MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Monday December 26, 2016

I’m flying North with Santa Claus and won’t be back until after New Years. All of which means I’ll be off the page until January 9. HOWEVER —
Here’s what’s coming! In addition to my current two blogs, [WISE ON THE MIDDLE EAST and MIRACLES NEVER CEASE] beginning on January 18, 2017, I will start a 30 minute radio talk show that you can tune in through your computer. If you appreciate my blog Miracles Never Cease (miraclesnevercease.wordpress.com) you will enjoy the expansion and elaboration on these stories.

  • You will discover what I’ve been learning as I talk with people who experienced divine interventions.
  • You will find inspiration.
  • You’ll realize new insights. Here’s how you tune in! Text blog talk radio.com/ Robert Wise. Turn your speaker on any time of the day and you will receive the program. Sound Simple! It is! EACH WEEK YOU’LL BE CHALLENGED AND INSPIRED!
  • The program is entitled MIRACLES!

Art Believes in Angels

Blog 21 December 19, 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.

Art Shaw is a fascinating guy. At age 95, he is a retired Army Colonel who fought in World War II and all the conflicts that followed. Art received a serious back injury that required a spinal fusion from L1 to S1. Twenty-two units of blood were needed. A team of doctors and nurses was required to move him in the bed. Of course, any motion was extremely painful. Nevertheless, what the staff called a “log roll” was necessary to prevent pneumonia.

In the middle of the night, Art heard a voice call his name. “Art, it’s time to log roll.” No one was in the room. The voice came again. Because of the pain and serious possible complications, Art knew how difficult it would be. “Art, do what I tell you and your won’t be hurt.” Art intuitively knew to obey.

He opened his eyes and saw something like a black tube extending into infinity. At the top was a bright, concentrated light. With the instruction to turn over came the assurance that they would help him do so. He made the log roll and went back to sleep.

Later in the night the voice called again. “Art, it’s time to roll.” The same assurance that he would be helped was there. He turned over. Easily.

When his wife Joan arrived the next morning, Art told her that he turned over twice.

“Impossible!” she insisted. “You couldn’t have!”

She rushed out of the room to confront the nurse. “What are you giving him?” she forcefully inquired. “What drugs? What pain killers? Is he hallucinating?”

The nurse frowned. “What are you talking about? We didn’t give him any additional medications last night.

Joan dragged the nurse and her assistants back to his room. “He couldn’t have turned by himself! The pain would be too great. Too dangerous. But look!”

The nurse stared for a moment and then ran for the doctor. Dr. Shephard came in. Astonished! There was no medical explanation for how Art Shaw could have been repositioned – but it had happened – twice.

The angel continued to speak several other times. “Art, you will be alright. You’ll be okay.

When Art told me this story, he was relating how he had come to know that a guardian angel was with him. Like a voice speaking inside his head, when his name was called direction followed. Today at important times, Art’s angel always shows up and gives him the orientation that he needs.

Art told me that the Angel always has the same particular tone in voice. Distinct. Individual. Whenever the voice sounds, Art knows who is speaking and listens.

Believe in Angels? Art certainly does.

A SURPRISE IN THE SKY

Blog 20 December 12, 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.

I have known Mike and Beth Owen for 25 years. We have worked together, socialized, debated ideas, and watched their children grow up. When we are both in town, Mike and I have lunch together every Tuesday and they remain our best friends. Much of what I report in these blogs comes from personal observation. They shared an experience that has important insights for us.

Beth’s first angelic encounter came when she was fifteen-years-old and her aunt Barbara was dying. The family had already felt the impact of the death of her mother’s brother as well as two sisters and now another sister stood at death’s door. After an urgent phone call, Beth and her mother rushed to the hospital. As they stepped out of the elevator door, the announcement of a “Code Red” rang down the hall. Attendants rushed passed them but they were too late. Aunt Barbara was gone.

As they were leaving the hospital, Beth and her mother were standing at the street corner when Beth looked up. To her astonishment, she saw two massive white angels hovering above them. The angels stood on each side of Barbara.

Beth exclaimed, “Look, Mom! They’ve come to take Barbara home!”

Taller than the city street light, Beth could see the massive size of their waist, legs, and feet as they ascended vertical upward. As they disappeared out of sight, Beth knew her understanding of God’s loving care was forever changed. The comfort of an all comprehensive peace settled over them.

These early experiences caused Michael and Beth to anticipate divine interventions in their ministries. They were conditioned to expect far more than simply sharing theological answers and teaching the faith. Their ministries have encompassed a number of miraculous events.

While it would be jarring for many people to expect the Holy Spirit to take them to an entirely new realm of experience, the Owens would say that’s the best place to encounter the miraculous. Mike and Beth discovered an interesting axiom about the work of the Holy Spirit and divine intervention. When one receives a spiritual gift, it is important to use it. If not, the gift diminishes and can virtually disappear. On the other hand, the use of a gift often opens the door to the reception of other gifts. The same is true for miraculous encounters. The Holy Spirit works consistently in this way.

Hey! Coming in January! Blog talk radio. We’ll be talk to talk together!

A MIRACLE IN THE SNOW

Blog 19 December 5, 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.

Genesis 16:7-14 describes an angel visiting Hagar, telling her she would have a wild son named Ishmael. From the sound of the story, the angel appeared like a human and would have looked like any of us. In many of the previous blogs, I have described experiences in which angels could be heard speaking through someone’s mind, but were never seen. However, that’s only one dimension to the story. Here’s another type of experience.

My good friend Joe L. Wheeler wrote My Favorite Angel Stories (Pacific Press) describing such an encounter. Kari Surdahl relates she and her mother were traveling to Rapid City, South Dakota when a blizzard struck. Subzero temperatures made the weather extremely dangerous. Kari had slowed down to a crawl when the explosive bang shook the car.

A tire had gone flat!

Kari knew that the freezing temperature made changing the tire dangerous, but they had no alternative. The spare tire had to be put on for them to keep going. And keep going they must in the icy weather.

Kari reasoned that by jumping in and out of car she could keep warm, but snow would have to be brushed away from under the car. The task would be perilous.

With all of her might she tried to turn the wrench and loosen the lug nut. Nothing moved. Kari threw all of her weight on the tool. Nothing. She knew they were in big trouble. She and her mother would freeze to death!

But when Keri told her mother, she got an unexpected response. “The Lords knows our desperate need at this time,” she shouted into the whistling, brutal wind. “Let’s kneel down beside this flat tire and ask him to help us.” Mother an daughter knelt in the snow and called for divine intervention.

As their prayer ended, the bright lights of a pickup truck came up the road. A man who looked like a rancher got out of the truck and offered to help. As Kari watched he turned the wrench effortlessly. She was amazed. The man quickly had the spare on and wished them well.

Kari and her mother were astonished. It had all happened so quickly and completely. They got out of the car to thank him, but he wasn’t there. He’d probably gotten back in his pickup. They went around to the back. There was no pickup. He couldn’t have left without them seeing him go. They looked again.

There were no tire tracks. No sign was left in the snow. The truck and the man just suddenly vanished.

Mother and daughter got back in their car and realized what had happened. An angel had saved their lives.

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.

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.

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!