Do You Believe The Almighty Performs Miracles?

 I could've asked if you believe in miracles at all. But I decided to bring God into the equation. He is the issue, not nature.  If you say that you do not  believe the sun stood still for Gideon or that Moses parted the Red Sea or that God provided manna in the Wilderness for Israel, or that Jesus calmed the storm and walked on water or particularly healed the sick, those are other questions. The whole point is miracles per se.  Are they defined by the laws of nature? Are they violations of the laws of nature? Who can perform miracles then? How common are they? What are they defined as? 

First things first: miracles are supernatural or unusual events that happen contrary to the natural order of things and are not producible by what is naturally occurring and present at the time and place of the event. It is not a miracle that you found that parking spot at the shopping mall, or some Hail Mary pass won the game, though you may feel that way. Therefore, miracles must be supernatural, but all supernatural events are not miracles; we see the supernatural every day if we look for it.  

No supernatural powers were needed for some events for that and no laws of nature suspended, it was just timing!   Sometimes, it's just seems coincidental that makes it a miracle.  We should not use the term loosely to include spectacular or unusual events that require no act of intervention by God.  As far as the laws of nature go, the law of gravity says that if an apple falls from the tree and you catch it, you have suspended the natural order of things that it should hit the ground.  Don't you realize that the Almighty God who is the Lawgiver of the laws of nature has every right to suspend his own rules? 

Science cannot forbid miracles then. It merely describes what happens according to what normally and customarily occurs. Science depends upon the uniformity of the laws of nature and if miracles happened all the time they'd be called "regulars" and science would be impossible!   David Hume described miracles as violations of the laws of nature as if nature itself is sovereign and controls events, not God. What he is doing is personifying and deifying nature, not God. What I'm saying is that the belief in miracles is necessitated if one believes in God Almighty.

If you believe in a Creator, for example, it is no leap to believe God can do the lesser miracles of the Bible narratives. Secular Humanists deny any supernaturalism and will not let a Divine Foot in the door but adhere strictly to materialism or that only matter/energy exists and there is no spirit and in particular no soul of man to be "saved." To believe in miracles is a profession of faith then. It is the logical conclusion when one believes in God Almighty.  You cannot profess faith in God and deny His miracles or take them out of the Bible narratives. 

Of the views on miracles: that they do not occur; that they only happened in the biblical times; and that they still occur even today, or that they happen by other forces, all depend upon one's belief in the God of the Bible and how to interpret it. They occurred for certain reasons in the Bible at three basic times: Moses and Joshua; Elijah and Elisha, Jesus, and the early church period. If you remove miracles from other religions, they remain intact, but if you remove the miraculous from the Bible, it is disemboweled and neutralized and of not consequence.  

They were performed for basic reasons too: to give authority and credentials to the prophet, priest, or apostle;  to be a sign from God; to intervene in human affairs; and for merciful reasons to show pity.  The basic reason is that miracles are supernatural or even unusual events caused by God directly to bring glory to God and to attest to God (Heb. 2:3-4) .  We must realize that faith doesn't come from miracles, but miracles from faith! 

Jesus did perform miracles and they were well-known in His time and not denied; the skeptics just attributed them to Satan!  He never did a biggie or showy miracle though to force belief by some "smoking gun" evidence. He never did them on demand.  They were not for show!  Jesus did not want to be known merely as a miracle worker but if you remove the miracles, His story has little credence, and if He had never performed them, He would've been but a footnote in history, even forgotten. 

In sum, God performed miracles for His people and they did not believe, except the remnant: Psalm  78:32; John 12:37 say that although God performed multiple miracles, they would not believe and kept sinning (note that it doesn't say "could not") but became hardened and stubborn in their hearts. Soli Deo Gloria!

God Works In Mysterious Ways!

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands" (Psalm 78:7, NLT).
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me" (John 10:25, KJV).
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).

NOTE: IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM. MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT). Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles." (9:10, NLT). Note he said "countless miracles." Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles? Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work. The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious. They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work. For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion!

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior. His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request. That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles! Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV, that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!" The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God. Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle? What causes our motion? If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law! By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature! Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.        

Truly, O God of Israel, Our Savior, you work in mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15, NLT).

"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? (Job 4:7, KJV--Eliphaz to Job).

God brings good times as well as bad times (cf. Isaiah 45:7, NLT). "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, ESV). God "doesn't willingly grieve or afflict the children of men" (cf. Lam. 3:33, ESV). Job questioned God's justice after his suffering and God never explained Himself to him, but only humbled him by revealing Himself to bring him to repentance. Jesus was asked if a disaster that happened was because the victims were eviler than others, but Jesus admonished them to repent lest they likewise perish. Just because someone is suffering we are not to conclude that he is being punished by God.

Job was written to partly answer why the godly suffer, but there is no complete answer to this dilemma and we are left with the challenge to trust God for who He is and His providence working for the overall good in the end (cf. Rom. 8:28). They ask why does evil happen to good people? There are no good people! The question might as well be re-phrased, "Why does good happen to evil people?" Because Jesus said that only God is good! God is the source of all good (cf. James 1:17) and evil is just the perversion, waste, and shortchanging of good, or evil under the guise of good--humanism is merely goodness without God in the equation. Yes, one might well echo the words of the famed hymn by William Cowper: "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."

Job was told by Zophar in Job 11:7, ESV, "'Can you find out the deep thing of God?...'" As the Latin phrase goes: "finitum non capax Infinitum." This means the finite cannot grasp or contain the infinite! The KJV asks if we canst "by searching find out God." The answer is an emphatic "No." Caveat: God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself, a sage has observed. God doesn't owe us an explanation and isn't accountable to us; contrariwise, we owe Him an explanation and are accountable to Him! We must not be armchair quarterbacks and second-guess God! We must expect trouble in this life: "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1, ESV). "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19, ESV).

We must be encouraged to continue in the faith and to bear our cross, which pales in comparison with Christ's passion, for "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22, ESV). Remember that trials, tribulations, temptations, sufferings, tests, and adversities must inevitably come; however, Christ will be with us as we pass through the waters and the fire (cf. Isaiah 42:2). "[W]e rejoice in our sufferings," according to Romans 5:3, ESV. Remember, Christ didn't exempt Himself from any type of suffering but suffered in all similar manners and yet without sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). Christ isn't asking us to do anything He didn't do Himself!

We must not ever judge victims as being somewhat less worthy, holy, or righteous than us and believe they deserve what befalls them, as if they were suffering karma or the natural consequences of evil as Job's comforters assumed of him: "As I have seen, those who plow trouble and sow iniquity reap the same" (Job 4:8, ESV). They told him that no one innocent ever perished! Their presupposition was that the only reason trouble comes is because one is not right with God; God blesses the good and punishes the evil. Their calculus was an oversimplification, for they had not reckoned God's goodness into the equation and His profundity, that we cannot figure God out or put Him into a box.

One reason evil exists is that we see good in its contrast. God works evil into good and turns the wrath of man into His glory (cf. Psalm 76:10). Why does He work with evil? Because there's so much of it to work with! God can take the most diabolical events and turn them into good results, and we must not break faith in God that He knows best and what He is doing. Look at what Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). Acts 2:23, ESV, says that Jesus was "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." Someday Jesus will answer all our questions and we will know even as we are known (cf. John 16:23, ESV, "In that day you will ask nothing of me...."). Soli Deo Gloria!

Jesus Doesn't Need To Prove Anything!...

"At the same time, God also attested by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to His will" (Heb. 2:4, HCSB).
"Despite all this they kept on sinning and did not believe His wonderful works" (Psalm 78:32, HCSB).
"You are the God who works wonders, You revealed Your strength among the peoples" (Psalm 77:14, HCB).   

Gideon was known for putting out the fleece and testing God's Word (as Jesus told Satan, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,"), but we no longer need to do this as an act of faith, having the fully revealed Word of God.  God didn't have to prove anything to Gideon but obliged his immature and growing faith.  Likewise, Jesus never had to prove anything to the world, just be His perfect self and that should've sufficed.  There is an anecdote of Muhammad Ali being asked to fight a teen and he refused to go along with the "test" of his greatness; then the teen bragged that Ali was afraid of him and refused to defend himself--actually, Muhammad would not stoop to the level of fighting a naive teen, he was still the champ to anyone who knew better because this was not challenging nor worthy, but he was protecting the kid.  The Word of God speaks volumes and is self-attesting, proof in itself (if it appealed to any higher authority, it couldn't claim to be the final arbiter of truth).

Jesus performed many miracles or signs as John referred to them as, but not to prove Himself!   He met needs and had compassion.  He never did anything on-demand, for personal profit or gain, showy, or any biggie miracle that would erase all doubt and force belief even against one's will.  I'll give you a for instance:  after feeding the 4,000 the Pharisees asked for a sign to prove He was from God.   What was the feeding of the 4,000 but a miracle to behold to the believer?   They should have reasoned He supplies all their needs.

Jesus would not oblige them and their hardened hearts that refused to believe despite the miracles He did perform.  John 12:32 says they would not believe, not that they could not believe--viva la difference!   Miracles are simply unusual events caused by God or they'd be called "regulars."  The thing about miracles is that they only give an appetite for more miracles and skeptics are never convinced, but only harden their hearts with some excuse or doubt.  Miracles don't produce faith, but faith produces miracles!  These Pharisees needed a miracle done in their hearts not a sign from heaven.  They were probably expecting Jesus to prove He could outdo Moses and bring down manna! When a person is stubborn or hardened in heart, no miracle will make him repent and come to Christ for salvation--there would also be some way to explain it away and expect only a bigger one.  Their mistake was to think God must oblige them and be their genie or miracle worker; however, Jesus didn't want to be known as a miracle worker but as our Savior.

In reality, Moses didn't do that but God used him as His spokesperson and God brought faith by performing miracles through him for forty years in the wilderness where they were tested.   If Jesus had obliged them and performed a miracle to prove Himself, where would it end and what about faith.   The biggest miracle is the radical change in one's heart to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and become a new creature in Christ.

Every miracle or sign Jesus accomplished was a lesson to be taught about His divine nature:  He raised the dead to prove He is the life; He fed the multitude to prove He's the bread of life; He calmed the storm to prove His power over nature; He healed the sick to prove He's our Healer; He cast out demon to prove authority over them and Satan.  Every one of the divine attributes of God can be attributed to Jesus and they are illustrated by His sayings and acts.  Basically, Jesus showed He had all authority as the only begotten Son of God.    Jesus went about teaching, preaching, and doing good and also convincing the multitudes of His compassion.   With Jesus in charge, we need not worry or fear that our needs won't be met. 

Not to berate miracles in Scripture, because without Jesus doing them, He'd be but a footnote in history and Christianity would be disemboweled if one removed its miracles.  Note that other religions may have miracles but they remain intact without them--the miracles are believed on account of the religion already being believed--miracles are given to kindle and feed the dormant or nascent faith of believers.  Faith cannot survive on mothballs or in a dormant stage, it must grow and go forward in progress or rest in peace.  No amount of evidence will convince the hardened heart--God must do a work of grace first.  We must not be as clueless in not having eyes to see that God can supply all our mundane needs too ("daily bread").   Soli Deo Gloria! 

He Gave What He Had

"... Freely you have received; freely give" (cf. Matt. 10:8, NIV). 
"... [S]o I will save you and you will be a blessing" (cf. Zech. 8:13, HCSB). 

In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus took the bread and fish from a boy and multiplied it to feed the crowd.  The principle is that we do the addition and God the multiplication.  Jesus had inquired about the resources of the whole crowd and this was all there was; hard to believe no one planned ahead or even that some weren't hiding their lunch.  But evidently the boy must've gladly volunteered his lunch to share.  His faith could've been an instant object lesson too! Our giving, too, is a test of our faith in action to be a blessing as we have been blessed.   His act of giving showed his faith, but the disciples needed to learn a lesson.  The lesson to come away with is that God can take our meager resources and gifts and multiply them for His kingdom, not that He needs them, for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, but that He has privileged us to be used for His glory and honor. 

We are not called to turn stones into bread as a social gospel, but to preach the gospel and in so doing to meet other needs where we can.  The Great Commission has a social implication or commission.  The boy's gift shows that we must be willing to give whatever we can even if it's a small donation, because we only do addition, and God gives compound interest.   Some people just aren't even willing to give at all no matter what size offering.   This story shows that God cares about our daily needs as the Lord's prayer says, 'Give us this day our daily bread.'  The miracle or sign shows us, as Jesus announced, that He is the bread of life who fills all our spiritual needs and can supply all our physical needs with them. 

They wanted to make Christ king just because of a free lunch.  Even people today will sell out for security in life at the expense of their principles--job turfs for example.   Jesus will be our king and supply our needs but according to His rules.  Our needs are not an automatic given when we don't work for them or deserve them.  The fact that there were twelve baskets of leftovers shows Christ's continuing care for us and that we ought not to waste His resources and blessings, for we will be held accountable and must invest the blessings we have faithfully.  Having an abundance doesn't mean we can waste God's provision.   Note that the boy gave everything he had much like the poor widow who gave her last two mites and Jesus said she gave what she could and even more than the others.   This wasn't the first time God had performed a miracle to feed His people: Moses was leader when God supplied manna for Israel.  Both Elijah and Elisha multiplied food to sustain people by a miracle of God.   

This miracle shows us that God alone is the creator who can make something out of nothing, as in creation, can produce great results with small resources and make big dividends no matter how small they are.  In the final analysis, it's not how big our supply but our faith and willingness to give, and how big our God is to meet our needs.   How many in the crowd thought of Jesus the next time they were in need?

But we must be careful not to follow the wrong Jesus or another Jesus, nor even Jesus for the wrong motives.  We signed up for a cross to bear and not for a free lunch.  Hardship may come with the territory and if we accept good times we must accept bad ones (cf. Job 2:10) .  We must be willing to go with Jesus no matter where we are called and be thankful for whatever He gives us.

In sum, the words of Augustine ring true:  "Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in God."  Jesus is truly the Bread of Life in more ways than one!     Soli Deo Gloria!

God's Miracle Worker

"... 'This man certainly performs many miraculous signs.  If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him...'" (John 11:47-48, NLT).  

BY DEFINITION: A MIRACLE IS AN EVENT NOT PRODUCIBLE BY THE NORMAL FORCES AND CAUSES ACTING IN THE TIME AND PLACE THE EVENT OCCURS AND  SUPERNATURAL, BUT UNEXPLAINED BY NATURAL SCIENCE OR NATURE LAWS.

The story of Helen Keller was portrayed in the movie, The Miracle Worker, and this only proves that miracles happen if our eyes are open to them.   Most people that have heard of Christ know that He's famous for turning "water into wine" or even "walking on water."  They also ridicule these "signs" as ludicrous examples of Christian "myth."  Paradoxically, Jesus never intended to be known as a miracle worker, for He came first to be our Savior and He didn't want to get off message.

After raising the daughter of Jairus, Jesus admonished the people not to tell anyone, for He knew that such an event, if publicly known, would merely attract the wrong element or crowd.   He didn't just have talking points about salvation but came with the purpose of dying--He was a man on a mission par excellence!

Jesus could've attracted crowds and masses of disciples had He not warned of the cost of discipleship and that one must die to self and take up your cross in following Him--a cost no other religion requires. Jesus did miracles not for selfish reasons, but out of compassion and to be "signs" of authenticity to His deity as John's gospel portrays.

It should be pointed out that miracles don't make a person believe against their will but bolster and support a faith that is already there.  Faith doesn't come from miracles, but miracles from faith.  It is a fact that, even though Jesus had done many miracles, the Pharisees "would not believe" (cf. John 12:32; Ps. 78:18) in Him, not could not.  No miracle will convince a person who doesn't want to believe, but miracles will strengthen the faith of the willing.  A MAN CONVINCED AGAINST HIS WILL IS OF THE SAME OPINION STILL, SAYS THE PROVERB.  

Jesus told His disciples that they shall do "greater things."  We are told we can "move mountains" and "walk on water" by faith and that it only takes the faith of a mustard seed to accomplish. We must realize that miracles are just unusual events caused by God--all things are caused by God in a sense and if miracles happened all the time, they'd be called "regulars."  Jesus did not oblige the skeptics with miracles on-demand or with some biggie miracle that would make it impossible to deny, but His signs always took faith to accept. The church can get sidetracked by losing focus of God's priorities and turning stones into bread instead of fulfilling the Great Commission, to keep the main thing the main thing.  When Jesus performed miracles, the skeptics weren't convinced--for miracles only give the desire or appetite for more miracles.

In sum, if you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror! and realize that you, too, can be God's miracle worker:  "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God" (William Carey). "He does great things too marvelous to understand. A miracle is by nature "fixed." Look at the sunrise--It's fixed!   He performs countless miracles" (Job 9:10, NLT). The Bible is a miracle in itself, being God-breathed and accurately portrays many miracles, signs, and wonders of God to bolster faith.     Soli Deo Gloria!

God Works In Mysterious Ways

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe?   Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands"  (Psalm 78:7, NLT).  
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.  You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not:  the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me"  (John 10:25, KJV). 
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).  

NOTE:  IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM.  MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT).  Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand.  He performs countless miracles."  (9:10, NLT).  Note he said "countless miracles."  Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles?  Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work.  The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious.  They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work.  For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and  the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion! 

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior.  His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request.  That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles!  Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV,  that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!"  The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God.  Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle?  What causes our motion?  If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law!  By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature!  Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.      Soli Deo Gloria!

No Biggie Miracles

"A miracle is an event which is not producible by the natural causes that are operative at the time and place that the event occurs." --William Lane Craig

Jesus simply wouldn't accommodate the Pharisees when challenged for a showy miracle they couldn't deny was from God; why should He oblige unbelievers?  After the resurrection, he showed Himself only to believers!  Remember:  Miracles don't make faith, faith makes miracles.  Even King Herod tried to entice Jesus into doing a trick on demand, and when He wouldn't they mocked Him (presumably for not offering any proof of His kingly pedigree).  Jesus did say that the only miracle that the evil generation would see was the sign of Jonah (i.e., the resurrection), which was the greatest miracle in history.  But Jesus doesn't have to validate Himself to believers who see Jesus in action in their personal lives.  Transformed lives from an encounter with Jesus is the biggest miracle of all we can witness.

When people doubt certain miracles, they are really doubting the very possibility of miracles at all. They deny the supernatural completely in their Secular worldview.   Are they calling the apostles deliberate liars and deceivers?  Science cannot disprove miracles because they lie outside its domain. Science cannot forbid miracles, period.  They are unusual events caused by God; for if they happened all the time, they'd be called regulars.  Miracles are not a violation of the laws of nature as skeptic David Hume posited.

And miracles are vital to the Christian experience and faith since we believe in a God of wonders; if you take miracles out of the other religions they remain intact.  But if Jesus had performed no miracles, He would've been but a footnote in history. Jesus needed to authenticate His messiahship and deity; they weren't done willy-nilly nor for personal profit, convenience, or favor.  They can be seen as a visible attestation of God's presence.   Miracles were never merely for show, but had met a purpose and taught an important lesson concerning Jesus' deity; however, even though Jesus did perform many "signs" the people still "would not believe" in Him (cf. Psalm 78:32; John 12:37)--not that they could not, but would not! 

Jesus had nothing to prove or gain personally and knew that miracles only give a desire for more miracles and don't always have an impact on faith (look at the stubbornness of Israel who had experienced the miracles of Moses!).  He did say that if Sodom and Gomorrah had seen the miracles Capernaum had, they would've repented.  They didn't conjure up faith as a rule because faith is given, not achieved!       Soli Deo Gloria!

Simpler Times With Miracles?

"A miracle is an event which is not producible by the  natural causes that are operative at the time and place that the event occurs." --William L. Craig
"'Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders" (Job 37:14, NIV).
"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted" (Job 5:9, NIV).   "[T]he day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan" (Psalm 78:43, NIV).   "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11, NIV).
"Even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:38, NIV).

Skeptics like to attribute biblical faith in miracles as primitive, gullible, superstitious, and ignorant, and unschooled (this is a misconception and a myth), but even the educated didn't question they happened, as recorded in Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus, who was no stranger to the world of the supernatural as a Jew who wrote of Christ.  They were just as sophisticated as us and by no means can we attribute their belief as naivete.  Of course, the error was that the Pharisees attributed these signs to the work of the devil and couldn't discern good from evil they were so blind and hardened of heart.  There were only a few periods in biblical history that miracles were commonplace (the exodus, the conquering of the Promised Land, the time of Elijah and Elisha, the time of Jesus, and the beginning of the church age).

But people have never been "simple" and willing to believe anything and they could distinguish the normal from the supernatural or paranormal activity--they would not be fooled as easily as if we were to drive an auto and they would wonder how we could have a horseless carriage, for instance.  They knew what was plausible and what was clearly impossible and a sign from God!   They knew people don't rise from the dead as Elijah and Elisha had done and then Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.  When Moses presented the Ten Plagues on Egypt, the sorcerers recognized the very "finger of God" at work and told that to Pharaoh.

The point of miracles is that they represent an unusual act of God since everything is orchestrated by Him and a common occurrence of God.  But if they happened all the time they'd be called "regulars."  If you want to see a miracle look in the mirror or at the sunrise!  If you say that miracles are "fixed," then so is the sunrise!  Miracles have been defined as something that cannot happen under the circumstances without intervention from an outside force.  They are indeed unusual events caused by God, but for a reason, since God is not haphazard, whimsical, capricious, nor arbitrary.

Jesus wouldn't accommodate people with miracles on demand to prove Himself, even in front of King Herod during one of His trials.  Neither would He do a "biggie" miracle to convince the Pharisees and skeptics, for miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles. They evoke or elicit faith in faithful!  They only reassure the faith of the believer, and they were never for show, to entertain, or for personal gain or selfish reasons.  In fact, miracles only give the desire for more miracles!  The Bible records all kinds of miracles to show God's power over nature, men, the elements, disease, demons, and even death.  John called them signs because they showed a side to His Deity that He was teaching or illustrating. They show the authenticity and genuineness of His claims!

Science cannot forbid miracles, for they are not within its province and the parameters are out of its domain or realm in the same manner that ethics is--but that doesn't imply they contradict science.  They cannot be repeated or duplicated and therefore cannot be tested. One-time events are historical in nature and not subject to repetition.  Miracles are not a "violation of natural law," as David Hume postulated, but a special intervention of God into our dimension.  The Bible makes no attempt to prove its miracles because it's self-attesting and doesn't appeal to any authority other than itself, otherwise it would not be the highest authority--if it appealed to science we would put our faith in science!   In sum, don't boast that you would believe if you could see a miracle, because there is no greater one than the resurrection of Christ which is given by "many infallible proofs" according to Acts 1:3.  Blessed are those who have not seen (a miracle--cf. John 20:29)!

The question of the existence of miracles is a philosophical one and depends on whether there is a God.  Often the issue is not a miracle in question but the very possibility of miracles that is doubted.  We have the veracity of the witnesses as historical evidence and we can easily believe they have not deluded us as madmen or deliberate liars who faced death as the test of their credibility.  If you take the miracles out of the Bible it is nothing and only a system of ethics and stories, but if you remove miracles from other faiths, they remain intact.

But none of Christ's miracles were for show or selfish reasons, and He didn't want to just be known as a miracle worker, for He came on a mission to save sinners, but without His miracles, He may have gone down as a mere footnote in history.  The problem with the Jews was that even though He had done many miracles they would not believe (cf. John 12:37).  Today, you can witness the greatest of all miracles now:  changed lives through Christ's resurrection power.  Note:  You can remove the miracles from other religions and they remain intact, but if you do that to the Bible, it is disemboweled; if Christ had performed no miracles, He would've remained a footnote in history!    Soli Deo Gloria!  

How Normal Are Miracles?

"The genuine realist, if he is an unbeliever, will always find strength and ability to disbelieve in the miraculous, and if he is confronted with a miracle as an irrefutable fact he would rather disbelieve his own senses than admit the fact.  Faith does not ... spring from miracle, but the miracle from faith."  (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
"For nothing is impossible with God"  (Luke 1:37, NLT, italics added). 
"Is anything too hard for the LORD?"  (Genesis 18:14, NLT).
"O Sovereign LORD!  You made the heavens and the earth by your strong hand and powerful arm.  Nothing is too hard for you!"  (Jer. 32:17, NLT).
"Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible.  But with God everything is possible'"  (Matt. 19:26, NLT).  "He replied, 'What is impossible for people is possible with God'"  (Luke 18:27, NLT). 
"I did tell you, but you do not believe.  The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me"   (John 10:25, NIV). 
"Even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father"  (John 10:38, NIV).

If miracles happened on a regular basis ("God found me a parking spot, what a miracle!"  "I passed the test!"), we would call them "regulars" or "ordinaries!" By definition, God is over, above, and beyond natural law, of which He is the Author and Governor.  Part of the problematic issue is the definition of miracles per se.  Miracles are not the suspension of natural law, but the overruling of it by the One who made the "laws of the universe" (cf. Job 38:33) as we perceive them. When you catch an apple fallen from a tree, you do not suspend gravity, but overrule it by catching it!

All events are governed and caused by God, who is the Causa prima, or First Cause (Uncaused cause), known by the Greek philosophers.  We call unusual events caused by God miracles.  Note:  God, is the only Legislator, and made the laws of nature, and is able to suspend them or overrule them to His preference and will--Jesus wasn't bound nor limited by them.

But miracles are more common than you think:  Just looking in the mirror can reveal one!  The transformation of a convert's life is the biggest and most dynamic testimony to miracles ever!  Life is a walking miracle, since, by the law of biogenesis, life only comes from life, because the metabolic motor, DNA, only is replicated by existing DNA; this begs the question of where the original DNA came from (God!).  DNA couldn't have arisen by chance or luck, (it's far too complex with many proteins, the most complicated substance known to man) no matter how much time you think there was for anything to happen (according to scientists the Big Bang took place some 13.7 billion years ago--not enough time!).  Furthermore, when you consider the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine, ponder that He does it all the time when water nourishes a vine, and the grapes are made into wine!  Doesn't the cow turn water into milk?  All of nature turns food and water into excrement and waste matter.

Jesus never did miracles for show or on-demand, nor did He ever do a "biggie" miracle, and He did them before skeptics as well with only his inner circle and friends present--they were not helter-skelter, without rhyme, reason, or justification,  but had a purpose or need to deal with.   His enemies didn't deny that He did them, but became jealous of His influence.   His miracles vouched for His claims and bore witness of the truth; His life not belying His testimony and witness either, which were substantiated in manifold manners.

None of the miracles were fantastic or for personal prestige, selfish gain, or even monetary gain.  They all served to glorify God and to be signs of His deity--most were done out of sympathy.  He proved He had all authority over disease, nature, death, demons, maladies, and disabilities.  He performed such a variety of miracles to demonstrate His powers that you must rule out deceit, and we are exhorted to believe "on the evidence of the miracles themselves" (cf. John 14:11, NIV).

The trouble with miracles is that it evokes skepticism and antagonism in some--faith in others is increased.  They are meant to nourish the weak in faith, but not to convince the skeptic or one who doesn't want to believe:  John 12:37 says that, though He had performed many miracles, they would not believe in Him (not could not).  It's sure interesting that His enemies and the Pharisees, in particular, didn't doubt that He performed signs or miracles, but said that, if they left Him alone, the whole world would follow and go after Him, according to John 11:48 (and leave them--their real fear!).

This is the thing with miracles:  If you remove them like Thomas Jefferson did in his personal Bible, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, you disembowel Christianity and neutralize the faith; other faiths can delete their miracles and their religion remains intact. If we were to remove them, Christ would've been merely a footnote in history and of only passing interest as an itinerant teacher.  His miracles were not for show, nor to impress, but to make a point.  The gospels record some 37 miracles (tally depends on what you call a miracle), but He did countless miracles in reality, not just the ones recorded, and the world couldn't contain the books that would be written.

Modern Science cannot forbid miracles, they are outside its turf and domain (history is nonrepeatable nor observable). David Hume described miracles as violations of natural law:  This is is a deification of the laws of nature, and the laws are merely descriptions of the ordinary course of events.  If there were no laws of nature, nothing would be predictable and we couldn't study nature.   We shouldn't seek miracles (unusual events caused by God), because they only give the appetite for more miracles!  We should praise the Lord for the ones we do witness on a daily basis!

People claim to have a problem with a certain miracle, such as the virgin birth, but their problem is with the whole concept of the supernatural and miracles in general; the issue is settled by philosophy and history and theology, not science--it ultimately rests on the veracity of the witnesses, and the reliability and credibility of the historical records.  Secularists, who premise their faith denying the supernatural, are ruling God out of the equation, upon denial of miracles, which happen by virtue of their being a supernatural God--a fact they willingly and knowingly suppress.

In the final analysis, as Dostoevsky said above, miracles come from faith, not faith from miracles!  Life is a miracle and the sunrise is one too, except that you experience it so often you don't consider the complexity and wonder involved.  Believers see miracles everywhere, skeptics see none due to the hardness of their hearts.  Everyday wonders are no fewer miracles and we ought not to take them for granted and lose our sense of awe with the miracles of nature; even the firmament shows His handiwork per Psalm 19.   Let me sum it up with a quote from songwriter William Cowper:  "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform!"  (Therefore, Matt. 9:29, NIV, says:  "...According to your faith let it be done to you.")   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Miracles On Demand

Why didn't the Lord do a show for King Herod to demonstrate His authority?  Jesus never did a showy or biggie miracle to impress people, in fact, He stated that the only "sign" that evil generation would get was the one of Jonah!  The miracles of the Lord are consistent with His teachings and not meant to be attention-getting, or to force belief, though they do elicit faith in some--but in others evoke only skepticism.  If you took out the miracles of the Lord in the Bible, or if He had never done any, He would've only been a footnote in history, and we would've only heard of a humble teacher or martyr. But the "signs" He did were for a good reason--to be an illustration of His deity in some dimension (e.g., raising the dead to show He is the life, or feeding the hungry to show He is the bread of life).

In other religions, you don't have skeptics or doubters present to witness the event, but Jesus feels free to do them in the open, so that no one can deny them--even the Pharisees admitted that, if He had gone on, the whole world would believe in Him.  There is a vast difference in His miracles; if you take the miracles out of other faiths, they remain basically intact in their teachings, but not so with Christianity. What Jesus knew was that faith produces miracles and not vice versa.  You cannot force someone to believe by a miracle!  Jesus refused to oblige the mockers at His crucifixion who demanded that He get off the cross--He could've done it, but we'd all be lost.  The Scriptures point out in John 12:37 and Ps. 78:32  that though God performs miracles the people "would not" believe--note that it doesn't say "could not."

Miracles don't give faith, but only a desire for more miracles--that's why God refrains Himself.  God is the cause of all events, and miracles are just unusual ones caused by Him; if miracles happened all the time we'd call them "regulars."  Miracles can evoke faith in the believing, but skepticism in others. The question of whether miracles can occur is not scientific, because it's out of its domain, but is a philosophical question.

Ultimately, it depends upon whether God exists.  You cannot disprove God because that would be a universal negative, and all philosophers know you cannot prove a universal negative--like the fact that there are no little green men or Earth-like planets in the entire cosmos; you would have to know all and be everywhere, or be God yourself!  You can choose not to believe due to lack of evidence, but you cannot disprove. 

Jesus' miracles were different in that they were not helter-skelter, for prestige, money, or power; He never used His powers for personal advantage, gain, or relief.  None of them were capricious, nor fantastic, so as to force faith.  Also, His miracles were unique, in that they proved and illustrated lessons.  Jesus is the Lawgiver and has the authority to overrule His own laws of nature.  The miracle of miracles, of course, was His resurrection, and this is the ultimate verification of His power of death, hell, and Satan, and the proof that He's the Son of God in the flesh.

For this event, Luke writes, "there are many infallible proofs"  (cf. Acts 1:3).  What we need to determine, is whether the records of His resurrection are historically reliable and test the veracity of the witnesses (who were willing to lay down their lives for their testimony)--you will find that the evidence would stand up in a court of law verifying His resurrection as fact by an impartial jury. If the resurrection is true, it's the most fantastic and wonderful fact of history, if not, it's the cruelest hoax perpetrated on mankind.    Soli Deo Gloria!

It's A Miracle!

Jesus never did miracles on demand, as Herod had hoped to have a personal show of the supernatural. There was also never a biggie miracle or grandstanding that the Pharisees had demanded if they were to believe because of their cynicism.  Jesus would not accommodate the Pharisees' demand for a "sign." Case in point: The bystanders told Jesus to come down from the cross and they would then believe in Him.  The miracle was that He stayed on the cross--it was love them kept Him there and the temptation was to come down and use His powers independently of the Father's will.  But Jesus did thirty-five recorded miracles and numerous ones not mentioned, but if they were, "the world could not contain the books that would be written!"  The thing about miracles is that they only make the appetite for more miracles and don't make a skeptic become a believer--it takes a work of God in the heart to make a person a believer, which is also a miracle in its own right.

What Jesus did were called "signs" by John because they were not helter-skelter, to attract attention, or even for personal promotion, but to meet a need and teach something about Himself:  He is the Bread of Life; the Light of the World; the Resurrection and the Life, etc. Each of the seven recorded signs of John's gospel (actually there are seven miracles in John if you count the one after His resurrection), are for a reason to bear witness of the Deity of Christ in a different aspect and light. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to turn stones into bread and use His powers for personal advantage--but He never did take advantage of His powers!  Christ didn't want to be known simply as a miracle worker or healer or even teacher or martyr, but He would've been a mere footnote in history had He performed none!  Miracles are essential to prove the Deity of Christ and the ultimate proof is His resurrection.  If you remove the miracles from other religion's Scriptures, the religion remains intact, but not so with Christianity--they are essential.

People believe that all they need to believe is a miracle. They say:  Miracles do not produce faith; faith produces miracles!   The Jews in John 12:37 "would not believe" despite Christ's miracles.  If you are cynical and have a hardened heart, no miracle will make a believer out of you.  The heart of the matter, then, is that it's a matter of the heart.  There is plenty of evidence of the miraculous to those who are seeking it and are willing--just look in the mirror and you will see a miracle!  Sunrise is a miracle, yet because it happens every day we don't give it a second thought; life itself is not some fluke of nature, but a miracle--if these things happened all the time we'd call them regulars.

Science cannot forbid miracles, it can only say that they don't normally or regularly occur.  When you say they are against the laws of science, nature, or what they term natural law, you are personifying science and nature as if they are persons making up rules, and are not subject to rules.  In our case we can make laws and break them; the penalty is inherent.  God is a Lawmaker, Judge, and Executor of his will and laws.  God is the Author of the laws of nature and its Lawgiver and can suspend, cancel, or revoke them at will, just like people commonly say rules are made to be broken.  Jesus did miracles out of need and not to promote Himself: likewise, we should meet people's needs with the miracles of modern-day science and technology.

What then are miracles?  All events are caused by God as He is the causa prima or First Cause; miracles are just unusual events caused by God. If you remember the "Miracle on Ice" back in 1980 you would attribute that to being a miracle, and the 1969 World Series when the New York Mets won, they may have been unusual, but they don't meet the definition of miracle: Which must defy the natural in such a way as to make a person come to a decision as to whether he believes in miracles (events unusually caused by God) or not.  The purpose of miracles in Scripture is to confirm faith and authenticate the messenger by demonstrating God's power.


Miracles in the Bible are different:  They are not performed for no rhyme or reason, for prestige, for money, or for power, but in sympathy for the suffering of man and to increase his faith.  No!  People were not gullible, ignorant, superstitious, or unsophisticated in His day and knew what was a miracle and what wasn't.  There are false miracles and ones that could have a natural explanation.  The presence of the counterfeit does not preclude the reality of the real thing and prove they are spurious.

But the timing is what makes them miraculous (like the drying up of the Red Sea).  Laws describe what happens, and don't control what happens, so whether miracles occur is ultimately a historical and philosophical question, not scientific (which only describes repeatable, observable, and measurable events producible under laboratory conditions with controlled variables and constants). The question and issue is this:  Are the documents accurate and the veracity of the sources reliable? If one believes in God, it follows by definition that God can do what He wants, and that would include miracles. However, modern-day Secular Humanism and Postmodernism deny the supernatural as a presupposition and won't even go there or admit a divine foot in the door.

Sometimes we trivialize them like when we find a parking space or hit a hole in one in golf we attribute the events to something miraculous, but we mustn't downplay them and realize that we live in the presence of miracles--we just don't see them because they are all around us and happen without our awareness.  Miracles are for the reason to elicit or evoke faith where a seed has been planted and a person is ready to believe with an open mind, needy heart, and willing spirit:  "Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me"  (John 10:25, NKJV).  Jesus implored them to believe for His works' sake.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Miraculous Question

For any of the skeptics, I recommend Jack Deere's Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, which delivers a coup de grace to the cessationist viewpoint. God does speak today, especially in the third world where "power evangelism" is taking effect and people witness miracles and by and large don't doubt the supernatural. Argentina has been having such a revival that obese people have been reported to have instantly lost 30 or more pounds! They say that the West brought the knowledge of God and the third world the power of God.    Soli Deo Gloria!

The Miraculous

For any of the skeptics, I recommend Jack Deere's Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, which delivers a coup de grace to the cessationist viewpoint (that the sign gifts have ceased). God does speak today, especially in the third world where "power evangelism" is taking effect and people witness miracles and by and large don't doubt the supernatural. Argentina has been having such a revival that obese people have been reported to have instantly lost 30 or more pounds! They say that the West brought the knowledge of God, and the third world, the power of God. I was told that the reason miracles aren't as prevalent in the Western world is that we have HMOs. God is alive and well in his church and there are miracles of healing quite often.   Soli Deo Gloria!