Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 9:17 So they said to the blind man again, "What do you say ppl about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet." What do we say about Him who opened our eyes? He is a prophet? The prophet, yes, but isn’t He much more? He is the Son of God. He is the Lamb of God. He is the one who saved my soul from eternal darkness and torment. He is the one who forgave my sins and made m...

John 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. Division. Some were out to get Jesus, and others could not deny the testimony. Sometimes division is a good thing. It reveals something. The healing of the blind man...

John 9:15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." John wants us to see how blind the Pharisees were when faced with the obvious truth that Jesus is the light of the world. When people are blinded by bitterness and jealousy, they cannot see the light because they don’t want to. Their blindne...

John 9:13-14 “They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind.” The crowd knew the Pharisees would want to question the man whom Jesus healed from blindness. They were more concerned about tattling on Jesus than they were concerned about knowing who He was. They were caught up in the technicalities because as John wrote in vs. 14 “Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the cl...

John 9:12 They said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." Hopefully when we speak about Jesus, people will want to know how they can get to Him. “Where is He?” The man who had been healed did not know where Jesus was? If someone wants to know where they can find Jesus, what would you say? Let me suggest first, God’s Word, specifically the Gospel of John. Second, meditative and contempla...

John 9:11 He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." His eyes were opened to see the Light was Jesus. Now his story is, “Notice Jesus! He did this. He told me to do this. So I obeyed, and now I have received sight.” Notice he didn’t say “I see” as if he had the ability of hims...

John 9:10 So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" The change should be obvious. The next part of our story is to answer their question. How did you come to see? Those who knew we were blind beggars living to be noticed and walking in darkness, can see that we are no longer begging for attention. They will want to know what happened to us? Has the change in us been obvious—fro...

John 9:9 Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." Not everyone recognizes who we used to be. We will have to keep saying who we used to be for God to get the glory. In fact, that’s why we were blind and then given sight. We were born into darkness for this—to testify to the glory of God who gives sight to blind beggars cl...

John 9:8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?" His survival depended on being noticed. “Notice me! Notice me.” He begged to be noticed and given to. It was all about him. That’s what it’s like to be blind and in darkness—begging to be noticed. It’s was all about me. Do you think our neighbors, those near t...

John 9:7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Jesus could have just spoken, and the blind man would have been healed, but the clay was necessary to this man’s purpose. He was being sent as a messenger to the blind. Likewise, we who were blind and walking in darkness have experienced Siloam—we’ve been sent t...

John 9:6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, Once before the Light of the world said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. Once before God took dust from the ground to make a man with eyes that He had designed. I wonder if those memories came to mind as He made the clay to bring light to the blind man. The Father, Son,...

John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." This is the second time Jesus declared that He is the Light of the world in this visit to the temple. Obviously John didn’t miss this for he wrote, “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jo. 1:5). Jesus is our light. The only way we can see how...

John 9:4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. There is a flow of the works of God. We who are His must work His works as long as we can see that He is at work. We know what His work is. It is to love with Jesus, His Son, for the glory of the Father and the Son. Jesus’ perception of the presence of the blind man in His path was that G...

John 9:3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. If we intend to live to love with Jesus, we lay aside faulty reasoning that only blames the devil and people for difficulties, tragedies, illnesses, disabilities, and evil. Yes, the devil and fallen people play their parts, but they don’t determine the purp...

John 9:2 And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" One of the common fallacies or misconceptions is that if something bad happens to us, then we must have sinned. The lie is thinking that if we do good, good things will happen to us and if we do bad, bad things will happen to us. We think that’s how God administrates affairs in the king...

John 9:1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. How attentive are we as we go through our day? Do we notice those God puts in our paths? I invite you to pray what I call the Live to Live prayer. If your heart is in it, God will heighten your awareness to who He wants to love. “Father, thank you for another day of life to know You and love You and live to love with Jesus. Anoint and fill m...

John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. The devil had heard Jesus’ prophecy earlier, and it seems he tried to short circuit God’s plan by rousing the crowd at this point to stone Jesus to death. There are no details as to how Jesus hid Himself, but this we know: it wasn’t God’s time or way for Him to die. He had more to do before...

John 8:56-58, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Jesus implied that if they were Abraham’s children, they would see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise Abe looked forward to. Here’s w...

John 8:53-55 Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be? "Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and...

John 8:52 The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ They couldn’t believe their ears. They had never heard of such a thing as someone never tasting death. I’m so glad we live on this side of the cross. Never tasting death is a thing because Jesus tasted death for us. Listen to...

John 8:51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." This is the 5th reference in John 7-8 to "my word". What word did Jesus speak that if one keeps it, they won’t see death? I think it is both of these. John 7:37-38. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who bel...

John 8:48-50, The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.” We see that Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. When truth and reality are not on your side, attack the messenger with false accusations. T...

John 8:46-47 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God." Jesus asked, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” The answer: no one. We trust and place our hope in a sinless man. There has only been one—Jesus. Hear and believe the word of the Lord. Hebrews 4...

John 8:43-45, Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak...

John 8:41-42, Jesus said to them, “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” How could they be so deceived? They were born into religious families....