Till and Re-Plant in Good Soil

Greetings in the Lord! As many of you may know, I live abroad teaching English and this week my classes will be discussing the language for various weather conditions and natural weather phenomenon. So it was curious that in the middle of preparing lesson plans the Lord drew my attention to Matthew 16:1-3: The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." Hmm...that's certainly food for thought given the current world events. It seems to me that this prophetic word is saying that there must be people not seeing the signs of the times that are happening around the world at the moment. Or maybe, and more specifically, there may be some who are skeptical to believe that there is any divine relevance or association at all to these events--i.e. scoffers doubting the hand of God moving so powerfully among us. Yet, they ask for more proof of people of faith to convince them otherwise. Well, what's the use of that? That's like showing a driving map to Ray Charles! Seriously though, there is an important issue at hand in today's passage and it has to do with having a critical and unbelieving heart towards the "signs of the times" that are happening all around us. Such a heart condition can never perceive the things of God accurately, if even at all. To be sure, the hand of God is working center stage these days--in many ways. Some we would call the more traditional miracles of God as He is pouring out spiritual revival (healing, deliverance, resurrection from the dead, baptism of the Holy Spirit and many other supernatural happenings of the Holy Spirit) in the nations of the earth. But realize, too, that even the carefully crafted and deceitful workings of "false signs"--these are man made events that seem like "miracles" or signs--are being allowed to take place under the watchful eye of God. Yes, I said that right. Some of the signs of our times are in fact "false signs" as foretold in the New Testament. Sudden economic collapses, leaders being overthrown in a day, prices of essential products skyrocketing or disappearing from store shelves altogether, these can be "false signs"--man made events or contrived circumstances that seek to manipulate systems of this world to control and influence people--they are happening too. It's important to remember also, that both good and evil are always at work, but nothing under heaven takes place unless God ordains it. Yes, I said that right, too. Even the destroyer was created by God and unwittingly does His bidding. So now is a good time to re-read Matthew 24, Daniel, Revelation, and 2 Thessalonians to become familiar with what to expect these days so as to sharpen your spiritual eyes and increase your faith to perceive God at work among us--both what we'd consider good and evil. It would also be a good time to read from the book of Isaiah, chapters 3-4 to learn what God had to say about a previous "sign" of His, that of a natural disaster called Hurricane Katrina in the United States. Those chapters talk specifically about what would happen there and what would come as a result--both for the God-fearing and for the wicked alike, because yes, judgment of a nation effects us all. Does a tornado, earthquake, or storm play favorites? No; but the behaviors and testimonies of the survivors tell the tale: "Thank God--at least we have each other," versus "When is this God-forsaken government going to help us?" Seeing and perceiving the signs of our times can be both a comfort and faith-building experience if we see clearly and trust in God's providence over all things. He who tears down and clears the soil will surely replant and cause to be fruitful in His time. ~Be blessed and be a blessing.

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