Posts that mention the miracles of Jesus

That Time the Demon Came to Church

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out … Mark 1:23

In between calling His first disciples and healing a bunch of people
Jesus goes to the synagogue.

He teaches with power and authority,
and the crowd pays rapt attention, blown away by the things He says.

And oh, by the way, there was also a demon-possessed guy there.

Think about that for a minute.

What would you think, how would you feel knowing that evil was right there in the midst?
Would you avoid eye contact and hope he just went away?
Would you draw your children closer?
Would you duck out the back door?

A possessed man not only came to the church service, he interrupted the sermon.
I suppose the demon thought that would ruin everything for Jesus.
Instead, the evil spirit led his host right to the very one who could set him free.
And the people were even more amazed.

Wonder what would happen if a demon showed up at my church? Or yours?

Signs

By Paula Wiseman

In John chapter 4, there is a story in which Jesus performs a long-distance healing for the son of one of Herod’s officials. Jesus is on His way home from celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem. John 2:23 tells us many believed when they saw the signs He did, but Jesus knew they were only looking for the spectacular. So now, He’s made it as far as Cana, when this desperate father catches up to Him. A crowd of Galileans had gathered, ready to see what miracle ‘their’ prophet would perform, but Jesus disappointed them. He simply told the man, “Go home. Your boy lives.” Travelling back home, the father received news that his son was healed just as Jesus said, and he believed, and his household.

God occasionally provides signs, but they are on His terms and glorify Him. All of Jesus’ miracles were done to demonstrate His deity and authenticate His ministry.

Signs never produce faith. They strengthen what’s there. The father in the story had enough faith to come to Jesus, AND enough faith to go back home on Jesus’ word alone. Afterward, the father was absolutely sure Jesus was who he thought He was.

Jesus expects us to believe solely because of His word. He wasn’t about to feed the crowd’s lust for drama. He said the boy would live. That was good enough.

I’ve asked signs from God on numerous occasions, all under the guise of ‘wanting to know God’s will’, but in reality, they were faithless demands that God prove Himself. He didn’t answer me. The truth is, He is completely trustworthy and faithful. His word is more than enough.

Storm Takeaways

By Paula Wiseman

My Sunday school kids and I looked at Mark 4:35-41, in which Jesus calms a storm on the sea of Galilee. While we would expect townies and landlubbers like say, Matthew or Judas, to be freaked out by a storm on the water, four of the thirteen men on the boat were experienced fishermen. They had been through storms before, but this one was enough to worry them. This was a huge storm. Some suggested it was a waterspout- a tornado on water.

Here are some of my own storm takeaways from the lesson-

1. Storms are going to blow up suddenly and without warning.
2. They may be the kind I’m used to dealing with, (like the fishermen were used to storms) or they may be something completely foreign (like the townies were experiencing)

Then I had some difficult questions-

1. How long do I try to handle things on my own, not wanting to ‘bother’ Jesus? Until it becomes a life-or-death situation?

2. How quick am I to accuse Jesus of not caring? (v. 38)

3. Why I am so fearful? How is it that I have no faith? (v. 40)

The key to the whole story is the statement Jesus makes in v.35 “Let us cross over to the other side.” He didn’t say ‘let’s try’ or ‘I hope we make it’. He was completely sure of His mission, and confident that God would see Him through until the completion of it.

I get fearful and lose faith because a.) I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going, so… b.) I’m not so sure God is going to bring me through it.

What storm takeaways do you have from the storms in your life?

Want more? 4 Lessons Learned in a Storm

Divine Intervention

By Paula Wiseman

If you had been with us Friday evening, standing in this spot, you would have been looking at the back end of our car after it slid off the road. The car came to rest at a 60 degree angle with all five of us (and the dog) in it. God worked a series of miracles for us that evening, not because we are extra special, but because He has a purpose in them. When Jesus performed miracles in the Gospels, it was always to underscore His deity and power over the natural world.

God showed His power over physics Friday night in several ways. Our car should have flipped on over. (Jon even felt the driver’s side wheels leave the ground.) It didn’t. We had cell phone service- four bars! Jon’s brother, Steve, came to help rescue us. The big diesel truck that stopped to check on us quit sliding before it bumped into our precariously perched vehicle. (We didn’t stop sliding. He did. Hmmm.) The car didn’t flip over when the tow truck pulled it out. There was not a scratch on it. We even had the extra money to pay the tow truck driver.

So what was the purpose in all that? Hard to say at this point. However, my kids all understand that it means something to ask God for protection when we travel. It’s not just a silly routine to pray before we leave our driveway. It reminded me that God is there, in every situation. What could have been a devastating wreck was only mildly annoying. Even my little laptop was safe. (I had just finished the latest round of edits on Contingency. I’m almost ready to submit it. And the computer was on the downhill side. If the car had flipped, all the luggage would have landed on it.)

All safe. All sound. God is good.

In last Friday’s post, I mentioned that it had begun ‘raining’ as my mom was rushed to the ER. She’s out of ICU now, but each test result gives us additional issue to deal with- pulmonary edema, bilateral pneumonia, congestive heart failure, gastritis, colitis and on and on. A heart cath yesterday revealed two additional blockages. (She had triple bypass surgery a year ago.) Yesterday afternoon, they found an abdominal aoritic aneurysm.

I still trust God’s goodness. Especially when it rains.

100_8712 If you had been with us Friday evening, standing in this spot, you would have been looking at the back end of our car after it slid off the road. The car came to rest at a 60 degree angle with all five of us (and the dog) in it. God worked a series of miracles for us that evening, not because we are extra special, but because He has a purpose in them. When Jesus performed miracles in the Gospels, it was always to underscore His deity and power over the natural world.

So what was the purpose in all that? Hard to say at this point. However, my kids all understand that it means something to ask God for protection when we travel. It’s not just a silly routine to pray before we leave our driveway. It reminded me that God is there, in every situation. What could have been a devastating wreck was only mildly annoying. Even my little laptop was safe. (I had just finished the latest round of edits on Contingency. I’m almost ready to submit it. And the computer was on the downhill side. If the car had flipped, all the luggage would have landed on it.)

All safe. All sound. God is good.

I still trust God’s goodness. Especially when it rains.