Morning Inspiration! One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
Matthew 16:1–4As a longtime weather forecaster, I get a kick out of Jesus using old sayings about the weather, to make an important spiritual point. The religious leaders were basically dismissing the earlier miracles of Jesus, as magic tricks, designed to fool the people.
They didn’t believe He had the power to do anything miraculous ‘from heaven’. So they demanded Jesus make a sign in the skies to prove Who He was. Jesus put them in their place, explaining that they knew a few things about the weather, but almost nothing about God Who creates it! Then He totally confounded them by the reference to Jonah. Only later would they understand (as we do now) that Jesus was comparing Jonah spending three days in the belly of the whale, to the greatest miracle in historyafter three days in the tomb!
Today we are in danger of again missing the important signs God is sending us, pertaining to His short-term forecast. Weather has something to do with it, yet the scope is much larger. God’s predictions (known as prophecies) teach us what happens between now & our eternity. It’s critically important we know what to expect, & how to prepare.
Morning Inspiration!
They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The Lord is just!
He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”
Psalm 92:13–15In announcing my retirement from a 48 year Radio & TV career, this scripture holds special meaning for me today. The word retirement is not mentioned in the Bible. The great heroes of our faith never stopped doing the Lord’s work, & there is no indication we should either. I prefer to look at this new phase of my life as Retooling instead of Retiring. While I’m closing one career, I’m eagerly stepping into another. My deepest desire is to spend the rest of my productive life in full time ministry. I’m trusting in Jesus that I will be granted vitality & freshness…even new spiritual growth. No matter our age, we who follow Jesus should always stay active in His Kingdom. There is such a great harvest to bring in…yet so few willing to do the work it requires. May we each dedicate our lives to doing all that God desires. I pray we always produce sweet fruit in serving others, through our love for Jesus, our rock, our foundation, our future.
