It all began when God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Gen 1:27-28)
Eventually God chose our forefather in the faith Abraham saying, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
When Abraham’s descendants found themselves in trouble, the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. (Exodus 2:23-25)
At that time God declared, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.” (Exodus 6:7-8)
Much later, after God had disciplined his disobedient children, he told them, “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off’; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:8-10)
And then God outdid himself. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
Now that’s worth hearing again: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Love begetting love: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:9-12)
Love Story
Miracles FAQ
What constitutes a miracle? In Scripture a “miracle” is a sign or wonder which serves to focus observers beyond the miracle itself to God, who orders and/or overrides nature and history to his own glory. At times, God demonstrates his sovereignty, power, mercy, and grace by intentionally arranging a series of naturally occurring phenomena. Many students of the Bible believe that the Ten Plagues (Ex 7ff) are an example of this kind of miracle. In other situations, God acts to overrule “natural laws,” as in when Jesus turned water into wine. Signs and wonders also take the form of God exerting his power over forces of evil, like in the case of the Gerasene Demoniac (Mk 5). Additionally, the Bible speaks of miraculous signs which are leveraged by false teachers for their own ends or to distract people from God. These situations are described as “tests” that reveal our devotion to God.
Who can perform a miracle? God’s power is the necessary actor in any and all godly miracles. In the Bible, there are times when God provides a sign through no particular intermediary. In the story of Jonah’s miraculous survival in the belly of a whale, there is no third party agent mentioned. God simply saves Jonah. In other situations, God works through an angel or messenger. For instance, after Daniel survived the night in the lion’s den, Daniel tells King Darius that God had sent an angel to close the mouths of the lions. In the New Testament, in addition to Jesus’ miraculous acts, a number of his followers also performed miracles.
Do miracles still happen today? Yes. The Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians that God gives the “manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” and that he gives to some “the gifts of healing,” and to others the gift of “miraculous powers” (1 Cor 12). There are some forms of Christianity in the world today, however, that view the particular gifts of the Spirit that have to do with healing and miracles as having ceased with the deaths of the original Apostles. Yet, many more Christians continue to see God supernaturally arranging natural events and superseding what we might call “natural law” in order to provide signs and wonders that point to his own glory and power. In many circumstances, God uses his followers and the prayers of his followers as active agents in these mighty works.
Why don’t we see more miracles in our lives? Many current Western forms of Christianity have inherited faith traditions that have under emphasized and even denied God’s desire to work his wonders through his children. One of the causes that might contribute to this condition has been described as Christians opting to see faith and science in opposition against one another, as if faith and science necessarily couldn’t exist in tandem and in partnership. Another potential cause is the seemingly charlatan approach to miracles that the more vocal and charismatic “practitioners” of miracles pose. Their often self-glorifying antics result in a desire among many to disassociate with them and their “ministries.” A third source of our departure from biblical teaching on the subject might be the result of decades of turning congregations into institutions to be managed rather than cultivating them as communities of faith in which spiritual gifts are recognized and encouraged. Conversely, depending on God, nurturing intimacy with Christ, submitting ourselves as agents of his love and power, and stepping out in faith are great first steps in opening ourselves to the full work of the Spirit in our midst.
An Interview
An Interview With A Boat Sitter
Interviewer (INT): What have you done for God lately?
Boat Sitter (BS): Oh, I don’t know. I guess I’ve gone to church most Sundays, and I serve on the CFC, the Committee that Forms Committees.
INT: How’s that going for you?
BS: Oh, quite good. I’ve been sitting in my own pew for years, and I’m getting really good at forming committees. Just the other day I formed a committee to evaluate if we have enough committees. We’re calling it the CTEIWHEC.
INT: When was the last time you told someone about Jesus, invited a homeless person into your home, or spent as much on groceries for a struggling family as you spend to feed yourself?
BS: Uh, that kind of stuff seems a little too scary for me. Nope. It’s safer to serve in the manner to which I’ve become accustom. Our church has people who go out into the world, but I don’t know. I mean, if I were to say something about Jesus to someone outside the church, I might inadvertently offend the person. No offense is a good defense.
INT: So what do you hope to be doing for Jesus one year from today?
BS: Well, I have my eye on a pew on the other side of the aisle and two rows closer to the back. I’ve heard a rumor that the family that usually sits there might be going into the mission field. It’s an amazing opportunity, you know—the pew, I mean. It’s the right distance from the heater and the air conditioner. I’m praying that I’ll soon be worshiping God in the lap of luxury.
An Interview With A Water Walker
Interviewer (INT): What have you done for God lately?
Water Walker (WW): It’s the most exciting thing. Just this morning, I was walking my dog. I had been praying for the people who live behind us and trying to build a friendship with them. Today, as I was on the sidewalk in front of their house, I saw one of them gardening. We struck up a simple conversation. I invited them to come to church with me this Sunday, and they said yes.
INT: Do you always talk to people about Jesus?
WW: No. That’s the funny thing. For years, I just attended church on Sundays, but then I was convicted. I heard that Peter got out of the boat to go toward Jesus, so I figured it was time that I got out of my pew and started going places where Jesus would go.
INT: And Jesus would go to the people who live behind you?
WW: Well, it’s a start. I think he would go to them. They’re new to the community and don’t seem to have much if any religious background. I think, in some way, they might be part of my “mission field.”
INT: What if they become offended?
WW: I figure it’s not really my job to be concerned if they end up being offended by authentic love and the good news of Jesus. I just keep my eyes on Jesus and try to walk the way he walked. He loved people and told them about the kingdom of God, so that’s my job too.
INT: What do you hope to be doing for Jesus a year from now?
WW: Who knows! It’s really quite exciting. God used me build a bridge to my neighbors. His power and presence makes all the difference. I can’t wait to step out and do whatever he wants me to do next.
Signs of Power
How do you respond to power? Some people are automatically leery of it. It could be that they once wielded power but found that they weren’t up to the responsibilities that came with it. Maybe there was a time when they flexed their power and someone suffered as a consequence. Now, in an effort to avoid the pain, they simply choose to give power a wide berth. Of course, it could be that they experienced someone else’s misuse or poor application of power, and they themselves were hurt in the process. Kick me once, shame on you. Kick me twice, shame on me. So, they remain skittish of power and the people who brandish it.
On the other hand there are those who embrace power, even seeking it out and seizing it whenever they can. At times, this positive response to power is due to a selfless desire to use it for good. For others, it comes out of an addiction to the thrill power provides or from an unhealthy fusion between the experience of power and the substantiation of personal identity.
Jesus was not only powerful, he was comfortable with power. With a word or a touch he could heal diseases, cast out evil spirits, and calm storms. He could take gallons of water and turn it into the finest wine. If there were 5,000 hungry people and only two fish and five loaves of bread, no problem; Jesus had the power to make happy meals. He also raised people from the dead. Yet through it all, he actually requested that people keep what he did to themselves. He was Mr. Universe, but never once did he pose or flex his power simply to show off.
For many, Jesus’ power defined him. It set him apart and was why they chose to believe in him. They would come to him in droves seeking either a display of his power so that they could verify the rumors or a personal experience of his power so that they could overcome whatever was holding them back. One set of friends took their paralyzed buddy, hauled him up on the roof of a house in which Jesus was ministering, tore the roof open and lowered the man into the jam-packed room. Jesus then healed him.
With all this power at his disposal, however, it never distracted him from his life mission. He came to die—to submit himself to lesser powers and to surrender his life to save others. He championed the power-fooled by not playing their power games. He may have died at the hands of small-minded leaders and the cruel masses, but as it turned out not only was he more powerful than they but he was also more powerful than death itself.
Whether you happen to be attracted to power or repulsed by it, you have the absolute best option in Christ. He’s the total package. He’s the humblest powerful person who ever lived and at the same time the most powerful humble person. Furthermore, he refuses to monopolize his power. He freely shares it with all who follow him, only asking that we apply it as he applied it: for the sake of others—especially those who have the least power of all.
If the tomb wasn’t empty…
the Old Testament would have been wrong in its predictions
the Sanhedrin would have been correct
in its charge of blaspheme
the soldiers’ mocking would have been on target
Peter’s triple denial would have seemed prudent
Cleopas and his friend would have arrived in Emmaus
without company and would not have been left to console each other in their confusion and disappointment
the women would have anointed a deceased Jesus
with spices and returned to the other disciples
to comfort one another in their grief
the Hebrew of Hebrews Saul would not have changed his
name to Paul and the phrase “a Damascus Road experience” wouldn’t mean anything
John 14:6 wouldn’t have been written and
if it had it would have been a lie
we would have no reason to celebrate
either Christmas or Easter
like all other religions, Christianity would be
a human construct invented to give us
definition and pseudo hope
life on this side of death would have been all there is
but …
the tomb was empty
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
i am the resurrection and the life.
those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
john 14:25
The Crying King
Imagine being in love—the deep, authentic, wanting-the-very-best-for-the-other-person kind of love—only to be rejected. Imagine having the power to rescue your beloved from their self-destructive ways—to pull them out of their deadly addiction into full and complete wellbeing—only to be rejected. Imagine that you’ve traveled farther than anyone could possibly comprehend and at great personal sacrifice so that your beloved could experience intimacy with you—an intimacy for which they declared a longing many times over—only to be rejected. Imagine your beloved—those for whom you’d sacrifice everything—coming into your father’s house and treating your father and the space with contempt and disrespect. Imagine seeing your beloved celebrate your presence with them one day but knowing that within less than a week they would choose fellowship with a violent criminal rather than spending more time with you.
Jesus approached Jerusalem on a colt. As he came to the path leading down the Mount of Olives, his followers were laying down their coats and some tree branches, paving the way for their king. His campaign had consisted of a number of healings and some provocative, authoritative teaching. He hadn’t won any victories with swords, shields, and spears but simply with his words and his will and with grace and truth. Rome still ruled the land, but no one really seemed to grasp that Jesus ruled Rome and all other visible and invisible powers.
Rather than being swept away in the coronations of his followers or turning aside because of their fickle hearts, Jesus responded with tears. The Word made flesh, the Son of God and Son of David, the Messiah, the King of Kings cried. He looked upon Jerusalem and wept. He was entering the place where God had called King David to establish the king’s throne and build the king’s house. It was where King Solomon had erected God’s temple, where God had promised to meet with a representative of his people in person once each year. It was the center of the life and religion of God’s people. Yet, its inhabitants would fail to recognize God when he showed up as Jesus. Rather than being a place marked by shalom, the peace that passes all understanding—God’s peace, the great center of God’s people would soon be marked by nothing more than rubble. And so Jesus cried.
What would Jesus find if instead of riding into Jerusalem today he were to ride into your life? Would he discover someone who has discovered and chosen to treasure his love and grace and forgiveness, or would he find someone whose heart is marked more by fear or by personal fancies? Would he hear shouts of praise, only to discover that the praises turn into denials when he gets too close? Would he find a heart and hands yielded to his work or a life focused more on the business of the day than on the business of his Father? Would he discover one who lives for him or one who lives for himself or for herself? Would he have reason to laugh, smile, and rejoice, or would what he finds more likely cause him to weep?
Jesus will return. The next time he comes he won’t be riding on a colt but on a cloud. He chose to emphasize his humility last time. Next time, he’s promised to emphasize his power. Upon his return, let it be that he finds us ready for his arrival, living and sharing his peace throughout our city and throughout his world.
To Hocus or to Focus?
Okay, so Jesus—before he suffered and died and rose from the dead—provided some eleventh hour teaching. He pulled his disciples aside and warned them of things to come and of the importance of paying attention. They were the ones who actually asked for it. They wanted to know what to expect. The question for us, however, is whether Jesus intended to hocus or to focus?
You’ve undoubtedly heard of the word “hocus.” It’s the front half of the phrase “hocus pocus,” a phrase first made popular by William Vincent in the early 1600’s. Vincent was a magician/juggler in the court of King James who used “hocus pocus” both as his stage name and the entry phrase to his incantations. To come up with this tricky name, some say that Vincent actually twisted the Latin words for “this is my body,” a phrase more at home in a worship service than in a juggling act. “Hocus” now finds its place in dictionaries with the definition of “to fool” or “to trick.”
Was that what Jesus was doing when he told the 12 disciples about wars and earthquakes, about dark days and his return on “clouds of heaven,” and about the need to remain watchful and to keep living the love he had shown them? After all, it’s been nearly 2000 years, and Jesus still hasn’t returned. Sure, there have been earthquakes and wars, but there were earthquakes and wars before the time of Christ, too. Does Christianity in the end simply amount to a bunch of hocus pocus, to one big trick perpetrated by a Jewish carpenter?
It’s not an out-of-line question. Biblical Christianity calls adherents to prioritize Jesus and his teachings above everything else in life. With that kind of demand, it’s only appropriate to ask if it’s all true or not. Unfortunately, proving Christianity true is not only beyond the scope of a one-column article in a church newsletter, but is beyond the reach of all the authors everywhere who have ever written on the subject of faith, Christianity, and Jesus. It’s not that data doesn’t exist. On the contrary, the raw data backing up the integrity of biblical claims far exceeds any other ancient writings. Yet even with the voluminous amounts of supporting evidence, Christianity remains dependent on faith. It’s a believer’s religion.
One of the funny things about believers is that we can be more hocus than focus. It’s rather ironic that many of us who claim to see in Jesus’ words of prophecy and warning a clear call to focus end up being among those whose practice of Christianity is full of smoke and mirrors and slights of hand. These are they who speak faith in Jesus but live not the way of Jesus. This tendency is exactly what Jesus directs his attention to in his conversations with his disciples near the end of the Gospel of Matthew. He essentially tells them to focus, focus. Anticipating all the distractions we would face over the centuries, all the false claims of various gurus and would-be-messiahs, the plethora of common and special days alike, Jesus warns his followers and instructs them to focus on feeding hungry people, hydrating thirsty people, clothing naked people, welcoming strange people, and visiting sick and imprisoned people.
So what will it be for you—hocus or focus? Eleven of the original twelve disciples heeded Christ’s words and his call. They chose to focus. The lone exception chose his own bath of hocus pocus and betrayed not only the words of Christ but Christ himself. It’s still the eleventh hour. May our decision be clear to everyone we see. Let us be known for our doubled focus on Christ and on showing his love rather than the hocus pocus required to look Christian while choosing not to live Christian.
My Way or God’s Way: No Room for Negotiation
I’ve got some good news, and I’ve got some bad news. Actually, if we grasp the good news, the bad news isn’t really all that bad. In fact, it actually turns out to be pretty darn good, but it all depends on grasping the greatness of the good news.
Good news, it seems, can come in all shapes and sizes. Good news can be as simple as the newspaper deliverer landing the daily publication smack dab in the middle of your front doorstep. Good news also includes the message your doctor brings when he declares, “The tumor is benign.” So if good news can be anything from having enough mustard to cover your whole hotdog to having enough income to cover this month’s expenses, we initially might not be all that impressed when someone says that they have good news to share with us.
To further diminish expectations regarding the true goodness of good news, one person’s good news isn’t necessarily the best news for someone else. “Good news! I just got the job you were fired from.” Regardless of how great the news is to someone else, we still have to evaluate what the news means for us. It’s not exactly helpful when your next door neighbor tells you, “Good news! They just announced this morning the construction of a toxic waste dump across the street, but don’t worry—we sold our house yesterday.” Good for them, but not so good for you.
Yet, there does seem to be some news that is universally good. For instance, it’s universally good news that there is more than enough oxygen in our atmosphere today to allow all of us to breathe freely. There is also universal good news found in Matthew 16. When Peter answers correctly that Jesus is Christ—the anointed one of God sent to save people to God—the news is known, the greatest good news is spoken. The saving God has sent us our Savior.
Not many sentences later, however, Jesus finishes the announcement. Sure, he’s the Christ, but the Christ came into the world to die, and those who would be his followers will have to take up their crosses and follow him. What? If your good news meter just pegged to zero, you’re not alone. Peter the Proclaimer had the same response and quickly became Peter the Rebuker: “No way, Jesus, this can’t happen to you.” Jesus quieted him quickly and then told everyone that following him would mean losing themselves.
So, how does losing oneself become good news? In God’s economy it works. Gaining Christ is everything; it’s beyond everything. Gaining Christ means being loved by God, saved from death, forgiven from sin, joined with the Spirit, set free to live fully, and welcomed into eternity. Losing a dead-end, worldly, self-focused, self-obsessed, self-dependent life is nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of being a friend of Christ, a son or daughter of God, and heir to the kingdom. Good news! When you get Jesus, you also get to finally live. Good news and more good news, that’s the nature of the good news about Jesus.
Grasping Jesus
Have you ever had the experience of trying to communicate an important message to someone who just doesn’t seem to get it? The experience is common enough that the question almost becomes rhetorical. Effective communication seems so essential to our human experience, and yet, we still haven’t come close to perfecting a process that ensures that the hearers of our messages will actually receive and grasp our intended meanings.
The mechanics of communication themselves are rather straight forward. The speaker formulates an idea in his or her head, filters that idea into words, and then speaks the words aloud. The listener, for his or her part, receives the spoken words, correlates them with visual and audial clues, processes them through his or her own history and knowledge, and then formulates a personal perspective on the speaker’s intended meanings. It’s a process that is fairly easy to describe.
So, what seems to be the problem? At the top of the list are those shifty, stubborn, highly trusted, often inaccurate personal filters we use to process the words that we hear. As yet, we haven’t found a way to implant miniature translators that can override our personal filters and allow us to hear exactly what the speaker intended for us to hear. Some people seem to grasp this shortfall and check their understandings through active listening skills before coming to conclusions or trying to formulate responses. The rest of us, to our own detriment, choose not to put in this level of effort and decide instead to trust the accuracy of our interpretations.
Jesus seems to be fully aware of the challenges associated with communication and of the relatively few number of people who choose to work at hearing messages well. When he ministered, Jesus compensated for the weaknesses in the communication process by utilizing short stories that would capture his intended meanings and deliver them in a package that would require the hearer to process the stories in order to understand the message(s). It bought the listener time to question his or her own filters. Of course this approach didn’t work for everyone. Many more seemed to have missed Christ’s messages than those who truly grasped what he was communicating.
How about you? We still have the stories Jesus told. Have you accurately grasped their meaning(s)? It can be awfully difficult to discern who has and who hasn’t truly understood Jesus—so difficult that Jesus encouraged his followers not to try to weed out the ones who failed to pick up on what he was saying. If we’re unable to isolate those who hear and get it from those who hear but fail to understand accurately, we can at least check and recheck our own understandings. This task requires courage, humility, and effort. We have to be big enough to assume that our first intuition and deductions might be wrong. We have to be small enough to ask for and wait upon the Spirit’s help. And we have to be willing to work at grasping Jesus over the course of our entire lives.
Try it for yourself. Spend some time in Matthew 13:1-52—long enough to clearly get what Jesus is teaching. It’s sure to be something we won’t want to miss.
My Way or God’s Way: The Long Arm of Jesus
Does Jesus heal?
Yes. Jesus does heal. Even today people will call upon the name of Jesus and receive healing from him—physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, and relationship healing.
Does Jesus heal all the time?
No. Just because Jesus does heal doesn’t mean he heals everyone all the time in the manner they desire.
Why not?
Healing is not just an act of God’s mercy and love but also of his providence. God’s providence is not a servant to human desire. God’s providence flows out of God’s wisdom.
Do you find that answer satisfying?
Not when I or someone I see is hurting and suffering. It’s good to know that God—with his infinite wisdom—is in charge, but unresolved suffering and pain still stinks.
Does my faith play a part in God Choosing to heal?
There are definitely times in Scripture when the faith of the person who received healing or the faith of others plays an active role, but there are also occurrences of healing in the Bible that don’t mention human faith at all.
Are we supposed to pray for healing?
Absolutely. God gives us the privilege of taking all of our wants, wishes, desires, and needs to him in prayer. There is even teaching in the Bible that encourages diligence in taking our requests to God. God’s providence will win out so we need not worry if we’re praying “the right thing.”
Do we have to pray a certain way?
The biblical accounts of Jesus’ healing stories demonstrate that Jesus was never formulaic in his healing ministry. Pray your heart to the holy God who has the power to heal.
What if I’ve prayed a lot but healing still hasn’t happened?
You can know that God has heard your prayers. You can also keep praying. You can even let God know how frustrated and even angry you might be. You would serve yourself best, however, if at the end of the day you remembered that God is God and God is good.
How can God be good if God doesn’t heal the way I want him to?
It’s a question with which you might have to wrestle. It can be a risky thing to define the goodness of God on the answer we receive to any one specific prayer we have. In our limited abilities and perspectives, we can fail to see all that God has done, is doing, and will do in the future. God demonstrated his love and his goodness in creating all things, in sending Christ and the Holy Spirit, and in establishing a covenant that provides for life with him eternally.
I still want God to heal.
Good. Continue to ask our good God to provide.
