Psalm 74:4

Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs.

If we search the scriptures for signs of the times we will almost always find some scripture to support the notion that God has predicted our future.

That is not the purpose of the scriptures. When we begin with a thought and look for supporting evidence, we are seeking to be vindicated for our own emotions. Good or bad, it ends up being a self-seeking exercise. 

There are some scriptures that contain warnings, granted, but is this the time in history to take heed to those warnings?

John 4:48

So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

The context in this verse is about a man whose son was dying and he wanted Jesus to heal his son. Even after Jesus pointed out his unbelief, that man kept insisting that Jesus heal his son. Remember in 1 Corinthians 13 says love does not insist on having its own way.

Matthew 8:10

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

The context here is that a centurion had a servant in need of healing but the man did not ask Jesus to go and lay hands on the servant but rather that Jesus could just give a command and the servant would be healed. The centurion had faith in Jesus and Jesus responded to that faith. Jesus gave the command and the servant was healed.

If we do not lead with faith our seeking becomes self-serving.

Each day my wife wakes and asks me, “What do you want to do today?” That is such a loving question because it says, “I don’t care where you are going, I just want to be with you.”

Isn’t that a better way to show we love Jesus?

He is God and has all things under His command during this church age. He knows our needs much better than we do. He knows what is troubling us and if we come to Him in faith, He will respond to that just as He did with the centurion. What signs of faith are we showing?

Hebrews 4:7

again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

When someone quotes the bible do we hear the Lord speaking to us?

When we read a bible quote, do we hear the Lord speaking to us?

Here in Hebrews the idea of hearing His voice is dependent on the word if. It is not a sure thing. If is an unknown event that can be influenced by experience. If we have never heard Him before, we might not recognize it as Him if we do hear something. Then there is the issue of expectation. If we have heard Him before we might expect to hear Him again. The danger there is in being insistent.

When we harden our hearts even before we read the bible or hear a sermon doesn’t that inhibit our listening in the spirit? When we allow our focus to be on these troubled times, that might be a distraction making it difficult to hear clearly.

We are told to go to our prayer closet for privacy, away from noises and distractions but bible study is not prayer. It is a form of worship, isn’t it?

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Our attitude can affect our attention and our ability to listen clearly.

Matthew 5:23-24 English Standard Version

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Do any of these passages quoted here today speak to anyone?

Do not be convicted if they do not. The message might be for someone else. That is an “if”.