John 17:14–15I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.Thought:Jesus reminds us that His people are marked by His Word. He said, “I have given them thy word,” and that Word separates the believer from the spiri...

John 17:13And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.Thought:Jesus spoke these words as He prayed to the Father before going to the cross. He knew His disciples would remain in a troubled world, but He did not pray that they would merely survive it. He prayed that His joy would be fulfilled in them. This joy was not rooted in ...

John 9:25He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.  John 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.Thought:  At the beginning of the story the man is a blind beggar. Everyone knows him only by his need. By the end of the story, he sees, believes, and worships Jesus as Lord. His physical healing was not the...

John 9:6-7  When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.Thought:  Jesus did not only talk about the man's condition. He moved toward him. He touched him at the very place of his brokenness. He made clay,...

John 9:5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.Thought:  The blind man could not see the sun. But the people around him could not see the Son. The neighbors and the Pharisees had eyes that worked, but their hearts were still in darkness. They examined the miracle, they argued about it, and they rejected Jesus who did it.  This shows us a deep truth. Physical sight is not the s...