Category: faith

REASONS TO BE THANKFUL

 Blog 177

 November 30 , 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. An Archbishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Church with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

REASONS TO BE THANKFUL

Yes, it’s been a hard year. On this Thanksgiving Weekend, many, many families will be aware that there is an empty chair at their table. The COVID-19 virus has certainly taken a toll.  Many businesses are closed never to reopen.  Cars line up across town at Food Banks because personal funds have run out. Politics and political differences have split the country down the middle to the degree that you can’t have a conversation with many people without the roof getting blown off.

And yet ….

On this weekend, we pause to remember our blessings.  We are a country that provides food for the hungry and hospital beds for the sick. Even a volatile political campaign will be followed by a peaceful transition. Even with political differences, we live in a country where we can express our opinions. Hey, vaccines are on the way. With the dawn of another year, new possibilities will appear.

Miracles still going on? Yes, they are. Possibilities out there? Multitudes! Even if we struggle, we bend the knee to thank our heavenly Father for His eternal love. Not hopeful thinking… just the facts. We still live in a land of promise and have the freedom to continue on. Yes, we have much to be grateful for.

Thank we all our God.

We have been calling on America to pray for the spiritual condition of this country. This is a serious hour for this nation Please read II Chronicles 7:14 and then join us in a daily prayer for the next year.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Categories: faith, MiraclesTags: , , Leave a comment

POISONED IN TIBET

 Blog 176

 November 23  2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. An Archbishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Church with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

POISONED IN TIBET

We don’t hear much these days of some of the missionary stories of struggle and survival on the frontiers of the world. Those former mysterious and romantic outposts of civilization are mostly gone now. However, there was a time when amazing and astonishing stories came back of the hand of God sustaining those missionary pioneers.

William Carey was one of those enduring travelers who went to Tibet with the Christian story. One of his acquaintances was Annie Taylor who first lived om England before traveling to Tibet on the Indian side of the border where she learned the language. Unfortunately, the local authorities captured her and imprisoned her in a town called Tumlong. Put in jail, the local people were warned not to sell her food. Even when she got out, food was nearly impossible to come by.

Annie Taylor quickly found survival difficult.  When a shack of corn sprung a hole and spilled around the side of the road, she grabbed what she could.  She noticed that the natives began asking her what they should do with her body when she died.  Always she answered that it wasn’t her time yet. They had a custom called “praying people dead.” Their questions about disposing of her body were part of attempting to “improve’ their death prayers.

Out of the blue, a neighbor prepared a mixture of rice and eggs for her. As the meal was placed before her, she kept talking to the cook while eating. The conversation caused her suspicion that the food might be poisoned., Annie Taylor began to feel ill and had all the symptoms of aconite poisoning. A crowd began to gather. The missionary realized  they had gathered to watch her die.  Surely, her demise was at hand.

Annie Taylor lived by the scripture and began to call to mind passages with a promise. There was a promise of the protection of angels.  And then Mark 16:8 came to mind. “If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” Annie Taylor began praying that scripture. She called on God not only to save her, but to save her for Tibet.

Ms. Taylor began to feel blood rushing through her veins and her heart beating normally. Her strength returned. To the shock of the crowd gathered to watch her die, she stood up and went about the business of preaching her faith. Her life had been spared.

Do miracles only work for missionaries under extreme circumstances?  No. She didn’t use that passage of scripture like a good luck charm, but as a conduit to reach the power of God that sustained her. Anyone can.

We have been calling on America to pray for the spiritual condition of this country.

This is a serious hour for this nation Please read II Chronicles 7:14 and then join us in a daily prayer for the next year.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , Leave a comment

WHEN PEOPLE PRAY

Blog 175

 November 16,  2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. An Archbishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Church with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced divine interventions.

WHEN PEOPLE PRAY

Recently, I was talking about the power of prayer and a pastor friend corrected me. He suggested that I was talking like prayer was a good luck charm, a talisman of some sort. He wanted me to remember that the results of praying were the work of the hand of God. Prayer is only an access to that divine intervention.  God is not a rabbit’s foot. He really had a point.  Often, we lose sight of what divine intervention is all about.  We don’t make something happen just because we prayed, but our praying does open a door that invites the hand of God to come in.

As we have said a number of times, free will remains a key factor in approaching our heavenly Father. We have been given a great gift. We have the capacity to accept or reject the work of God in our lives. Effective prayer is opening our lives to his intervention.  That’s using free will in the most constructive way.

Douglas Connelly in his book Angels Around Us, has an example of intercession making all the difference by focusing the power of God on human need. A member of his congregation, Carol Sintay was diagnosed with a tumor on her ovary. As her doctor worked with her, he could see that the cancer had spread and affected her colon and possibly other internal organs. Another surgeon performed ultrasound projection as well as x-ray, confirmed the diagnosis. Carol Sintray was in trouble.

The problem could not have come at a worse time.  In her Master’s degree program, Carol was halfway through the semester.  She protested that her research and master’s dissertation would be disrupted by such a serious surgery. The doctor’s understood but felt her life was in danger. The surgery could not wait.

The Elder’s of the church gathered around her. She was anointed with oil and they prayed fervently for her condition. The pastor and friends joined in the prayer. While it certainly wasn’t what she wanted, Carol left her life in the hands of God.

When the procedure began a few days later, the doctors were shocked.  They found nothing that was abnormal.

Confounded, one of the doctors asked Carol. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were anointed? If we’d known, we’d done the tests over.” Carol only smiled. She had received a miracle.

Does prayer work? Most certainly when we remember it is opening a door and we are inventing the Holy Spirit to work. Prayer is a connection that brings change.

We have been calling on America to pray for the spiritual condition of this country. This is a serious hour for this nation Please read II Chronicles 7:14 and then join us in a daily prayer for the next year.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

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by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, miraculousTags: , , Leave a comment

ANGEL UNAWARE

BLOG 175

November 9, 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert Wise has interviewed people in many states about their experiences with divine encounters. Because of the virus, he’s been unable to interview people. So, we’ve presented Summer Reruns. Now it’s Fall, but this week he had a discovery just received; he knew you’d want to read.     

ANGEL UNAWARE

Here’s an experience worth thinking about.

Robin Naylor gave birth to a baby with a serious chromosomal defect. The baby was immediately sent to another hospital for treatment.  After all the complications, the husband felt the need to go home to recuperate, leaving Robin in the hospital room by herself. She needed the time alone to sort out her own feelings. What did this problem mean for the baby’s future?  How could she handle the complications? The Naylor family was faced with serious issues. Robin Naylor wasn’t sure she could endure.

The next morning a cheerful nurse came in and introduced herself as Jan.  She related that she understood the struggle Robin was facing. Jan said she had a child with a similar defect and understood the tensions Robin felt. Robin could talk with her honestly because Jan knew her feelings and distress. 

As they talked, Robin could see the nurse lived a normal life in spite of the tragedy that had befallen her. The more the conversation continued, Robin began to recover her sense of sufficiency  A new sense of strength returned and Robin became more certain that she could live with the situation.

Finally, the baby was transferred back to the same hospital. As Robin prepareped to leave, she looked for Jan to share how profoundly her words had helped. She couldn’t be found and Robin went home with her baby.

Later Robin returned to the hospital to find Jan and thank her for the support, but again she couldn’t be found. Robin went to the nurse’s station and asked when Jan would be back on call so she could speak to her. The nurse on duty said no one by that name had ever worked on the floor.  Robin quickly described the nurse, but no one fit her description. Robin left perplexed.

As time went by, she couldn’t dismiss wanting to thank Jan. On a return to the hospital, Robin ask to see her records of the period she was there.  On the day of her conversation with Jan, the chart was marked with initial “J.S” even though no one with that name or initials were on the nurse’s roster.

Her conclusion? An angel had dropped by to encourage her in facing the difficult task that lay ahead. What can we say?  The book of Hebrews told us, “Do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. “

Keep your spiritual eyes open and take a second look at who knocks on your door.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , Leave a comment

BLOG 174

November 2, 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert Wise has interviewed people in many states about their experiences with divine encounters. Because of the virus, he’s been unable to interview people. So, we’ve presented Summer Reruns. Now it’s Fall, but this week he had a discovery just received; he knew you’d want to read.                      

 A MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCE IN THE MOUNTAINS.

I grew up as a boy in Deer Creek Valley in the Colorado mountains. Along the way, the people of Bailey started a church and my parents insisted I go.  Years later, I returned and discovered the “little gathering” had become a large church. In turn, I became close friends with the pastor  Rev. Larry Kalb.

Last July, Larry shared his PSA test had been off the scale. The 1,100 result was beyond relief.  A normal PSA is around 4. Never had I heard of such a score. With tears in his eyes, Larry told me he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer affecting his abdomen and bones. I was shocked and terrified as I had sat by the bedside with men dying with similar struggles. Larry ask me to preach for him on Sunday because he did not feel well.

 I knew prayer could bring a touch of the hand of God. I called on a prayer chain to begin making intercession immediately. If anyone needed a touch from the hand of God, it was this man.

As the month progressed, I became increasingly concerned. Having held healing seminars across America, in Europe, and Taiwan., I knew what was possible. One morning, I felt moved to come down the mountain and see Larry in his office. As we talked, I urged him to openly receive the possibility of healing prayer. Larry suddenly jumped out of the chair and urged me to pray for him. He had asked the elders of the church to anoint him and pray over his illness. That morning, as I prayed with my hands on his head, I felt a powerful surge of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment descending. Larry didn’t particularly feel any sensation, but was moved by the experience. I left and continued to pray.

Three weeks later, we had lunch. I noticed he was not emotional and normally cogent.  I knew he had been to the doctor that week. “How’s your PSA score,” I ask.

“It dropped to 29,” Larry said.

I nearly fell out of the booth. “I’m staggered!” I said. Larry shared how good he felt.

Just before I returned to my Oklahoma home, we had lunch togther again. This time he reported a drop to 19. Going from off the charts, he had dropped to a figure not so far from normal. I thanked God

 This Saturday morning, I called Larry to check on how he was doing. “What’s the score now?”

“Four,” he said.  “Normal. “They  did an MRI and my bones are normal. No cancer.”

Does prayer work? Does the hand of God still reach out and touch people? Rev. Larry Kalb is a living example.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , Leave a comment

KIM PHUC: THE QUEST FOR WHOLENESS

BLOG 173

October 26, 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert Wise  has interviewed people in many states about their experiences with divine encounters. Because of the virus, he’s been unable to interview people. So, we’ve presented Summer Reruns. Now it’s Fall. But this week I found a story that I’ve not presented previously

KIM PHUC: THE QUEST FOR WHOLENESS

While digging through my files I came across a picture I had saved long ago. One of those Vietnam War depictions that caused many Americans to rethink the war struck me. Children were running from their village that had just been fire bombed. Black clouds of smoke filled the sky. The children screamed and ran to escape the exploding flames. In the center of the picture was a completely naked little girl with both arms extended. The bombing had ripped her clothing away and severely burned her back. Recovery would require seventeen surgeries and fourteen months of hospitalization. The agony in her face while screaming in horror still traumatizes.

Every time I saw that picture, I asked myself why we allow such wars and violence to continue. The plight of Kim Phuc never stopped haunting me. Every time I ran across the picture, I wondered what had become of that poor child. Maybe the war would never be over for her.

While thumbing through a magazine with an article by Emily Werenga, there was that frightening picture again and a story about what had happened to this child.  Her photo had been proclaimed a “National Symbol of War,” but Kim Phuc only wanted to forget the entire subject.  She  struggled with anger and bitterness, hating her life. However, as an adult, Kim stumbled onto a Bible in a public library and started to read.  What she saw fascinated her and she couldn’t stop reading. Never had she heard the story unfolding before her.

Out of curiosity, Kim stopped in a church to explore further. Again, for the first time. She heard the Christian account explained. She said, “The love of God changed my life. I knew that Jesus died on the cross and paid for my sins.” The impact was profound.

No longer was Kim plagued by wondering “Why?” She started asking, “How?”

“My life was like a cup of coffee. Very dark: with hatred, anger, bitterness, sorrow … So, I asked God how can I clean everything in my heart?” The hot coffee was poured out every day until the cup was empty. Then, she asked the cup to be filled with the love of God. While Kim still takes a med for her napalm scars and has diabetes, she credits God with giving her a wonderful husband and children as well as starting over again in Canada.

During a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial in 1996, she encountered one of the   pilots who had actually bombed her village. She assured the shattered man of her forgiveness. For Kim, the story of God’s love and the love of people is more powerful than any weapon of war.

The divine interventions of God’s love continue every day. His love never ceases.

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , Leave a comment

A HALLOWEEN SURPRISE!

BLOG 172

October 19, 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert L. Wise has interviewed people in many states about their experiences with divine encounters. Because of the virus, he’s been unable to interview people. So, we’ve presented Summer Reruns. Now it’s Fall. So, here’s Fall Reruns!

Now it’s Fall. So, here’s Fall Reruns!

A HALLOWEEN SURPRISE!

Here we are in the season of werewolfs, monsters, and ghosts. Who’s been better at telling these stories than Anne Rice. The author of at least 27 best-selling books, the list included The Vampire Chronicles which was made into a movie. At book signings, she would often show up in a hearse wearing a flowing vampire’s cap. Anne Rice knew how to put on a show!

Now here’s the surprise.

One afternoon, she experienced a sense of the limitless power and majesty of God that left her convinced only the heavenly Father knew all the answers to all the theological questions that had tormented her for years. In one moment, Anne Rice knew that the God who made the Double Helix and the snow flake, the black hole in space, as well as the lilies of the valley knew and understood all creation in a way that we never could. She could trust in this all-knowing God who knew every single moment of every life lived in this universe. Anne Rice had crossed a line more dramatic and significant that any she had ever written about. A miracle indeed!

Before this moment, Anne had read the arguments circulating about the Christian faith. Anti-God books had dominated the best-seller lists. Professors had claimed to deconstruct Jesus with supposed insightful documents about who he was. She had heard the negatives and struggled to understand those ideas. But on this one afternoon, the nay-sayers fell away. Defeated by her personal encounter with new found trust in Jesus of Nazareth.

Today Anne Rice returns again and again to the Sermon on the Mount. She has found a blueprint for her life. I here words, she continues to celebrate “the greatest love story the world has ever known: that of a God who would come down here  (for us).”  Anne believes the love of God has sparked the only revolution that can truly change the world. Love.

Is this a miracle of a divine intervention? I leave it for you to decide. The important thing for Anne Rice is that the reality of the risen Christ remains with her. She concludes “that trust is what under girds my faith to this day.”

My latest books:

I Marched with Patton: A Firsthand Account of World War II Alongside One of the U.S. Army’s Greatest Generals!

by Frank Sisson (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

You can find I MARCHED WITH PATTON on Amazon.

82 Days on Okinawa: One American’s Unforgettable Firsthand Account of the Pacific War’s Greatest Battle!

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA on Amazon.

by Art Shaw (Author), Robert L. Wise (Author)

by Categories: Books, Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , , Leave a comment

FALL RERUNS: MIRACLE IN A GARBAGE DUMP

BLOG 170

October 5, 2020

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. An Archbishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Church with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced divine interventions.

Now it’s Fall. So, here’s Fall Reruns!

MIRACLE IN A GARBAGE DUMP

Rick Thomas usually wore cowboy boots and a big Texan hat. Living in El Paso, Texas, just across the border from Juarez, Mexico. And always colorful, he was known as an exceptional friend to the poor. When he died, Rick Thomas was buried in a homemade plywood coffin. A thousand people pressed into the church to say goodbye to a man who had lived love and spirituality. Father Rick Thomas, S.J. had been a Jesuit in the Roman Catholic Church.

Father Thomas still has insight for us about the world of divine interventions.

One of his significant places of ministry was the garbage dump for El Paso- Juarez. The sheer squalor of this sprawling pit of filth remains overwhelming. Poor Mexicans struggled to survive by living in the trash pit, having children here, and scratching out an existence in the midst of the debris. An untold number of the poverty-stricken live in cardboard shacks made from boxes tossed out in the trash. Fr. Rick regularly marched into the muck to hold religious services for them.

On the occasion of a visit to the United States, Sister Briege McKenna went with Fr. Rick to the dump. Sister McKenna was born in Ireland and entered the order of the Sisters of St. Clare where she became widely known for her ability to pray for the sick. With hesitancy, she walked into the worst squalor she had ever experienced. Sister Briege couldn’t see how any dignity of worshp could be manifest in such filth.

To her shock, nearly a thousand people had already gathered when they arrived. The contrast was staggering. These people literally had nothing. Setting up an old table for his altar, the priest went to work.

An old woman walked up, carrying a bundle in her arms. When she unfolded the cloth they saw a little child completely burned from head to foot. The dirty child was filthy and screaming. As she was crossing the mountains, the woman had found the child smoldering and picked him up. She handed him to Fr. Rick.

Sister Briege and Fr. Rick stared at the child that was nearly skinless. Finally, the priest suggested that they place the child under the table during the Communion Service. The service began and the congregation of the poverty stricken prayed with fervor. The Sister could feel the reality of the Holy Spirit descending across the mass of people.

Sister Briege began to weep and wondered if her faith might not be as strong as theirs.

As the Mass ended, they realized the baby had long since stopped crying. The child had crawled out from under the table. Sister Briege gasped! The little boy was happily playing in the sand – totally healed.

The Sister hurried over to the woman and ask, “What happened to him?”

The old woman looked at her with skepticism in her eyes. “What you mean what happened? Didn’t Jesus come?”

While the poor received the Mass, the child received new skin.

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , , Leave a comment