Do Miracles Happen Today?

 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it.  John 14:12‑14

If God really is supernatural, should we think it so strange when the miraculous occurs? Put more personally, can we trust Him for that which has no human explanation today?  Or should we conclude that God put our world into operation and then withdrew, leaving our world to run itself?  There is one thing for certain.  The twelve men who walked with Jesus Christ experienced a great deal of the supernatural, for Christ, according to the Gospels, touched blind eyes and men saw.  He cleansed the lepers.  He unstopped deaf ears, and the lame walked.  This, of course, was very unsettling to some of the people who were present, especially the religious leaders who were convinced that God could, but to actually see it, was rather distressing.  How could they account for it?

Paul explained, when he wrote to the Corinthians, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them..." (2 Corinthians 5:19).  Paul's explanation was that God's power was manifest in the life of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Miracles were not any problem because they believed that when Christ did something miraculous, God was working through Him.  And it is also an historical fact that miracles were prominent in the early church.  After the day of Pentecost, Peter and John went to the temple and encountered a lame man.  "We do not have any silver and gold," Peter explained.  "But we will give you what we have.  In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk."  The man got to his feet and walked, leaping and praising God.

Luke, the historian for the early church said, "And they were continually devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.  And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles."  Later in the Book of Acts he says, "Many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico."  Mark closes his Gospel saying, "And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the Word by the signs that followed."

Unquestionably, these early Christians expected the supernatural because God was no natural happenstance to them.  They were simple men who had nothing yet had everything.  What they had, the church today seems to have lost!  Were those miracles confined to the days of the first century alone?  Some believe so, and never see anything more miraculous than a common cold going away in three days.  Yet others believe the words of Hebrews 13:8, which says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever, and expect God to meet them in ways that offer no human explanation, and it happens.  From its inception, Christianity has been cradled in the supernatural, and it can only follow that its very nature and character are the same today.

To His disciples in the Upper Room, the night before the crucifixion, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it " (John 14:12‑14).  Do you believe it?  Then believe that God will do that for which there is no human explanation.  Yes, as a songwriter put it, "I believe in miracles."

Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

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