2028

I NEED A SIGN!

I’ve been meaning to write on this event for a while- but due to ‘un-foreseen’ circumstances- haven’t had the chance till now.

This past year has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for me- even as I pen this post I’m still in transition [the place I’m staying- though very nice- is temporary].

So when you’re in the middle of major life change- it’s hard to stick to an older schedule.

But- I’m giving it my best shot.

Ok- on February 15^th of this year- I was up early praying [I just finished a little over an hour outside- I have been able to keep this routine up].

And it was an important day for some of the stuff I was going thru- in a way I ‘needed a sign’ that God was hearing me.

Now- when you get up at 2-3 a.m.- for years- and walk outside and pray- looking up- you see stuff- lots of stuff.

I have seen thousands of ‘shooting stars’ over the years [Meteors- Asteroids].

At times- some were so close/bright- they looked like shooting fire balls [I’ll never forget these- I saw them one morning at the Fire House in Texas].

So- over time- it becomes common.

I guess the last one I saw was last month- early in the morning in Texas.

But- on Feb. 15^th- I saw something that I never have seen before.

I was looking into the night sky- and as I looked at this star [ one of thousands] it got super bright- and went out.

Now- at first I thought ‘you gotta be kidding’.

It was a Nova/Super Nova.

I don’t know what the odds of seeing one- with the naked eye- is- but that’s what it was.

A first- and more than likely last- experience.

Now- it was significant enough- that I wrote it in a journal that I have been making for this year.

Later on in the day- all over the news- was the sighting of a major event in Russia.

The Chelyabinsk Event.

It was the sighting of a Meteor that exploded [called a Bolide] over the city.

It came in over the Ural mountains and took the region by surprise.

This was the most ‘seen’ meteor explosion- ever.

Now- there have been much greater ones that have impacted the earth before [The Tunguska impact of 1908- which wiped out a thousand square miles of Siberian forest].

But this one was caught on lots of Russian dash cams- installed in their cars for the purpose of preventing police abuse- and the image was uploaded to U-Tube and went Viral.

So- the day I saw my Nova- was the same day of this Russian Meteor.

Another event- in the Heavens- happened on this day.

This was also the same day that a very large Asteroid passed very close to the earth [a one in a hundred year event].

The name was 2012 DA14- it flew 28,000 KM above the surface of the earth- it was much bigger- around 30-40 meters.

We were tracking the path of this asteroid- but the smaller- more seen one- was a surprise.

The immediate speculation was that these 2 events were related.

That the Astronomers messed up- and did not foresee that the larger object also had smaller ones ‘riding’ in its wake.

But we later found out that the 2 events- on the same day- were actual separate events.

Now- the reason some have continued to doubt the official account [there are on line blogs that have sprung up and espouse certain conspiracy theories on this] is because the odds on both of these events happening on the same day are quite high.

Some say a Billion to one! [Others have the odds lower- but it’s still a very rare event].

Okay- what are the odds that some one would see a Nova with the naked eye- on the same day of these other 2 events?

To be honest- I have no idea.

The only reason I remembered the date was because these other events happened- and are dated by others.

What does the bible say about stuff like this?

Like most things- you would be surprised.

In Genesis chapter one- the bible says God made the Sun- Moon and Stars- and they are ‘for signs’.

Huh?

What kind?

 Thru the course of history ship captains have used the stars to navigate and stuff.

But what about signs like I just mentioned- sort of like God saying ‘look- this time is important- I’m giving you a sign’.

In Matthew chapter 2 we read an interesting story about the birth of Jesus.

The wise men from the east ‘saw his Star’ and came to worship Him.

King Herod enquires of them what time the ‘Star appeared’.

He wants to find Jesus too- but so he could kill him and get rid of the competition [Herod heard that Jesus was this new King of the Jews].

The Wise men tell the king- and then they follow the Star until it ‘stops’ over the place where Jesus was.

The bible says ‘they rejoiced- when they SAW THE STAR’.

Around Christmas time every year you hear various sermons about the wise men- who were they- etc.

And this usually leads to a short study about the pre Christian religions that put much emphasis on stars- and how they coincided with the birth of some great ruler.

All of this is interesting- but we do know that God said the stars would be for signs- and sure enough we read accounts in the bible where they were doing just that.

I should note that God also forbade his people from the worship of these objects- which the pagan religions were want to do.

We also read in the book of Revelation that Stars are symbols for stuff.

We read that ‘stars fell from heaven’- or ‘the 7 stars in his right hand are the angels of the 7 churches’.

In these references the stars are talking about messengers- leaders- rulers- etc.

In the books of Psalms- and Romans- we read that God reveals his glory from the things he has made- the Heavens ‘Declare the Glory of God’.

So- should we look for signs like this?

No.

Jesus said ‘a wicked and adulterous people seek after a sign- and there shall no sign be given them’.

Yikes!

The Apostle Paul says ‘the Jews seek a sign- the Greeks seek wisdom- but we preach Christ Crucified’.

So- people have been looking for signs for centuries- and they have missed the boat because of it.

Never the less- God does at times give us signs- when he wishes to do so.

When I saw ‘my Nova’ I knew it was more than likely a one time event.

But- I took it for what it was worth- and moved on.

As I was going thru my journal the other day- I did not even realize that about this time I had penned a verse from Exodus- it said ‘This shall be a sign to you’.

To be honest I looked for it earlier- I don’t remember if I wrote this verse before or after ‘my sign’.

But I know I never connected the event with the verse- until I recently read the journal as a timeline- then I said ‘wow- this is so cool’.

I saw the connection- only from a distance.

So- do you need a sign- like the song says ‘I need a sign..’

Don’t look for one- trust God- but- if he decides to give you one- he can.

When Jesus rebuked the Jews of his day- he said ‘you seek a sign- but no sign will be given to you- but the sign of the Prophet Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the whale 3 days and 3 nights- so shall the Son of Man be in the Heart of the earth 3 days and nights’.

He told them that the ‘sign’ he was going to give them would be the greatest yet- he would rise from the grave after 3 days.

Yeah- they looked for a sign all right- and they did not like what they got.

NOTE- let me add a little at the end here.

The chapter for this week was Deuteronomy 30.

Last night we also had the President make some surprising news- he gave about a 16 minute speech- off the cuff- on the Trayvon Martin case.

He surprised many – both on the left and right.

Why?

I was talking to someone the other day and told them that Obama has had a hard time with the strong Black civil rights crowd.

He was seen as someone who did not really share in their struggle- not like the inner city Black kids who experienced lots of discrimination here on the mainland.

Yes- Obama grew up in Hawaii- and he was raised by a single mom- who was White.

So- he had a hard time gaining the trust of guys like Sharpton and Jackson.

He has also received criticism because he has avoided hot button racial issues- he has tried to walk a very tough middle road on stuff like this.

So- when he made his speech last night- it was a surprise.

How did he do?

It was no time before the hard right blasted him- and some on the left praised him.

As I simply heard him- without trying to pick every little thing apart- I thought he did ok.

He said things that would offend both sides of the aisle.

He spoke about the Black majority in prison- as well as them being the majority offenders.

Now- there are different arguments on why this is- but he did say that both the incarceration rate is high among minorities- as well as the offense rate.

It seems as if the president was simply trying to put some of this in perspective- he was saying that the reason we are seeing so many in the Black community up in arms- was because of the history that they have experienced.

Your background shapes you- you view things from a different lens- when you grow up in a different ‘world’.

In the bible we read a silly debate that was going on at the time of Jesus.

The religious folk had a technical argument that they debated at the time.

They came to the conclusion that you could ‘sware’ on the altar [you know- like ‘I sware on my mothers grave’ type thing].

But you could not sware by the ‘gift on the altar’.

Now- today this argument doesn’t make much sense- but back then it was a big deal.

Now- one day Jesus wades into it- and says- in so many words ‘you idiots! You think swearing on the altar is ok- but the animal on it- well that’s a big no- no.’

He then says an interesting thing- he says ‘what’s greater- the gift on the altar- or the altar that sanctifies the gift’?

He told them they were making a distinction that wasn’t there- as a matter of fact- the reality was the other way around.

The thing of importance is not the gift [our talent- the way we can ‘perform’ and look good to others].

But the thing of importance is the altar.

That is- the community of people that we speak into- those who are the sanctified ones- our gifts are only meant to build these people up- they are given to us for the benefit of the community- what the bible refers to as ‘a nation of priests’ [Peter].

The point?

All of us have come to ‘this Mountain’ [the present time we are in- all from both good and bad experiences].

We are here now- the above chapter in Deuteronomy says ‘I have shown you the blessing- and the curse- if you walk away now- from this moment of opportunity- you are gonna die- got it?’

Yes- I get it.

God is saying to many of us ‘I have brought you here for a purpose- maybe you thought this thing was about you- your legacy. Maybe you had different plans- you thought things would work out differently. But now we are here- all of us- the good and the bad- you see what I did- both in judgment and blessing. The thing of importance is not your gift- your talent- but the people you are here to form- to speak to- to lay your life down for- that’s what counts’.

In a way- I think the president had his ‘coming of age’ experience last night.

He looked at this second term- which quite frankly has started badly.

He also realized that the thing he wanted to avoid- being the first Black president- who made race a big issue- he could avoid no more.

That his goals- the way he wanted to be seen- was not important.

But the thing of importance was the people- to address the gorilla in the room- the one he has managed to avoid for the past 5 years.

At one point the president said ‘turn the tables around- say if the White guy and the Black kid were the other way around’.

I actually did this- real time- the other day.

Remember the post about me taking a walk form North Bergen to NYC?

Well I later realized I walked thru Harlem that day.

A spot where a White guy is not supposed to go- never mind walk!

I also mentioned how I stopped in front of some Black guys garage-  and he pulled up in his car and pointed it ‘at me’- not realizing he was simply waiting for me to move- so he could get in.

When he got out of the car- I ‘jumped’ on him- in a way.

Like ‘what the hell do you want man!’

I was Trayvon- I thought this guy stopped his car- and faced it right at me- because he wanted trouble.

And I have never been good in these situations- I have always gone off the deep end- and said ‘let’s do it’!

Now- that’s the way I am- I know its bad- I know I cant be walking thru Jersey city- and Harlem- with an attitude like that.

But I just turned 51- I realize I will die with this attitude- there’s nothing I’m gonna do at this stage to change that.

Now- If I were Trayvon- yea- I would have beat the hell out of Zimmerman too- that’s a fact.

Would I have been wrong?

Probably.

I was ready to beat the ‘hell’ out of the Black guy in Harlem the other day- and he did nothing wrong!

But he stopped on an empty street- and pointed his car at me- on the sidewalk.

Heck- I thought the guy was gonna jump me- and I wanted to let him know I was ready to go at it.

It’s a natural defense thing- and Trayvon simply did the same thing.

So yeah- I understood when the president asked us to try and see things turned around.

When he took the risk and gave a speech- one that he has avoided for 5 years.

He’s at the point where many of us are- the thing that matters now- after all that has happened- is to finish the course well- try and make something useful here at the end.

Forget the legacy thing- the people are what matters.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook] - I have posted lots.