SURPRISING CHANGE

MIRACLE BLOG 18 November 21, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention and miracles from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

Generally people form their expectations of what God can do and does from what they’ve read in the Bible —only. For example, if a healing doesn’t occur instantly, they decide prayer doesn’t work. If Welch’s grape juice doesn’t become Gallo wine, they are discouraged. Let’s be clear, there’s no problem with what is in the Bible, but the stories must be seen as examples of a starting point and not a finish line.

We must add continuing human experience and consider the Bible as a spring board. The scriptures call us to open our eyes and hearts to greater expectations. Charlotte had such an experience.

In August, 2012, Charlotte had a total knee replacement. She knew it was coming and had put it off too long. Of course, knee replacements can be painful and Charlotte struggled. She knew about Leslie Draper and her ministry that stemmed from contact with the angels. Some people might consider that approach on the bizarre side, but Charlotte needed help. And Leslie was anything but bizarre.

From years of working with human need, Leslie had learned how to listen to angels. She silently turned to them to hear their direction for what should happen next. In Charlotte’s case, the direction was for an “energy healing.” Interesting indeed.

Angelic direction suggested that the problem was that Charlotte’s body was treating the knee replacement as a foreign object and attempting to reject the intrusion. The body’s resources were focused on getting rid of the artificial knee rather than embracing it.

Leslie came and prayed for a shift in the body’s energy. Her prayers and ministry were aimed at bringing the knee into harmony with the body. The sessions were aimed at restoring concord in Charlotte’s entire system.

Thirteen days after the surgery, the doctor took the staples out. To his shock, there was little swelling. Healing was far better than he expected. The next step was the physical therapist doing a knee flexion measurement on the knee. He, too, was shocked and surprised. The therapist told Charlotte that in two to three months the goal was a measurement of 120 degrees. In three weeks, Charlotte measured 128 degrees.

Charlotte had a miracle.

It wasn’t walking on water – but it was walking across her living room with no pain. The heavenly Father cares about such things. Expect Him to care for you – without defining how, when, and where His response will come.

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TAPPING INTO LIFE

BLOG 17 November 14, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention and miracles from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

Following a slim victory by Oklahoma State University, football head coach Mike Gundy explained the achievement by saying, “the mind is the most important part of the body.” He believed what surges through the head is more powerful than what runs through the muscles. Very interesting.

I would add that what keeps everyone functioning is more than just positive thinking. Lose a desire to live and you soon die. With an absolute commitment to life, you can recover. Life is far more than just keeping on being mobile. The dictionary defines life as a “principle or force.” Coach Gundy tapped into this idea when he suggested that the team had a mindset that motivated them to win.

In my search to understand miracles, I’ve discovered that the invisible force called “life” is a vital part of what renews, regenerates, and revitalizes people. No matter how ill one might be, what’s in the mind still tops the list for a means of recovery.

Reclaiming “life” can be one of the most important ingredients in a divine intervention.

Some years ago, I was called to the hospital because my dear friend and parishioner Jim was critically ill. The doctor attempted to remove his gall bladder cystoscopicaly but left tissue behind that had produced a deadly illness. When I entered the room, a sense of death hung in the air. I sensed that life was draining out of this man’s system. He was slipping away.

My wife and I began to pray for his recovery. In particular, I placed my hands on Jim and asked the Holy Spirit to pour “life” into Jim. Often when we pray for life, the power begins to flow through us just as electricity comes down a wire into our house. That night in the hospital, we became conductors in much the same way that wire is a transmitter of power.

Do I understand what I am describing? No, not really. Over the years, I’ve asked many medical doctors to define life. What is it? I’m still waiting for a definitive answer. They can tell me what death is – but not life!

I’ve come to the conclusion that life is the possession of God and comes from him alone. Science fiction aside, we cannot create life – but we can convey it through praying.

As my wife and I prayed for Jim, the atmosphere in the room began to change. The extreme pain in Jim’s side subsided. His color improved. We kept praying. Over the next few days, he steadily improved and was soon released. Jim recovered.

A divine intervention? Definitely. The Holy Spirit used us as a connection and poured renewed life into Jim. Can I prove it? No. I can only answer, “he was dying and is now alive.”

Think about it. You might be able to become a conductor of life.

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WHAT DO MIRACLES TELL US?

BLOG 16 November 7, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE

Robert Wise explores the world of Divine intervention from an objective point of view. Can 21st Century people believe that the hand of God touches people in today’s world?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

During the past sixteen weeks, I have been describing and relating miraculous events. How do we understand such occurrences? What can you take away from these stories.

The context for insight is in the scripture. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with these amazing occasions. More importantly, the Bible gives us a larger picture for our understanding. As I talked with people who I considered legitimate, I’ve found that their “happenings” fit a biblical category that explains why miracles occur.

The Old Testament tells us that a miracle is a sign. The Greek word σήμεoν suggests that events like Moses’s struggle with Pharaoh, crossing the Red Sea (the Sea of Reeds), the Exodus itself, were all signs of the reality of God. This Greek word is used 73 times in the New Testament as well. We find it ten times in Matthew, 23 in Mark, 10 in Luke, 24 times in John, and 13 signs in the Book of Acts. Miracles were a sign.

In the New Testament, the birth of the Messiah came with a total uniqueness. When the shepherds came running to see the baby, their appearance was a sign to Mary. In John’s Gospel, miracles are messianic. Whether it be turning water into wine at Cana, or feeding the multitude, John made it clear that what Jesus accomplished was a sign that he was the Messiah they had been seeking.

In all of these instances, the event told observers that the intervention was not an ordinary act of nature, but a sign of the presence of God. Beyond the influence of man, the events came from God and put a new responsibility on the observer. These signs kept pointing beyond themselves to the One who was the true source of life.

Let us be clear: A sign is not a miracle, but a miracle is a sign. There are many signs throughout scripture that were not always understood by observers. However, when an authentic miracle occurred, it was a sign that pointed beyond the miraculous experience to the transcendent God.

This recognition of the miracle as a sign does not end with the Gospel’s story. The Book of Acts demonstrates that the Apostles’ ministries were filled with the miraculous. Acts 4:16 and 22 relates that the unbelieving Jewish leaders even recognized that the works of the Apostles were “signs.” The Sanhedrin feared that the these signs would establish faith. A miracle is a sign of God’s transcendent presence and power. Miracles confront us with the reality of God the Father working in our midst.

Don’t be afraid to buy in! A good God makes good things happen.

IF YOU HAVEN’T READ ROBERT WISE’S LATEST BOOK BIBLE LANDS: AN ILLUSTRATED GUiDE TO SCRIPTURAL PLACES GET ONE TODAY!

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MORE DIVINE INTERVENTIONS IN HOLLYWOOD

Blog 15 October 31, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. Can 21st century people believe the hand of God still touches people today?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

Several weeks ago, I related an article in CLOSER magazine that detailed a near-death experience actress Sharon Stone experienced during a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage. She felt herself floating away from the hospital room and drifting toward a glowing, ever-expanding light. Sharon Stone believed she had died.

Many people responded and were intrigued. In these blogs, I usually report my findings from conversations with friends who experienced miracles or divine intrusions. However, I found these stories of movie personalities to be equally fascinating.

Here’s more.

Jane Seymour is a British-American actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , Somewhere In Time , and War and Remembrance. She has earned an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her father was Jewish and her mother was a Dutch Protestant who was a prisoner of war during World War II. Jane’s paternal grandfather had come to live in the East End of London after escaping the Czarist pogroms when he was 14.

In 1987, Jane was given penicillin, but suddenly had a severe allergic reaction. It quickly became clear that she was plunging into death. As the medical personnel tried to resuscitate her, Jane could feel them working on her body but her soul was going somewhere else. Her entire life began flashing before her eyes like an endless movie. She didn’t want to die and have someone else raise her children, but death seemed inevitable. Her abrupt recovery was from a near-death experience.

Singer Tony Bennett had a similar experience. Born and raised in Astoria, New York to an Italian-American family, Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Forty years later Bennett staged a comeback in the late 1980s and 1990s, putting out gold record albums again and expanding his reach to the MTV Generation while keeping his musical style intact. He has won 19 Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bennett was taking a bath when he slumped into the water. Unable to push himself up, he began to feel a golden light surround his body with a warm glow. Rather than panic, Bennett felt quite peaceful. He said, “I had the sense that I was about to embark on a very compelling journey. But suddenly I was jolted out of the vision.”

Bennett had just survived a near death experience.

These two stories are just two more examples of the hand of God sustaining people as they came to the edge of life. Divine interventions come at the end of the human story as surely as they appear along the way.

Don’t be afraid. Trust the unseen hand that is still guiding your life.

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AND WHY DO WE LEARN THESE THINGS?

Blog 14 October 24, 2014 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. Can 21st century people believe the hand of God still touches people today?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

In the previous blogs on miracles, I mainly noted what I have observed, describing experiences with people who reported miracles. An objective is to cause reexamination of expectations and rethinking of whether people are truly open to divine intrusions or miracles happening in their lives. Hopefully, institutional churches will rethink their approach and truly reach out for a physical touch of the divine in their worship services. Today, many say the words, but don’t expect results.

In addition, I have discovered that it is possible to learn practical steps for daily living. Here’s an example. Divine interventions can teach us how to live successfully.

            The letter of I John tells us that there are three issues we must be aware of and recognize how they can defeat us. In I John 2:15-17, he writes of two of these problems:

  •             Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world
  •             love for the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh
  •             and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
  •             world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it: but he who does the will
  •             of God abides for ever.

The Phillips Translation of the scripture calls these two problems originating from the world primitive desires, greedy ambition, and the glamour of all that we think is splendid. In simplest and fullest terms, in John’s letter he warns about the flesh, the world, and the devil (also referred to as Satan or the Evil One).

Hard to overcome? You bet!

In a simplistic and overstated sense, the theology of the Orthodox Church (who considers itself to be the first church reflected in the Assyrian, Greek, Russian, etc. Orthodox Churches) is focused on overcoming the flesh, the world, and evil. Self-discipline and arduous struggle can harness the flesh and the world. But the Evil One? Is that possible?

Here’s a discovery. Angels are one of the ways the Holy Spirit intervenes. More will be coming on how people have experienced angelic interventions. At this point, you may have experienced times when Evil overwhelmed you so completely that you saw no hope in combating the attack of the Devil. If the Evil One doesn’t get you directly, it may attack a child, a spouse, a partner, etc., and the defeat can be even worse. What can you do?

Call on the angels. Christian tradition remembers Michael the Archangel was the leader of God’s angels, the army of God, and the first to combat Satan. Guess what? Michael is still at work, fighting for the victims of Satan.

You can’t overcome the devil so don’t try. Call on Michael the Archangel. Expect him to be God’s agent to help you defeat evil. Even though Protestants may be reluctant, Michael remains ready. The angel is the sure path to a divine intervention!

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ENCOUNTERING AN ANGEL

Blog 13 October 17, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. Can 21st century people believe the hand of God still touches people today?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

Miracle talk and divine intrusions generally seem to occur among Christian people. In many Christian groups there is an unspoken assumption that Jews wouldn’t experience such things. Even though the Old Testament is filled with miraculous events such as the Red Sea parting and Elijah raising a widow’s dead son back to life, Jews are excluded today. Wrong.

Here’s an example to consider. I’ve discovered that an important ingredient in Jewish life is an encounter with God as well as divine leading. Karen Z. Brass is a close friend whose family live near me in Colorado. Her father was a survivor of five death camp including Auschwitz. Today her family regularly attends a synagogue.

Around seven years of age, Karen began dreaming about escaping her dysfunctional family and an extremely difficult and abusive mother. As she took her reoccurring dream of escaping this family setting apart, Karen began to understand she was being saved by angels.

This experience expanded with the emergence of a “circle of light” that appeared at night giving her the assurance and security to go to sleep. Angels were regularly quieting her fears.

When Karen became an adult woman, she became aware of spontaneous thoughts that popped into her head and gave her guidance. For example, she would hear a thought like “take the umbrella.” If she didn’t pay attention, it would rain and she’d get drenched. “Don’t wear those shoes” might come through. If she went ahead and wore them, Karen was certain to trip and fall. In time, Karen realized that she had a guardian angel who kept her protected. When the angels spoke, it began like a whisper. If they repeated the message, the whisper got louder. Karen now often holds out her hands to let the angel know she is paying attention.

Karen met her husband David through an angelic intrusion. At a synagogue service, as she started to park her car, the angelic voice insisted she move to a different place than she intended. Karen argued that she saw a better spot but the angel was insistent. She gave in and parked as guided. During the service, she met David for the first time and was immediately attracted. Continuing their conversation, David walked Karen out to her car. To her surprise, she had parked next to him!

Today, Karen never ceases to listen for angelic guidance.

While not a miracle, hearing and being guided by angels is definitely a divine intrusion. Obviously, the angels don’t stop to check your religious membership card before they respond. Here’s a word of encouragement for you. Is it possible that some of your thoughts might not be random? Could you have been guided by a guardian angel and didn’t know it?

It’s worth thinking about.

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DIVINE INTERVENTIONS IN HOLLYWOOD

Blog 12 October 10, 2016 MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. Can 21st century people believe the hand of God still touches people today?

Read and you’ll find new insights.

In 2007, I wrote Crossing the Threshold of Eternity about the near-death experiences of people I knew who had returned after being pronounced medically dead. Some of these stories were miracles; others divine interventions. However, they touched a nerve with many people who worried about their own deaths. These experiences revealed that the hand of God kept working when the human heart stopped.

Recently, CLOSER magazine revealed the stories of several Hollywood actors who had similar experiences. While not all were in the category of “a miracle” as defined in previous blogs, they reflect actions by the Holy Spirit that challenge us to dig deeper (which is the purpose of these blogs).

I write about people I know or have interviewed. I do not know actress Sharon Stone, but her story is important to share. As she lay in UCSF Medical Center fighting for her life, the actress thought her pain was so great that her head might explode. Doctors frantically searched for a cause, but the throbbing increased and Sharon thought her life was ending. She was experiencing a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage.

Abruptly, an over-powering sensation of well-being and peace descended over her. She felt her body leaving the hospital room and floating toward a glowing, expanding light. Sharon Stone believed she had died.

As she moved into the realm of this glorious light, she met some of her dearest old friends who had died. She was deeply moved as they talked and recovered contact. Sharon knew that she had left this world behind and was in a place of a wonderful light that brought reconciliation. Suddenly, she was sent flying back to the hospital room and returned to her body.

After she recovered, Sharon Stone realized that this experience had so affected her life that she would never be the same again. She was no longer afraid of dying and now says that she sees death as a gift. Sharon knows she is never alone.

Sharon Stone’s doctor Michael Lawton has worked with many people who had such experiences. He noted that when they encounter loved ones who had already died, they found them to be in “the peak of health, fit and happy.” The doctor has seen this many times. Her experience confirmed his observation.

What can we conclude? The goal of my blogs is to help readers rediscover a biblical perspective on divine interventions and healings. The objective is to raise the bar in their expectations. Sharon Stone’s experience can certainly help us to do so.

 

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