Mar 23 - "Signs"

Mark 8:11- 21
"The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him."
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Have you ever gotten a sign from God? Have you ever prayed for guidance, asking for a clear message on what to do, and you received a blatantly obvious and unequivocal answer to your prayer? Has there been an event that caused you to make a material course correction in your life?

This story in Mark's Gospel has two parts: one where the Pharisees ask Jesus to give them a sign that he is the Messiah, which he denies them, and another where Jesus reminds his disciples of the miracle of the loaves and fishes when they say they have no bread.

As an amateur triathlete and marathon runner, I find myself in some pretty interesting places at times when I am out for a ride or a run. My training has taken me through small neighborhoods in Truro, Nova Scotia; the towers of the Makati financial district in the Philippines; the immaculately clean streets of Singapore; the concrete jungle of Manhattan and...the fabulous Pendleton Pike outside of Indianapolis. When in each of these places and others, the signs abound. There is a constant influx of stimuli, where it seems that every car honking, every bird flying by, every person who steps in front of you can be taken as guidance...an answer to prayer...a sign.

The challenge with signs is that you don't really know if they are signs or not. There are events occurring around us continually. The question becomes, which ones are signs and which ones are just random events with no connection to the direction of our Walk?

Last summer, after moving to Indianapolis, I began using Pendleton Pike on the NE side from McCordsville up to Pendleton as a riding route. There is a big, wide shoulder on most of this route that keeps me out of traffic. Mid-summer, I was riding full speed and looked down at my odometer. When I looked up, the shoulder was coming to an abrupt end and was finished out with a cement curb. A moment later, I was skidding on my left side down the pavement, my bike in the ditch with a flat and my helmet cracked open. As I looked up, bloodied and bruised, I was sitting right in front of the Pendleton State Penitentiary. For years, I believe God has been calling me to become involved in prison ministry. Was this a sign? Did God stop me in my tracks, saying, "OK Scott, you haven't quite gotten the message yet. Got it now? Are we clear?" I got it...and am working with my men's group at church on setting up a prison ministry.

This past week, I was staying at a hotel for a few days, in a room on the 8th floor. Every time I went to the ground floor in the elevator, it mysteriously stopped on the 4th floor. No one was there, no one getting on or off at this floor. Was this a sign? I'll never know...I didn't get off to investigate.

I believe there are times where we get very specific signs from God on the direction our lives are supposed to take. Other times, he just pokes away at us over many years until we finally get the message.

So today, be open to the signs that come at you. You've asked for them, right? Look at each thing, pray for guidance. Take advantage of the little signs God sends before He stops you cold in your tracks and puts you on the pavement, making sure you got the message.