Li Yi says:

When the question ‘who sinned, this man or his parents?’ was asked, Jesus replied ‘neither this man nor his parents sinned’. This happened so that the work of God can be displayed in the blind man’s life and it was shown when he was healed. Later Jesus asked if he believed in the Son of Man and when He told him he was right in front, the man immediately said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ The man had just glorified God when he acknowledged that Jesus was the one who had just performed a miracle on him.

Jesline says:

This passage reminds me of the times I keep asking God “why?” and many times we either heard no answer from God or the answer is obvious but we fail to accept it. There are many times in the Bible when Jesus asks ‘Do you believe? If you believe…’ Many times the question is not asking God why but rather, “What is God’s purpose/will?” When God answers, the response from us shouldn’t be ‘it’s not logical’ or ‘how come’ but rather it should be acting upon what God has spoken with faith. Because God wants us to believe and not doubt Him.

Prayer:

I thought of the things I’m trurly helpless of like how I am not as smart or as fast as others, how I am not outspoken or competent as others. But today I pray that I will not just ask God why but rather accept myself as how He created me and believe that I am created for His glory. When I respond with faith and belief I ask God to open my eyes to see His hands upon my limitation and use my limitation for Him. So that through my limitation I will experience Him.

Mich says:

From this passage I was reminded of obedience. There are many times when we seek help from God and when He provided ways for us, we tend to choose not to follow it. We may think that the ways that God provided was illogical, we doubt and sometimes not willing to step out of comfort zone. But for the blind man, it's impossible to get heal just by rubbing mud on his eyes and washing it off, yet he chose to obey and believe Jesus and he was healed! So what about us? Are we like that blind man or are we like the pharisees who know how to doubt? This passage really serves as a reminder for us to really sit down and reflect on our walk wif God. Indeed, there will be many times when we will face struggles, but we have to remember that what we went through is something that God has planned for us ad He will not give us problems that we can't handle.

Prayer request: Pray that I will be more obedience and not to doubt what God has for me. Though it may be hard, God is powerful enough to pull us through tough times.

Li Yin says:

The man was born blind. Jesus said, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.” Wow. God allows us to face certain challenges, weaknesses so that His hand, His mighty hand, might be displayed in my life. And… Jesus was in fact saying that the man was placed in His path for that very reason – that Jesus could make a difference in His life. Anyone that came into Jesus’ path, Jesus did not pass them by. Jesus made a difference in their lives. He left a lasting impact which may not be felt at first, be seemingly insignificant. But it had a long-lasting impact on the person’s life. Yes, God has placed people in our paths.

Prayer: In the way I treat these people, help me to have a lasting postive impact on them. Help me not to despise the little things I do for people. And that I may view challenges and weaknesses for what they are. As long as I am here on earth, as long as I can live, move and breath, pray that I will make the decision to partner with God in doing His work.

And yeah, the man had to go where Jesus told him to and do what Jesus told him to do. It was his choice. In v11, the man said, “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, then I could see.” Sequence: Meets Jesus -> Jesus sort of tells man that He can change his life -> man believes, takes a step of faith and goes. He had to GO and wash, THEN and only THEN could he see. Same for us. We need to walk in God’s ways and obey His calling. Take steps of faith. Just go.

Another thing: the man didn’t know much, but he did know one thing – that he was blind but now could see. Full stop. That phrase is repeated 3 times in the passage eh… yeah. That was the only thing that mattered to him. All the rest weren’t important. Jesus did a miracle in his life, that was more than enough for him. Childlike faith. I pray that God will restore childlike faith in each and everyone of us.

Oh and… today, during CSE lesson, the teacher Mr Choy told us this: when we were young, we were so innocent, so easily fascinated by the world around us. Now, we’ve come to take things for granted. We fail to see the beauty in small things. We fail to notice, we fail to stop and ponder, we fail to smell the roses. (He was actually using this to illustrate the importance of knowing how things work, instead of merely relying on Youtube. And I pray that God will help me hate sin as much as he does. Actually linked to the following: the Pharisees’ focus wasn’t on the miracle. It was actually on the fact that Jesus healed on a Sabbath. A beautiful description of God’s love. And they missed the whole point. The point was that Jesus healed the blind man, Jesus approached the blind man, Jesus worked through the man’s weakness, Jesus loved him. Contrary to this, the Pharisees went on and on about the Sabbath thing, and they missed out on what God really wanted them to see. God doesn’t care much whether we jump in praise or merely clap, He doesn’t care much about whether we sprinkle or immerse, He doesn’t care much about whether we pray in tongues or not, He doesn’t care much whether we’re Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal or non-denominational. God cares whether we’re in a right relationship with Him or not. He cares whether we love His people or not. Prayer: For God to restore our childlike faith, and to keep our minds on things that really matter. =)

Labels: Our Reflections

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