Miracles

HE_IS_RISEN.jpgPeople have been debating miracles for years. Are they real? Can they still happen today?

I’m sure there are good points for both sides of the argument but it’s not something I can debate. I’ve experienced a miracle of healing myself so I have no option but to believe.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Last week, in the lead up to Good Friday, we discussed the trials of Jesus and the injustice of those trials. This week it was time to look at the miracle of the empty tomb.

Do you believe the miracles of the Bible actually happened? Did Jesus truly rise from the dead?

Yesterday we discussed miracles from the scriptures and then moved to modern day miracles.

If we believe in the miracles in the Bible do we still have faith that miracles can happen today?

Ross and I discussed some modern day miracles and the experiences that we’ve both had.

My experience happened in 1987 on my first ever bicycle ride across Australia. I’d never done any long distance riding before that and so I had set my saddle too low. The added strain of days of riding between 160 and 200 kilometres a day took its toll a week or so into the ride. My knees were severely damaged.

We adjusted the saddle but the damage had already been done.

The pain got worse every day. It was excruciating.

As we rode into one town halfway across the country I was in tears with pain in both knees. I knew that I couldn’t ride any further with that level of pain.

That night I prayed that God would ease back the pain just enough for me to continue riding the next day. I was now totally dependent on him. If the pain was still as intense the next day I would be able to take no further part in the fundraising ride I was on.

When I woke up I started preparing for the day. Then it hit me. The pain hadn’t reduced just a little … it was gone. My knees were working perfectly normally with not even a hint of pain. This had been an all-consuming pain that was getting increasingly worse. Things like that don’t just disappear.

If you want to hear my discussion with Ross just click play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

I’d be interested to read your thoughts on miracles and of any miracles that you’ve experienced.



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Is Faith a Crutch for the Weak?

crutch.jpgIs faith simply an invention to help the weak? Is God just a projection of our own needs? Do we simply create the god we need in our own minds?

Many people would suggest that the whole concept of God is a projection of what we feel we lack in life. If we didn’t have a loving father as we grew up we project that into the creation of a ‘loving father god’

We’ve all heard people say the ‘religion is just a crutch for the weak’ but is that really the case?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Yesterday we looked at where the concept of faith being for the weak began and asked whether there is any validity to the argument. We also talked about whether some Christians have misinterpreted the Bible to create a ‘god’ that doesn’t line up with the God of the Bible at all.

Have a listen to our discussion by clicking the play button on the Audio Player at the bottom of this post.



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Evil in the Church

bad_apple.jpgThere are bad apples in any kind of work or social organisation and most of the time we understand that while those bad apples can tend to cast a shadow over others, they are not indicative of the wider group.

Paedophiles, bullies, thieves, fraudsters and others like them can be found at all levels of society but should we be able to expect a higher standard of conduct from those within the church? Many of us know that people of faith often struggle with the same issues that those outside the church are facing but surely of God is real, faith in him should make a difference.

Many people claim that they can’t accept God or faith because they see so much evil within churches. Does their claim hold water?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Last week we looked at the problem of evil within the church and whether people are right to avoid a church that seems to preach one thing then do another.

We looked at the record of the Christian church and found that overall the story is certainly not all about people failing to live up to their beliefs but one of many great triumphs. However, the point remains that there are people who have done some terrible things in the name of God or while claiming to follow him. What can we do about it?

Listen to what Ross has to say by clicking the play button on the Audio Player at the bottom of this post.



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Extraordinary Forgiveness

Burrntalive.jpgJanuary the 22nd, 1999, is a day forever etched in the memory of Gladys Staines.

It is the day that her husband Graham, along with their young sons, Timothy and Philip, were burnt alive by a group of around 50 Hindu extremists in Orissa, India, where Graham had been working with the poor, especially those with leprosy.

Gladys has an amazing story to tell of how she and her daughter were able to forgive those who killed those they loved. While their forgiveness was offered right away, the healing took a lot longer.

It is truly remarkable to think that Gladys stayed on in India for many years to continue the work that her husband had begun many years earlier. Many people have been inspired by her life and her determination to continue serving God in a land far from her home country of Australia.

I was extremely privileged to have Gladys join me during my Morning Programme at 98.5 Sonshine FM today to talk about her story which has been told in the book Burnt Alive.

If you’d like to hear from someone who found healing in forgiveness just click play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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Who's the guy with the beard?

I posted this a few years ago when I’d been thinking about a few lines from the good book. They come from Luke’s account of what Jesus got up to when he was here a couple of thousand years ago.

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

I suppose that if we reset the scene in modern times it might look more like:

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say you’re a good man; others say a teacher; others say a religious leader; others say a misunderstood man; others say a fictional character; others say an irrelevant historical figure; others say a prophet; others say a bigot; and still others, that you’re a guy who made Mel Gibson a truck load of money.”

Then comes the question that should be directed to each one of us.

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

Jesus was very wise in the way he asked his question. (After all, he is Jesus.) He says to his disciples, “Firstly let’s clear up what everyone else is saying about me.” It can be very easy for us to parrot someone else’s idea of who Jesus was or is. There are so many options that we can easily pick one that sounds reasonable to us.

But Jesus doesn’t give the disciples that option. After clearing up the range of things that others were saying, he focuses in on the individuals in front of him and says, “But What about you? Who do you say I am?”

I believe he’s doing the same today. We need to be aware that there are many ideas of who Jesus is but in the end we need to answer that second question for ourselves.

Jesus looks at us all saying “But What about you? Who do you say I am?” Not who do your parents say I am; not who do your workmates say I am; not who do your philosophy books say I am; not who does your pastor say I am; not who does your church say I am, but “Who do you say I am?”

Whether we say we believe the Bible’s idea of who Jesus is or not, we can’t afford to just grab someone else’s ideas on this one. We need to be open enough to have our views challenged. We need to look at how we came to hold the views we do and decide if that’s a good enough reason to think that way.

All the arguments about what people believe about Christians and their views are secondary and irrelevant until we decide what Jesus is about.

If we truly look at the evidence for ourselves and decide that Jesus was just a man we’ve got nothing to lose but if he was who the Bible claims and we don’t acknowledge it, our life could be at stake.

I’m siding with Peter on this one when he answered, “Who do you say I am?” with “The Christ of God.” Exactly what that means for me and the way I live my life is something that I will continue to grapple with for the rest of my life.

Who do you say Jesus is?



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