***People have asked me, why we have so many miracles.  Mark 16:17 speaks of “signs” following those who believe.  We believe God is powerful and good and that it is still His will and heart to do what He did in the days of Jesus.  So we pray for miracles… healing for the sick, financial breakthrough for the poor, deliverance for those oppressed by the devil, strength for the weary, healing for the emotionally wounded, freedom for the addicted, etc.  When we pray for a miracle, it creates an opportunity for God to act.  And we have found that God loves these opportunities.  He loves to be invited to do the impossible and has responded to our invitations in so many situations.  And hundreds of miracles have happened!  May God be praised!

Acts 10:38 says “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.”  According to the Great Commission as recorded in Mark 16:15-18, that is still our mandate today as His disciples---preaching the good news as well as healing the sick and freeing people from the power of the devil.  God establishes a covenant with His people in Jer 32:40-41: “I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to be awed by me, so that they will never turn away from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good...”  Today God continues to fulfill this promise by anointing His people with the Holy Spirit so they can fulfill this Great Commission.  We proclaim the same message that Jesus proclaimed and by the grace and power of God, we do the same works also.  May this continue to increase until our church is known as a house of healing.

John 20:24 ff After Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to some of His disciples.  When they went to the others and said, “We have seen the Lord”, Thomas found that hard to believe.  He made the statement:  “Unless I see…I will not believe.”  Later Jesus came to His disciples, He made a point of coming right up to Thomas and saying, “Put your finger here, see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.”  Jesus offered tangible evidence to support the truth of Him being alive…Touch this, see this, Put your finger here.  Jesus didn’t like Thomas’ unbelief but in spite of that, He offered Thomas something that could be touched and seen to help him get past his doubt. Why?  Jesus next statement explains the answer to that question.  “Stop doubting and believe!”

When God does miracles today it is for that same reason (Obviously in addition to simply relieving a person from their suffering), to give tangible evidence that He lives and so that people will believe, be saved and also live for Him.  The preaching of the word and miracles should go hand in hand so that people will be powerfully convinced and will believe.  (Mark 16:20, Acts 2:22, John 20:30-31, Acts 14:3).  When the word is preached, miracles are the demonstration of that good news message.  It is evidence that the preached word is truth. 

Jesus praised people that could believe without seeing so many proofs.  He praised faith when He found it and in many places exhorted lack of faith. But He also continued to demonstrate the word by His many signs and wonders.  The disciple John even says that the miracles recorded in the Bible are for the same purpose…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing you may have life in His name.  (John 20:30-31)

At the same time we are keenly aware that counterfeits exist.  We are on the alert.  We are dressed for battle and praying for heaven to come down and the gates of hell to not prevail.   Please pray with us that this move of God will remain pure and uncorrupted by man or even the devil, himself.