Show me a miracle and I will believe! Before I was a follower of Jesus, I negotiated with God on those terms. God, “do this”- then, “I will believe in you and give you my life.” Then it happened, I was called on the carpet by pastor Greg Laurie who preached God’s answer: “Give me your life, and I will show miracle after miracle”! God was gracious, he revealed Himself to me. And so, I did, in faith- I gave Him my life. And since then, I have seen and been involved in genuine miracles. By miracles- I mean the temporary interruption of the laws of our natural world, caused by God or an agent of God to bring about His will (healing, victory, protection, disruption in weather, rescue, etc.) usually in response to prayer. The most amazing and faith-building to me are the healing miracles. Jesus, could heal from a distance with a word, a command, or even from an unanticipated touch from a stranger. For many, the ultimate question they want to reconcile is what happens after we die. If only someone could come back from the dead and tell the story. Jesus warned about that attitude in a story he told about the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man didn’t make it to heaven (Abraham’s bosom) and begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers. Jesus, knowing far too well, said- No! God has given them the scriptures and all of history. And for us, we have the advantage of actually knowing someone who came back from the dead because Jesus did rise on the third day, showed Himself to nearly 500 hundred people and ascended into the clouds 40 days later in their presence.
Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Luke 6:27-31 NASB
What miracles have occurred that build my faith? How can I trust God in this season even more?
God, as this day (Sunday) begins- may You be pleased with all that is said and done as the church gathers in person and online. May our songs of praise be a sweet sound in Your ear. Would you continue to do the miracles people are asking for? Please heal the sick, provide for the needy, encourage the brokenhearted, in Jesus name.
