{"id":30969,"date":"2024-05-09T22:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T05:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-8_48-59-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:38:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T21:38:27","slug":"john-9_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-9_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"A Big Reason Why God Allows Suffering"},"content":{"rendered":"

John\u00a0 9:1-12\u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s passage is John 9:1-12.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 9:1-3 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-3:\u00a0 When the disciples saw a man blind from birth, the disciples immediately assumed that the man\u2019s blindness was somebody\u2019s fault.\u00a0 The only question for them was \u201cWho is to blame?\u201d\u00a0 But Jesus didn\u2019t play the blame game.\u00a0 Instead, Jesus explains that the reason why this man was born blind was not due to this man\u2019s sins or his parents\u2019 sins, but \u201cso that the work of God might be displayed in his life\u201d (v3).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When God allows pain in your life, it is not because God is not there or He doesn\u2019t care, and it\u2019s not necessarily because you have sinned.\u00a0 Rather God allows pain and hardship ultimately because He has plans to display His power and glory through your life<\/strong>\u00a0in ways that neither you nor others could have foreseen.\u00a0 Pain is a canvas on which God loves to paint His glory.<\/p>\n

John 9:4-5 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-5:\u00a0 When Jesus says that \u201cnight is coming\u201d (v4), what night is he referring to? By \u201cnight\u201d, Jesus is referring to his impending death.\u00a0 There were some who believed that when the Messiah came he would stay forever (see for example John 12:34).\u00a0 Yet over and over Jesus would speak about his death.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 attitude was: as long as I am alive on the earth, I am here to do the work of Him (God the Father) who sent me.\u00a0 May we have the same attitude as well: as long as there is breath in our lungs, may we live to glorify God and to do the work He has for us to do on earth.\u00a0 Just as Jesus was the light of the world while he was in the world, for as long as we are in the world, may we shine the light that God gives us (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:14-16; Ephesians 5:8).<\/p>\n

John 9:6-7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-7:\u00a0 Jesus uses a fascinating method to heal the blind man\u2019s eyes, making mud with his spit, placing it on the blind man\u2019s eyes, and telling him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  1. Sometimes God\u2019s way of doing things will not be our way of doing things, and sometimes God\u2019s ways will not make sense to us.\u00a0 But if we want to experience God\u2019s power, we need to trust Him and do as He tells us.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. John points out that the Pool of Siloam means the \u201cpool of the sent\u201d.\u00a0 Notice that the very place where this blind man received his healing was the same place where he would become a witness about Jesus to others.\u00a0 The place of your healing is the place of your sending.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    John 9:8-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
    \n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
    \n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
    \n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
    \n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
    \n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.<\/em>On verses 8-12:\u00a0 The once blind man who could now see became a witness for Jesus.\u00a0 Notice as a witness he did not pretend to know the answers to every question.\u00a0 Rather he just shared his experience concerning the difference Jesus made in his life.\u00a0 In the end that is what witnessing about Jesus to others is all about: it\u2019s sharing how Jesus made a difference in your life.\u00a0 May you not be ashamed to testify about Jesus to those around you, but may you be willing to share with others about the difference Jesus made in your life.<\/p>\n

    Lord Jesus, thank You that I was blind but because of You I now see.\u00a0 I was once lost but now because of You I am found.\u00a0 For as long as I have breath in my lungs, may I live this life to worship You, to give You glory and to shine the light You have given me.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/div>\n

    Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

    Today\u2019s passage is John 9:1-12.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

    John 9:1-3 (NIV)
    \n1\u00a0\u00a0As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
    \n2\u00a0\u00a0His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
    \n3\u00a0\u00a0“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.<\/p>\n

    On verses 1-3:\u00a0 When the disciples saw a man blind from birth, the disciples immediately assumed that the man\u2019s blindness was somebody\u2019s fault.\u00a0 The only question for them was \u201cWho is to blame?\u201d\u00a0 But Jesus didn\u2019t play the blame game.\u00a0 Instead, Jesus explains that the reason why this man was born blind was not due to this man\u2019s sins or his parents\u2019 sins, but \u201cso that the work of God might be displayed in his life\u201d (v3).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30969"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30972,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969\/revisions\/30972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}