A prophetic declaration. A virgin pregnant with a baby. Angelic visitations. A bright shining star in the sky. Magi delivering gifts. A threatened King issuing an edict to kill the firstborn male babies.
All of these events were signs that something extraordinary was about to happen. What were the signs attempting to reveal to people?
Matthew 1:21-23 says, “21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."
Wow! The signs were telling people that God was coming to be with us in flesh and blood and save us from our sins. Amazing!
Do you ever miss what the signs are telling you?
Late at night, during the last two weeks, I kept hearing the sound of running water while preparing to go to bed. I walked in the bathroom and inspected the bathtub and sink faucets. They were not leaking water. Although I could still hear running water, I did no further investigation. I ignored what the sign was telling me.
Over the weekend, water began gushing out of the brick siding on the back of our house. A water pipe had busted. Since it was a pipe on the outside wall, it did not create any serious damage. Thank you Jesus.
Last Sunday, during prayer before our church service, I noticed as I was pacing back and forth that something felt slippery and sticky in my left shoe. Being a creature of habit and a very meticulous person, I am very aware of how clothes and shoes should fit on my body. I remember thinking something doesn’t feel right in my shoe, but I chose to ignore what the sign was telling me.
When I arrived at home after church, I went through my usual routine of taking off my church clothes immediately and putting them neatly in their proper places in the closet. As I went to take off my left shoe, I noticed that my shoe was stuck to my sock. I gave it a good yank and a long string of gum followed my shoe through the air. I ruined a good pair of socks by trying to use Wrigley’s Peppermint gum as a shoe freshener. In case you have ever wondered if that trick would work well, now, you know it does not.
Unfortunately, it is human nature to ignore what the signs are telling us. Whether it’s through denial, laziness, busyness of life, selfishness or any number of other reasons, it is easy to overlook the signs.
A virgin birth, angelic visitations, Magi gifts, a King’s decree of infanticide, a star in the sky and prophetic proclamations are all signs that God is with us and He will save us from our sins. This is great news to celebrate. It also means that God has made Himself known; therefore, we are responsible to give attention to what His signs are revealing to us.
Are you ignoring His signs?
No comments:
Post a Comment