When reading the Bible, a really edifying exercise to do is to underline key words and phrases, or any repeated themes. If you tried to do this for this chapter (like I once did), your Bible will be filled with markings, because words like "blind", "see", "eyes", etc. repeat so much throughout this chapter. The key event in John Chapter 9 is a man born blind being healed by Jesus. Jesus passed by the blind man, anointed his eyes with the clay, and asked the man to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed, and came back seeing. Yet, this only takes up a few verses in this chapter. The rest of the chapter focuses on the spiritual eyes of the man slowly being opened. When asked by others how his eyes were opened, the blind man first referred to Jesus as "a Man called Jesus" (John 9:8-12). Then, when questioned by the unbelieving Jews who accused Jesus of being a sinner, he first responds with "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." (John 9:24-25). Yet, when furthered questioned, he gave a very powerful answer, proclaiming his faith: "The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvellous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”" John 9:30-33 NKJV This resulted in him being cast out by the Pharisees. This "casting out" is not just being asked to leave the synagogue, but rather being excommunicated and no longer having anything to do with the Jews. We then see the love and compassion of Jesus: Upon hearing that he was cast out, Jesus went to find him. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshipped Him." John 9:35-38 NKJV Here, the spiritual eyes of the initially blind man are fully opened. He sought to believe in the Son of God, and when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he again proclaimed his belief and worshipped. The opening of the man's physical eyes only spanned a few verses, today's chapter details the gradual opening of his spiritual eyes. We may not be physically blind today, but are our spiritual eyes open? Do we truly recognise Jesus as our Lord and bow the knee to worship Him?

Amidst all the chatters and noises, can we hear the voice of Jesus, telling us who He is and calling us to follow Him?

What are some key themes in the Gospel of John? What can we learn?

Hosea Chapter 10 has two agriculture-related metaphors. What do these metaphors have to do with us today?

Are we at a risk of losing the blessings that we have received from God?

What does it mean to know God? As we go about our daily lives, have we inadvertently left God behind?

What does it mean to sincerely seek the Lord? How can we be sure that we are truly seeking for Him?

The story in Daniel Chapter 4 is perhaps not unfamiliar to many of us. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the great Babylonian empire, the king of kings, being turned into a beast, how spectacular is that? It's not until we read through this chapter for ourselves that we realise something even more spectacular: this whole chapter is told by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony! Isn't King Nebuchadnezzar the infamous evil king? How is it that in this chapter he gives praise to the almighty God? Perhaps the first thing that should catch our attention from today's chapter is the repeated phrase in verses 17 and 32. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He wills. This phrase can even be said to be the theme of the whole Book of Daniel. This book is mostly set in the time of exile, when there seemingly was no longer any king over the people of God. Yet, in the Book of Daniel we see that though there was no earthly king ruling over Israel, God made it clear to these foreign kings that He is the almighty God. He was still the one who was truly the King. The outcome of this is that the evil king Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest and most powerful man during his time, writes this testimony for all peoples, nations, and languages to hear (Daniel 4:1-3). Imagine being a subject in the Babylonian empire, and receiving this declaration from king Nebuchadnezzar praising and glorifying the God of Israel. Though God's people sin against Him and are punished by being taken into exile, the name of God is still magnified. God is not put to shame. Today through baptism we have entered into the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is key for us to consider whether God truly is the King of our lives. It's natural to make many plans for our future, out of a desire to lead our dream lives. But for us Christians, the sovereignty and authority of God is something that we must be well-aware of and fully willing to submit to. If God doesn't let me get that job, are we able to accept it? If God closes the path towards our dreams, are we will to say "Let Thy will be done"? If God takes away all that we have, are we able to be like Job and say "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? If all this is causing us to struggle, remember this: God loves us. He knows what's best for us, He knows what we need. He has already given His life for us, and given us His precious Spirit to dwell within us. Having faith in God's love towards us gives us strength to submit to our King with full assurance that this is the best path for us, this is the way to blessing and to eternal life. Since our God is the highest and rules over the kingdom of man, what then should our response ought to be? Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his testimony by praising and glorifying God. Giving praises to God is something that we have been often taught but perhaps we have not given enough thought to or taken seriously enough. Yet, throughout the Bible, it's clear that praises are a key part of our worship to God (just read the Book of Psalms). What might we praise God for? Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can praise God for His greatness and His almightiness. Just consider the stars, or the intricacies of the human body. We can praise God for His love and wisdom as seen in His creation as well as in His word. The more we study into the holy scriptures, the more we are filled with awe at how complete, connected, and wonderful these life-giving words are. We can also glorify God for His salvation which He has so freely given to us. Imagine how different our lives might be today if not for His grace and mercy! It's when we decide to finally take the importance of praising God seriously and intentionally set aside some time in our daily prayers to praise God, that we truly experience the blessing that comes along with it. We go through life being filled with joy and gratitude, knowing that we have such a great and powerful Heavenly Father who loves us. In fact, it was when Nebuchadnezzar took the glory for Himself rather than giving all glory to God, that the infamous transformation into a beast took place. This brings us nicely to the final point of reflection for this devotional. Pride - when we take glory for ourselves rather than giving glory to God. Nebuchadnezzar's testimony serves as a stark warning for us. Even just a sentence or thought of pride can greatly displease God. How often have we unknowingly taken credit for ourselves for any achievements we have, or for any divine work that we do? Being puffed up with pride and not keeping to one's proper domain is precisely the sin of satan (1 Tim 3:6, Jude 6-7). If we are filled with pride, what difference is there between us and satan? In fact, while satan exalted himself, God on the contrary lowered Himself, coming in the likeness of man and humbling Himself even to the point of death (Phil 2:5-8). Whose example do we want to follow, that of God or of satan? Let us take warning from the story of Nebuchadnezzar and carefully consider who's example we want to follow. Indeed, God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, that they might inherit the earth