Miracles

Pastor Larry has been preaching a series of sermons lately on the New Testament Church. And today's sermon was about miracles during that time. You know...like when the woman with the bleeding disorder whom no one had been able to help was walking among the crowd and reached out and touched the hem of Jesus's robe. She was healed instantly! And then there was Jairus's daughter, whom they said was dead. Jesus went into her room and told her to "wake up," and she did! Then Jesus told her family to give her something to eat. A sure sign someone is alive and well...a healthy appetite! There were lots of miraculous events going on back then...Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding, Lazarus being raised from the dead, demons being cast out. The list could go on and on. It just got me thinking. The Bible says that God is "the same yesterday, today and forever." I believe that to be true, and if it is, that would mean that miracles still happen, right?

Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't seen any water turned into wine lately, and I'm pretty certain that none of my normal nightly dinners would feed thousands of people should they show up at my door. So, what is a miracle anyway? Ryan's American Heritage Student Dictionary defines it this way: 1) An event believed to be an act of god (should be capital G) or of a supernatural power because it appears impossible to explain by the laws of nature. 2) A person, thing, or event that causes great admiration, awe, or wonder. Ok, I think our previous list fits these definitions. But what about today? Right now? What about in our lifetime? Honestly, I'm not sure that if someone were raised from the dead in today's time, we'd quite know how to handle it. Maybe it's just me, but I think that after the media frenzy subsided and I had healed from my concussion from passing out cold and hitting my head, I'd be left in complete awe...speechless, totally without words. (Jay would probably think that in itself was the miracle.) On the other hand, I believe many other happenings could fit into our description of a "miracle." That's when it got me thinking. Have I ever experienced a miracle? Witnessed one? And I felt God whisper to my heart, "Bronie, look around you." Then it hit me. He unraveled a mystery for me.

Do you have kids? Have you ever held a newborn baby? I believe that the birth of a healthy baby is a miracle. Not metaphorically speaking, as in "Wow, with that traffic, it's a miracle we made it on time" or "After I drank all that coffee, it was a miracle I got to sleep last night." I mean a real, honest-to-goodness, act of God kind of miracle. Really, I do. I can't prove it to you scientifically or scripturally, but think about it. Think about all the things that have to happen in perfect timing, and in perfect order for God to "knit together" a newborn. Come on, really think. After conception, when this microscopic entity begins to divide, think about everything that must happen from that instant to grow this (yes, already baby) into a full-term newborn. How many events...hundreds? thousands? millions? I'm not a scientist or a doctor, so I can't say for sure. But I do know that there are a lot of things that don't "just happen" and that the events are timed, intricate, sequential and vital in producing the end result. And with that much going on, can you imagine the gigantic potential for error? Forget what you have read in the newspaper or have heard on tv about "the fetus" and even what you have read in most secular science publications. These things do not "just happen."

Let's really dumb down this concept so I can grasp it. Let's imagine you are baking homemade bread from scratch. For some of you this will be easy to visualize. For me? It's a real stretch, but stick with me. The ingredients have to be added in the proper order, at the right time, baked at the perfect temperature and for the exact amount of time for the end result to be successful. Even I know you can't throw a package of yeast into a pile of flour and then into a cold oven and expect good things to happen. Yeast has to be mixed with water first, dry ingredients sifted together, dough mixed and kneaded and allowed to rise...you get the idea. Everything in order and in its own time. A recipe usually has just a few steps, and can you see how we could truly mess up even the simplest of tasks? My point is you can't just throw the elements together all willy-nilly.

And babies aren't just born soft and cuddly, with an ear on each side of their head, fingers and toes on their respective hands and feet, organs neatly placed on the inside and operating at full potential right from the git-go without some miraculous, God-inspired "knitting together." Let's face it. We really have no control over the order in which these things occur, and factoring in the potential for human error or wanting to speed up the process (which having had four children, I'll admit there have been times I would have liked to speed up the process), it's a good thing we humans are not in control of such a spectacular series of events! A healthy baby is a real-live, awe-inspiring, supernatural act of God and a wonder to behold (and hold).

So I ask you again. Do you have kids? Have you ever held a newborn baby in your arms and witnessed the perfection of a brand new creation? It doesn't particularly matter if you are the parent or if the child actually belongs to you, if it was birthed from your womb or in your heart; there's no difference. This miracle is just that...a MIRACLE. So please don't ever think that just because you haven't seen your cup of water suddenly turn into a glass of Merlot, or you haven't seen someone actually come back to life that you have not experienced or been witness to one of God's miracles. Chances are, you have. And so have I.

Miracle #1.......................................Miracle #2

Miracle #3......................................Miracle #4