Signs and Wonders
Reading for Tuesday, March 2
John 4:43-54
When I first found out that I had been asked to prepare a devotional for the 2015 Lenten Season, I felt honored and humbled. I wanted to say something that would be profound. In addition, I did not want to reveal very much of my personal side. John 4:43-54 was the scripture that I had been given to consider writing this devotional. Verse 48 reads, “ Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
After reading that verse about a dozen times, I thought of a couple of my “burning bushes.” The first burning bush was when Milton Bell and I were trying to get a star to stop over the manger during one of the Christmas Programs. The star started its descent from the upper loft of the church next to the bell tower. During practice, every time we slid the star down the fishing line it bounced off the wall above the baptistery. During the actual program, however, the star stopped directly above the manger.
My second burning bush was shortly after the 1997 flood. We had just completed the fellowship hall and had not black topped the parking lot so it (the parking lot) was gravel. You might remember that our church was the distribution center for cleaning supplies. Huge tractor trailer trucks came onto the lot to unload supplies. Since the parking lot had not been blacktopped at that time, the big trucks did not do any harm to the parking lot. Had the parking lot been blacktopped, we would have had significant damage to the fresh black top.
You see, I saw signs and wonders and that strengthened my belief!
Gary Brunker
Reading for Tuesday, March 2
John 4:43-54
When I first found out that I had been asked to prepare a devotional for the 2015 Lenten Season, I felt honored and humbled. I wanted to say something that would be profound. In addition, I did not want to reveal very much of my personal side. John 4:43-54 was the scripture that I had been given to consider writing this devotional. Verse 48 reads, “ Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”
After reading that verse about a dozen times, I thought of a couple of my “burning bushes.” The first burning bush was when Milton Bell and I were trying to get a star to stop over the manger during one of the Christmas Programs. The star started its descent from the upper loft of the church next to the bell tower. During practice, every time we slid the star down the fishing line it bounced off the wall above the baptistery. During the actual program, however, the star stopped directly above the manger.
My second burning bush was shortly after the 1997 flood. We had just completed the fellowship hall and had not black topped the parking lot so it (the parking lot) was gravel. You might remember that our church was the distribution center for cleaning supplies. Huge tractor trailer trucks came onto the lot to unload supplies. Since the parking lot had not been blacktopped at that time, the big trucks did not do any harm to the parking lot. Had the parking lot been blacktopped, we would have had significant damage to the fresh black top.
You see, I saw signs and wonders and that strengthened my belief!
Gary Brunker