NOVEMBER 14 – SIGNS: LIFE NOT DEATH

 All the world is witness today. I’m giving you a choice – right out in the open – life or death; prosperity or ruin. Choose life – live – love your Lord, God and do what He says. Hang on to Him because He is your very life! (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

                   Do you concentrate on the after-life or the now life? Do you dwell on controlling the impulses to sin and doing the things that the someone else says that you’re supposed to do, or do you focus on Jesus and what He is doing right now? Is what He wants you to do most important to you? There is great value in Scripture, a church family is helpful, even critical to provide accountability and encouragement. You should oppose sin and your flesh, and the life to come will be ecstasy. All of this is true. But, God’s call is to relationship – and life in Him – today!!!

                   Moses is calling on his people to pursue prosperity rather than destruction and death (Deuteronomy 30:15). He poses a clear choice. He argues very forcefully. The way you and your people will find prosperity is the same way. Prosperity – from the time of creation up through today – is found in “loving the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him, and keeping His commands to you.”

                   See life – live God’s prosperity by answering Him always, “yes, Lord.” Just, “yes!” Choose life!

NOVEMBER 13–SIGNS: TALKWITH, NOT TALK AT

 Even while I travel through the most difficult times of life I can’t be afraid, because you are right here next to me. Your power and provision allow me to relax. (Psalm 23:4)

                  Is it your way to tell your people what they must do, and how they must do it? Could they ever come to see you as someone who talks “at” them rather than with them? Everyone, whatever their circumstances or status, wants to be listened to; moreover, they want to be heard. From your position of relative strength or wisdom or resources, will you walk with them even when it means you must walk through their difficulty without solving or their problems or fixing them? Are you willing to let it cost you to be used as God’s sign for another?

                  King David had some very dark, difficult times. He trusted God to calm his fears and go with him through all those challenges. If you are to be God’s sign to your people, it is unlikely that He will change His nature to accommodate your desire to stay in your position of comfort and safety. And, by the way, your people do not want you to tell them what they should do from that lofty position. If you are going to talk with them, you must go to them – where they are.

                   It’s clear that God calls you to go down with your people to the valleys where their hardships beset them. There, in that valley, He will show you how to lead them to the safety of His love.

NOVEMBER 12 – SIGNS REQUIRE A RESPONSE

 But Mary; she added sign to sign. She brought it all together in her heart. It began forming at her core. The shepherds went home, and as they went they were praising God for everything He had done. God had not let them down. (Luke 2:19-20)

                  The shepherds saw the light. They returned to their place; changed. And, Mary – she had received many signs. The angel spoke to her. Surely Joseph told her of the sign given to him. She visited with her aunt. Now the stunned shepherds were sent by thousands of angels, affirming all the other signs. All these people were changed by the one thing – the baby that would be the way for a clueless world to find meaning and be restored to right relationship with God.

                   What about you? Do you ever take time to think about what God has done in your life? Have you ever taken the time to add up all the signs He has given you? That is what you must do if you will let Jesus become your life. If you settle that He is the answer for your life, and you focus on what He has said and done, and what He continues to say and do in your life today, you can be used to move your people toward Him too.

                   Today is the best day to determine that you will settle the issue in your heart. Add up the signs and act on God’s call to you.

NOVEMBER 11 – GOD’S SIGNS TRANSFORM

 After living through this amazing experience, they began to tell others about God’s great message concerning the child. Each person who heard was astonished. They all wondered about what all this meant to them. (Luke 2: 17-18)

                  God’s work is to communicate through signs and to provide for His people. Paul says you are what God makes; His work (Ephesians 2:10). So then, you are a sign, and a provision for God’s people. As you are affected, it is to affect others. As the anointed one, Jesus was created and gave His life for you. As God makes you with His transforming power, you – being transformed – will become an agent of His transforming work. As He has given you signs and experiences leading to that change, you will be made to be a sign for others. Your life will communicate God’s truth to your people.

                  Scripture tells that the shepherds went away from Bethlehem changed; prepared to work with, and to be the work of, God. And you see that, as a result, other people were changed too. They were astonished. They wondered. They understood this was not just a fabulous story told by deranged shepherds. Armed with God’s truth, their passionate communication led to transformation.

                   That is God’s plan for you as well. Your action, upon God’s call to you, prepares you to be a part of His work in others through your continued obedience to Him. You are His sign. You are His mission.

NOVEMBER 10 – SIGNS CAN BREED FEAR TOO

 So, right away they went to Bethlehem, and they discovered Mary and Joseph. There was the baby, lying in the manger just as God promised. (Luke 2:16)

                   In the relationship you have with the Lord, God, where He communicates His sign to you while anticipating you will accept His invitation to work together, you have two choices. Each time, you will have opportunity to answer, “yes!” joining with Him, and doing exactly what He is calling on you to do. Otherwise, you will create an alternative response that you will argue is, “enough.” No matter how risky and dangerous the way forward appears to be, when you consider God’s way, the alternative is much more perilous. God does not negotiate. He is God. The choice is His way, with His provision, or else you are choosing to go your way – alone. He will let you fail.

                   Right away, the shepherds went to Bethlehem. They found Jesus! They could have hidden under the rocks, hoping the sky full of angels would not return. If they worried about how risky it would be to leave the sheep, and how dangerous it is to travel at night, and had they not gone, they would have missed out on what God was doing.

                   Don’t let fear keep you from experiencing everything that God has prepared for you. Choose to do what He asks – right away!

NOVEMBER 9 – SIGNS CALL FOR ACTION

 After the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds talked among themselves. They decided, “God showed us this sign. We should go to Bethlehem to witness this great thing He has done.” (Luke 2:15)

                  God explained through Isaiah that He is not limited by the constraints of time. “I tell you from long ago things that will happen tomorrow” (Isaiah 46:10). God has an outcome that is fixed. He takes responsibility for that outcome (46:11). God IS integrity. What He says is what happens. He gives signs to encourage His people to move toward His purposes for each of them. How willing are you to be attentive to those messages? Are you ready to act upon them?

                   Given the logic that God expects to see a response to His signs, one who is attentive to God’s signs should interpret the communication in the same way as these shepherds did. Not only did they consider the meaning, but they also sought to determine their proper response to the message. What should they do? This is your relationship with God at its very best. He invites you to join in the work He is doing. You join Him because you love Him and want nothing more than to be part of that work with Him.

                   When God speaks, listen for the immediate, specific action He places in your heart. Understand that His signs call for your action.

NOVEMBER 8 - TAKEN IN CONTEXT

 Suddenly, surrounding the messenger, the sky filled with angels. All of them at once were praising God, announcing to the world, “Glory to God who reigns on high! He sends peace and prosperity to mankind; showing His great kindness and favor. (Luke 2: 13-14)

                   Signs don’t occur in a vacuum. Where and when a sign is given is part of the communication too. That is a reasonable, intuitive conclusion you may draw very quickly. But, how (how many times, how much, how loud, how…) is also a part of the context. God very often chose to communicate definition for the same signs to multiple people, multiple times, in striking and spectacular ways. Talking animals, pillars of salt, rising flood waters, and such gave added significance to God’s signs.

                   Only once in recorded history has the sky been “filled” with angels, all loudly proclaiming their praise to God, and announcing the birth of a special child. Possibly the shepherds may have questioned if the single angel were maybe a figment of their tired minds at the end of a challenging day. Thousands of angels in a dark sky, singing a deafening chorus would be very hard to dismiss.

                   Pray for the Lord to give you understanding of the time, the place, and the how of His messages to you.

NOVEMBER 7 – WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

 Today, in David’s hometown a deliverer has been born to you. This is the anointed one; the Christ! And this is the sign that will tell you it is Him. This baby will be wrapped in layers of fabric, and He will be laying in a feeding trough. (Luke 2:11-12)

                  Have you ever looked for signs in Scripture? One of the greatest God-signs in all of history is found in the story of Jesus’ birth. To bear significance, a sign must have meaning. Just as words must be defined for you to understand language, signs must also be defined if they are going to communicate a message.

                  Many would say that having an angel announce the birth of the anointed one would, alone, be enough to give meaning to the sign he explained. But, as is often the case with God’s signs, there was yet another layer of meaning. The shepherds no doubt would be very familiar with the practice of wrapping the first-born lamb with cloths and laying it in a manger, so it would not harm itself or become blemished. Hearing the angel’s words, while imagining the perfect sin sacrifice gave them greater understanding of God’s communication, and greater significance to this great event.

                   Scripture is filled with such definitions, giving you insight into events of your world. Read, and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit as God defines His signs for you.

NOVEMBER 6 – GOD’S ENDS ARE SIGNIFICANT

 

So, don’t worry about what you’ll be eating and drinking, and the style of your stuff. People who don’t know God are consumed by these things. For your father, God, these are details – He knows your needs. Invest your attention on the Lord and His work. You’ll find that you have what you need. (Matthew 6:31-33)

 

                  Have you noticed that God has chosen to do things differently? In this world, negotiation is important. Therefore, most business communication is cloaked in and hindered by the pretense that masks selfish motives. Will you be like those people whose every word; every action is carefully calculated and crafted for personal advantage? Or will you focus your attention on the needs of others, trusting Christ to provide what you need?

 

                  Here, Jesus explains that in God’s Kingdom economy, there is provision rather than a need for constant negotiation. Real trust in a faithful God allows you to live freely. Your changed life will then become one of the Lord’s signs for others. You will become one of the living words of God’s sign language that speaks hope to the men and women you encounter.

 

                  Very few of the things of this world are significant. Each of those things is found in Christ. Focus on Him so you will always be about significant pursuits.

NOVEMBER 5 – EXPERTS OR GOD?

 But you, Daniel – keep all this secret – let the book be closed tightly until the time that will come after. Then, many will travel the earth and knowledge will become great. (Daniel 12:4)

                  Do you believe that you are living in the time about which Daniel speaks here? Jesus encouraged alertness (Matthew 24:44 and 25:13). Paul spoke often of anxiously waiting for Christ’s return (Titus 2:13). Certainly, since Jesus ascended, the story of mankind has been marked by people traveling more each year, and by human knowledge increasing day-by-day. These are those “times that will come after;” the time near the end of this age.

                   Daniel’s words bear further implications for today. Later in this discussion, Daniel is told that those who have been made clean; God’s people, will understand His signs. They will know what to do, while those who reject God will continue in ignorance. To lead your people effectively, it is God’s signs; His word, that you need. The words of others, who don’t follow your God, even if filled with sound, scientific observation, lack the significance and wisdom of the Lord’s simple, timeless truths.

                   Don’t be distracted by the experts of the world. Don’t concentrate on what the world says; where experts will tell you to focus. Find your way by watching and listening for the word from God. 

NOVEMBER 4 – (JUST) TALK IS EXPENSIVE

 Surely you’re acting! You know how to interpret the signs you see on the earth and in the sky. How is it you can’t see the signs of God around you? Why don’t you do what you know is right? (Luke 12:56)

                   Often people complain of not knowing what the Lord would have them to do. However, after honest, prayerful reflection, many will see that there is much that God has shown them. In many cases, He has made the next step abundantly clear. His word is more often a foot lamp (Psalm 119:105) than a beacon that will show the entire way forward for you. It is God’s intention to be with you moment-by-moment (Isaiah 41:10), revealing His truth for your life as you go (John 14:6).

                   In this passage, Jesus observes that people give their attention to the things that are important to them. He also exposes their hypocrisy; saying it was hard to believe they had professed faith in God, while ignoring all that He wanted them to do. As they talked constantly about God’s law, they oppressed everyone who was excluded from their privilege. They silenced and killed God’s prophets, and they behaved in other ways that ignored the law’s intent.

                   As you see and hear God’s signs, remember that He wants you to act rather than just talk about what He says to do (Jeremiah 7:23).

NOVEMBER 3 – JESUS KNEW THE KEY - SIGNS

 Say to those who cower in fear, “Don’t be afraid! Your God is coming! He is just, and He is coming to save you. Then, you’ll see the signs – blind will see, deaf will hear, those who can’t walk will leap, and the mute will speak God’s praises. Living water is coming to your wilderness; life to the desert!” (Isaiah 35:4)

                  God’s presence in this world, and His work of restoration and healing are signs He uses to communicate. He has chosen to use prophets to explain how people can see God in His actions. Those who look for God will have these signs that serve to encourage them and to affirm their hope in His love and provision. Through Isaiah, the Lord, God, gave Israel the meaning that makes the signs related to Jesus communicate clearly. God’s desire is for them to see Him present and working as Jesus healed and brought new life.

                  Do you know God’s signs? Do you look for them, so they can be affirmation for the work you pursue each day? Do these signs provide the map that guides your work? and your evaluation of its progress? Are the people with whom you work really the most important part of that work? If you are genuinely pursuing a God-given vision, people must be your focus. God’s signs; your work, have one purpose – to be living water to people in a desert.

                   Work for transformation today. Find what God is doing to change peoples lives around you, and then take your part in that work.

NOVEMBER 2 – THE PARADOX

 For our God so much wanted His people to return to His love that He put His Son – the only, unique Son of God – in their place. So, if they will invest all their trust in Him, they won’t be dead, but will be restored to life – real life. (John 3:16)

                  One of the problems associated with Jesus’ new way of accounting for life is that it is different; especially in a place of work. You are familiar with how to establish rules and penalties; use carrots and sticks. But, how do you “do relationship” in that world? In the work world, it is all about what you and other people do – how they perform. In this new economy of faith in Christ, it is about what you allow Christ to do through you. As you live the story He has written for your life, the vision and the values Jesus has given you become a story of your sacrifice for others. The less you do on your own, the more success.

                   That’s how Jesus lived thousands of years ago. He went to the people to whom the Father sent Him. The Son of God used each moment of His life to live out His story as the Father showed Him (John 5:19). If you will follow that path, giving your life, this scripture explains you will be raised to spiritual life just as Jesus was resurrected after giving His physical life.

                   Let your life be a daily invitation for others to find that real life too.