Monday, January 8, 2018

Signs in Our Time

When Jesus walked the Earth he performed miracles as a sign of the Kingdom of God's soon coming return. However, those in power at the temple; the Pharisees and Saducess, would often try to lay traps for Him so that they could put Him on trial and execute Him. One of these occurrences is recorded in Matthew 16:1-4,

"Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed." NKJV 

Jesus responds to them by presenting to them common knowledge that the average person knew and understood. We still use this saying today at least here in the south. Red sky at night sailors delight, red sky on the morning sailors warning is how we say it were I live. The real issue was that Jesus had worked so many miracles that their asking showed how weak their faith really was. John makes this statement in chapter 21 of his Gospel,
 "25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen." NKJV 
The truth is they could not receive Jesus because they could not believe their own eyes and ears. So Jesus told them that only one sign truly remained to try and bring them into salvation and that would be the sign of Jonah. That is a reference to Jonah's three days in the great fish. This was a story they new and understood. 

Now how does all this impact you and I in our walk with Christ. Well the truth is God gives signs and wonders for the church today for the same reason Jesus had them as part of His ministry. So that people would come to know the power of God's Kingdom and repent of there sins and follow after Jesus. Today though it looks a lot different I personally believe that the gifts of the spirit as listed in 2 Corinthians are available to the believer today. The non-believers we meet in our daily lives are looking for a sign to believe in. One of the greatest of these signs is the changed life you have after you accept Jesus and allow him to be your savior. You are the sign that others are looking for. Is it not time for you to live out your potential and create an environment that allows your light to shine in a dark time in our world. 

Be Blessed 

No comments:

Post a Comment

You may not agree with me that is alright Jesus still loves you!