About the miracles of Christ

 About the Miracles of Christ.

In the book of Luke we read,

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.  

As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.  

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 

Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”  

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” Luke 7:11-17.

I am always amazed at the miracles Christ did. I’m amazed because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God incarnate.

I’ve heard that some don’t believe Jesus did miracles. My answer, “If he didn’t do them why would the writers of the Bible include them?”. Including untrue miracles would be lying and disprove the very thing they are trying to prove. For that matter why would any of Jesus’ claims be true if the miracles were false.

C. S. Lewis wrote,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Please think about it.

Tell your world about God.

 Tell your world about God

In the book of 1Chronicles we read,

"Give thanks to the LORD, 

call on his name; 

make known among the nations what he has done. 

Sing to him, 

sing praise to him; 

tell of all his wonderful acts. 

Glory in his holy name; 

let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 

Look to the LORD and his strength; 

seek his face always. 

Remember the wonders he has done, 

his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,..." 

                                                                     1 Chronicles 16:8-12 

Here the writer of Chronicles tells believers to tell the world about God and all that He has done for us.

If you are a Christian, a true believer in Christ Jesus, are you doing this?

If you are not it’s time to start telling the world around you about your faith in God.

Please think about it.

Things to do

Things to do

In the book of Chronicles we read,

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. 

Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. 

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 

Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. 

Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced,...” 1 Chronicles 16:8-12.

Do you do this?

Do you sing praises to The Lord? 

Do you tell those around you what God has done?

Do you rejoice in knowing The Lord and all He has done for you?

Do you remember wonders, miracles and judgements He has pronounced? 

Please think about it.

Give Thanks

Give Thanks
In the book of Chronicles we read,

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; 

make known among the nations what he has done. 

Sing to him, sing praise to him; 

tell of all his wonderful acts. 

Glory in his holy name;

 let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 

Look to the LORD and his strength; 

seek his face always. 

Remember the wonders he has done, 

his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,...” 

                                                               1 Chronicles 16:8-12.

If you consider yourself a believer in God, a believer in Christ Jesus, can you give glory to God? Can you praise God.
For me praising God is quite therapeutic. In praising God I am made aware of His love. Of the fact that I do indeed have a lot to be thankful for.
If you claim to be a Christian. A believer in Christ Jesus, do you take time somewhere in your day to give thanks to God?
Please think about it.

Your Faith?

Your faith?
Jesus Said,
“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22,23.
I firmly believe many calling themselves Christians, particularly here in North America where I live will have a shock when they stand before God because they will hear the words of Jesus as spoken in Matthew 7:22,23. I strongly believe this will also be true of many pastors and evangelist.
They will be like the rich young man that Matthew’s gospel talks about.
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16-22.
Now there is nothing wrong with being rich. That being said you must not put your wealth ahead of God. You must be willing to let God supply all your needs. By allowing God to supply all your needs you are acting in faith. If you are not. You need to question your commitment to God.
Many claiming to be Christian have “followed the formula”.
They have said the Sinners Prayer,
They go to Church,
They Read their Bible,
They are active in their church,
Some even preach and evangelize,
But they are not Christians,
The Evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said,
“The sinners prayer has sent more people to hell than all the bars in America.” Leonard Ravenhill.
Saying the sinners prayer, reading the Bible, going to and being active in the church, even preaching and evangelizing means nothing if you don’t truly believe in Christ. The apostle Paul makes it clear,
 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  Romans 10: 9,10.
Sadly many today particularly in North America where I live, have an intellectual knowledge of the Bible. They know what it says. Yet they don’t truly have faith.
Like the rich man that came to Jesus they follow bible precepts yet lack complete faith in God.
So the question becomes do you have complete faith in God?
Please think about it.

Water to Wine

Water to wine
John’s gospel records Jesus as being at a wedding feast with his disciples, possible of a relative, when the wine runs out. Something that would have been to potentially humiliating to the bride and groom.
His mother obviously knowing what he was capable of doing asked him to make things right if you will. Jesus does so in the form of a miracle. John’s gospel stating,
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,  
and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 
“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. 
Then he called the bridegroom aside  and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” John 2:1-11.
For me personally there is a few of things that fascinate me about this incident.
First Mary the mother of Jesus knew he could preform such an act. She obviously had foreknowledge of what Jesus was capable of doing.
Second while Jesus said, “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” he a adult man of around thirty, still obeyed his mother.
Third, In doing so he did a secret act of kindness toward the bride and groom. For while the servants knew what had happened, the master of the banquet did not know, nor presumably did the bride and groom.
Forth, and more importantly this miracle set a precedent. It did what the miracles of Jesus were suppose to do, showed who he was. John noting,
“This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
It has always been my contention that all the miracles in the Bible are true. Especially those associated with Jesus.
The New Testament was written within living memory of Jesus. There were people around that knew Jesus and what he did. To lie would be to destroy the credibility of the fledgling church.
Not only that but the writers of the New Testament were writing to tell people beyond Israel about Jesus. People not only in the Roman Empire but beyond it.
To fabricate something that was unbelievable would again not be in the best interest of the fledgling movement.
Thus in my opinion these events must be true. The choice however is up to you the reader. You must decide for yourself if what the writers of the New Testament wrote is true.
Please think about it.

Why record it?

Why record it?
The following is an account from the Gospel of John about Jesus raising someone from the dead. John records,
“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,  and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.  
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” 
And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”  
When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.  
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  
When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 
Jesus wept. 
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  
“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  
I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 
 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”   The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John11:17-44.
My question has always been to those who do not believe Jesus is the Son of God and that he did do miracles, why would the gospel writers include things in their writing that were not true.
To lie about anything Jesus did would be to jeopardize all the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Because if one portion of the New Testament is wrong then it puts into question the whole thing.
I as a Christian have no doubt that the New Testament and all that is said about Jesus is true. The miracles, the fact that he is the Son of God, God incarnate, the Saviour of mankind.
If you the reader do not believe this all I would ask is that you read with an open mind what the New Testament has to say. To talk with true believers in Jesus. Go to a church on a Sunday or any other day of the week and ask to speak to the pastor about Jesus. Ask the pastor what he believes and why.
Then decide for yourself if what believers in Christ believe is true.
Please think about it.

A Death

A Death

“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  
Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.  
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  
But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”... 
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  
“Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  
I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 
John 11:17-27, 38-44
Here is the abbreviated story of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus. It is one of many miracles Jesus did.
Critics of Jesus and the Bible say such things didn’t happen. My question to them would be. Then why if these incidents are untrue would the gospel writers include them?
Keep in mind the gospels were written within living memory of the events.
Keep in mind also that the gospel writers were looking to make disciples and to lie or make something up that is so fantastic that it couldn’t possibly be true would hurt their cause.
No the accounts of the miracles of Jesus are true as are the accounts of miracles in the Old Testament.
Through these accounts God shows His power and love to mankind.
The apostle Paul noted,
“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  
                                                                                         1 Corinthians 1:22-24.
Throughout the Bible we see through the miracles proof of God’s power.
We also see the Bible is written logically with a purpose.
It contains wisdom for man to live by. Promoting a lifestyle of Love for God, Love for one’s neighbours and even for one’s enemies.
If followed correctly the lifestyle Jesus promoted, shows mankind how to live in harmony with one’s fellow man.
Please think about it.

Something I don't understand

Something I don’t understand.

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 
 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 
“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 
  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.  
And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him  and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. 
                                                          Matthew14:24-36.
For the record I understand the scripture written above. It’s an example of the faith of Peter and the miraculous. Jesus and Peter walking on water, and of people just touching Jesus who were healed.
What I don’t understand is what Atheist say about Jesus. Some say Jesus is a myth, some at least give the benefit of the doubt and say he was a good man. No atheist believe he was God or that there is a God.
Christians obviously do. But think of the logic.
If Jesus did exist and the Bible was written within living memory of him as most reputable historians and archeologist, both Christian and none Christian say it was. Then why would the writers of the New Testament lie about the miracles?
To lie about such things would be counter productive to the cause of Christianity. And most certainly hurt the early church at a time when it needed credibility to grow.
The fact of the matter is these miracles did happen and Jesus is all the Bible says he is.
Over the years historians and archeologist have doubted certain places and people mentioned in the bible didn’t exist. But the more research that is done the more the Bible is proved right.
I believe that if science, and historical research is conducted in the proper and correct way all of the Bible will one day be proved correct.
Think about it.