One of the major issues unbelievers have with the Christian Bible is the way it treats miracles as a matter of historic fact...
...I'm here to inform you that the matter of miracles is far more serious than unbelievers--or even many Christians--realize!
"Normal" people wonder how they are to take the Holy Scriptures seriously when they describe events which could not possibly have happened because they are (for lack of a better word) impossible.
Modern western (European, Australian and American) Christians are in a frame of mind that is barely, if at all, an improvement on their atheistic and agnostic counterparts. Many professing Christians give intellectual assent to the moral principles of the Bible while deciding in their subconscious that the "miracle stuff" was never meant to be taken literally.
Other professing Christians desire to take the miracles of Holy Writ more seriously by acknowledging their historic veracity, thereby accepting the miracles of the Bible as a source of encouragement to pursue a holier, more righteous life.
Yet other professing Christians cannot rest until they themselves experience similar miracles in their own lives; embarking on a regimen of discipleship they believe will enable them to gain miraculous wealth, miraculously cast out demons, miraculously heal the sick and (if they are very good) even miraculously raise the dead.
All four segments of the population are, in a small way, right...and in a very huge way, incredibly wrong.
I pray that at the end of this blog post you will have a better idea of why MIRACLES are important to you and, through The Matchless Grace of Jesus Christ, begin to experience a River of Miracles flowing out of your belly!
Unbelievers
Unbelievers are correct in the fact that, by the very definition of the term, MIRACLES are impossible. If the Unbeliever would only exercise the tiniest bit of consideration for a wealth of available scientific evidence, they would realize that IMPOSSIBLE THINGS DO HAPPEN, and the Unbeliever themselves are one of those "impossible" things.
Entertaining the hypothesis that Existence itself has only been around for about 13 billion years, the statistical probability that life as we witness it here on Planet Earth would exist is, for lack of a better word, IMPOSSIBLE.
My Unbelieving Friend, YOU are impossible...and yet you exist. Since both of these aspects of your existence are true, the only reasonable explanation is that YOU WERE CREATED (or your ancestors Adam and Eve were created...six of one, half a dozen of the other).
If you would be willing to acknowledge these simple, basic truths, you're well on your way to appreciating the One True GOD as described in the Bible!
Theologians
The second group of people I've described as professing "moral" Christians, have become too intellectual for their own good. Thinking themselves to be wiser than GOD, they have taken it upon themselves to "correct" the "inconsistencies" (MIRACLES) of Holy Scripture, whittling down the Word of God to a size they can accept without being embarrassed by their atheistic colleagues. These sad children consider themselves more than good enough to be accepted by GOD (should He exist) while at the same time being "down to earth" enough to play the world's game and win at it.
They are not Christians at all, but humanists disguised as religionists. They have never been born-again of the Holy Spirit because, even if offered such a Priceless Gift, they would not see in themselves any real need for such a Matchless Treasure.
Religionists
This group of professing Christians believe (at least on an intellectual and maybe even an emotional level) that the MIRACLES of the Bible happened exactly and literally as described...
...yet...
...in their minds there is an unacknowledged yet starkly solid BARRIER between the "times" of the Bible and the present moment. GOD did miracles "back then" because they were required; such Divine exceptions are no longer necessary today because we have now what did not exist then: THE BIBLE ITSELF. If the religionists do what the Bible tells them to do (or so they believe), they will be saved from the Judgment and Wrath of GOD that shall destroy all of their enemies, peers and neighbors without mercy. And so religionists have an ENORMOUS list of "don'ts" and a very small list of "dos" which go against every natural instinct in their bodies, making them the most miserable lot on the face of the Earth.
Sorcerers
Of the four groups of people I've described, these professing Christians are by far the most dangerous and lethal, because in the mind of many they are the "real thing."
Sorcerer Christians believe both that the MIRACLES of the Bible are historically accurate and literal, and that they themselves should be performing these miracles today. To them the Bible is a philosopher's stone, a book of spells and a tome of spiritual code that will "program" their minds to think like GOD and give them control of the Almighty (as though GOD was a jinn, willingly placing His Incomprehensible Might in their little hands) to do as they will for "God's Glory" and their own fame and fortune. THEY DON'T KNOW THE REAL GOD, a true encounter with Whom would turn them into groveling, melted, mindless slugs. They have deceived themselves and millions that share their dark, tiny and twisted attitude. Their hearts are driven by pride, and like their father Satan, they will come to a horrid end in the Lake that burns with fire and sulfur.
Review
Before going on to the Truth about MIRACLES, let's take a breather and review what we've learned.
UNBELIEVERS don't believe in miracles, cutting themselves off from The First Miracle: The GODHEAD Themselves.
THEOLOGIANS don't believe in miracles either, but they "claim" to subscribe to Biblical morality which, unknown to them, IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT MIRACLES!
RELIGIONISTS give mental and emotional consent to miracles, but have no desire whatsoever to be TOUCHED by miracles...for that would put them in touch with THE REAL GOD, and they would realize that all of their piety, good works, righteousness and "holiosity" are COMPLETELY USELESS AND UNACCEPTABLE to GOD.
SORCERERS, having Satan's pride, ultimately want to be OBJECTS OF WORSHIP themselves and are not willing to be anonymous nothings under the Sovereignty and Lordship of an Omniscient GOD.
SABBATH
The ultimate consequence of a proper understanding of miracles is REST.
"For he that is entered into His Rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His." - Hebrews 4:10
Anonymity
I don't have to be somebody. I am full of Christ and perfectly content if Jesus and I are the only ones that know it.
Not to say that I will not make a public stand for Christ; yet if after making a public profession of faith in Him He placed me in another universe BY MYSELF with only The GODHEAD as my Companions, I would lack NOTHING.
The End of Labor
A proper understanding of miracles PUTS AN END TO MY ATTEMPTS AT PLEASING GOD.
The GODHEAD are full, complete and perfect in Themselves; I cannot add to Them a quark of improvement on my best day.
I, on the other hand, am another matter. I am a black hole: my core is so dark...so empty...so bored, so hungry and so twisted that I actually believe that all of existence revolves around me!!! All of us: unbelievers, humanists, religionists and sorcerers alike, spend our entire lives in a futile flurry of activity to either forget about or fill that bottomless abyss in ourselves.
And it is only The MIRACLE of The GODHEAD Themselves, in The Person of Jesus Christ, that can replace that inner void with DIVINE FULLNESS.
Once that void is filled, fruitless labor ceases.
"But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." - John 3:21
This passage could be just as easily translated to say that, once I accept the MIRACLE of GOD's Undeserved Love in Jesus, I cease my labors and GOD begins to express His Works in me (Ephesians 2:10).
The Glove and not the Hand
A proper understanding of miracles takes my self / ego out of the driver seat and places Christ in control.
I'm reminded of a scene in Avengers: Endgame where Thor is asked why none of the Guardians of the Galaxy would be able to wield the weapon (called "Stormbreaker") Thor was going to Nidalvellir to forge in order to defeat the super-villain Thanos. Thor explained that such a powerful weapon in the hands of the unworthy would not only be unwieldable due to their lack of sufficient strength, but also cause their bodies to crumble as their minds descended into madness.
And are you, sorcerer christian, so maniacally narcissistic as to believe that The Irresistible Living Force of Ultimate Power The Eternal Family has placed in The Person of Jesus Christ could be placed at the disposal of a pathetic worm such as yourself? If so, you are guilty of blasphemy.
We are the glove, and Christ is the Hand. We are the body, and Christ is the Head. Only Jesus is Pure enough to wield the Power of GOD, because He IS the Power of GOD...the Word of GOD...the Image of GOD and the Radiance of GOD's Unapproachable Glory (Hebrews 1:3)!!!
Divine Miracles are ALWAYS Acts of GOD's Sovereign Will, though they may at times be manifested through human agency.
The Miracle of Justification
Every living member of the entire human species (myself included) falls into one of these four categories. None of us want to find ourselves in the Lake of Fire; but the FIRST STEP to Deliverance from the Lake of Fire is realizing that THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT AND WRATH OF GOD...apart from begging for Divine Mercy.
None of us can take the Blood of Jesus Christ and pour it on ourselves...only Jesus Christ Himself can do that; and when He does it, you KNOW it. You know it was NOT because you were worthy, but because Jesus was FILLED WITH COMPASSION AND HAD MERCY ON YOU, even though you (and I) don't deserve Mercy.
Salvation is an ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL AND NECESSARY MIRACLE OF MERCY that God decides to show those who have nailed their pride to Christ's Cross.
And without that MIRACLE of Salvation, all of us will burn for Eternity.
The Miracle of Sanctification
The danger of a lifetime spent in church is falling for the delusion that what I do somehow influences my standing with or relationship to GOD. If I DO a sin GOD hates me until I DO something to fix that sin. If I DO a good work GOD likes me till i mess things up (and I ALWAYS mess things up eventually).
Do you see how silly such an approach is to Someone as Transcendent as GOD???
God's Solution to damnation is the Miracle of Justification; God’s Solution to addiction and habitual sin is the Miracle of Sanctification (GOD miraculously nails my old nature to the Cross of Christ, where it dies and ceases to have power over me).
REMEMBER: a MIRACLE is an IMPOSSIBLE ACT that only GOD can perform!!!
For some reason we find it easy to believe (faith) in the Miracle of Justification (GOD washes me in the Blood of His Son and adopts me as his child with THE SAME RELATIONSHIP TO HIMSELF THAT JESUS HAS), yet have been deluded into thinking that the equally impossible Miracle of Perfecting us has somehow fallen into OUR hands!
What enormous egos we have!!!
(Laughing)
The Miracle of Glorification
A perfect demonstration of GOD's ability to perfect us (reproduce His Perfect Character in us) lies in the Miracle of the Resurrection in which we are clothed and filled with GODs Own Glory and experience True Immortality for all Eternity.
"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality." - 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
If you are a born-again believer, whatever spiritual state you find yourself in at the moment Christ returns for you WILL NOT STOP CHRIST FROM PERFECTING YOU RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
If Christ can perform this miracle for you when He returns, HE CAN PERFORM THE MIRACLE IN YOU RIGHT NOW.
Why don't you ask Him!?