Do You Believe in Miracles?

Tomorrow night I’ll be beginning a new Growth Group (Small Group) studying the book You Were Born for This: 7 Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles. I mention this because when I was given a review copy of YWBFT, I was expecting to hate it.

The author, Bruce Wilkinson, is best known as the author of The Prayer of Jabez, and frankly, I found Jabez a bit thin. It was inspiring, but to this day I don’t think the biblical prayer says or even implies all that Wilkinson says it does.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that YWBFT is not only built on solid, biblical ground. It’s also a book that has completely challenged my understanding of how God works miracles in everyday life. It has really challenged my traditional reformed and Presbyterian comfort zone.

Wilkinson’s premise is that God uses everyday people to work miracles in the lives of people around them. If we want to be bearers of God’s miracles, we have to be aware of opportunities that God places in our path, open to being used when the opportunities arise, ready to give up our agenda to follow God’s agenda, and guided by the Holy Spirit so that whatever God does through us is to God’s greater glory.

The book is replete with stories of Wilkinson feeling a “nudge” from God when doing something very ordinary such as flying in an airplane, driving down the road, or walking down the sidewalk. His attention is drawn to a person he would otherwise overlook. Recognizing God’s prompting, he initiates a conversation with this friend or stranger, only to discover that they have been asking God to help them with a problem that Wilkinson is uniquely equipped to solve. In every case it is clear to both Wilkinson and the other party that God brought them together at this time and place to miraculously provide for that need.

This isn’t a book about lame people walking, empty vessels being filled with wine, or time standing still. It’s a book about how we can learn to be available to God to meet genuine human needs, in a way that can only be explained by saying “It’s a God thing.”

When Wilkinson suggested that we begin each day by praying for God to use us to do a miracle in someone’s life, it made me face my own reluctance to set aside my agenda for God’s agenda. I don’t want God to ask me to talk to a stranger. I don’t want to be delayed in reaching my destination to help someone on the side of the road. I don’t want to risk embarrassment or failure. So to ask God to use me today – not sometime, but today – requires me to demonstrate radical trust and genuine sacrifice. Perhaps the reason we see so few miracles is that so few of us are truly available to God.

So I’m leading a Growth Group, not only to teach this book, but to wrestle with my own faithfulness. I know I want God to use me. Now I just need to want it enough (and trust God enough) to actually be used!

Don't Give Up

I try to start every day  by reading God's Word and spending some time in prayer. While I confess that I don't always succeed in this goal, I can testify that the days I consciously begin in the presence of God are the best days in my life.

To help me get focused, I often read daily devotional guides that I receive by email. Two of my favorites are "The Upper Room," and "The Catch."

This morning's "Catch" knocked me off of my feet and onto my knees. I've copied it below, but better yet, I encourage you to go to John Fisher's website and sign up to get his free words of wisdom delivered to your inbox as well.

Blessings!
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Don’t give up

Posted on September 22, 2011 by jwfisch

“Don’t give up; please don’t give up.” Those were the words uttered in the mind of a dying man but never heard outside his head. And for 45 minutes, two flight attendants didn’t. They took turns administering CPR on the man’s heart and alternately breathing air into his lungs. 45 minutes of either futility or life support – no one knew. All they knew was, the man had had a heart attack and stopped breathing while on a flight, and the pilot had radioed the nearest airport, but it took 45 minutes to go through the whole landing procedure.

Forty-five minutes, sometimes sliding along the floor as the plane lurched upon impact. The landing was rough, but the women kept on. Sometimes tempted to quit, but never yielding. An emergency medical team met the plane in the airport, and with the proper machines, they were able to get a strong pulse and revive the man.

How do I know this? One of those flight attendants was my wife. It’s one of her most memorable moments as a flight attendant, her job when I met her. And as she and her co-worker came off the plane they were greeted by applause from the passengers who waited for them so they could show their appreciation. It was Marti’s fantasy come true. The only thing missing was the six o’clock news.

But the most remarkable thing about this story was what she found out later. She found out that the whole time they were keeping him alive, the man was semi-conscious. He could hear everything; he just couldn’t open his eyes or speak. And the whole time he kept thinking, “Don’t give up on me; please don’t give up.”

We all have spiritually resistant friends and relatives who appear, for all we know, to be spiritually dead. We might assume them to be in the category that Paul described as those who are not being saved, but are perishing. And yet how do we know for sure that they might not be only spiritually comatose – unable to speak, but still crying out from some place deep inside: “Don’t give up on me; please don’t give up.”

That’s why you never give up on anyone. Even the most resistant, obnoxious, foul-mouthed unbeliever might still be one who, deep down inside, is being saved. Don’t give up on them. Spiritually breathe for them. Right up until the very end, because you never know.

Our Father...

Our Father, which art in Heaven…

One of the most powerful images of God in the Bible is God the Father. The problem is that the word father has very different connotations for different people. For some, father brings to mind the smell of after-shave, or scratchy whiskers when being kissed goodnight; of being pushed on swings, having heart-to-heart talks, and knowing there was always someone strong who would be there if you got in trouble. For others, father is a distant figure, unapproachable, unpredictable, even frightening – “Just wait until your father gets home!” And if that’s what father means to you, trusting Father God may be a real challenge.

 When praying the Lord’s Prayer, remember that we are not intended to judge God by the sins of our fathers. Rather, we learn what fatherhood is meant to be by looking at God! If you’re a dad, understand that the measure of your manhood is the degree to which you embody God’s character in your family. And, if you’re feeling lost and alone, remember that you have a father in Heaven who loves you.