signs

CBG: Signs

April 22, 2020 — Leave a comment

The Pharisees came and began to argue with [Jesus,] seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no signs will be given to this generation. And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees demand a sign from heaven.

Right before this, Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit, healed the sick or oppressed by demons, healed a leaper, healed a paralytic, convinced a tax collector to join his group, healed a man with a withered hand, calms a storm, heals another man with a demon, heals more sick folk, fed 5000+, walked on water and healed more of the sick.

What sign from heaven do the Pharisees still need? How are they defining sign from heaven when right before them are miracles, transformations and stories?

When your heart is hard and when you only come on the offense, there is no miracle/sign/transformation that will penetrate. When you reject the ultimate sign – Jesus – THE sign from heaven – what is left to give you? The demand of another sign is but a defense, a rejection of reality, a refusal to see that you already have everything you need for the proof you’re asking for.

Where are we demanding signs out of fear and out of protection? Where are we demanding signs to test God when God’s presence is the ultimate sign? But thankfully for us, even in our demands, our doubts and our testing, God will not get on a boat and leave us. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Prayer: God where am I demanding you to show up. How are you already there? God where is my heart hard? God I need you to soften those parts. God where am I being stubborn and unwilling. God gently shake me. God what miracles and signs have happened already that I haven’t focused on? Remind me of them.

Creative: Write down questions you have for God. Be specific. Be bold.

Brave: Who can you invite into these questions? Can you do that today?

Generosity: What have you been unwilling to do because you’ve thought about your own comfort first? That’s fine! If you can shift the focus of comfort, what is your next step?

Day 21: How to read without discarding God

January 6, 2019 — Leave a comment

Exodus 13-15; Psalm 21

I don’t like this God of war. I’m not sure how to receive all that he does here. Unless, one I discard this story, which Bible people say you can’t. You can’t just pick and choose stories in the Bible because in essence you are creating the God that fits YOU. And how much can we really trust ourselves? There should be a level of discomfort when we make ourselves better, more in line with wholeness, goodness, compassion, kindness, all the above that God is from the beginning. So this God of war and God who hardens the Egyptians are really messing with me. I either have to take this story or throw away the God. Can I interpret this story in light of God’s character? A God of war that fits into a God of compassion… Can this tale be a metaphor? Does it remind us how prisons and past lifestyles grip us and don’t want to let us go? Does it tell us to keep signs of how God has freed us? What have we been freed from? What’s a sign of that, that we can bring up time and time again so we don’t lose sight of that redemptive God? Does it also show us how quickly we forget all that God has done for us? How quickly we see the power of God and go back to complaining about the little things and doubting?

Seeing this more as a metaphor of God’s power and love instead of taking it so literally help me make sense of it. It still doesn’t sit 100% well with me. Is that because the wars and revenge of my current world really suck? I’m part of the oppressive nation. In my current world, we are the Egyptians.