NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

ISAIAH 62:1-5
1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11
JOHN 2:1-11

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “God’s signs and gifts”. Signs are events or happenings that indicate the presence or occurrence of something else. Some signs or occurrences indicate the presence of God in our lives. Gifts in the context of our reflection are supernatural or special abilities given to a person as signs of God’s presence in the person’s life. God’s signs and gifts mean occurrences and special abilities that empower the church and assure believers that God is ever-present. It is important to note that God’s signs and gifts can be classified as the workings of God. Workings refer to how an entity or a system operates, therefore, the workings of God refer to how God operates in the affairs of people through signs and gifts of the Holy Spirit. We shall reflect on three ways we experience God’s signs and gifts in our lives in today’s reflection:

1. God’s salvation is one of the signs of His presence in our lives.
2. God equips and empowers us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
3. God’s intervention in our challenges is part of His signs in our lives.  

Firstly, the salvation of God is a sign that He is always with us, He saves those who call on Him in times of trouble and restores them. In the first Scripture reading, Isaiah brings good news of God’s promised salvation to the nation Israel at the time of Assyrian invasion and captivity. Isaiah assured the Israelites “The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendour in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.” (Isaiah 62:2-4) My dear friend in the Lord, hard times or times of despair may hit us in life, it may be through our disobedience or the orchestration of the enemy. Our greatest consolation and hope is that the presence of God in our lives is a sign that He has a plan to save and restore us to a state of peace and joy. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14) Through our relationship with Jesus, we experience the glory of God in our lives therefore we can call on Him even in times of distress and He will save us.

Secondly, as part of God’s signs of salvation and restoration, He also equips and empowers us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is for this reason Paul enlightened the church in Corinth about the working of the Holy Spirit when he wrote,  “For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). Beloved in the Lord, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are a sign that God is with the church and has empowered the church of ministry. The world sees the glory of God in the Church and in the lives of believers through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Thirdly, those who invite Jesus into their lives and affairs experience the God’s signs and gifts. In the third Scripture reading, John 2:1-11, a couple invited Jesus and the mother to their wedding, when wine was in shortage, the presence of Jesus averted a situation of scarcity and brought about refreshment, joy and abundance. When you invite Jesus into your life, God intervenes and makes the impossibility possible through His signs and gifts. Abraham and Sarah were told “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:14). Dear friend, we experience God power, signs and wonders through the Holy Spirit when we allow Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. Have you invited Jesus to become the shepherd and Lord of your life? May this reflection draw you close to the Lord.

In summary, beloved in Lord, God’s signs and gifts are numerous but in today’s reflection we have been reminded that God saves those who call upon Him, He equips and empowers them through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, He intervenes and makes the impossible possible as the manifestation of His signs and gifts in our lives. May the Holy Spirit keep manifesting God’s signs and gifts in our lives. Amen.