Final Exam

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”  Rick Warren

Do you remember when you were in school and it came time to take a test, pop quiz or final?  I think it is interesting that the words used for testing our knowledge are kind of alarming.  When you had a “pop” quiz you knew you were in trouble.  The majority of the time it meant you weren’t prepared and when they told you when your “final” would be, it kind of opened the door to anxiety and stress.  A pop quiz was intended to test your knowledge at that moment.  It was used to determine if you were listening in class.

 

If you think about it, a pop quiz wasn’t the final determination if you passed or not.  The final exam determined if you went on to the next grade. Our life as a Christian is full of pop quizzes and tests.  If we learn what we need to know from the Bible and live it we will pass the final.  The problem with pop quizzes and tests is that if we don’t know the material we will fail. 

The Pharisees and Sadducees were examples of a people who didn’t understand that their life was a test.  They continually tested Jesus without realizing that he was revealing to them the very answers that would be on the final test.  They wanted a sign from heaven that proved that Jesus was who He said he was. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, we will go through many tests in our lifetime.  I pray for Your guidance so that I can pass the final test.  Help me to learn from Your Word and to show others that they too can pass the final as long as they turn to You for the answers. 

     

Scripture: Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.   1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.  Matthew 16:1-4

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”  Mark 8:11-12