by Shannon Tillman | Mar 26, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
She was a master manipulator. Others regarded her as sweet and charming, but there was venom hidden underneath. Unfortunately, I was already entangled in friendship and in ministry when I began to notice the red flags. It was too late. The ministry I dreamed of ended up being harmed by her treachery. I had to shut the doors on what I believed I had been called to do.
In the midst of the pain, I questioned the Lord. Through the healing process I learned that the Lord had allowed an enemy to teach me. I ignored warning signs and proceeded ahead, causing devastation that could have easily been avoided. Now I have learned the difficult lesson which will protect myself and others in future ministry and life endeavors.
The Lord allows the enemy to win in the short term to teach His children a lesson for life.
2 Kings 5:1
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram.
The nation of Aram was an enemy of Israel. Naaman, Aram’s commander, was in charge of military raids against the Hebrew people. There were citizens killed, others taken as slaves, people robbed, and families torn apart. Yet, it was the Lord who was giving victory to Aram over His people of Israel. God allowed the enemy to win! Why? Because of the idolatry in the land.
2 Kings 3:1-3
Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
Joram was king of Israel at this time. His father was Ahab, meaning his mother was Jezebel. They are regarded as the most wicked king and queen in Israel’s history. Joram took after his parents, just not as evil, but still evil. This caused the nation to continue in idolatry. Thus, Aram was allowed to have victory battles over Israel. There was a divine purpose behind the pain. The intention was to sound an alarm to the hearts of the people, to draw them away from their idols, to repent before God, and seek His help. The Lord’s allowance of the enemy’s victory was to lead the nation back to God.
The Lord uses this strategy in our lives as well. God allows us to see the futility of our ways in order for us to learn to choose His ways. He will allow us to experience consequences in order to help us to want to repent. He will allow failures in order to teach us better choices. The Lord does all of this out of His love for us.
Hebrews 12:5-6
And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
The Lord is our Father. His discipline, even allowing the enemy to temporarily win, is to teach us, to grow us, to change us. His discipline proves His love toward us.
Hebrews 12:7-8, 11
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all… No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
True sons and daughters, what discipline are you experiencing right now? Do not shun it! Instead, learn what your Father is teaching you. Are there idols you are turning to instead of Him? Lay the idols down. Are there repeat patterns that keep surfacing? Acknowledge the sin and repent. Out of love, the Father allows these circumstances to help you release what is not good and to embrace Him alone. God allows the enemy short-term wins in order for His children to have long-term, life-changing results. That is the Father’s love toward us.
by Shannon Tillman | Mar 19, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
The list for prayer given to the prayer team has a multitude of requests for the physical body. From small ailments to surgeries to disease, there are precious petitions for healing. However, I have yet to see a prayer request to cure chronic sin although there is a verse in Scripture which shows the need for this type of healing as well.
Jeremiah 3:22a
“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”
Another Bible version states the verse in this manner:
“Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.”
The Lord is speaking to the nation of Israel. He wants to cure them of backsliding into sin, to heal them from their unfaithfulness. In essence, God does not just want the sin removed from our lives; He wants the root of the sin to be dealt with so that we are not prone to fall for the temptation again. How are we healed of faithlessness, of backsliding? A process of healing takes place when we deal with the reason why we choose the sin over God’s ways. The sin is the evidence pointing to a deep soul wound which chooses to salve itself temporarily with the false comfort of sin. The sin cycle keeps us from transformation and wholeness.
My heart’s cry is: Oh, God, heal me! I am faithless in my mind, wasting time replaying conversations or rewriting conversations in the way I wish they would have gone. I am faithless in avoiding difficult situations by going on my phone instead of choosing to pray. I am faithless in my frustration with God, wondering why my family’s lives are a mess and He has not intervened. I am faithless in carrying out the dreams in my heart because I live in crisis mode instead of a state of planning and preparing.
These are where I am faithless right now. I am sure more will be revealed in time. My list was even longer in the past as I had to work through pain from childhood. I can look at this list and still see trauma’s fingerprints on it. I so desire to please others that I want to say the right thing because I never felt like I pleased my family growing up. I go on my phone now, but as a child I would zone into a book pretending that I did not hear the argument taking place in another room. My frustration with God stems from years of unanswered prayers, causing me to believe the lie that I am forgotten or abandoned. I live in crisis mode because that is how I grew up and even though I hate it, sometimes it feels more comfortable.
Why am I sharing this? Because I want you to put in your area of unfaithfulness, your place of backsliding. Ask the Lord to show you why this is your area of struggle, the place of failure. The Lord knows the “why” behind your actions. Ask Him to heal the wound! God knows the misguided reasons we choose to sin. He understands. However, He does not excuse our behavior but gives us the promise for transformation.
The Lord promises to heal us of unfaithfulness. What a wonderful promise! God will heal us. All we have to do is come to Him.
Jeremiah 3:22b
“Behold, we come to You; For You are the LORD our God.”
How are we healed? First, we must acknowledge the area of backsliding. Next, we have to look to God instead of our sin. Then, we come to God. That means we no longer pretend the sin is not there, or no longer excuse our behavior, or no longer say it is “not that bad”. We do not have to try to clean ourselves up before coming. Instead, we come in the middle of the mess we are in. We look for God and recognize that He alone can help us change.
The Lord can transform us as His names in this verse reveal. We come to the LORD, Yahweh or Yehovah, which is the covenant name of God. In other words, we come to the One who we are in relationship with, the One who loves us. The Lord is God, which in Hebrew is “Elohim”, meaning the supreme God. We are coming to the One who is over our lives, the One in charge. He directs us into new paths, new responses, new ways of living. His names show His power and ability to save us from our unfaithfulness. With His love and power, He leads us into new life as He heals our backsliding. All we have to do is come.
Yes, Lord, heal us of our backsliding! This is our prayer request, one that You desire to readily answer in all of our lives.
by Shannon Tillman | Mar 12, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
A broken promise is heartbreaking. However, when freedom and slavery were involved, a broken promise turned into criminal acts. In the book of Jeremiah, God addressed the leaders of Israel for they had made a covenant to release those in forced labor but then decided to enslave them once again.
Jeremiah 34:8-11
The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.
Imagine being set free only to be recaptured by the one who promised you freedom. Picture the heartache of starting a new life only to be forced back into labor. Feel the emotions of looking at those who are supposed to enforce justice but instead seeing them as willing participants of injustice. Not only had they made a covenant to the people for freedom, they had made a vow before God which they broke.
Jeremiah 34:12-16
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free. Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.
The Lord had told the people hundreds of years before that indentured servants were required to serve no more than seven years. However, the people decided to enforce life-long labor despite the directive given by God. In other words, cultural opinions ruled. They did what they wanted instead of doing what was right. Although it seemed they had finally chosen to obey the Lord, it was only for a short time. They chose convenience for themselves over freedom for others. With unlawful force, the people enslaved the free, breaking their promise before God and man. Therefore, God declared punishment against these covenant breakers.
Jeremiah 34:18
Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.
In those days, a covenant was symbolized by an animal cut in two. The ones who agreed with the covenant would walk through the pieces. It was in essence communicating that if the person broke the covenant, then he would be subject to severe punishment, even death. God decided to allow the penalties of violating the covenant to fall on those who had made the promise but broke it.
Jeremiah 34:19-20
The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.
The people who were part of this covenant were leaders, court officials, and even priests! The leaders who were to guide others in righteous acts were leading them instead into deliberate crime. Court officials who were supposed to uphold the rules of the land were breaking the law. The priests who were called to obey God’s ways were rebelling against His commands.
Before we condemn the past and excuse ourselves because we do not own slaves, we need to evaluate the motives behind what we do. For example, some ministers hold people to personal bondage-wanting the congregants to fulfill the pastor’s plan, pastor’s agenda, pastor’s calendar. There is no release of the people to God’s plan, God’s agenda, God’s calendar. Or we see church leaders wanting to control decisions, wanting their way instead of God’s way. There are even unethical practices by church officials, wanting what is beneficial for their personal finances instead of choosing what is right.The unethical practices harm the home. The children of the leaders, officials, and priests witnessed their parents going back on their promise, backsliding into former ways, excusing their behavior with lofty words but shallow meaning. Think about how the priests would minister at the temple for the Jewish people while holding Jewish people in personal bondage. How confusing to watch parents do the right thing at work but walk in compromise at home! Part of the bondage may be that we are training up the next generation in unethical ways, keeping a course that dishonors God and people for years to come.
The message is clear not just to church leaders, but to everyone in the body of Christ. If in any way we are using people or their resources for our own advantage, we are keeping people in bondage. This is the exact opposite of our calling for the church is commissioned to set people free.
In grand terms, we are to be on the front lines fighting literal slavery. Human trafficking earns more money than any other industry in the world. We cannot ignore slavery. This is our watch in history and our fight to be won or lost.
On a micro-scale, we must ensure that we do what is right in the Lord’s eyes, which means we must be diligent in not compromising with culture. Motives need to be checked in all decisions to ensure that we are following God’s leading not our own agendas or opinions. We need to lead others not control them. We also must honor God with money and not create loopholes that benefit our pockets. When we walk in freedom, others will be led to freedom as well.
It is time for us to repent of any way that we are not honoring God in our treatment of others. Whether on a large or small scale, we are accountable before God to obey His decrees. Anything less than that is breaking covenant with the Lord and His command to us:
John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Love fulfills the covenant with God and man. A lack of love violates His decree. May we choose love in all relationships, in all decisions, in all circumstances, in all financial matters. If and when we fall short, let us repent and then return to the command of love which sets us and others free.
by Kevin Tillman | Mar 5, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
When Life Feels Stuck
What God May Be Doing When Nothing Seems to Be Moving
There are seasons when life seems to move forward without much effort. New opportunities appear. The Doors open and the decisions feel clear.
And then there are those “other” seasons. The seasons where everything seems to stall. Nothing makes sense. And, life just seems hard.
You keep doing the things you know to do. You pray. You work. You go to church. You try to stay faithful with the responsibilities in front of you. Yet, somewhere in the back of your mind there’s a quiet question that starts showing up.
Is anything actually changing? Is anything ever going to change?
It’s not always discouragement. Sometimes it’s just the feeling that you’re standing still while time keeps moving. The world is still spinning and others seem to be content and happy, but not you.
Obviously we don’t enjoy those seasons. We like progress. We like the sense that something is happening. When that feeling disappears, it can leave us wondering whether we’ve somehow missed the direction God intended for us.
But if you read Scripture carefully, you begin to notice that many of the people God used most walked through long stretches where nothing seemed to be happening at all.
Joseph spent years in places he never planned. What began as betrayal eventually led to prison. Those years must have felt confusing at times. Yet later it became clear that God was arranging circumstances Joseph himself could never have orchestrated or imagined.
David had already been anointed as the future king of Israel long before he actually wore the crown. Between those two times were years of uncertainty and waiting. Some of those years were even spent hiding in caves. From the outside, it might have looked like his life had taken a wrong turn. Yet God was shaping something in him. There was a preparation going on in the background.
There is a quiet and subtle kind of work God often does in seasons where movement feels slow. This is where character is formed. Patience develops. Perspective begins to change in ways that only time can produce. Those things rarely happen in the fast-moving times of life. They tend to grow in the quiet ones.
One of the challenges with feeling stuck is that we measure progress mostly by visible change. New opportunities and new direction. But, sometimes God measures progress differently. He’s working beneath the surface in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.
The things matter more than you likely realize are… The way you respond to frustration and the faith you display even when life feels routine. The willingness to keep walking with God despite not having clarity.
Looking back over the years, many believers discover that some of the seasons they once described as “stuck” were actually seasons where their lives were being prepared for something they couldn’t yet see. It’s difficult to recognize that while you’re in the middle of it. In the moment, it often feels like standing in the same place longer than you expected, and it can be frustrating. Still, the absence of visible change does not mean the absence of God’s work. Often the most important things God develops in a life happen slowly. Gradually enough that you may not notice the change while it’s happening. But one day you look back and realize something is different. Something has shifted. I’m the same person, but I’m not the same person. Your trust has deepened. Your perspective has matured. The things that once unsettled you don’t carry the same anxiety… You’ve grown. That growth began during a season when you thought life had stopped moving.
So if you happen to be in a season where things feel slower than you hoped. If you feel “stuck” right now try not to assume that nothing is happening. God’s work isn’t always dramatic. It often unfolds little by little, shaping a life from the inside long before the results become visible on the outside.
The seasons that feel the most uneventful at the time are the very ones that prepare us for what comes next. If you feel stuck today, just realize you might be in the best place you can possibly be. Hold on to your faith, and keep moving forward. God’s still got this!
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 26, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
It happened again. I was faced with the same pattern of dysfunction. Why does change not happen? Why do relationships seem to be the same? What keeps lives from being different? In the midst of the difficult situation, I asked the Lord why someone, especially a believing someone, would continue in obvious wrongdoing against others. The Lord brought me to Acts 16 for the answer.
Acts 16:16a
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
This slave girl had an evil spirit that predicted events in the future. Why would the owners tolerate a demon in their lives, in their home, in their workplace?
Acts 16:16b
She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
The presence of a demon profited the slave owners! Evil was permitted as long as there was a benefit. Sadly, this is true in us as well. Often, we do not confront obvious sin, which is evil and demonic, in our lives because there is a gain for us:
Sin of approval (people-pleasing, enabling, compromise, living for others not God) profits us for people to like us.
Sin of gossip profits us to create connections with some and exclude others.
Sin of addiction (which can include spending, social media, and video games) profits us to escape pain.
Sin of anger profits us to silence the opposition.
Sin of choosing what is comfortable (instead of what God is calling us to do) profits us to avoid accountability and possible failure.
Sin of control profits us to get our way.
Sin of….we could list more, but the point is made.
If our sin profits us in some way, we allow it to the harm of ourselves and others. We can know what we are doing is wrong (just as the owners knew the source of their slave’s ability was via an evil spirit) and still continue in our evil behavior. We may even excuse our actions because of the benefits that come from it, refusing to acknowledge that the transgression is demonic in nature and the enemy has control of us in that area. A toleration of sin is a toleration of demonic influence around us. We think we are benefiting from our actions in some way but in truth the enemy is gaining the most advantage from the sin.
We need to quit allowing the enemy’s control in our lives by making the changes required of us. The time has come to confront the evil and cast it out: No more delays!
Acts 16:18b
“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
May we and others be set free when we choose to no longer profit from our sin.
by Kevin Tillman | Feb 19, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
Faith is funny because most of us think of it as a point we reached at some time in the past. A decision, a prayer, or a moment we could circle on a calendar. But, when you spend time with Abraham’s story you start realizing his life didn’t really work like that. Nothing about it was tidy enough to circle.
God didn’t sit him down and explain the whole future. He told him to go… and promised clarity would come somewhere “out there” on the road. That had to feel strange. We prefer the opposite order. We want the explanation first so we can decide if obedience seems like a good idea or not. That’s where most of the tension lives for us. Not in believing God exists, but in moving without knowing how this whole thing is going to turn out.
What always stands out to me is that Abraham’s biggest problems didn’t come from rejecting God. They came from trying to help Him. Years had passed after the promise of a son. Silence was wearing on him. Eventually that waiting led to feelings of irresponsibility. So he made a decision that felt practical at the time. Not rebellious… practical. That’s what makes it relatable.
We do it all the time. We fill in the blank because God hasn’t given us an answer. We push conversations forward because we’re tired of not knowing. We’re tired of waiting! We tell ourselves we’re just being wise or proactive. Later we realize we mostly just didn’t like uncertainty and we missed having control. Control is comforting for a short period of time, but then it starts creating things we have to manage.
There’s something hard about letting God be slow. Not lazy slow… deliberate slow. It starts forming a patience in you whether you asked for it or not. I know in my life some of the hardest acts of faith have been the invisible ones. Not the big, bold decisions, but the subtle ones that required a quiet restraint. The moment you decide not to force an answer doesn’t receive applause. Actually, most people will never even know. But little by little, decision by decision it changes you.
You see it in Abraham building altars in different places along the way. No big speeches recorded. Just markers… God met me here, I trusted Him here, I’m still trusting Him now. A life shaped more by repetition than intensity. A life shaped by a series of small choices. Transformation isn’t always some big dramatic moment. A lot of it just feels like returning to the same trust over and over again until it becomes instinct.
Then there’s the moment nobody wants… that Isaac moment. The part of the story that always feels heavier when you slow down and reflect. God pressing His hand on the very thing that explained everything else in Abraham’s life. The promise itself. I don’t think surrender ever feels natural. It feels like handing God the one thing that finally made you feel settled and hearing Him say, trust Me with that too.
The strange part is how often peace shows up right after release. Not always immediately, but eventually. Carrying something tightly creates a constant fear of losing it. Giving it to God doesn’t make it disappear… it just means the outcome isn’t yours to hold together anymore.
By the time you reach the end of Abraham’s life there’s no dramatic closing scene. Scripture just says he died “satisfied with life”. I like that so much, because it sounds quieter than victory. More like someone who lived long enough to see that God had been faithful even when he wasn’t. And somehow the faith kept going after him. Isaac had watched him long before Isaac ever had to trust God personally.
That’s usually how it works. People don’t absorb faith mainly through what we say. They absorb it through what they keep seeing. How you react when things fall apart. Whether you panic or pray first. Patterns preach way louder than words, and their impact last longer.
Abraham didn’t do everything right. That’s probably why his story helps. He veered off course more than once, but he kept turning back the same direction. Over time that direction mattered more than the detours.
Maybe that’s what faith actually is. Not a flawless line forward. More like a person who keeps reorienting themselves toward God over and over and over. Some days confidently, some days barely… but still turning.
Eventually all those turns become a path. And one day you look back and realize the destination wasn’t a place you arrived at all at once. It was the person you became while you kept walking.
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 12, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
My mom shuffled around the house, exhausted from a lack of sleep. Her blood pressure was elevated and she felt awful. However, she realized her physical condition was influenced by her emotions. Her body was responding to worry over a particular situation. While she knew she should not worry, she was struggling to stop the thoughts raging through her mind. Have you ever felt the same way?
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
The troubled heart points to unbelief. Any area where we are not believing God is the place where we are troubled. A troubled heart is an arrow pointing out the lie that we are believing over God. We need to follow the troubled heart so the lie is unveiled and truth be placed in the area where we struggle. It is not a matter of “trying harder” to not be upset, worried, or concerned. Instead, we are to press in and see what the troubled heart reveals about the state of our soul.
For example, I am troubled with a decision. I struggle with wondering if I can even make the right choices for my life. I could go on and explain my past family dysfunctions or terrible events I experienced or how painful situations occurred. But those only give the root of the problem, they do not solve my troubled heart. Instead, I must look at the area of God I do not believe. Bottom line, I do not think He will take care of me if I make the wrong decision. This reveals a deeper lie: I have to figure it out on my own for I do not really believe His guidance over my life. These lies that stem from my past cause a troubled heart in me whenever I face large decisions.
The thing with a troubled heart is that it is not necessarily troubled by everything. I do not struggle with financial concerns. I believe God is my Provider. I have experienced supernatural help from Him when in the natural I would not be able to make it another month. However, my husband finds a troubled heart in this area. When we were without jobs for a time, he would worry at night while I slept peacefully. His troubled heart pointed him to the lie that he had to be the one to figure out a solution, instead of trusting that God would reveal His plan in His time.
We need to evaluate our own troubled hearts to discover the area of our personal unbelief. Then, we can replace the lie with the Truth, with Jesus, of who He truly is to us, for us, in us, and through us. We do not have to shuffle around in life, weighed down by the troubled heart. Instead, we can walk confidently in every situation by faith in our God.
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
by Shannon Tillman | Feb 5, 2026 | Blog, Thoughts
The situation was already bleak. Unbelievably, the circumstances spiraled down further. I thought we were already at rock bottom when more bad news came. I did what I had done a thousand times; I reviewed my promise cards. (These cards are Bible verses that speak into my situation.) The words on the cards were a far cry from what I was facing. It seemed like I was holding onto a crazy dream. The facts were screaming loudly at me, mocking what seemed a delusional hope. The promises seemed to fade further away. Suddenly, I heard a statement in my heart:
“Shannon, you can either believe the facts or the truth.”
I questioned the statement. “What is the difference between facts and truth?”
“Facts are your circumstances, the earthly reality. I Am Truth. Truth supersedes facts.”
Bible stories flooded my mind:
Fact: The Red Sea trapped the Israelites who were being threatened by the encroaching Egyptian army.
Truth: God had already given the Israelites the promise of their deliverance and the Egyptians’ destruction. They finally saw it realized as they crossed through a pathway formed in the midst of the water which led to the drowning of the ensuing army.
Fact: Gideon’s 300 men army stood no chance against the Midianite army that sprawled throughout the valley.
Truth: God had already told Gideon that He would be with him and that all of the Midianites would be destroyed. Gideon and his army only blew their shofars and the enemy destroyed itself.
Fact: David and his men could not recover the loss of their families after they were kidnapped by the Amalekites.
Truth: God told David to follow them and recover all. David and his men found an abandoned, sick slave of the Amalekites who directed them to the raiding party. David and his men rescued their families as well as plundered the Amalekites.
Fact: Jesus died on a cross. He was wrapped in burial clothes and placed in a sealed tomb. It seemed like the end.
Truth: Jesus had already told His disciples that He would rise again and meet them in Galilee. Jesus always fulfills what He promises.
I do not know what facts of your circumstances may be looming over you. Let me encourage you, the facts are not the Truth. God’s Word, God’s ways will prevail.
Psalm 145:13b
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
You can trust the Truth. The facts are not Truth. The facts can be changed in a moment. What was a fact a moment ago, may not be a fact now. Truth will have the final word. What He has promised, He will fulfill. Trust the Truth.
by Shannon Tillman | Jan 29, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
Once I knew a determined six-year-old who wanted to slide a three-month-old baby down a slide. Despite being told “no”, the conversation continued as she tried to figure out a way to persuade me otherwise:
“May I slide the baby down the slide?”
“No, we will not be sliding a baby down the slide.”
“What if I caught the baby at the bottom?”
“No, not even if you caught her.”
“What if I slid down with her?”
“No, we still cannot put a baby on the slide.”
“What if you slid down the slide with the baby?”
The questions continued until I told her that there was no realm of possibility that would create a situation where I would allow this baby to go down the slide.
She then yelled, “Well, I think it is a good idea!”
This story came to mind as I was thinking back on the blog post from last week which focused on the healing of the blind man in John 9. As I reviewed the passage, I was struck by how many questions this man had to face from multiple groups for a variety of reasons. A day of what should have been a celebration became a time of interrogation. Yet, he stayed steady in his response, no matter how many questions he heard. The first question stemmed from judgments formed by religious tradition.
John 9:1-2
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
At this time in Jewish history, physical ailments were considered to be the result of sin. With this false religious belief in mind, the disciples wanted to know who was the cause of the blindness, the parents or the baby in the womb. This man was blind, but not deaf, so he would have heard the prejudice, the judgment, the condemnation which were all given in the name of “religion”. This question could have stopped him from obeying the directions from Jesus, which would have stopped his miracle.
John 9:3, 6-7
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him… After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
The miracle of sight was quickly eclipsed by skeptical neighbors.
John 9:8-12
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
The neighbors did not believe his testimony. They wanted to know how it happened and who made it happen instead of the fact that the miracle did happen! They questioned him in unbelief in an attempt to undermine his experience. They were not fully listening to his story for he had already said the “Man” sent him to the pool to wash while he was still blind. How would he know where the “Man” is or what He looked like? The formerly blind man just kept with his story in a sense saying: “I was blind, but now I see. Your skepticism does not negate my experience.” He would need to stand on the truth he did know as he was brought before the religious leaders.
John 9:13-17
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
The religious leaders argued amongst themselves. The healing of this blind man was being used as a pawn in the opinion game. He would have realized that he was in the middle, no one was concerned about his sight, they were only concerned to bolster their side of the debate. He could have sidelined the argument, mumbling something like “I don’t know.” Instead, this man, full of courage, stepped out in a bold statement of faith: “He is a prophet”. But his bold declaration is swept away by the determination of the religious group to hold onto their opinions.
John 9:18-23
They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
The parents testified to the fact that he was truly the formerly blind man, but they refused to take a side in the debate about Jesus. These parents had lived with the stigma of judgment all of their son’s life. Others blamed them or their son for some sin leading to his blindness. They barely had religious standing at this point. Now, they were on the brink of losing it all. They choose to stay sidelined in the fight which in turn brought their son back into the interrogation room.
John 9:24-26
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
The man was subjected to more questions, but suddenly the interrogation changed. The one questioned became the one with questions.
John 9:27
He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
The man showed an increase of faith which had grown throughout the day. He went from “some Man healed me”, to “that Man is a prophet”, to “that Man is who I want to follow as His disciple”. The questions meant to attack his faith, instead caused him to build his case for Jesus!
John 9:28-34
Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
The formerly blind man, judged his entire life as stricken by God, presented a clear case as of why Jesus is from God to the very religious leaders who judged him. What a turnaround! The message was clear and the religious leaders did not like it, so they went back to their false traditional beliefs and threw him out. The formerly blind man with perfect vision was about to have one last question to give him perfect spiritual insight.
John 9:35
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
After a day of questions that attacked his experience, attacked his miracle; he was finally asked the question that led to eternal life.
John 9:36-38
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
The one who was questioned all day, asked the most important question in life: “Who is He so I may believe?” Who is this Jesus? This is not like the questions he had experienced of people who wanted to have opinions about Jesus. He asked the question to make a firm decision about Jesus. It was a question with an answer, “Lord, I believe”. You are more than a Man. You are more than a Prophet. You are more than a Teacher who I want to disciple me. You are Lord, and there is no question about that.
by Shannon Tillman | Jan 22, 2026 | Bible Study, Blog, Thoughts
I have a sister who can throw the best parties. She will ensure the food, the games, the decorations, and even the clothing all point to the theme. She takes a simple gathering to a whole new level of fun! Parties are meant to celebrate people, holidays, and special occasions. Yet, in the scripture, there is a miracle left uncelebrated due to religious tradition.
John 9:1-3, 6-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him… After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
A man born blind came home with sight. I believe this is a reason for a party! However, instead of a celebration, he received questions.
John 9:8-12
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
After the man was interrogated by his neighbors, he was taken by his neighbors to the religious leaders. The Pharisees were not planning on throwing out celebratory confetti but pointed accusations.
John 9:13-17
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
His first day with sight and he was thrust into a debate amongst the religious leaders! He was not allowed to marvel at the sky, flowers, the faces of people, or even the sight of the synagogue. Instead, he was used as a pawn of the Pharisees in attempts to justify their opinions against Jesus.
Even the parents of this formerly blind man were afraid to openly celebrate the miracle that had taken place.
John 9:18-23
They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Out of fear of being forced out of the synagogue, his parents held back. They probably wanted to jump for joy, but instead they had to divert questions to stay within the religious community. However, their formerly blind son boldly spoke to the Pharisees, no matter the cost.
John 9: 32-34
Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
A man was born blind. Jesus healed the man. Neighbors questioned the healing. Pharisees mocked the Healer. A man declaring the miracle of sight was thrown out by religious leaders. What a confusing day: instead of a celebration, it turned into chaos.
John 9:35
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
Jesus searched for the man discarded by the religious leaders. The Pharisees had questioned the man’s beliefs and denied the power of his miracle. Jesus also asks a question but to bolster his faith because of this miracle. The man so desperately needed to know what to believe about what he had experienced.
John 9:36-37
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
I love this moment. Jesus is saying “you are seeing the Son of Man, you are seeing the Messiah.” Can you imagine that on your first day of sight you are able to see God in the flesh? Amazing! Jesus then goes further by reminding the former blind man of his voice. Hours earlier he had heard this same voice telling him to go and wash his blind eyes in the pool of Siloam. The voice is now connected to the Son of Man, the one who spoke earlier and was speaking at that moment.
John 9:38
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
It was a small celebration, not the community party as expected. But Jesus Himself showed up for this man. The miracle of physical sight led to the miracle of spiritual sight. The day started with a random Man putting mud on his blind eyes. His discussion with the Pharisees led to him thinking that Jesus was a prophet. However, the day ended with the healed man acknowledging Jesus as Lord!
Others may not appreciate your spiritual journey. There may be those who question you. Others may try to talk you out of your beliefs. You may experience the silence of so-called “supporters” and the rejection by those you thought were “religious”. I want you to know that Jesus celebrates you. All the heartaches may be leading you to a deeper relationship and understanding of Him. Even if only Jesus shows up at your party, the celebration is perfect!
