MIRACLES   
Until the Day    
    

Paul wrote about...God, who gives life to the dead 

and calls things that are not as though they were. 

Romans 4:17

   Can we trust Paul's letters? We counted 64 extraordinary hardships, people and places Paul suffered for Christ. It was only to the Corinthians that he thought it necessary to list his many trials. 

   We don't believe for a second Paul would have endured all that - and written all those letters - some from his prisons - if he had fabricated his surprise calling - Acts 9. This passionate persecutor of Christians became a passionate bearer of good news. He in turn became a marked man by his former associates. 

   Our age began with the gift of the Holy Spirit - Acts 2. By the Spirit's power, followers of Jesus overcome Satan's deception and our own sinful nature. 
(Yes, we fall short of perfection.) 

   In the (new) beginning, Spirit-filled Peter healed a cripple. Stephen saw the glory of God while being stoned. The Spirit translated Philip from Gaza to Azotus. Two liars died on the spot. 

   Paul and Silas were singing in prison around midnight when an "earthquake" broke open the cells. All prisoners stayed put. Recognizing the truth, the frightened jailer begged, What must I do to be saved?  

   Today, with countless Bibles, teachers and missionaries - and advanced healthcare - God gives different gifts to different believers, the gift of healing for one. 1 Corinthians 12:28. Our brother-in-law was healed of rheumatic fever at age 10. His prognosis had been dire. We don't know what the Lord might be doing in some remote places on earth. 

   In chapter 13, Paul names the greater gifts - faith, hope and love. 

   While we worship and work, we await the Day of the Lord - 2 Peter 3 - when He will act on his wrath toward the wicked and establish his long awaited Kingdom.
Read John's miraculous vision, the Revelation.

        Jimmy