John 2: 23
“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.”
To have been alive in the days that Jesus walked the earth would be both amazing and confusing. What Jesus said and did was being praised by sinners and at the same time decried by the religious authorities. Who would you believe? Then, to see Jesus stand up to the authorities, cast out demons, or raise the dead; who would you believe?
Q: What sign comes to mind when you think of Jesus?
Well,..since coming to know Jesus and His work,..the sign that comes to my mind is the cross,..
Like John, the changes Christ has made in me are the greatest sign. He has given me life….freedom from all sin, the burden of past sin….His power over the desire to sin each day, an incredible desire to obey God’s will over my own.
He has given me the power to live in humble obedience to our God’s will. Has given me sight to see, and a heart to do so many things pleasing to God, that I simply do not have the desire or the time to give a lot of thought to my old ways.
I have found His yoke is so very light as He does all the work and I simply get out of His way. I receive a great sense of peace and contentment with this new life He has provided, and have passed from believing into knowing Christ is real as I live within the pleasant boundaries He has made known to me.
Praise God for all He has done!
Thanks Ron,..absolutely praise God! Just one thing though whenever I get outta the way the concrete just stays right where it’s at,..in the hole. Fortunately He has given me the tools,..skills,..and talents through Christ for the work to get done,..I know He carries my burdens but those concrete sets sure are heavy,..
Hahaha! In the book of Hesitations it says, He could take care of them, but in His wisdom, He leaves concrete sets for us.
I see you guys are ‘cementing’ your friendship here! Thank you for the wonderful comments! When I wrote this post my head was back in the days of Jesus, wondering what it would have been like to be in the same place Jesus was in, hearing about his “signs” and maybe even seeing one, or like Ron points out, needing one. The signs Jesus manifested were physical examples of his spiritual power, and yet today we have the wonderful gift of being able to experience his power in our own lives by accepting him into our hearts.
Great job John. enjoying your daily questions.
Maybe I read into things too much sometimes, but I pondered todays question off and on all morning. I thought about the sign that comes to mind when I think of Jesus, and the thought (finally) came to me: what is the sign that comes to mind when I think of me? What is a sign of who you are? Jesus came and gave us signs that He is the Son of God, and God in the flesh. His signs showed us that He had complete control over everything that touched the life of mankind. In every sign though He demonstrated that He would not take away our free will. His signs truly demonstrated the verse from the song from when we were children “He has the whole world in His hands.” I also think of a verse of a song about gambling with your life I heard when I was a teenager: “there are only two winning hands, and they were nailed to a tree.” I think that is the sign I think of when I think of Jesus.
Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Chris,
I deeply appreciate you taking the time to go back through these posts. I am enjoying visiting them with you, but also learning from you was we go along.
One of the “signs” that occurred to me the first time through John was the way that Jesus talked. He speaks as if he is not from around here, meaning earth. He speaks from a perspective that is literally “out of this world.” No one born of man would speak the way he does and still be thought sane, if they could not also validate what they said the way Jesus does.