The Blind that Now See

March 25, 2026

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
-John 9:35-41 (NIV)

For those readers out there that claim to be born again and surely are, can you remember what life was like before you met the real Jesus Christ and before Jesus saved you?  For me, off and on for years I attended church, and I remember going to Sunday School, but perhaps real and deep faith never came to me yet.  Truth be told, I didn’t really go to church throughout high school and early university except on those special days: Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  Fast forward to today and here I am as a pastor and I know, it’s been a real change for me!  Calling me into ministry is one thing but calling me into a personal relationship with Jesus is another and with that saving me!

When I look back at my life, I could pinpoint times in my life when I felt God was calling me into his flock, but I didn’t quite get it and this probably started happening when I was a young child in elementary school.  Now, the world tends to throw a lot of mess at you at different points in your life and tends to cloud your judgment and outlook in life – that and combined with the fact that we’re all sinful (Rom 3:23).  Remember, we’re at war against Satan, the world and the flesh!

And I could remember what I was like especially during my university/undergrad years.  Back then I remember a Christian friend brought me out to a bible study on campus and back then, I was so lost that my concept of present-day reality and surely my concept of eternity was completely mistaken.  Back then I remember saying to him that I was just tired of life and wanted it to all end one day or in other words, be obliterated in an instant.  I know, it was a very depressing thought I had back then!  I was fooled into believing there was nothing else better to experience from life presently, and I was deceived into thinking any afterlife would offer anything greater.  Now at the time I was studying architecture and there were many days I wasn’t sleeping while trying to get through my studies.  For anyone foreign to applied maths and sciences I always tell people that engineering is harder, but architecture is more time consuming.  Back then and near weekly to complete building design projects, I would pull-off either 24 hours or 48 hours of not sleeping a wink, and I’d be up day and night slaving away in the Studio of the Architecture building (Ryerson University now known as the Toronto Metropolitan University).  I don’t know what the Studio looks like now, but back then walls were covered in graffiti, there’d be open pizza boxes laying around drafting tables and students would bring in boomboxes that would blast unhealthy secular music almost every night.  And then of course there was one night I didn’t sleep for 72 hours – I still remember a colleague of mine making fun of me, because I honestly thought I was going to die and I told him, “Take me to the hospital!”  While there were moments of fun being around peers, I wouldn’t want to be in that place again!  The atmosphere was not conducive to healthy spirituality for Christians.  And I can’t say I’m perfect now, but back then I was a lot crankier, sharper tongued, reckless and full of angst.  Once again, this was all before meeting Jesus and this was a life not having a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. 

That all changed when Jesus saved me midway through my undergrad and gave me the gift of salvific faith!  It happened after I started regularly attending church and after plugging into a small group where God’s gospel message finally seeped into me.  As the saying goes from the Amazing Grace song, “’Was blind, but now I see.”  I thought I saw before, but that was not the case.  It was as if I saw everything in black and white (maybe some grey), but then after meeting Jesus he introduced vibrant and brilliant colour to everything!  And from then on, I realized life has meaning and purpose in the here and the now, and it only gets better and especially in the life to come (in heaven with Jesus forever)!  You see I believe before Jesus saves his children from their sins and total depravity, everyone tends to think they have all the answers in life when that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Such was the case with the Pharisees in contrast to the person born blind but now was healed and able to see because of the miracle of Jesus.  The story of the blind man being healed starts all the way in John 9:1, but it’s only in verse 38 that we find not only was he healed from physical blindness, but the man was also healed from spiritual blindness as well because he confessed Jesus is Lord and worshipped Jesus as evidence!  What a great and miraculous story this was!  It was actually a double miracle story in a physical blindness being cured as well as a spiritual blindness being cured in this man.  But the surrounding and typical world couldn’t understand it and despised it (really despising Jesus).  Verse 34 tells us the Pharisees accused this man of being steeped in sin and they couldn’t stand when this man was just truthfully telling what Jesus did for him.  Not only that, but they rejected Jesus, rejected this man and rejected this man’s story.  Not understanding what happened is one thing, but complete rejection is another.  The Pharisees remained satisfied in their spiritual darkness and rejected the light of the world that was already here (Jn. 8:12).

I don’t know about you, but I could definitely relate to the once blind man, crawling around and bumbling in the dark.  Not that I’m perfect now, but I see things a lot more clearly thanks to Jesus!  The sad part is, I can also relate to the Pharisees because I was once there.  I was once there making bad and harsh accusations and rejecting anything to do with Jesus, church or Christianity.  Perhaps you know of people like this in your life.  Perhaps you wish encounters with them were more pleasant.  In some cases (not all), perhaps you wonder why encounters with some of these people are always so tense or not calming.  I have my own theories on this, and I think some (not all) are demon possessed, and they just hate the presence of the Holy Spirit in you and no matter what you say, it’s going to aggregate and anger them – again, this is just some cases and not all.  What can we do about this?  Pray!  Continue to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) and continue to pray for the spiritually blind people we come across on a daily basis!  You just never know, Jesus may open their eyes too as he did with you!  And even if it doesn’t happen for some people, that shouldn’t stop us from praying and sharing the gospel with them.  God never ever told us to stop, regardless of the outcome!  Leave the outcome up to God; our job is just to be faithful and obedient.

______________________
With a Thankful Heart

March 18, 2026

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

The way the world is going, it’s becoming exceedingly difficult to take a pause and be thankful.  And at some point, in my limited time on God’s green earth, I realized there are probably four statements that are profoundly powerful: 

I love you

I’m sorry/forgive me

thank you

….

I’ll get to the fourth statement a little later here.

With these first three statements, all three of them makes the speaker vulnerable and exposed.  All three of these statements releases an intimate part of relationships and conversations that leaves the recipient(s) open to positively respond or not and that’s where the vulnerability comes in.  Some people have more difficulty than others saying any one of these three statements for whatever reason – cultural background, family background, upbringing, etc.  At this point, I won’t highlight my thoughts on the words, “I love you” or “I’m sorry/forgive me”, but perhaps at another time.  For now, I want us to focus on the power of saying, “thank you”.

To be honest, growing up that term was hardly used if at all in my family household.  In fact, I don’t recall really hearing any of those terms in my household while growing up.  How can that be?  I personally come from parents that went through the Korean War and my father was enlisted into the army through mandatory conscription at a very young age.  Going through war tends to toughen people.  However, at some point (and with the help of the Holy Spirit) I realized just how valuable saying these things on a regular basis is and telling others how thankful you are and being thankful to God changes everything and I mean EVERYTHING!

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I realized being thankful regardless of circumstances changes your whole outlook on life.  Now don’t get me wrong, because I often catch myself being too negative and grumble and complain myself, and often I need help to take a step back and be thankful.  And the real challenge is to be thankful during life’s bleakest moments and during all circumstances.  How can we honestly be thankful in all circumstances?

Because Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This means even in bad times God works for our good!

I recently heard a sermon and the pastor retold some of life account of Corrie ten Boom from her book, “The Hiding Place”.  Corrie was a Dutch Christian and a Holocaust survivor of World War II.  During the war, she and her family was imprisoned for hiding and protecting Jews from the Nazis in their house because of their Christian convictions.  Corey told the story of her and her family being arrested and being moved from one concentration camp to another, but eventually she was held with her older sister (Betsie) in cellblock 28.  It was a new cellblock, but they realized they couldn’t go to sleep because they realized cellblock 28 was infested with fleas!  That was Corey’s breaking point, and she couldn’t do it anymore!  And then God gave Betsie a revelation and 1 Thess. 5:16-18 came to mind.  Betsie urged Corey to pause and give thanks for the guards and give thanks for the fact they’re surrounded by women and they’ll have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.  And give thanks for the beds they’re in and even give thanks for the fleas!

I know, it sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it?  How and why would anyone be so moved to give thanks for all these things and even somehow be thankful for the disgusting, annoying, irritating, and health debilitating fleas?  Well, as God orchestrated and working for good, Corey and Betsie began a bible study in cellblock 28 and it grew until they had worship services that were illegal in Nazi concentration camps.  Corey and Betsie always wondered why they were able to do this and why guards would never come in to stop it.  It was only after they were released and asked one of the guards why and the guard told them it was because of the fleas!

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m blown away by this story!  I’d probably be grumbling an awful lot in Corey’s situation and God please forgive me, because my heart wouldn’t be in the right spot…. But look what God did!  God used even fleas to expand his kingdom!  AMAZING!

And Corey’s whole attitude and outlook going forward changed with thanksgiving, even being thankful for awful fleas!

Oh!  And just as promised I said I’d get to the fourth profoundly powerful statement and it’s the most powerful statement of them all:

Jesus, save me!

There is nothing we can say that is more vulnerable, more exposing, more humbling and arguably more powerful!  And yes, Jesus does save and thank our triune God for that!  To God be the glory for saving wretches like all of us and to God be the glory for providing for all our needs and enabling us to give thanksgiving in all life’s circumstances!
___________________________

Buy from the Source

March 11, 2026

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
-Revelation 3:14-18 (NIV)

Everything must be centred and drawn upon from Jesus Christ.  We tend to take this statement too loosely and with no further thought.  Ancient Laodicea was rich in natural resources but lacked their own water supply.  They could only get water from Hierapolis and Colossae.  Colossae was the source of cold water (good for drinking) and about 9.7 KMs away.  Hierapolis was about 17.7 KMs away from the other direction and had hot water from natural streams for medicinal uses.  The problem is and by the time either the cold water or hot water was piped in from either city, it arrived in Laodicea lukewarm and good for nothing!  Laodicea though rich in many ways was too distant from its water sources.  And herein lays the immense problem with so many of us – we’re too distant from the source, which is Jesus Christ!

Because so many of us are so fallen, and because so many of us are so far from Jesus Christ, we tend to rely upon the false idea of “man-made successes”.  For many of us, look back at the career you had.  Over time you may have graduated from a decent school and using that education, you landed a good first job, and gradually you moved up the company ranks or you hopped from one job to another and always going up the pay scale ladder or gaining more valid experience.  Probably you then amassed some kind of fortune (small or large) to either provide for your family, pay for rent or mortgage and perhaps even purchased a vehicle.  And over time you swapped cars, swapped homes, and provided more things for your family.  In that same period, you probably developed the ability to buy better healthcare (such as eye salve/ointment for eye problems in our text) or moved to a better neighbourhood.  Even still, some of you have acquired enough to buy expensive items like gold or jewellery that are not essential for daily living but seen as luxury items by many.  Perhaps at times you treated yourselves out for more expensive clothes or finer dining experiences – and the list goes on.

What I’m trying to say is this: 

Do you actually believe all of these “worldly successes” are from your own hands/abilities or do you actually believe they’re all given by Jesus?  Did you buy all of these things and experiences from men, or did you buy from the true source in Jesus Christ?

If we even start to realize that Jesus Christ is the source for EVERYTHING, then I’m praying this concept will really sink in and you’ll realize that everything you have belongs to Jesus Christ and that we’re just stewards of everything we have.  In so doing, I pray that we all realize no matter the situation, Jesus Christ will ultimately provide for me because he alone is the true source and not men!  Do you know what this also means?  Take leaps of great financial, health and relational faith, because again, the source is Jesus and with him nothing is lost.  What can you lose that Jesus cannot replenish and multiply?  You remember the account of Job? He lost everything and gained it all back in multiplied amounts because his source was our triune God!

What is your source?  Who are you really buying from?  Do you trust Jesus enough with…..

YOUR LIFE AND EVERYTHING IN IT?

It’s a leap of faith, I get it, but do we not live by faith and not by sight? (2 Cor. 5:7) – We surely do!

Your true source is Jesus and in nobody else!

___________________________

What about the Isolated People?

March 4, 2026

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
-Romans 1:18-23 (NIV)

For those that don’t know, there’s a terrible war going on primarily between what appears to be America and Iran, and other countries seem to be affected or are willing participants including Israel.  Some people supporting the Iranian regime are unhappy, but it appears that a large number of Iranian people (and probably the vast majority) are celebrating.  Most media outlets have documented that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has ruled Iran with an iron fist since 1979.  Because of this, many native Iranians have fled and lived abroad to escape the oppressive lifestyle under the IRGC.  Now what is little publicised is the explosive growth of Christianity in Iran.

Goldie Ghamari (a Canadian politician and activist) has a well-documented video detailing the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Muslim faith in Iran.  Now it’s worth mentioning Goldie is not Muslim, nor Christian and is Zoroastrian to eliminate any sense of bias.  It’s also worth noting that this video was recorded and posted months before this recent war started.

Here’s the video if you haven’t watched it before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_IXm8Fnws&t=306s

Now under an oppressive Islamic government that heavily presses Shariah Law upon its citizens, how does Christianity spread?  Under Shariah Law in Iran, if anyone leaves Islam and converts to Christianity, Goldie speaks about these people being placed in jail and potentially can be placed under the death penalty.  Then how can Christianity and the message of the Gospel spread in such harsh conditions?  Here’s the bottom-line answer:

GOD FINDS A WAY!  And God saves whoever he wants to save and nothing and nobody can stop that!

Even before the war between America and Iran started, it’s been reported that many Muslims across the middle east and elsewhere are meeting the real Jesus in dreams.  Now I mention “the real Jesus” because the Muslims have their own version of Jesus where they believe Jesus is a mere human prophet, not the Saviour of the world, not God’s Son and not a part of the God-head trinity!  Interestingly enough however, Muslims still believe Jesus is sinless (yet ranked lower than the prophet Muhammad who is not sinless) and Jesus will come back to judge the world.

Here's a slightly older video clip about Iranians meeting the real Jesus in dreams and miraculously being healed as reported by CBN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PajWOJ-KgNI

Now why is the detail about Muslims meeting Jesus in dreams so important?  It’s because Muslims believe their false god (Allah) will not directly communicate with people and so therefore a supernatural and Godly dream would make complete sense to them.  Don’t believe me?  Here’s an excerpt from the Quaran detailing what I just shared:

"It is not possible for a human being to have Allah communicate with them, except through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger-angel to reveal whatever He wills by His permission."

– Ash-Shura 42:51 (Clear Quaran English translation)

And this begs the bigger question that many have speculated in all generations:  “What about the isolated and innocent people in the world that have not heard the gospel?”  Well for one thing, there are no innocent people in the world (Rom. 3:23), and indeed the only way of salvation and to God the Father is through Jesus alone (Jn. 14:6).  Then how does the gospel reach such people?  Well, I already said God saves whoever he wants to save and God finds a way!  In the case of many ex-Muslims now coming to Christian faith, it’s through dreams and miracles.

Passages such as Psalm 19 or our text in Rom. 1:20 talks about God revealing himself through nature supernaturally.  God reveals himself ultimately through the heavens (Ps. 19:1), but also through order because God is orderly (1 Cor. 14:33), through nature on earth (Ps. 19:1-4, Rom. 1:20, Job 12:7-9, Ex. 3:2, Gen. 9:13), through love (1 Jn. 4:8), and even through his power and providence (Psa. 135:6).

Now some may read Rom. 10:14-15 and think this is in conflict and think salvation can’t come to people unless they specifically hear the gospel preached to them, but rest assured, God will find a way to save whoever he wants to save (and none will be lost from his grasp – Jn. 6:39), and such passages should urge Christians and inspire them to share the gospel and be partners with God and in his service.  The analogy is like this: If we’re dealing with hungry people, would you dare want to hoard and not share the ultimate and free food source?  This ultimate source of spiritual food is Jesus (Jn. 6:51) and salvation is a free gift (Eph. 2:8-9)!

________________________