Wandering Crusader 295 There Will Be Signs

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:20

I was saved in a Pentecostal church. Those who know that generally recoil whenever I bring up this verse. They just know I’m going to start talking about the Holy Spirit using ordinary believers to heal the sick, to perform miracles, and to cast out devils. And we all know that no longer happens, right? Right? That’s not my experience but that’s not what I intend to talk about here.

Mention of signs that follow believers does not necessarily mean miracles or any of the gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians, nor does it exclude them. It means simply that there are visible manifestations of the presence of God in the life of believers. They don’t appear by accident. On the contrary, they are the result of a deliberate choice that is subsequently nurtured by discipline. That is why they may also be called “works”. Three important personal disciplines (there are more, but three are enough to start with) are prayer, reading, and study.

Prayer is the greatest spiritual discipline. In a sense, private, sincere, personal communication and fellowship with God is why we were created. When it is practiced, there will be signs. Thoughts, habits, and attitudes change. The old saying that prayer changes things is true. The thing it changes most is the person praying. The first and great commandment is to love God. Prayer is an expression of our love for God. God answering and speaking back is an expression of His love for us. That shared love drives all the other disciplines.

Reading the scripture demonstrates a desire to know God better. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to the reader. It does not tell us everything there is to know. It tells us everything we need to know to enter into a loving relationship with our Creator. Reading the scripture reveals His general will and design for Creation while inviting us in to discover His will for us as an individual. The scripture is God’s instruction book for life. We have life and our experience will be richer if we read the instructions before trying to put it together.

Studying is not the same as reading, much as mining is not the same as tilling a garden spot. There are many ways to go about it. You can study a particular book, a specific subject, or a chosen writer. My fellow Christians may disagree, but study outside the Bible itself is very useful to growth. The writings of people like Spurgeon, Lewis, Ravenhill, Bunyan, and Milton have helped me. There are more modern Christian writers worth reading, but I am not the best source of recommendations in that area.

Much of the Christian life is meant to be private and personal. Some public displays of needful spiritual disciplines are condemned by Jesus. But, where they flourish, there will be signs.

Maranatha