I spent Monday at a retreat with some other area pastors at a United Methodist Church camp in LaGrange County. It was a great time of interaction and sharing thoughts. These were ministers from other denominations, but it was so heart-warming to hear their individual stories of conversion and calling. Inspirational!
At one point we scattered over the rustic campground, which was mostly wooded, for private devotional time. When we returned, one of the pastors was really excited that he had seen a sign from God. While praying about a problem he was dealing with, he observed a cardinal and blue jay sitting on a branch near each other. Now, blue jays are aggressive birds that will chase any other species away, and cardinals are non-aggressive and keep to themselves. But, here they sat together.
I don’t know what the pastor was dealing with, but this was received as God giving him a sign. It may have been relationship difficulties with his spouse, or perhaps a problem with his church or denomination. But, this was clearly a sign of unity for him.
What sign has God given you recently that delivered a message to your heart?
Tags: birds, message, nature, signs, unity
Hosea is an Old Testament prophet that had to live the message God wanted him to preach. He was directed by God to marry an adulterous woman, name their children after the prophetic themes they represented, suffer the pain of her further adultery, and then receive her back again. What a life’s message! Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet, and other prophets, as well, had to live the message they preached.
I believe it is God’s divine will that I live the message that I preach, as well. I must be a model of the message. As you know, two central truths I communicate most are 1) God has called us to be overcomers, and 2) first comes a death, then a resurrection. I suspect this cancer represents sin nature working death in my mortal body. As I stay faithful to God in faith, I must die to my self-will, so I can rise to new life, and become an overcomer!
If a genuine prophet must live through the message he preaches, let it be so with me, so I can preach the good news with His power.
Tags: Hosea, message, overcomer, prophet, resurrection