For Miracles to Occur

 During his personal ministry upon the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, also known as the Word and the Savior of mankind, performed numerous miracles in the presence of many people to confirm his power as the Son of God. He continually referred to the scriptures that he had given to Old Testament prophets to write when he was the Spiritual Jehovah, and presided in Spirit-form over Adam, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, and the Hebrews, his chosen people. As the Apostle John wrote, in John 1:1-14 (NIV), "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." As Jesus repeatedly reminded his apostles of the divine promises he had made to his children from the very beginning of creation, we should also, today, remind ourselves and others of those same divine promises, and the miracles that they hold. And it would seem that the promises he repeated over and over, from the advent of Adam, would be the ones upon which we should focus and give the greatest regard. God almighty has told us, his mortal children, over 800 times in the Holy Bible, to be happy, to rejoice, and be grateful unto the Lord for the blessings that he has bestowed upon us. He has also instructed us over 1,000 times, from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, to obey his commandments without regard for the consequences imposed by other human beings who oppose us in doing so. Accompanying these prophetic admonitions and exhortations are his comforting words repeated in scripture over 365 times verbatim, and in context, not to fear when we do his will; that he will stand by our side to support and sustain us during all of our conflicts. It's good to remember the 23rd Psalm, where David, the chosen of God, sang, "... Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for though art with me... " When David had total faith in the power of the Lord God, and followed his divine instructions completely, he feared no evil, for the Lord was with him. But David fell from his close contact and dependence upon God through disobedience and loss of faith, and thereby lost his strength; as Sampson lost his strength when he disobeyed the commandments God had given him, and when he allowed himself to be beguiled and shorn by Delilah.

The promises that Jesus has made to Christians in the 21st Century are the very same promises that he made to Abraham, Moses, and David. Miracles, in this day and age, are the direct result of taking the Lord's promises seriously, trusting in his power to keep his promises, and doing the Lord's will; that is a combination of faith and obedience. Does Jesus speak to his disciples today? Of course he does, and the main thing to remember is that he can speak acim bookstore  us, or intervene in our lives, in any manner in which he sees fit to do it. He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change, nor has he ever changed the doctrines and commandments he has given to his children. But he is unbound, and has no limitations. As an example, Jesus can intervene directly in our lives, as he did in the life of Saul of Tarsus, while he was on his way to Damascus, resulting in a veritable miracle, the making of the Apostle Paul, the great lion of God. Or Jesus can come to use in dreams or visions, as he did with the Apostle Peter when he was told, in no uncertain terms, that Cornelius, the gentile Roman, was to become a Christian. Hence, God has all power in heaven and on earth to make his will come to pass. The Bible says that there is one God, and that the devils know it; and because they know the reality of God, they fear him, and they tremble.

So, Jesus has commanded us to be happy and to rejoice. Why? To put it simply, he has all power to make us happy. And how do we stay happy? Simply put, by having faith in Jesus' power to deliver us from all evil and to perform miracles in over lives, and by doing his will. Yet, according to Shakespeare the bard, that is the persistent rub. While many Christians don't see the important connection between faith, works, and miracles, I believe that the Apostle James was saying something very vital to Christians when he wrote, "faith without works is dead." You see, James had clearly seen his fellow Apostle, Peter, walk on water, until Peter started fearing the waves of the stormy Sea of Galilee much more than he trusted, and had faith in, the power of Jesus to keep him walking. And James clearly remembered the Lord's admonishing words to Peter, "Oh, ye of little faith." As the turning of water into wine, by Jesus, at the marriage at Cana was a miracle, the Lord's first of many, so was Peter's brief, but sure, walk on water. It was a short-lived miracle during the time Peter had sufficient faith in the Lord. Simply put, Peter lost his faith, and sank in the water because of fear. So Peter's successful work of walking on water died when Peter's faith died. Yet, after Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter's walk with the Lord became steadfast, and the miracles that came into his life were abundant because Peter had become converted to the fact that with God all things are possible if his followers have faith and don't fear.

Many Christians, and many more unbelievers in Christ, continually wonder why they fail in accomplishing important things in their lives if there is a real God who wants all of his children to always to be happy. Some of these Christians meet with fellow Christians, every Sunday, and during that time act and talk as though they have all faith in Jesus; but when they go home and begin another busy week on Monday, their actions and behaviors don't show that they have the same enduring faith that they had professed on Sunday. Surely, only God knows the content of a person's heart and mind, but true inner faith is shown and demonstrated by a person's outward devotion to God, just as devotion to God is predicated on inner faith. As such, when bad things happen to good people, such as the lingering, painful death of a small child, or a major business failure, or the inability of a married couple to have a baby when they want one so badly, is it God's will that these unfortunate, and very sad, things happen? Or is it because of a lack of faith in God's power on the part of the believer? We are told not to judge others in such situations, but to love them, and pray that their faith in Jesus will increase. For we are promised, in no uncertain terms, that if we have the pure faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Now, of course, the unbelievers will rebut this promise of God by asking, "Where was the last mountain that was moved? Surely, the answer to this sarcastic question lies completely in an understanding of God's holy will. Perhaps there has been no human purpose, or need, for the removal of a mountain; but, however, most faithless people never attribute the removal or creation of a mountain during an earthquake to the will and purpose of God. Those things for which we wish or, rather, our priorities in life, determine how we use our time and energy. Jesus knows what is best for us, even when we don't know, but pridefully think we do.