Skip to main content

The Sign from Heaven



 There are many who say they would believe in God if only He would provide a sign of His existence. This is nothing new. The religious elite of the day requested a sign from Jesus. Matthew records, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.” (Matthew 16:1)

Jesus had already shown them many signs and wonders that directly pointed to His identity as the Son of Almighty God. The trouble was not a lack of a sign, but a refusal to believe in Him regardless of the evidence He provided. Jesus answered them saying, “…A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 16:4)

In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus taught that the rich man wanted Abraham to send Lazarus back to his brothers so they would not end up in the same place of torment as he. He thought that if one returned from the dead, that his brothers would surely believe. Abaraham said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (vs. 31)

Today, there are many who claim that they would believe in God if only He would provide a sign from heaven proving His existence. Yet God has already done this. Just looking at our physical universe we can see God’s handiwork. The Psalmist said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps 19:1). Paul also stated, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen…” (Romans 1:20a)

The ones who do not believe in God today are not lacking in evidence. Their hearts have become hardened to the point that they have no room for faith. In fact, God gave us the greatest proof of His power by raising Jesus from the dead. Our resurrected Savior was seen by over five hundred witnesses! (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Jesus was declared the Son of God by His resurrection (Romans 1:4).

As Abraham stated, if they do not believe Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded by the resurrection of Jesus. Those who observe the intricate design of the universe around us and claim that it all occurred by a series of random chances, will not be persuaded by anything the bible has to say.

Jesus gave us a sign. This is the sign of Jonah. He was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. Jesus was in the tomb for the same length of time. He arose from the grave conquering sin and death. It is not a question of a sign, it is a question whether or not we will believe.

God Bless each of you,

Eric Hicks

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walk Worthy

  The Christian life has been compared to a variety of things. One in particular is that of a walk. A walk in the context of the Christian faith involves the way we live and conduct ourselves throughout our lives. The manor in which we live will either reflect Christ or it will reflect the ways of the world. Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1). There are a multitude of ways we must walk to be pleasing unto the Lord. We will consider a few. Bearing with one another. Walking worthy before the Lord strongly involves our conduct with one another. Paul continued, “ with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Bearing with one another is not possible apart from a humble mindset. It is the humble mindset that keeps us from thinking too highly of ourselves. It also enables us to focus on the needs of others rather than ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Taking Time to Pray

  We have all had those busy mornings where we rush around trying to get out the door. We scrabble frantically trying to gather everything we know we are going to need for the day. We fly out the door only to remember that the cell phone is still on the dresser. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we will turn around, go back inside to retrieve our cell phone no matter how late we may be running. While this is all well and good, the question arises, what if we run out the door and remember we had not yet prayed to our heavenly Father. What would be our response. Would we stop dead in our tracks and offer a prayer before God, or continue in moving toward our daily pursuits with the intention of praying when we have more time? Our great example of a prayer life is Christ. He too had a busy schedule to maintain. Mark records, “And He said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not even ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Take Careful Aim

       In the book of Proverbs, we read that where there is no vision the people perish. Vision is an absolute necessity if one is to accomplish anything worthwhile in life. Without vision, there is no goal. Without a goal, there is no purpose. Having a vision for the future is like having a target you do not intend to miss. Like a marksman taking careful aim at his target, we too must take careful aim if we are to accomplish great things for the Lord. There are various goals we should take careful aim at. One is increasing our relationships with one another. The only way this can be accomplished is through effective communication with each other. We can do this in a variety of ways including phone calls, personal visits, and through the positive side of social media. Equally, we grow in our relationship with one another through worshipping God together. The Hebrew writer stated, “…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more