Follow The Signs

This week I enjoyed a rare treat of blowing up explosives with an assault rifle.  The scope had an electronic laser inside of it that allowed me to successfully send an M4A1 bullet one hundred yards into a watermelon with a small bomb inside it.  I felt like I was playing Call of Duty again on the Xbox, which I gave up a long time ago after I realized I was gaining a dungeon tan and turning back into a ban (boy/man).  My dad refused to shoot the ninja gun with electronic scope and proceeded to sit on the ground with an old Winchester 270, that he refuses to put a scope on, because it is cheating.  He sat down a hundred yards out with his old gun in which I turned to my brother and said, "he'll never come close." Boom! He nails the target! I've come to realize my dad is a pretty cool guy not to mention smarter than me with most everything.  One of the things he said while we were out there shooting was that my great grandpa was very overwhelmed by how rapidly technology was introducing itself to the world.  Before he died he never quite figured out how to use a cell phone properly.  Wondering where my dad was going with the conversation he turned and said he currently feels overwhelmed in the same way by how frequent natural disasters are introducing themselves multiple times per year. "It's not normal", he said, "I don't care what those clowns are saying about it just being we are aware of all these things because of technology, it's not the little things I'm talking about, but the big stuff that is happening multiple times a year."  He said, "I might be old but we did have TV's and 60 minutes for crying out loud." My dad's right to notice this.  I was curious after the conversation and started looking up CNN columns written ten years ago, and news clips from ABC done ten just years ago http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/29/warming.disasters.reut/.  They were noticing this ten years ago and scientists were being overwhelmed by climate disruptions and natural disasters including earthquakes, extreme temperatures, famines, floods, slides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and wind storms.  Jesus of course in Matt. 24 said these things would increase rapidly before the time of his return.  He referred to them as "birth pangs" vs. 8.  He told the people to keep oil in their lamps and to continue living for him even when things get nasty (Matt.25).  In John 21 the apostle John tells us that Jesus did many signs in the presence of his disciples, and that these signs were recorded in the gospel "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."  The greatest sign we have ever been given is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Signs are meant to point you in the right direction, or show you have arrived, or show you are going the wrong way.  I am excited to have an opportunity to respond to the sign of the King and live for Him.  I want to join with what he is doing to reconcile a broken world to Himself.  Jesus is not a limp wristed spritist.  He is the Son of God who died for the sins of the world offering the free gift of salvation to all who will receive Him. He has overcome sin, death, hell, and all those who worship the lie and will come again to establish justice and righteousness upon the earth.  Another sign we have been given is the reality of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us if we are truly a child of God.  "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom.8:16).  Turn to the Lord today, in a time of grace and be adopted into his kingdom and family as a son or daughter living for His glory.