Handicaps!

John is one of my favorite books in the Bible because I think John is so practical.  This morning we read John 9 which you probably know... is about that blind guy who receives his sight after meeting with Jesus and washing in the pool of Siloam.   Jesus said to him, "Go wash..."  And he obeyed and yes, he received his sight. That pool may have been really small--at least that is what I imagine and you can see by the picture that my sister Joy took when she was in Israel last summer.  But anyway, he did it, regardless of what the pool may have looked like, and he was healed.  Let me just say, he wasn't healed because of any properties that were in that pool.  He was healed because of Jesus!  When Jesus healed him, he was a new man.  He was completely restored.   No longer did he have to sit outside the city gates and beg like most blind beggars had to do in the Bible.  It is interesting to me, however, that in this passage the Pharisees were so worried about what Moses said that they missed who Jesus was or what He did by the power of His Heavenly Father.  When they saw the now-seeing blind man out there, they didn't want to rejoice with the blind guy.  They only wanted to incriminate Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.  Oh how we get caught up in religious tradition, in petty squabbles, in sweating the small stuff!  I'm sure deep down they knew Who did this--and that He was for real.  They just were so blinded themselves that they couldn't see the Truth (in the form of a healed man) standing right in front of their seeing eyes!  Now let's go back to the blind man and why Jesus healed him in the first place.  (This passage has so many applications, but I don't have time to talk about them all here.  My mind is rambling!)  Jesus was put on this planet for 30 plus years to do His Father's will--to glorify His Father.  And that is exactly what He did.  The blind man, however, though born a sinner, was healed by Jesus for the glory of God.  It wasn't because of something he did or didn't do to deserve his handicap.  According to John 9, it was "that the works of God should be revealed in him."  This is my favorite part.  I believe the Lord allowed my brain injury so that His perfect will could be shone in my life, and His glory would be revealed in my weakness.  I believe Joni Eareckson-Tada was injured for the same reason...to show God's glory and strength in weakness.  Handicapped people, including the blind man, do that!  They reveal God's glory in their weaknesses, and that's what I want to leave you with today.  You may not be physically handicapped, but maybe you have other "issues."  Just know that God can use you for His glory...to reveal Himself in your weakness too, whatever that weakness may be.

Reflections on Christmas...a little late! (Started before Christmas...)

The Christmas season is supposed to be all about Jesus, but we all know it is far from that.  To the world, it is all about Santa and the presents.  I don't know if Michael Buble knows the Baby in the manger, but he at least sang what Christmas is about as I sit here listening to his Christmas CD.  He is singing "Silent Night" right now which takes me back to the real meaning of Christmas.  It is so disappointing to me--how the world views Christmas.  And, to a Christian, it's not just about the baby in the manger--it's about what the Romans and the Jews did to Jesus--why He came to earth in the first place...TO DIE--for you and for me...for our sins!  Jesus only spoke the truth because He IS THE TRUTH!  I guess people just did not want to hear it because you know how some times the truth really hurts?  Well, He must have hurt and pricked their evil consciences.  I think that is probably why the world rejects Him so much...because the truth hurts, and no one in this life wants to feel pain.  But Jesus came to give us life...not just on this earth but in the life to come.  Do you know Him personally?  Is He your Lord and Savior?  Have you trusted Him as your ONLY way to get to heaven...because, after all, that's why He came in the first place--as that Baby in that manger--to give you Eternal Life.  If you want to know more about this, then you can get on Emmaus.com,  get into a Bible study,  and they will show you how to get "the rest of the story."