Extraordinary Miracles?

I was reading, during my morning devotion time, about the Apostle Paul’s sojourn in Ephesis in Acts, chapter 19.  This verse jumped out at me:

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

~ Acts 19:11-12 ESV

What?  Extraordinary miracles?  I thought the definition of a miracle included the idea that it was a very unusual and uncommon event.  So to call a miracle “extraordinary” seems redundant!  Even so, miracles must have become commonplace, at least with the apostles like Peter and Paul.   “Oh yeah, healing the sick by laying on of hands.  He does that all the time.  Last week, he was in prison, the earth shook, the chains fell off, and all the captives were freed.”  But this thing of carrying cloth items touched by Paul to sick people and witnessing a healing or deliverance…now THAT is NOT normal!

I became intrigued, so I turned to my systematic theology reference book and read the section on miracles.  Wayne Grudem defined a miracle as “a less common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.”  Other definitions were rejected because they were inadequate in fully ascribing to God the full credit he deserves.  For example, consider this definition:

“A miracle is a direct intervention of God in the world.”

petcaretips.net

This is deficient because it takes a deistic view of God’s activity.  In other words, this definition makes an assumption the only time God is involved is when he does something out of the ordinary, not in line with the laws of nature.  This definition does not take into account that God feeds the birds of the air and he clothes the lilies of the field on a daily basis  (Matthew 6: 25-33).  Here is another definition suffering from the same deistic assumptions:

“A miracle is an event impossible to explain by natural laws.”

I began to realize, had someone asked me to give a definition for a miracle, I probably would have blurted out a similarly worded phrase.  It goes to show how our naturalistic culture conditions us to think in such a way as to not give God all the glory he deserves.  I heard a challenge from a pastor the other day that I thought was noteworthy.  He said we, as believers, should consider removing the word “nature” (and especially the phrase “Mother Nature”) from our vocabularies.  Instead we ought to use the word “creation,” because it reveals a Christian mindset that gives the almighty God the recognition he deserves.

Back to the discussion of miracles and extraordinary miracles…in my high school days as a new believer, I recall a friend saying “It would be much easier to believe in God if he would do something miraculous like parting the waters of Buckeye Lake” (our small Ohio town is on the west end of a rather large lake).  The problem with this view is that the witnessing of a miracle does not necessarily turn a skeptic into a believer.  The Bible has many stories of humans rejecting or forgetting God’s intervention after a miraculous occurrence.   In the story of the Exodus, Pharoah refused to believe even after the many awesome and terrible displays of God’s power in the plagues inflicted on Egypt.  And, after the children of Israel witnessed God’s hand in their deliverance by way of the parted waters of the Red Sea, they were back to grumbling about their circumstances only a few days later.  The miracles displayed in the events surrounding the Exodus were certainly of the “extraordinary” kind, but their effect was not long lasting when witnessed by hard-hearted individuals.

God has allowed his power to be displayed through extraordinary miracles at key times in human history.  We may long for the miraculous at times in our day and in our lives because of the comfort a healing would bring, or because we suspect our faith or the faith of others might be increased.  Who knows, He might work an extraordinary miracle in your life today. But He is very pleased when we are awed and filled with wonder at the sight of a lily, in the flight of a bird, or when rejoicing in His goodness with our fellow believers.  Let’s make it our goal to give glory to our maker when considering the full spectrum of His wondrous works…from the “mundane” to the “extraordinary!”

“Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

~ Exodus 15:11 ESV

Free Indeed, Through the Eyes of a Dog

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

~ John 8:34-36

Last week Donna and I spent an evening with my son, Phil, and his fiance, Sarah, at the home of Sarah’s parents, Mike and Susan.  Phil and Sarah’s one year old basset hound, Dennis, was also there.  They do not like to leave Denny home alone, nor does Denny like to be alone.  He’s a very personable dog and, even though he is full grown, Denny is still full of playful puppy energy.

At one point it the evening, Sarah was showing us a large decorative bird cage she had purchased for their upcoming wedding reception.  When Denny saw the bird cage, he shrunk back in obvious fear, barking wildly as if to say “Get that thing away from me!”  Sarah commented that Denny had acted that way before, and she was curious about his behavior.  As we talked about it, I asked Phil if Dennis was living in a cage when Phil first saw him and subsequently purchased him at the pet store. Phil nodded and said that, indeed, Denny had spent a significant amount of time in a cage during his first weeks of life.  We all realized that Dennis was letting us all know that the bird cage reminded him of a life to which he did not want to return.

Dennis at his first birthday party

A few minutes later, I went downstairs to spend some time with Mike in their family room.  Denny followed me down the steps and went off snooping somewhere else in the house.  As Mike and I were discussing the recent Super Bowl game, Denny came bounding into the family room with his huge ears flopping and his tail wagging.  He immediately spun around and ran out of the room, through the kitchen, into the dining room, and around the corner into the living room, barking the entire time.  Because the open living space in the house forms a continuous loop into the kitchen, Denny was soon back in the family room and the entire scene repeated again…several times.  He was not chasing anything nor did he have anything in his mouth.  Denny was just enjoying being alive, loving his liberty, and rejoicing in the fact that he now lives with family who loves him and takes good care of him.

I know it is easy to project our human awareness and motivations onto the animals we love, and I have no way to prove that Dennis was comparing his earlier living status in a cage to his new life as a dog who is now “free indeed.”  But the moment was very heartwarming and instructive to me.  As sons and daughters of Adam, we are all born into sin, “slaves to sin” as spoken by Jesus in the quote above.  We are caged as helpless captives to our status as sinners, suffering each day due to the consequences of our own transgressions.  Most humans live with conscious and unconscious feelings of guilt that no amount of happy thinking, chemical dependency, or good deeds can erase.  We are slaves to sin.

But, thank God, we can be set free from the horrible consequences of sin.  The wonderful truth is that Jesus has redeemed us from that miserable life in the “cage,” and he has offered a life of liberty to all who are willing to let Him be their master.  As I found delight in watching Dennis rejoice during his 5 minute long romp throughout the house, I realized that our heavenly Father also delights in us when we express our deep and heartfelt gratitude to Him for the liberty He has given to us as His adopted children.  Because the Son has set us free, we are free indeed!

You Never Know What a Day Might Bring – Part 6

It’s been over a year since the heart attack I suffered while hang gliding (see the “Heart Attack 3/6/09″ link on the right).  In regards to flying, I did return to the skies about 6 weeks after the event, and even though I never get to fly as often as I like, I was still able to put in over 10 hours of air time during 2009.  I set a personal altitude record of over 6,000 feet, and my longest flight of 2009 was about 2 hours and 20 minutes.  You can see a music video of some footage I shot of that flight by clicking here.  It was a fantastic day of foot-launched hang gliding at the Richmond Dale ridge (the same location where I had the heart attack) with five other Ohio Flyer pilots.

The “Illusion” of Design and Purpose?

To see a display of color that can rival the leaves on a sunny autumn day, visit a gathering of hang glider pilots as they unfurl their wings to prepare them for a day of flying.  Some sail colors are subdued, but most are bright and symmetrical, and it’s typically rare to see identical patterns from one kite to the next.  Other variations exist in the sizes and types of gliders.  Beginner wings typically have a lower “aspect ratio” with noticeably wider square footage nose to tail.  Higher performance kites are thinner, and the structure of the wing may be more rigid, imitating the wing design found on fixed wing airplanes.

You Never Know What a Day Might Bring – Part 5

After a forced but thoroughly enjoyable and fruitful recuperation period I started the gradual transition back to a normal life.  An appointment with my own cardiologist several weeks after the heart attack gave me the opportunity to fully explain to him the circumstances around the event.  Dr. Mehta felt partly responsible for giving in to my pressure to stop taking Plavix in October 2008, but I assured him that he had fully warned me of the risk I was taking, and that the decision was one that I owned completely.  He viewed the brief video of my emergency catheterization procedure about which he commented “You were one sick fellow.”  Even so, Dr. Mehta said that, after a month, I could do anything I wanted to do, including flying.  I should just listen to my body and quit if it said “Enough!”  He also prescribed cardiac rehabilitation at the hospital near my home, which I started a few days later.

Transcendence and Glory

We have three boys who are now adults.  Our oldest, Ryan, is interested in the more traditional sports, especially basketball and golf.  Ryan has the most naturally gorgeous basketball shooting form of anyone I know, and the same is true of his golf swing.  The guy just had it from the womb!  Jeff, my second son, and his brother Phil have had an interest in non-traditional sports, particularly extreme BMX biking.  Donna and I have supported all 3 boys in their interests and activities, usually timing our summer vacation plans around the sports camps they wanted to attend.

Recreation and Redemption

We all do it.  We all recreate.  If you want to start a lively discussion among friends or even strangers, just ask them what they like to do to have fun.  Those of us who seek to live an integrated life in which our faith in God is actively woven through every fabric of our existence had better develop a theology that includes recreation as a vital element.  Otherwise we could be accused of being inconsistent in our systems of belief.

I have devoted much time in reflection and study of this topic.  Perhaps this is because I enjoy playing so much that I hope to justify the time I spend in the pursuit of recreational happiness.  But I honestly believe that God is pleased when our frolic bolsters our faith and when the end result of an afternoon of play causes us to well up in gratitude to the Lord of creation who made it all possible.   So allow me to take a crack at developing a theology of recreation that may settle into your soul, giving you reason to rejoice in the God of rest and refreshment.

Turkey Vultures and Venn Diagrams

Eagles are majestic birds who rule the skies above mountains and ridges, but few birds compare in their thermal soaring abilities like the turkey vulture.  These relatively large birds live all over the North American continent and are usually associated by most people as devourers of carrion – dead animals (as in road kill).  Vultures scavenge for food in open fields, along shorelines, and in rocky terrain, but they most often are seen circling in the skies as they search for their next meal.  The scientific name for turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, means “cleansing breeze.” They are not deemed the most beautiful of birds, perched in a creepy, hunched over position when not in flight. 

Eagles, Wonder Winds, and Rest

The most memorable flight I’ve had so far took place at the Richmond Dale ridge on a Saturday afternoon in mid-October 2007.  The flight lasted 3 1/2 hours.  Two other Ohio Flyer pilots enjoyed the flying on that day which always adds a extra level of enjoyment as together we explore the atmosphere around the ridge.  Only a few times did I need to scratch (fly close to the trees or near the top of the ridge) to stay up. Most of the time I was able to experiment with finding the best part of the lift band while trying to gain as much altitude as possible. I was only able to achieve a maximum altitude of 350 feet above the launch, but my variometer logbook recorded a cumulative altitude gain during the flight of 10,700 feet.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Part 3

The freshly-rennovated radial ramp at Henson's Gap is one of the nicest launch ramps in the world.

Team Challenge is a hang gliding competition event sponsored and hosted by the Tennessee Tree Toppers hang gliding club based in Dunlap, Tennessee.  Their premier launch sight at Henson’s Gap is the location of the week long meet that is promoted as an event where cross-country flying novices are teamed up with more experienced pilots.  Scoring is based on a sliding scale where the distances accomplished by team members each day are multiplied by a factor determined by each pilot’s relative skill level and glider performance level.  Tom, a member of the Ohio Flyers club, had lobbied for our involvement in the meet each year, but to my knowledge no team made up of just Ohio Flyers members had ever competed.  Dad’s challenge to me to “go for it” prompted my registration for the event in the fall of 2008.  Some other Ohio Flyers registered as well.