Category Archives: Miracles

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July 1, 2014

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Attitudes & Behavior, Love & Works, Miracles, Prayer

BLESSINGS IN ABUNDANCE

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. [Proverbs 11:25 (MSG)]

One day, a friend of mine decided to send a prayer out to the various people who crossed her path. Her first opportunity arose when a couple leisurely walked across the street against the light. From the designer attire and fur coat, it was obvious they were tourists. Instead of honking or angrily muttering “Move it, lady!” so she could make her turn, my friend asked God to give them a pleasant vacation.

Later that evening, my friend and her husband went out for a long-awaited “date night.” Who should be sitting right by them but the couple she’d seen earlier that day! My friend’s husband was wearing a shirt with the logo of his youth ministry on it. The other gentleman turned around and asked about the logo and the church; it turned out they, too, were Christians. During their conversation, my friend mentioned seeing them earlier that day and asking God to bless their holiday. Imagine his surprise when my friend’s husband was told the dinner check had been paid and their added joy when this same couple sent money to support their mission.

My point: the one who blesses is, indeed, blessed! We probably won’t get a free dinner or a check supporting our cause every time we bless someone, but we will always get a blessing in return!

When you’re kind to others, you help yourself; when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself. [Proverbs 11:17 (MSG)]

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June 27, 2014

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Knowing Him, Miracles, Salvation: A New You

THE MIRACLE WORKER

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. … “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” [John 2:11, 3:2b (NLT)]

While some thirty-seven miracles are recorded in the gospels, many more occurred. Were Jesus’s miracles supposed to be the selling point to discipleship? If you believe, you will never be blind, sick or lame and you won’t go hungry. Better yet, you can walk on water and catch all the fish you want! If that was the case, Jesus would probably have healed everyone in Jerusalem and the doctors, bread-bakers, wine-makers and boat-makers would have gone out of business! Jesus’s miracles helped to establish his divine power; they gave him the 1st Century equivalent of “street cred.” More important, His miracles continue today to teach us lessons about forgiveness, love, and faith.

The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.[John 20:30-31 (NLT)]

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January 3, 2014

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Miracles

Miracles

Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour. [Matthew 8:13 (NLT)]

The centurion had to go to Jesus before his servant was healed, the leper had to kneel before Jesus before being made clean, the paralytic was brought to Jesus before he could walk, the bleeding woman had to reach out and touch His cloak before being healed, and the blind men had to call out to Him before regaining their sight. What did all of these people have in common? They believed in Jesus and their belief led them to go to Him. If they had believed and not gone to Jesus or if they had gone to Jesus and not believed, a miracle wouldn’t have occurred. They did the work before Jesus performed the miracle. Of course, not every illness will be miraculously healed nor every problem miraculously solved, but there can never be a miracle in our lives if we don’t go to the Lord and believe!

Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” [Matthew 9:29 (NLT)]

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November 13, 2013

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Miracles, Trusting God

Expect a Miracle (Part 2) – He has No Limits

“A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.) Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted. When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets. [John 6:9-13 (GW)]

Although the disciples’ resources were limited, they forgot that God has no limitations. In Jesus’ hands, the boy’s meager offering would be more than enough to feed the crowd.

Lord Jesus, don’t let our inadequacies and shortcomings constrain our vision of what we can do together. Don’t let us limit your work by deciding what is and isn’t possible. No matter how meager our resources may be, if we offer them to you, you can make them more than enough. You can multiply anything we give to you!

 For nothing is impossible with God. [Luke 1:37 (GW)]

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November 12, 2013

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Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Miracles, Trusting God

Expect a Miracle (Part 1)

2013-11-12Toward the end of the day, the twelve apostles came to him. They said to him, “Send the crowd to the closest villages and farms so that they can find some food and a place to stay. No one lives around here.” Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish. Unless we go to buy food for all these people, that’s all we have.” [Luke 9:12-13 (GW)

Over 5000 people had followed Jesus and evening was approaching. The disciples saw the massive crowd and they knew they had a predicament. How could they possibly feed all of those hungry people? Although all four gospels report this story, none mention any of the disciples saying something like, “Jesus, we’ve got a problem; we need to pray!” or “Do you think we could find a way to feed this crowd? Could a miracle be possible?” No! Knowing they didn’t have enough money to purchase that much food, they simply suggested sending the crowd away. Jesus and his disciples had been healing the sick and lame. Jesus had freed people from demons, calmed a storm and even brought a young girl back to life. The disciples probably knew about the wine making miracle at Cana. Did it not occur to them that yet another miracle could occur?

Lord Jesus, forgive me when I don’t bring you my problems and trust you with a solution.

Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.” [Mark 9:23 (GW)]

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November 4, 2013

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Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Miracles, Prayer

Prayer Can Move more Than Mountains

Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God! I can guarantee this truth: This is what will be done for someone who doesn’t doubt but believes what he says will happen: He can say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will be done for him. That’s why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours.” [Mark 11:22-24 (GW)]

We need faith to pray, but as we pray we gain faith. True faith, however, includes faith in God’s will, not ours. God can do the impossible but he isn’t going to perform miracles to prove his existence to us. Am I disappointed because I haven’t moved a mountain by prayer? No, because there is no need for me to move any mountains. But, when I have prayed in faith, God has moved people, changed lives, and healed troubled souls. He has, indeed, performed miracles in response to prayers offered in faith.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” [Mark 10:27 (NLT)]