(for Bill)
1. This follows the pattern of Jesus’ ministry who said, “The kingdom of heaven is upon you. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, drive out demons…”
2. There are those of us who need miracles because our lives are hanging by a thread. We are depending on a miracle for our survival. I am weak. I depend on God implicitly for miracles to get through this life.
3. I am aware that there are others who also depend implicitly on God for their survival and on his miracles, who, without knowing him are not surviving, but a miracle is an introduction to God and the beginning of their survival.
4. Healing is an assurance of full cleansing from sin. Jesus told the man who had been healed at the pool of Bethesda, “sin no more that no worse thing come upon you.” It says he bore our sins in his body on the tree and by his stripes we are healed. Healing seems to go hand in hand with forgiveness. I want to be healed of something that it seems came from sin. There are others who need that assurance as well.
5. I want to see God’s power in a world where we see man’s power, which has failed miserably (the bridge in Minneapolis) and Satan’s power (which brings evil.) God hides himself until he finds those whose minds and hearts are open to receive him and who are looking for him, and who want his power revealed, like Elijah. I am one of those who want it revealed, don’t you?
6. We cannot be Jesus in this world or do His work in our own strength. So while we are dying to our own strength and taking on His, we might as well become supernaturally empowered beyond what we are in the natural and come up with the power to do the miracles of Jesus. It’s what he wants anyway – for us to pattern ourselves after his ministry. Jesus didn’t do magic tricks for people. He restored them to life, and in so doing he showed us the heart of the Father.
Operating in miracles doesn't make you better than anybody else, or abnormal. It means that you are living more by God's power and less by your own, and that's something one doesn't attain to overnight, but something one grows into day by day, and line upon line, precept upon precept. I would like to grow into that and become less of me and more of him.
5 comments:
Interesting that you mention that saving and healing are related. Having just completed Greek (Hallelujah!) I can tell you that they are in fact the same word! To save and to heal are both "sodzo".
Good post.
That language study is invaluable! i will treasure what you just shared!
Hey, Gabrielle,
To be honest with you, I have no clue what point I was trying to make with the comment I left on your other post. I hope that I didn't say anything to upset you.
How 'bout we just say that I was suffering from temporary mental incapacity due to the fact that I had vacation with my son and was dead tired from running around all the time???
Hey Bill, that's funny - don't sweat it! I do stuff like that all the time. Satan gets his little jabs.
A very nice post. Miracles are real but rarely noticed. I believe that's because needing God's help and forgiveness are essential ingredients to having eyes of faith, and because few seek forgiveness, faith is something but few every find.
I like what you say that a miracle is evidence of God's acceptance. That's thrilling.
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