Daily Devotion for March 11, 2011
Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Prayer for the Morning
Oh Lord, most heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who has safely brought me to the beginning of this day; I give you thanks for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of my life. Grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all my doings, being governed by your will, may be righteous in your sight. Through Christ our Lord, I pray.
A Prayer for Lent
Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of Your Son's death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son. who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Prayer for Grace and Strength
Lord God, I pray that you will fill my heart with the blessing of your Holy Spirit. Grant me this day the strength to be temperate in all things, diligent in my duties, and patient under my afflictions. Direct me in all my ways. Give me grace to be just and upright in all my dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do good to all people, according to my abilities and opportunities. For the sake of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Community of Prayer
Heavenly Lord, I know I am not alone saying these prayers or reading your Word this morning, but many people unknown to me, from all stations of life, have joined together in this brief moment of devotion. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be among the community of all who pray in the name of Christ this morning, and remain among us always.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Proverbs 3:31-32
For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord.
John 9:13-23 (CEV)
Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind [3]
The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So the people took the man to the Pharisees. They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, "Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off, I could see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus doesn't come from God. If he did, he would not break the law of the Sabbath."
Others asked, "How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?" Since the Pharisees could not agree among themselves, they asked the man, "What do you say about this one who healed your eyes?"
"He is a prophet!" the man told them.
But the Jewish leaders would not believe that the man had once been blind. They sent for his parents and asked them, "Is this the son that you said was born blind? How can he now see?"
The man's parents answered, "We are certain that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind. But we don't know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. Ask him! He is old enough to speak for himself."
The man's parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The leaders had already agreed that no one was to have anything to do with anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah.
Notes on the Scripture
Today's scripture shows the reaction of the Pharisees to Jesus' allegorical healing of a man who, although he had been blind from birth, was shown the light -- and literally given earthly sight -- when Jesus spat on the ground, rubbed the mud on the man's eyes, and told him to go wash.
The Pharisees, whose opposition to Christ is steadily growing, criticize him for healing on the Sabbath. This crops up repeatedly the gospels. As we know, Christ is God and, therefore, is the law. But all the Pharisees are not convinced that Jesus is a deluded heretic; some of them wonder, if he did not come from God, how he could perform such a miracle.
The man testifies to Christ's holiness. But like attorneys in court -- which, in fact, they are -- Christ's enemies among the Pharisees, who will do whatever they can to convict him, now question the man's honesty. They are like people of today, who will seek any excuse to deny Christ's divinity, who are determined to prove that salvation is fictional.
The blind man's parents represent agnostics of all ages. They are afraid of telling the truth and witnessing to Christ, so they simply refuse to take a side. They must admit the facts, that the man is their son and that he was once blind. And yet, they cannot bring themselves to make the obvious connection, or at least to speak it. The miracle occurred because God exists and his son, Jesus Christ, is the light of the world.
