Tag: Miracles

A SURPRISE AT A TRUCK STOP

Blog 178

December 21, 2020

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.

A SURPRISE AT A TRUCK STOP

Archbishop Michael Owen has been my dearest friend for a thousand years. We eat lunch together every Tuesday and have been doing so for over twenty years. Last week we were sharing stories from our past and he began relating his experience with Junior Neece.

Junior had a deep and unique love and concern for the poor. Having grown up under difficult circumstances, he knew how hard poverty can be. In the 70’s even though he could neither read nor write, Junior went off to a southern university to play football. Because he was unusually big and strong, they weren’t worried about something as unimportant as going to class or passing a test. So, Junior rocked along knocking people out of his way on the gridiron.

Rev. Michael knew about Junior’s work with the poor and invited him to speak in a church he was pastoring. The effect was electric as Junior’s message was so powerful and personal that people were moved to be more generous than usual. Mike wondered where this capacity had come from. Junior told him this story.

He stopped at a filling station to fill up for the long trip to Alabama. Junior figured that ought to take him maybe to Memphis, Tennessee. A deshelled looking old man walked up and ask if he could catch a ride south. At first, Junior was hesitant. Hitchhikers weren’t particularly safe, but something nudged him to give the man a ride.

“Sure,” Junior said. “Get in my pickup.”

As they rode down the highway. The old man began to ask questions. “Did you ever tell your wife and boys about your struggles growing up?”

Junior stared. How could this guy know he was married and had children?

The old man kept pressing. “You’ve had lots of painful experiences, haven’t you?”

Junior could feel his words cutting into him. The man began describing in detail some of Junior’s hardest moments. Tears started running down his face. He coughed and sputtered. This old man had touched the deepest places in his life, places he had tried to avoid. Junior began to feel the love of God shinning into his heart and moving him deeply. His road trip had turned into an epiphany.

Finally, the gas gauge indicated a need to fill up. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he pulled into a gas station and got out. “I’ll be right back,” he told the old man. He hung up the gas pump and got back in the truck. The old man had disappeared.

Long ago, the Apostle Paul told us to pay attention because some of have been visited by angles unaware. Such a visit forever changed Junior Neece’s life. By the way, Junior learned to read and write through studying the Bible.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’ll be back in 2021

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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EVIDENCE FOR DIVINE INTERVENTIONS – 2

Blog 177

December 14, 2020

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.

EVIDENCE FOR DIVINE INTERVENTIONS

Part 2

In Lee Strobel’s The Case for Miracles he explores both the doubts and experiences of people who experienced divine interventions. He found that 67% of American believe miracles are possible. Only 15% said no. An eye popping 94,792,000 believe they have experienced a miracle. If you have doubts, Strobel’s book will prove helpful. Here’s an example of his findings.

Mayo Clinic diagnosed Barbara with multiple sclerosis. Board certified surgeon Dr. Harold Adolph said she was the most hopelessly ill person he had ever seen.  She continued to deteriorate, spending significant amounts of time in hospitals.  Eventually Barbara lost all control of her bodily functions and became legally blind, seeing only shadowy figures in the dark. She ended up bedfast with her hands permanently flexed. Her life expectancy was less than six months.

Someone called in her condition to the radio station for the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. A request for prayer was sent out with 450 people resounding that they would pray for Barbara.  On Pentecost Sunday, her aunt came over to read those letters from people who cared. During a lull in the reading, Barbara was sure she heard a man’s voice. The words were clear and filled with compassion.

“My child, get up and walk,” the voice said.

Barbara became agitated and reported what she heard. She called for her family to come in and gather around. She felt compelled to do what she heard. The oxygen tube was pulled out.  Barbara stood on legs that had not supported her for years.  Her mother ran into the room and screamed, “You have muscles again.!”

The family moved to the living room to rejoice and pray, but Barbara found it hard to sit still.  When her mother returned to the Wheaton Wesleyan Church, the pastor asked if there were any announcements. Her mother stood and reported the miracle’ the congregation broke in clapping and cheering.

On Monday, Barbara returned to the doctor’s office for an exam. When he saw her walk down the hall, the doctor said, “I thought I was seeing an apparition. No one had ever seen anything like this before.” The doctor told Barbara, “This is medically impossible. But you are now free to go out and live your life.”

Barbara has now lived forty-five years with no reoccurrence of the illness.  

Lee Strobel started out as an atheist. He no longer is.

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

EVIDENCE FOR DIVINE INTERVENTIONS

Blog 176

December 7, 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.

EVIDENCE FOR DIVINE INTERVENTIONS

Lee Strobel started out as an atheist. Along the way, his investigations of miracles turned him into a believer. A journalist with a Master of studies from Yale, he became a best-selling author. In his The Case for Miracles Strobel explores both the doubts and experiences of people who experienced divine interventions. He found that 67% of American believe miracles are possible. Only 15% said no. An eye popping 94,792,000 believe they have experienced a miracle. If you have doubts, Strobel’s book will prove helpful. Here’s an example of his findings.

A nine-year-old British girl was diagnosed with deafness. Apparently, a virus had damaged the nerves in both of her ears. A well-credentialed physician examined the girl and certified her condition. The records indicate her diagnosis was untreatable bilateral sensorinetural deafness. The girl was deaf … end of story … until…

Because she didn’t want to wear hearing devices, the girl began to pray specifically for a healing. Family and friends joined her. Her mother felt a definite prompting to ask God to help her daughter. The girl felt that God was specifically telling her to ask for release. She kept reading passages in the Bible like, … if you have faith like a child, … if any among you is ill, lay on hands… ask and you shall receive.

The girl had to return to an audiologist because one of her hearing aids was damaged at school. The problem was fixed and she went home. The next evening, she realized something was different. Jumping out of bed, she ran down stairs proclaim, “Mummy, I can hear!”

When her mother tested her, she discovered her daughter could even hear a whisper. The audiologists refused to believe her. But after she was tested, the audiologist confessed she had never seen anything like what had happened. Both ears tested normal.

Lee Strobel’s conclusion is believing in the miraculous is intellectually acceptable.

Can 94,792,000 people be wrong? I don’t think so.


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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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.

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FALL RERUNS: ANGELIC INTERVENTIONS SAVE THE DAY!

BLOG 169

September 28, 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!

ANGELIC INTERVENTIONS SAVE THE DAY!      

As I wander around the countryside picking up experiences of divine intervention, I often ran into people who had encounters with angels – which is certainly miraculous. Recently, I ran into a story from Lynn Valetine about an encounter that happened to Sarah Loutner in Springfield, Tennessee. Today, Sarah Loutner is a dancer and performs routines with a Christian message. At the time, Sarah was only a small child.  

The Loutner family lived in an old two-story farm house. Like any older house that had been built years before, the staircase was steep. As was the custom in by-gone days, the stairs angled up partway to a landing, then turned 90 degrees before going up the rest of the way to the top. Sarah had a special place upstairs where she played with her toys. On this afternoon, she tired of playing with the dolls and wondered what her mother might be doing. Probably, she was down in the kitchen where cookies might be waiting. Sarah pushed the playthings aside and hurried toward the steps.

Pre-occupied in thinking about where her mother might be, Sarah didn’t pay attention to the abruptly sloping stairs. Her feet got tangled up, and Sarah fell head first down the plunging steps.

Like a scene in a slow-motion movie, Sarah discovered a figure standing on the landing. The man towered above the steps. Big and powerful, he appeared to be surrounded by a shimmering glow. The light swirled around him and Sarah immediately felt reassurance that she didn’t have to be afraid.

To her total surprise, Sarah realized that she was not falling, but seemed to be floating toward the unknown figure on the landing.  Unseen hands carryied her downward until finally her feet landed gently on the floor. She knew that an angel had intervened to save her.

When she looked up, the angel was gone. Sarah ran to tell her mother what had happened. She listened, but Sarah distinctly felt she didn’t believe her. Years later, when Sarah, her brother Aaron, and her mother got off on the subject of angels, Sarah recounted the experience. This time her mother was convinced a guardian angel had indeed intervened, but wasn’t sure why an angel would have secured her.    

Sarah’s brother Aaron immediately added, “You’re a dancer! You were caught so you could dance for God.”

Just thinking about her brother’s response, makes Sarah want to dance today.

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YES, THERE ARE BAD GUYS OUT THERE!

Blog 167, 2017
August 24, 2020

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.

The corona-virus pandemic has made it impossible to make contacts. However, I’ve got a mail bag of great stories that I’m recycling. These are my summer reruns.

YES, THERE ARE BAD GUYS OUT THERE!

Are there “swindlers” out there? Sure are.

In the movie Leap of Faith, Steve Martin plays con man Jonas Nightengale who travels from town to town bilking farmers out of their money while he fakes miracles. In the town of Rustwater, Kansas, he sets up his nightly show. The town’s people are so taken that when the sheriff reports Nightengale’s real name is Jack Newton and he has continually been in trouble with the law, they won’t listen. Each night the fraudulent healer wearing a silver-sequined coat hops up and down the aisles while an assistant is in the backroom with television monitors sends him messages through an ear piece. The inside information makes Nightengale appear to have special secrets messages from the Holy Spirit.

The turning point comes when Boyd, a boy on crutches, is actually healed. Nightengale cannot believe what he is seeing and runs, leaving the silver-sequined jacket behind. As he travels away in a hitch-hiked ride, Nightengale tells the driver that he knows “the genuine article” and that a real miracle is not to be toyed with. The movie ends as Nightengale disappears into the night.

Interestingly enough, this movie was based on an actual fraudulent ministry of a Pentecostal type who kept his wife in the back room sending him messages through a hearing aid device. The audience was scanned by accomplices who produced information on the unsuspecting. The last time I saw this character on television, he was promoting “miracle spring water” and was still at it. The tragedy of these charlatans is that they demean the actual interventions of the heavenly Father. They reduce the miraculous to a sideshow, leaving people to go home disillusioned.

Equally tragic is that the antics of these types develop skeptics who see the entire scene as a sham. Both conclusions are equally unfortunate. While we acknowledge the reality of the counterfeit artists and the audience that travels with them to pretend a miracle occurred, we continue to recognize that divine intervention has made a dramatic difference in the journeys of a multitude of grateful people.

The key to the “genuine article” is found in understanding the stories in the scripture. As the Old and New testaments relate the stories of miracles, they contain details that are important in grasping how people like Elisha as well as Jesus Christ ministered.

Discovering the will of God is one of the first steps that unlocks sealed doors.

Stay tuned. More to come.

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SUMMER RERUNS: MEET LESLIE

Blog 166
August 16, 2020

angel

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. 

The corona-virus pandemic has made it impossible for me to make the contacts to continue reporting extraordinary happenings to ordinary people. However, I’ve got a mail bag of these great stories so I’m recycling some that you probably never read. Here’s an example.

SUMMER RERUNS

MEET LESLIE

When Leslie began hearing angels, the idea complicated her sense of stability.

Consequently, she went to psychologist Dr. Jonathon Cargill to make sure she was not off the track. After a battery of psychological tests, the psychologist certified her as balanced and normal. The same results were later affirmed. There was nothing wrong with Leslie.

The ministry began to unfold because she wanted to comfort the afflicted. With unusual sensitivity, Leslie helps strugglers find direction and support. She is keenly aware that the ministry is never about her.

Her ministry is fundamentally the restoration of damaged souls. Leslie’s goal is to bring wholeness to anyone in need. Leslie’s ministry is not divination or some form of predicting the future. She understands herself to be operating in a biblical framework as the book of Acts describes (Acts 2:17-18). Leslie believes her primary gift is obedience.

The unusual ministry flows from fidelity. Her encounters with angels is an expression of the gifts of the Spirit. Leslie believes that everyone has a guardian angel. Through prayer and meditation, her experience has been that anyone can get in touch with this resource.

She believes we will discover that they have already been at work within us as the still, small voice offering guidance. When a message abruptly floats through our minds and we have no idea where it came from, she believes our guardian angel might be offering guidance.

Such an experience occurred when the Draper family lived in Glen Rose, Texas. She hurried out the door to pick up her daughter at school. As she was backing out of the driveway with her three-year-old daughter in the back seat, she saw money in the driveway and believed it had fallen out of her purse. At that moment an angel showed her a disturbing image of her falling out of the car to pick up the cash. She put the car in park and collected the money, thinking about how little money they had. After she got back in, Leslie saw other money on the grass and opened the door to lean down and get it. The car started to roll.

The inside panel gave way and she tumbled out, falling under the car. What followed only took seconds, but felt like an eternity. Leslie was abruptly upright in the car seat with no idea how she got there. For a moment, she thought maybe she was dead and was in shock. Two hands had grabbed her and put her back in the car. Leslie felt the imprints on her arms and looked for the stranger that saved her. No one was there. Suddenly, she remembered the warning and felt the angel Michael warned her to be careful.

In retrospect, she discovered that angels have the capacity to intervene but do so only if it is for the highest good and honors free will. They never interfere with free will and only offer guidance.

If you’ve encountered a divine intervention, I’d like
to hear you’re your experience.
Please write me at: revwise@att.net

YOU MIGHT ENJOY MY NEWEST BOOK HOT OFF THE PRESS
82 DAYS ON OKINAWA
Harper-Collins Publishers
JUST OUT – IT’S A THRILLER!
Col. Art Shaw & Robert L. Wise

You can find 82 DAYS ON OKINAWA at your local book store or on Amazon.

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