Today's Good News

August 2010

08/01          John 9:1
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

JESUS
Jesus came looking for the blind man.  He knew what the day would hold and He knew how He would deal with the blind man.  When we spend time with Him He is preparing us for our day.  He knows what we will face and what we will need as we go through our day.  Spend time with Jesus.

 

08/02          John 9:2
His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

JESUS
Jesus knew that His disciples would be slow to get His message.  They were over and over again.  Jesus patiently listened to them and loved them and protected them to do the ministry He was preparing them for as He ministered.  Do not forget that the Lord loves you and He is preparing you each day for the plan He has for your life.  Go and live and spend time with Jesus.  Love the Lord with all your heart and your life will become and open book to you!

 

08/03          John 9:3-4
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “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. Night is coming, when no one can work.

JESUS
We live in the light of Jesus Christ.  Everyone profits from His presence.  Without Jesus nothing would exist.  He loves you.  He is especially interested in your life and what you are dealing with.  Talk with Him.  Spend time with Jesus.  Let Jesus work with you on dealing with the life challenges that you face.  Let Jesus help you make good decisions.

 

08/04          John 9:5
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

LIGHT
Christ gives us life and with that life His light for seeing where we should go.  We spend time with Jesus we develop the ability to do the next right thing.  He equips us to fight against darkness and to mirror His light.  Stand in His light and you will never get lost.

 

08/05          John 9:6-7
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.  “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

OBEDIENCE
Jesus told the blind man to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.  He did and he could see.  Are you careful to obey the Lord?  Are you living in obedience to the things of God that you know and understand?  All of us don’t know things about the Bible but it isn’t the things we don’t know that trip us up.  It is the things we know and do not do that cause us to stumble.

 

08/06          John 9:8
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”

CHANGED
When we meet Jesus we are changed.  We are no longer dead in our trespasses and sin.  We are alive in Jesus Christ.  People can tell when we change.  People know that something has happened to us.  We simply need to tell others what happened to us.  When we meet Jesus we will tell people about our experience.

 

08/07          John 9:9
Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

SON
Jesus is the Son of God.  He is alive and is seated at the Father’s right hand interceding for us.  He knows who we are, where we are and what our greatest needs are.  He won’t forsake us nor will He abandon us.  Jesus is Lord and nothing takes Him by surprise.

 

08/08          John 9:10
“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.

WORLD
The world doesn’t understand spiritual things.  We cannot get into a debate about the finer points of life in Christ with the lost.  What we can do is tell them what Jesus has done for us.  He gives us new life.  He changes us from death to life.  We belong to the Lord and He will never leave us nor will He forsake us.

 

08/09          John 9:11
He 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.”

LIFE
When Jesus gives us new life we are alive in Him.  We see Him, we know Him and we seek Him out.  We want to know Him and know Him better.  We spend time with Him for He has the keys of life.  We want to get guidance for living from Him.  Life in the Spirit is counterintuitive to the way the world thinks and lives.  We are alive in Christ and we can see and know the things Jesus talks to us about.

 

08/10          John 9:12
“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.

KNOW
They didn’t know Jesus.  They thought of Him as someone they could manipulate or control.  They couldn’t for the Lord of all is in control of all and that includes the here and now and eternity.  We are on a stage acting out our life before the Ruler of the Universe.  He sees everything and knows everything.  He is not fearful or wringing His hands but instead is seeking to develop a relationship with His creation.  Jesus loves you.

 

08/11          John 9:13
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.

ALWAYS
Evil always seeks to destroy the works of God.  This man was now being hounded by the religious leaders.  They wanted to grill the blind man about what happened.  They were seeking a way to destroy Jesus.  Sometimes when the Lord tells us what He wants us to do we act like He is persecuting us instead of giving us life and light for living.  Watch carefully how you live.

 

08/12          John 9:14-15
Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

MIRACLES
We sometimes miss miracles in our life.  The activity of God is on-going and always going-on.  The Lord is at work in your life in ways that you often do not understand or see.  Thank God for what He does in your life to give you light and life.

 

08/13          John 9:16
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.

HOW?
How can evil mimic the works of good?  It can’t.  A house divided will not stand.  Jesus is the author of all things good and valuable.  Evil never replaces good with good.  Jesus calls us to a higher standard.  Evil calls us to death and lower standards.  Evil destroys.  Jesus creates.

 

08/14          John 9:17-18
Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”  The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents.

UNBELIEF
People who do not want to believe in Jesus live in unbelief.  Nothing we can do will persuade them to change.  We pray for them but we also understand that belief is a personal choice.  Choose Jesus.

 

08/15          John 9:19-20
“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”  “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind.

EVIL
Evil always questions the basics.  The questions come as innocent inquiry but they are straight from the pit of hell.  Has God said is a usual ploy.  There are 7,000 plus promises in the Word of God.  Read them and learn them so that you know what God has said.

 

08/16          John 9:21-23
But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.”  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.  That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

JESUS
We are responsible for our relationship with Jesus.  No one else can begin or develop that relationship.  The parents knew that they couldn’t answer for the blind man.  Neither you nor I can answer for a best friend or even our own child.  What will you do about Jesus?  Choose Jesus or you’ve chosen to ignore Jesus.

 

08/17          John 9:24
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God, ” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

JESUS
Religious workers sometimes forget that they report to the Lord just like we do.  All of us have access to the Father one-way and that is Jesus Christ.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life that we so desperately seek to live.  Christ is the good life.  We need to be careful when dealing with others especially the lost that we don’t take a position of instructing others as to what God thinks.  Jesus loves us.

 

08/18          John 9:25
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

JESUS
Nothing is too hard for the Lord.  He is seeking to save the lost.  He would that all be saved.  Salvation is an individual decision.  Jesus saves but mankind has to choose Jesus to be saved.  Many that reject Jesus proclaim that they didn’t have a chance to accept Him.  This is generally a dodge for Christ says whosoever will may come.  When we come by faith believing that the Lord is faithful to His Word we are saved.  Anyone can do that and receive the same salvation that you and I have.

08/19          John 9:26
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

MIRACLES
We waste a lot of time trying to figure our miracles.  They are simply God acting in our best interest.  Many miracles happen in our life that we never notice or realize.  Tragically we are not thankful sometimes for the miracles that we do notice.  A quiet voice whispers in our ear that we didn’t see or experience what we saw.  Our job is to obey God.  God’s job is taking care of us and He does that very well.

 

08/20          John 9:27
He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

QUESTION
Do you want to become His disciple too?  Are you a disciple?  Only you can make that choice.  Follow Jesus.  Let Him lead you.  Be His disciple.  Life will change.  You will change.  Serve the Lord with gladness.

 

08/21          John 9:28
Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!

WHO?
The religious leaders can control Moses.  He can’t correct.  They don’t fear Moses.  On the other hand, they want to control God who they cannot control.  When God moves it is because He has chosen to move.  We cannot orchestrate the activities of God.  His Words to us: SURRENDER and OBEY.

 

08/22          John 9:29
We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

IGNORANCE
This is real ignorance.  Jesus testified where He came from and who He was.  The Holy Spirit by the activity of God testified as to His credentials when He healed the man blind from birth.  Moses acted as God’s emissary.  Jesus was the Son of God and He had given significant evidence to this claim.  Jesus is Lord.

 

08/23          John 9:30
The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

MIRACLE
The testimony was this was the work of God.  Jesus did the work.  What has Jesus done in your life?  Are you hurting?  Jesus will heal the hurt.  Are you seeking to find comfort, peace, and joy?  Jesus brings these things to a relationship.  He is the giver of all good and perfect gifts.

 

08/24          John 9:31
We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.

ACT
We are becoming a society that talks and doesn’t act.  We purpose good, we think of very good things to do but until we actually do them we haven’t done anything.  Ask the Lord to come into your heart.  If you have already done this ask the Lord to help you grow and get busy doing what He created you to do.  Obedience is critical in an active Christian life.

 

08/25          John 9:32-33
Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

CONTROL
We think we are in control and then life happens and we know we are not in control.  The Lord is always in control.  When we build a relationship with Jesus we can live our life knowing that He knows what is going on with our life.  Relax, the Lord is in control.

 

08/25          John 9:32-33
Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

CONTROL
We think we are in control and then life happens and we know we are not in control.  The Lord is always in control.  When we build a relationship with Jesus we can live our life knowing that He knows what is going on with our life.  Relax, the Lord is in control.

 

08/26          John 9:34
To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

ACCUSATIONS
An accusation about someone else’s sin doesn’t clear us from our sin.  Do not get confused with what sin is.  We do sin.  Without exception each one of us sin.  When we are dealing with the spiritual realm and we aren’t dealing with overt sins (murder, rebellion, etc.) we must be careful as we criticize others.  When we point our finger at someone else there are three fingers pointing at us.

 

08/27          John 9:35
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

JESUS
Do you believe in Jesus?  Does your life show it?  Are you growing day by day in obedience to the Lord?  This is a critical life issue.  Make sure that you believe in Jesus.  Only you can finalize your relationship with Jesus.

 

08/28          John 9:36
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

JESUS
Jesus is Lord.  He is a coequal member of the Holy Trinity.  He is the creator, our savior and the One we will be with throughout eternity.  He came to pay the price for our sin and provide salvation, relationship with the Father.  He is Lord and He can be our Lord if we but ask Him.

 

08/29          John 9:37-38
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”   Then the man said, “LORD, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

BELIEVE
Jesus is God.  He isn’t just a good man.  He isn’t just a great teacher.  He taught that He was Lord and He lives now as Lord of all things.  When we believe in our heart that Christ saves us, confess our sin and ask Him for forgiveness we have been saved as the Bible presents a salvation experience.  God is in control and we do not have to be at the mercy of the world.

 

08/30          John 9:39
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

JESUS
Jesus came as our Savior.  He will return as ruler and eternal judge.  Better to get it right here than to spend eternity lamenting that our few short years on earth were for naught.  Ask Christ to forgive you sin and celebrate real life in Christ day by day.

 

08/31          John 9:40-41
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”  Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

SIN
Mankind cannot escape sin.  It is everywhere, inside of us and outside of us.  Step one is to admit we cannot heal our self from sin.   Step two is the realization that the only One who can forgive our sin is Jesus.  Step three we ask Him to forgive our sin and to come and reside in our heart.  Step four is to believe that God will really do what He said He was going to do and indeed saved us.  Accept His salvation and let it change the way we act and think and live.  Jesus is Lord.

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Clay Corvin

Clay Corvin is currently a Bible Teacher and occasional preacher at Bethel Community Baptist Church in New Orleans. He is the retired VP Business and Professor of Admin at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary after completing 38 years as their Business Administrator. He was the pastor at the Brantley Baptist Center for twenty-five years. He is married to Carol Corvin and the father of three children and has three grandchildren. He ministers today as Co-pastor of the Bethel Community Baptist Church and seeks to share the Gospel with everyone. Jesus is Lord!