Anglican Devotional 10 September 2021 – Standing For Jesus

 

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 10 September 2021 – Standing For Jesus

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TOPIC: Standing For Jesus

READ: John 9:13-27 (NKJV)

13. They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.
14. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
15. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16. Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17. They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.
19. And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20. His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21. “but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.”
22. His parents said these [things] because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed [that] He [was] Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
23. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24. So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25. He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner [or not] I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
26. Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27. He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear [it] again? Do you also want to become His disciples?

THE MESSAGE:

The man who was healed of his blindness became an enigma to the Pharisees – his boldness could not be cowed. He declared without fear that he was blind and could now see, irrespective of their feelings. When they enquired further, all in a bid to discredit Jesus, this man asked them an important question, “will you also be His disciples? It was not so for his parents. Simply because it had been decided that anybody who identified with Jesus would be sent away from the synagogue, they decided not to join their son in declaring God’s glory.

Jesus said that anybody who denies him before men, He will also deny before His father in heaven (Matthew 10:33). What has He done for you? How has He saved you from the dungeon of sin and destruction? It is His expectation that you will move among men and declare His salvation through evangelism.

The young man in our story today is a worthy example to emulate. Some people who were in the dark and have been saved by Jesus, find it very difficult to declare His glory in the open and be used to lead other people to Him. This attitude might be because they are afraid of losing jobs or friendships.

PRAYER: Grant me boldness, O Lord, to declare Your salvation before men in Jesus’ Name. Amen.