And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.
Mark 16:17 and 18
BSB
Signs that follow
These words come from the longer ending of Mark, which was probably added later. Five signs are named, from healing to picking up snakes and drinking poison. Apart from the poison, they all reappear in Acts. On Malta a viper bit Paul's hand, and nothing happened to him.
The verb matters: the signs accompany those who believe, or in the King James Version, they shall follow them. They aren't a test you set up yourself. It is a promise for the road, not an order to go looking for danger. In Acts, too, Christians were imprisoned and killed.
Question for today
When did I see something of God's power in people who were simply going their way faithfully?
Prayer
Lord, walk with me on the road you put me on. Let your power be seen where you want it, not where I demand it. Amen.
My prayer
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