MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Scripture: John 9:8-16

Jesus chose to do more than to just heal a blind man. He healed him on the Sabbath when it was illegal to do any work. The Holy Spirit led the Great Shepherd to violate tradition that would result in His crucifixion. Try and sell “sacrifice unto death” in a book as God’s best for you now! Jesus brought division. I thought the church was supposed to bring unity, but Jesus was led by the Spirit to do something that brought division. That brings us to the issue of whether the Holy Spirit will generate things that bring division in the church. Jesus certainly did. He brought division into that religious community of no small magnitude. If God is going to cause division, we have to ask, “What is the purpose of that division?”. Perhaps the purpose is to demonstrate to people the stupidity of their tradition and the death and destruction it is bringing. Perhaps that is happening even as we speak. Is the Holy Spirit beginning to release and do things that will bring division in the church? Does Jesus the Judge bring division? Does teaching people that the same Jesus who saves, kills, bring division? The same Jesus who raised the widow’s dead son at Nain, sent an angel and killed Herod. The same Jesus who anointed Peter to heal all the sick in Acts 5 anointed Peter to put Ananias and Sapphira in the grave. Why do we ask God for only the healing anointing? Is God beginning to do things that are bringing division to reveal the imbalance between mercy and justice? Can the church grasp covenant mercy to Mexico means death to the cartels? Do we have the theology to pray death on every cartel member? Jesus killed a fig tree!