Miracles

Wow, what happened to July?  With the Trip to Rescue Atlanta at the beginning, followed by Church Multiplication Boot Camp a week later, the month has nearly escaped!  As I attempt to gain focus an reflect on what I have learned this month, one thing is clear, it is going to take a miracle to launch Connections.


I met Joel Crumpton at Rescue Atlanta.  Joel believes strongly in healing through faith.  While we were singing on the steps of the Georgia Capital in Downtown Atlanta, Joel was praying for a man bound in a wheelchair for ten years.  Joel simply spoke these words, "Take my hand, I have good news, the kingdom of heaven is upon you, God desires to heal you RIGHT NOW, in Jesus name be healed"


Then Joel encouraged the man to step from the wheelchair and walk.  The man stood from the chair and ran to the end of the block and back.  Was this a miracle?  My skeptical nature was unwilling to accept it.  I have ministered on the street long enough to know many who are in wheelchairs are not truly disabled.  Wheelchairs help those experiencing homelessness become more visible.  I was certain this was the case.


The following morning Joel gathered the youth to teach them his methods but first he spoke to their relationship with God.  A few days earlier I had made an emotional plea to the youth about necessity of pursuing righteousness to make the greatest impact on others.  Joel repeated this message in a much harsher way and called those not in right relationship with God to the front.  One of our young guys went forward, I followed to pray and and encourage.    


Eighty youth fell into stunned silence as Joel began to share his simple method of healing.  He shared many miraculous healings he had witnessed.  Joel said he was simply the conduit and the healings came from God, but I saw his confidence as arrogance.  I didn't trust Joel, but his words challenged me to ask myself, "how big is your God?"  


Most of the youth reacted to Joel's tough message the same way they react school principals or other authorities.  "I have good news, the Kingdom of Heaven is upon you", became the newest catch phrase.  We are all guilty of laughing at what we don't understand but it keeps us from stretching beyond our own understanding.  


As for me, when I found a quiet place to speak with God (not easy in a herd of youth) He reminded me of the healing I had witnessed.  A few years ago Jasmine, our oldest, was kicked square in the face by one of our horse while trying to feed them at night in a very dark barn.  I ran to the barn, following her awful screams and cries, Deniz called 911 as I escorted Jasmine down the driveway and into the light.  Blood was pouring from her nose and mouth, I was afraid her face had been fractured.  We sat in our living room as a towel filled with blood and we tried to calm Jasmine.  We prayed for healing, we pray for God to show up.  Soon after an EMT in a pick-up truck arrived from out of the night.  After a quick examination noting several of Jasmine's loose teeth, she encouraged us to rush to the Emergency room.  Jasmine calmed considerably.    


We live a half hour away from the nearest emergency room.  During the drive, Jasmine began carrying on normal conversation as we sped towards town.  At the time I dismissed it as shock.  When we arrived at the emergency room we were asked to wait.  Deniz, Jasmine and I sat in the ER for nearly and hour.  While we sat there I began to notice a change in Jasmine's appearance.  She appeared healthy.  Jasmine noticed she was no longer in pain and reached to touch her loosened teeth and found them solid.  We all agreed God had healed her and headed home.


In the months and years which have passed I lost touch with the miracle.  I convinced myself Jasmine must not have been as severely injured as I had thought.  There wasn't as much blood, her face wasn't crushed, and her teeth weren't hanging by a thread.  I dismissed the miracle.  While praying that morning in Atlanta, God reminded me of the miracle I had witnessed and I was ashamed.


I began seeing Joel in a new light.  Joel is a unique part of the Body of Christ.  He has been gifted with talents and abilities different than mine.  Some of those talents and abilities seem strange to me but that does not mean they are less real or less important.  Joel has witnessed many miracles and is confident in God's ability.  He wants everyone to experience the  amazing God he serves, but his challenge to accept this greater God pushes us beyond our comfort.  


The following day Joel prayed for Linda's knee to be healed.  I saw Linda dance and jump like a teenager afterwards.  She reported feeling no pain.  Linda is the wife of my senior pastor.  She is a mature Christian and very centered.  I trust her word and believe she was healed.  I was grateful God allowed me to witness another miracle.


Connections will believe in miracles.  We will trust in the greater God and not rely on our own comfortable understanding.  Connections will be open to learning from others, even when their methods seem foreign.  We will exercise the gift of healing and restoration as part of our ministry.


Read the following passages.  Do you believe miracles are possible today?  Is Jesus crying because we dismiss the miracles around us by choosing to seek a rational explanation over revelation?  I encourage you to move beyond your life size God and accept a much larger God.  I have Good News, the Kingdom of Heaven is here!


 ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  
(Matthew 19:26, New King James Version)


 ¹ Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ² He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2, New King James Version)


 ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.   (Matthew 28:18-20, New King James Version)


  
²⁰ Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:20-24, New King James Version)