APPEARANCES

Blog 233

February 14, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

APPEARANCES

In these blogs I made no distinction between Protestants, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Jews. My quest is to discover the miraculous. The stories are simply what they are regardless of where they happened or to whom. Along the way I discovered that God has no favorites and blesses all groups, even those that distrust and hate each other. Heaven doesn’t operate on prejudice.

Along the way, I also discovered a distinction between miracles (instantaneous explosion of grace) and divine interventions (more gradual and on-going expressions of empowerment). All of which it is to say we have to accept what God does on His terms, not ours. His methods remain His ways.

That’s particularly true of unexpected angelic appearances. For 2,000 years, Christians said the Apostle’s Creed with the phrase the “communion of the saints.” For Traditionalists that meant a continuing relationship with the departed, the saints. For Protestants, it tended to  mean having a monthly church fellowship supper. Sorry. The creed was always about the possibility of connecting with eternity.

One of the expressions of this belief is that saints have continued to intervene. Sometimes, the appearance is angelic, other times spiritual giants from the past spoke. For example, last summer I was in Rouen, France where Joan of Arc (the patron saint of France) was burned at the stake. Her crusade began through the visitation of Saint Catherine, Saint Michael, and Saint Margaret when they appeared to her in her father’s garden.

History has recorded such experiences through the last two millennium. Perhaps, the most striking have been the appearances of the Virgin Mary, often call the ‘apparitions of Mary.” Such happened at Guadalupe that began the conversion of Mexico. The appearance of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France created the healing water of Lourdes where to this day people receive remarkable healings.

The appearances of Mary at Fatima in 1917 contained important vital messages. While the Communist revolution was exploding, Mary instructed the visionaries (and everyone) to pray for its removal and spiritual renewal to follow. Decades later this occurred in December 1991. Mary also gave insight into the attempt to execute a Pope which happened to John Paul II.

In the second half of the 20the century, I became aware of similar appearances of Mary at Medjugorje. Interestingly enough, she appeared to children from a poor village in Yugoslavia, then a Communist country. You might note that the above assorted appearances were all to innocent children or poor people in adverse circumstances. (Gives you something to think about living in affluent America) When I was in Hungary, I attempted to go to Medjugorje but the Bosnian War only got me down to the Adriatic Sea where I had to turn back.

Anyone interested in miracles and divine interventions will find the story of Medjugorje important. Interestingly enough, one of the most insightful accounts is by a Lutheran Protestant Wayne Weible. He was there on a number of occasions and became close to the visionaries. Medjugorje: The Message published in 1989, Paraclete Press can be ordered through your book store. You will be moved by how Weible’s life was affected and changed by his discoveries. Read it.

How did the appearances of Mary happen? Some actually saw her. Others heard her voice in their minds. All were immediately and decisively moved. They were not the same again.

Is Mary and other saints still speaking to people today? The record says yes. Next week I will share an amazing story of how a person was healed through such an encounter. In the meantime, get out there and order Medjugorje: The Message. You will be encouraged.

Remember to expect the unexpected.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

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

A TRIP TO HEAVEN 

Blog 232

February 7, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

A TRIP TO HEAVEN 

I just got through talking with Ron Carte, formerly a banker in Edmond, Oklahoma overseeing four banks. A most engaging person, Ron wants the world to know what happened to him when he died … and came back.

Ron had just left for the office when he got to 2nd and Coltrane Streets, his heart stopped. He passed out but the car kept rolling and crashed into a tree. Becoming barely conscious, Ron smelled gas and feared the engine would explode. He fumbled for his cell phone and got a 911 call to emergency.

The paramedics knew they had to get him immediately to the heart hospital. In addition, to the severe heart problem, his ribs had been broken in the wreck. In severe pain, Ron was rushed through the emergency entrance and a pacemaker was diagnosed. The doctors didn’t hesitate to begin the procedure.

Ron’s wife had arrived by this time and had once received a pacemaker herself. Knowing the amount of time should take, she began to worry as three hours passed. Finally, the medical team came and told her they were sorry, but Ron had died on the table.

But here’s the rest of the story—

When Ron opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was but saw a large oak tree in front of him. The leaves drifted down on the old garden around the tree. A cobblestone path wound down to a what looked like an older man with long hair standing by a gate.

“Ronnie, come here,” the man called out.

When Ron reached the gate, the man reached over and put his hands on Ron’s head. The pain of broken ribs vanished.

Amazed, Ron asked, “Am I in heaven?”

“Yes,” Jesus said.

“Wonderful!

“But you can’t stay Ron. You’ve got business to take care of back there. You know how I’ve spoken to you in the past through the scripture? I want you to share that knowledge with your children and your grandchildren. I want people to know I’m real. I’m going to send you back to share the message. Tell people heaven is real. Let them know I was born to Mary, that I walked on the earth just like you do. “

“But I want to stay,” Ron protested.

“It’s not your time,” Jesus said. “Everyone has a purpose and yours isn’t completed. You must go back.”

***

As soon as Ron returned from the hospital, he gathered his family around him, and shared his experience as he knew Jesus had instructed him to do. His grandson Grant was a seminary student, studying to become a priest. When Ron contacted him through the internet, he saw on his wall was a picture that had come from a nun who had a similar near-death experience. She asked three artists to help her portray the Jesus Christ she met in heaven. The face was exactly what Ron saw in his encounter.

Ron’s story is an encouragement to everyone who hears about his journey beyond death. He came back so you’d know, too.

Remember to expect the unexpected.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

           

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

by Categories: Divine Intervention, faith, MiraclesTags: , , , 2 Comments

PERSISTENCE PRAYER PAYS OFF

Blog 231

January 31, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

PERSISTENCE PRAYER PAYS OFF

Recently I began a new writing project exploring the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the clergyman who became a spy against the Nazis in World War II. Fascinating story. Against that backdrop, a friend sent me the following story. Richard wanted me to know what had occurred.

A Men’s Fellowship Group in Grace Lutheran Church had been meeting regularly for some time.  In the course of events, they began studying Bonhoeffer’s classic  book Life Together. This book was developed out of the hidden seminary Bonhoeffer conducted for the Confessing Church after Hitler took over the state church. Hidden in the woods, the German theologian describes how scripture envisions a church where people care for each other under all circumstances and call for the ultimate commitment to their “life together.”

The Grace Lutheran Men’s Fellowship always read some Old and New Testament passages and then began prayers of intercession. Following the prayer time, they began talking and sharing their experiences.

One of the group related his wife’s medical problems. (Let’s call her Doris for anonymity sake) She had developed an onset of throat polyes causing her voice to keep changing. With two children under twelve-years of age, the family became highly concerned for her health. An appointment was made with a specialist to attempt to correct what was occurring.

The Men’s Fellowship also started to be become concerned. After all, their study of Life Together called for a radical commitment to each other and sensitivity to their personal problems. Could their prayers make a difference for Doris? Would it be possible to intervene and help?

The men believed the Bible called for intervention and promised the “laying on of hands” could make a difference. The men felt they should act and called Doris to come in where they could personally pray for her. Five of the men gathered around her in the sanctuary of the church and began interceding. As they prayed fervently, the men followed the biblical guidelines to put their hands on her neck and body. The session finished and they all went home.

Several days later, Doris’s husband called the group. The polyes had completely disappeared. The condition was gone!

Five years later, Richard happened to meet Doris in a store. Her healing continued to be complete. She still believed.

Think about it. Might be something you’d want to explore.

Remember to expect the unexpected.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

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

BACK FROM THE BEYOND – Part Two

Blog 230

January 24, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

BACK FROM THE BEYOND

Part Two

Last week I reported that The November/December issue of The Saturday Evening Post ran an article on near-death experiences written by Bruce Greyson, M.D. and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, parallels my findings. Here’s more of what he related.

In over a half century of investigation, Dr. Greyson  found that often there were similarities in people’s experiences. One-third change occupations and three-fourths made important changes in their lifestyles or activities. These changes were mostly consistent with people who had been involved in occupations that involved violence such as policemen or the military.

Thirty-six-year-old policeman Joe Geraci was used to seeing bloodshed in his work. Yet after his NDE (near-death experience) he could no longer watch TV because it was too violent. On an assignment, he endangered himself and another officer because he couldn’t fire his gun. He resigned and returned to being a teacher.

NDE survivor Emily was 49 when she sank while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, her NDE survival changed everything. Her values shifted. She had been a successful real estate dealer for 17 years. She turned her business over to one of her sons and joined the Lutheran Church Home where she does marketing for the elderly. She says, “I now live to the fullest and would never, never be afraid of dying.”

What an encouraging word. There is more to life –And death—that we would ever have thought!

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

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

BACK FROM THE BEYOND

Blog 229

January 16, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

BACK FROM THE BEYOND

A few years ago, I wrote Crossing the Threshold of Eternity (Regal Books), a collection of near-death experiences of people I had known or investigated. The book is still out and you’d find it fascinating.

The November/December issue of The Saturday Evening Post ran similar stories about such experiences. Written by Bruce Greyson, M.D. and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neu behavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, he parallels my findings.

Here’s an example.

In the Vietnam jungle, Steve Price’s bulletproof vest was pieced by shrapnel and mortar fragments pierced his lung. The 24-year-old Marine was rushed to a hospital. During the operation ‘something’ happened. Here’s his account.

“Suddenly, I realized I was up on the ceiling, looking down at my body. A brilliant white light embraced and encompassed me. It took me in. I felt such warmth and peace and was bathed in the most peaceful joyous feeling imaginable. I found myself in a place like the Garden of Eden. I didn’t say the word God for a long time, but now I can say that the light was God. It was like the most loving mother embracing her infant, only a million times more than that.  On the other side a steam bubbling through the garden was my long-dead grandfather. I went to move toward him, but it was over.”

The effect on Steve Price left him with an almost inability to shoot his gun because he didn’t want to kill people. He became so sensitive that when others were hurt, Steve could feel their pain. His entire perspective on life was changed.

There are differences, but Steve Price’s story parallels so many others I reported in Crossing the Threshold of Eternity. The truth is that the Bible tells us precious little about the other side, but these narratives give us compelling glimpse of what is beyond.

Thank you, Steve Price. Your experience helps.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

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

UNEXPECTED GIFTS WITH GRACE

Blog 228

January 8, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

UNEXPECTED GIFTS WITH GRACE

As I talked with people who had miraculous experiences, I have picked up stories of people who also developed additional gifts of grace as they came into a new or deepened relationship with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes these spiritual endowments almost defied imagination. Here’s an unusual example from Peru.

Martin de Porres was born into a world of prejudice, but this black man turned rejection into faith, not friction. Few Peruvians would accept a mixed-race illegitimate child, so the deck was stacked against de Porres from the moment he was born. His father, a Spanish nobleman, refused to marry his mother, a freed slave from Panama. De Porres and his younger sister, Juana, grew up poor, socially demeaned, and unacknowledged by their father. To heal the wounds of rejection, he plunged into the Christian faith. The result was remarkable.

Associates said they saw him levitate. He could communicate with animals and be in two places simultaneously. Yet, in Lima, Peru, Martin de Porres was reviled by many simply because of the color of his skin. Local law even forbade him from becoming a full member of the religious order to which he devoted his life. He was able to join a Dominican monastery, wear the robes, and live among the other residents—but only as a worker who cleaned and did laundry. Martin made it his lifelong objective and practice to turn prejudice into spiritual passion.

De Porres became a most remarkable person. As he moved among the people, he soon developed a reputation for redeeming people. Frugal and humble, he was so devout that after his death eighty-four miracles were attributed to him.

De Porres was said to be able to go through locked doors. He was spotted in faraway Mexico and Japan, despite never having left Peru. He and a group of novices found themselves miles from the monastery and late to prayer, he asked them to take his hands. In an instant, the group was back home.

De Porres’s boundless compassion extended to the lowliest of creatures. He was told to set out poisons to get rid the monastery of pests, but it pained de Porre to do so. He went into the garden and called to the rats quietly. He warned them not to eat the poison and said he would be happy to feed them in the garden every day, so long as they stopped bothering the monks. The rats behaved themselves.

How do you relate to such descriptions? I admit that I would have been skeptic if I had not seen wild birds fly down on Agnes Sanford’s veranda and take a piece of bread out of her hand. Agnes had powerful spiritual abilities to related to nature. My time with her taught me that Martin De Porres’s gifts were examples of how grace can transform our abilities, even when the impartations are unexpected. How about you? An encouragement here? You never can tell. Remember to expect the unexpected.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

by Categories: faith, Miracles, miraculousTags: , , Leave a comment

A NEW YEAR WITH HOPE

Blog 227

January 1, 2022

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

A NEW YEAR WITH HOPE

During the last twelve months, I have been blessed to run into people who have experienced the hand of God touching their lives. What a divine accident! Over and over, I’ve bumped into recipients of a touch of grace. Subsequently, these encounters inspire me to look to the coming year with hope.

At the same time, I know the holidays are difficult for people with losses that can never be recovered. Good people are out there still searching for God’s intervention. My experience says, “Don’t give up and stop hoping. The best is yet to be.”

Here’s an example. The Christmas story ends with Joseph having an inspired dream, guiding him to leave Israel with Mary and the baby. Joseph would tell us to keep dreaming because God often speaks through our dreams. Of course, most of our dreams are only our thought processes ordering and reordering our waking experiences. However, don’t discount your dreams as an avenue to the miraculous.

My next-door neighbors Wiley and Carrie found this to be true. Born with a heart defect, their son Garret struggled through eighteen-years of medical issues. He actually lived more than three years longer that most children with this problem. Nevertheless, Carrie was devastated when Garret came to the end of his life. A woman of strong and determined faith, she was heartbroken.  Struggling with the meaning of his death, she had this dream.

Wiley and Carrie were standing on a bridge holding baby Garret. As they crossed the bridge, Garret began to grow until when they reached the other side and he had become a full grown eighteen-year young man.

Carrie looked in front of them and saw another bridge, old, broken, virtually destroyed. She couldn’t imagine how they would ever get across. Garret would have an impossible time on that worn span.

Abruptly, Jesus appeared standing next to Garret. They smiled and suddenly both were gone. Disappeared!

As Carried dreamed the scene, she realized that her son no longer had to face a destructive bridge, a struggling life with a broken body. Though it was a severe mercy, her heavenly Father had spared Garret and the family found a devastating journey.  Even with their heart-break, the family had encountered God’s love intervening.

What would Carrie tell you as you face the coming year? Don’t stop dreaming and hoping, God is always there even in unseen and unexpected ways. Not always understood, miracles keep happening.

And for you? Remember to …expect the unexpected!            

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

by Categories: Divine Intervention, Dr. Robert Wise interview, faith, MiraclesTags: , , , , Leave a comment

THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL

Blog 226

December 26, 2021

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 Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL

In all the hub-bub of rushing through departments stores, worrying if the packages you sent got there, and fighting the traffic, it’s easy to forget what Christmas is really all about.  Trading presents, watching the Christmas tree lights sparkle, and fixing a turkey for the family gathering can obscure one of the most important insights of the season.

Christmas is about the greatest miracle of all.

Let’s push the school Christmas pageants aside and close our eyes to the football bowl games for a moment. The story begins in a stinking barn with the pungent smell of stale hay that would make a pregnant woman nauseated. Probably, Joseph had to find a shovel to push the animal manure out of the way. Animals would have watched indifferently while two strangers struggled to find a soft place for the woman overcome with pain to lay down because the birth would wait no longer. Poor people trying to survive on the outskirts of the world.

And what does it all mean?

We are all poor people living precariously on the margins of this world. The nativity remains a parable of the human condition before redemption has been born in us. The forlorn dirty barn is a construct of our situation, our emptiness in an indifferent world. While we like to think of ourselves as the prosperous, the conquerors, the almighty, people with big bank accounts, but that Bethlehem barn is the true portrait of our poverty and limitations.

And yet in our bleakness and bareness, God comes. His appearance has absolutely nothing to do with all those things we consider to be so important. Where does God meet us? In the emptiness of our broken lives.

And therein is the miracle.  The God of love asks nothing but our love. So, a baby is born in the cold of a winter night and 2,000 years later the world still comes to the manager. In the midst of our need, there is really no other place to go. We can stand up because we first bowed down.

What a strange story. What an unexpected story. What a miraculous story.

Remember to …expect the unexpected!

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store. 

By the way, I’d love to hear your story if you’ve experienced a divine intervention.

Send it to me at Wise on Miracles@gmail.com.

Please watch and subscribe to my new YouTube channel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE,

where I post interviews with people sharing their experiences with divine encounters!

Let the miracles begin!

by Categories: angels, faith, Miracles, miraculousTags: , , , Leave a comment