"Give Us a Sign"

 "But when the Jewish leaders demanded, "What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it." "All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "What!" they exclaimed. "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?" But when Jesus said "this temple," he meant his own body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said." (John 2:18-22 NLT) 

  ""Then the LORD said to me, 'What they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.' "But you may wonder, 'How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the LORD?' If the prophet speaks in the LORD'S name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared."" (Deuteronomy 18:17-22 NLT) 

  In this modern world of thrills and pills, it is really sometimes hard to notice a sign, let alone try to figure out what any sign might have been meant for or where it was intended to work. Think of what this sign was in the eyes of these Jewish leaders, as they wanted real proof, like right then and there proof, that Jesus had the authority to do what He did, as He had disrupted their manner of business. 

  Yes, you heard me right, business! You see, there was absolutely nothing they were doing to bring the people closer to understanding God's love and His desire to have fellowship with His people. As a matter of fact, they made money off the people who brought sacrifice; making them buy the animals from the Temple, as if the animals they had brought were unworthy or blemished. Even the people who brought money, they too were taken advantage of, because their money was only good enough if it was the currency accepted by the Temple treasury. 

  Not that it is any different today, because there are certain rules and practices which get placed upon people today; they come seeking real fellowship with God, and are given a list of things that they are required to perform; do's and don'ts all about whatever that particular church might require. All the while, the real fellowship they require is not found, because they skipped over the One that makes the real fellowship happen. 

  This is by no means a blanket statement, because not all churches are the same. But more and more, there are churches, right and left, that are seemingly trying to not offend, if you will, the sinner! Be that as it may, we are all sinners; each and every one: but someone in the room needs to be the adult, put on the pants, and bring some order into this mess, like really soon...

"When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the LORD because the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the LORD filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshipped and praised the LORD, saying, "He is good! His faithful love endures forever!"" (2 Chronicles 7:1-3 NLT)