Smith Wigglesworth said before he died (middle 1940’s) that in the future Americans would have a hard time receiving miracles because there were too many other options for them to first turn to.

Well, great post and I am looking forward to seeing what others think, but a real estating I must go.

My only other comment involves my future daught-in-law. She recently spent 6 months in Africa. On her return reflection, she summarized it something like this: In the West, we rationalize everything. We have minutely dissected the natural world and believe everything to be understood from the natural perspective. In Africa, even before conversion to Christianity everyone is raised to believe in the supernatural. They think “supernaturally”, not rationally. To learn there is a supernatural Father who loves them, and whose power is greater than all the spirits they have had to contend with makes incredible sense to their world view and once they enter in “by faith” to Christian spirituality, they experience a complete faith in the miraculous…or at least more so that we know.

I do not think we are precluded from seeing this way, but as Larry suggested, something in us has to be built up.

Oh, my son’s fiancee feels Africans could be benefit from a little more rationalization! I found that an interesting observation of hers.

Now that this has been said, I have no problem with believing that Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami were direct acts of God. And scripture backs up my point of view on this.

Do I know exactly what sin God was judging with this calaminty? No, I don’t. My guess would be that it was a sin of the Church which we believers are all a part of. But I can’t say for sure.

I’ve looked at John Piper’s statements about his prostrate cancer and I think that we need to pray for the eyes of his understanding to be opened. Yipes!

Does God use sickness?Unfortunately, He does. Revelation 2: 21 -22 backs up that statement, along with many other ones throughout scripture.

But first and foremost, God is a Redeemer. His judgments (hurricanes, tsunamis, sickness and whatever else) are designed to draw us back to Him and His ways.

Whether we like it or not, God is known by His judgments.

No, seriously, I’m still not sure why that topic seems so important to me, but I guess I’ll need to let it go here on this blog and return to the other subjects at hand.

Ded, I remember your son’s fianceé sharing those thoughts here during our time of fellowship, and I think that she is right in the sense that there probably is a needed balance between the rational and the expectant. It’s the lack of expectancy in our American culture that I was addressing in my reply to Larry’s question. Maybe I should have just left it at that!
I’m glad you get some comfort from the areas in which we disagree. I’m still struggling with that, to be brutally honest. I don’t want to disagree with you, and yet I know that we likely do and will (as this topic shows). Perhaps you can help me find the comfort in it, too.

Or perhaps I do know what you mean, because I don’t feel rejected by you over areas of disagreement like this. Is that what you mean by comfort?

steve

I saw the love in Sister Teresa. She was the real deal! I read stories about her and I wanted to cry over my hard-heartedness.

Love never fails.

I enjoyed this post.

On a side note, I have some old friends in Boone, Howard and Lucy Hayes. Perhaps you know them? They are Christian musicians as well.

Thanks again for visiting and commenting. Always nice to see new “faces” here!

steve

Howard and Lucy are indeed a part of the Hayes Family. Good folks. I have to confess that I envy you for living in Boone. That is God’s country up there. I used to live in Maiden, just below Hickory.

God Bless.

I just think we don’t want to give up control. We don’t want to surrender to God and if we don’t want to see Him, we won’t find Him. We live in a culture where, when we have a problem, we can find instant gratification by popping a pill, overeating, having an affair. The world offers us a thousand ways to escape. It’s only when we’re ready to be real and face our issues that prayer and Bible reading make sense. When we realize we really don’t have control, but God does, when we truly seek Him, we will see miracles happen.

What does it mean when Jesus says, “There will come a day when those who worship will worship in spirit and in truth.”? hmmmm….
worship with the spirit birthed by God in the spirit within us through a heart knowledge and with full knowledge intellectually of the Truth…maybe.

In recognizing the divide, what can we do to make ourselves come together as a whole?

Nothing.

Only learning to truly abide in Jesus and His whole perfection will we be made whole in heart and mind.

We must not trust our intellect, even as we use it to function day to day. We must not be turned aside by our feelings…even in our failures…

When abiding becomes more than words but a constant functioning of our faith, we are where He intends us to be… and He is
pleased.

As Ray says, “There’s my .02 worth.”

always open to correction,
steve

I believe I am a miracle. Everday God is still working on me is a miracle. Everday I wake up and know that Jesus still loves me despite the old man banging in my flesh and wicked thoughts jumping to and fro in my brain….Jesus is still working on me.

Everday I wake up with my wife beside me and think about all we have been through…..It’s a miracle.

When I stood in the pulpit the first time and babbled my first sermon and realized where I was from where I came……It’s a miracle.

My wife has an uncanny ability to find miracles in the smallest of things.

One day we were driving down the road. I had just cleaned the car and believe me, when I clean the car it is detailed all out completely.

She was thirsty….just complaining away about how she was dying of thirst. It was almost getting anoying.

I had to hit the brakes hard since I wasn’t paying attention and a light changed. Out from under her seat shot a can of soda. It hit her in the feet. She was instantly, “It’s a miracle!”. She went to pick it up and explaimed with a shout, “It’s Cold!”.

Yep, God is still in the miracle business.