encouragement than he
could have ever found in the Jewish traditions.
“Even
today, there are people who must choose between Christ and family, or Christ
and traditional religion.
“The blind
beggar made the right choice, even though the cost was great.
‘The path
of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day’ (Prov. 4:18).”
Although
Dr. Wiersbe stole some of my thunder from the tenth chapter of John it was well
worth it to me to read and quote this section from his commentary, as always he
puts the cookies on the shelf where we can reach them.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: To remember that there are people who are
steeped in false religions and traditions and be mindful that there are times
when the Lord will allow me to talk to them about Jesus Christ, the true Light
of the World.
My Steps of Faith for
Today: I desire to trust the Lord as
I go through some physical testing at this time to show me what He wants me to
know in order to grow in His grace.
Memory verses for the week:
(Romans 6:4-5) “4. Therefore we have been buried with Him through
baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, so too we might walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have become united with Him in
the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His
resurrection,”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “The Publican” (Luke 18:13).
Today’s Bible question:
“What did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to do?”
Answer in our next SD.
7/25/2016 11:58 AM
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