toldailytopic: What is a miracle? Is God still performing them to this day?

[agnostic_gnostic]

Why anything is, is the ultimate miracle!!!!!!!!! Spoon bending etc is mundane.

 

[agnostic_gnostic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykkFJZnddG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrvmGtGYgqE
RUBBISH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Constantine Christianity!!!!!!!!!!! Not what Christ taught!!!!!!!

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

That's a good description of a miracle. :up:

Why did God perform miracles? And is He still performing them today?

Signs and wonders, primarily, to demonstrate His glory in the Old Testament as the one, true, God, and to validate the message of those especially annointed in the New Testament.

As to miracles today, I don't see how any of the sign gifts of the apostles would be operative today, e.g., men with healing powers. They were to authenticate the message of the apostles and help establish the foundation of the new covenant church.

I have no doubt that God can perform miracles today and my suspicion is that He does. We should not be unwilling to pray for a miracle for someone, and God may answer that prayer according to His own good pleasure.

We often hear of "miracles" occurring in the mission field. Perhaps God works extraordinarily in areas where the ordinary means, such as the availability of modern medical facilities, is non-existent. But, the issue here is are these events are "miracles" or the wonderful extraordinary providences of God.

AMR

 

[godrulz]

Knight and AMR's definitions work for me. And I do not believe God is performing miracles today on any kind of regular basis. And I have never seen one. And I used to go to an Assemblies of God church.

Too many Baptists are joining AOG churches We need Pentecostal purity, passion, and power.

 

[godrulz]

Anybody think the Israeli Six Day War was a miracle?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Day_War

Yes, God did give a supernatural victory.

 

[godrulz]

Why do Catholics see things like this? I've heard stories about people seeing things like this, of Jesus, Mary, God, you know, people or things like that, on trees, or here or there, but why, how, how often, and are these miracles too, or are they not of or from God at all?

We need wisdom and discernment since miracles may be divine, demonic, deception/natural. The Catholic stuff that draws attention to Mary vs Jesus is not divine, but fake (too many crying statues are shown to be human fraud) or demonic.

Too many people also see Mary or Jesus in their toast, pizza, etc.:bang:

 

[Cracked]

Signs and wonders, primarily, to demonstrate His glory in the Old Testament as the one, true, God, and to validate the message of those especially annointed in the New Testament.

As to miracles today, I don't see how any of the sign gifts of the apostles would be operative today, e.g., men with healing powers. They were to authenticate the message of the apostles and help establish the foundation of the new covenant church.

I have no doubt that God can perform miracles today and my suspicion is that He does. We should not be unwilling to pray for a miracle for someone, and God may answer that prayer according to His own good pleasure.

We often hear of "miracles" occurring in the mission field. Perhaps God works extraordinarily in areas where the ordinary means, such as the availability of modern medical facilities, is non-existent. But, the issue here is are these events are "miracles" or the wonderful extraordinary providences of God.

AMR

Well stated. :up:

 

[godrulz]

Even C.S. Lewis (non-charismatic) understood that a supernatural God 'naturally' can and does do miracles.

There is no exegetical basis for cessationism relating to miracles, healings, deliverance, gifts of the Spirit for the Church Age. Pentecostals are the largest and fastest group group of Christianity and rightly emphasize and experience the person and work of the Holy Spirit according to the Word as the first century church did.

Well stated:up:

 

[Tyrathca]

Yes, God did give a supernatural victory.

How? What did god do to help them win? I don't recall hearing about any tanks being vapourised or planes suddenly falling from the sky unless they were targeted by Israeli weapons. Israel was just well prepared (both in training and intelliegence) compared to its opponents, which was further accentuated by the surprise nature of their attack. The war was essentially won in the opening 24-48 hours with the crippling of the air forces of their opponents, after that victory was almost inevitable as Israel had near complete air supremacy (a huge force multiplier in modern warfare)

 

[steko]

Act 2:43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders (terata, “miracles evoking awe” and signs(sēmeia, “miracles pointing to a divine truth”) were being done through the apostles.
Act 5:12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.
2Co 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.
1Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?
2Co 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

Heb 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,
Heb 2:4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Heb 6:5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,

It seems to me that many people think that nearly all believers were performing signs and wonders/miracles in the first century. I don't find that to be the case, when I read the account. It appears to me that it was only the 'Christ chosen' Apostles and those believers upon whom the Apostles laid their hands that did these miracles. It seems to me that the signs and wonders were done to confirm the truth of GOD. Some believe that there are still Apostles today on equal footing with the early Apostles. I don't.
I believe that GOD still answers prayer and heals today, but it is done more subtlely and not for the purpose of confirming a new word from GOD, nor an individual from GOD.
I believe it's possible that GOD might perform a miracle to a people who have previously been without the Word of GOD. I believe that GOD has been giving dreams and visions to Jews and Muslims concerning Jesus Christ. I think that the next blatant signs and wonders(lying) will be done by the Son of Perdition.

1Co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Yahshua told His disciples that they could see that which others could not see because it was Granted to them by Abba Yhvh, not by flesh and blood.
That's the best miracle.
The other part of the miracle is
that
the other people, perhaps friends, neighbors, family, or strangers any where,
the other people CANNOT see the "things that you see"...
the other people is just about everybody - obviously includes all of man's religions: rcc,bddh,slm,$,ama,political parties,frmsnr, et al .....
..
i.e. it is a most astonishing thing outwardly to see so many people so 'easily' tricked into believing lie after lie after lie after lie after lie after lie ......
..
the 'miracle' is that all of the evidence plainly shows the disciples the truth, enlightened by the Creator,
and the others all 'see' the same thing, the same evidence, but cannot comprehend the truth at all,
being, as in the book is written, purposefully BLINDED so that they cannot see -
until and unless the Creator Grants them repentance unto life (a great miracle when it happens)...

 

[Son of Jack]

Signs and wonders, primarily, to demonstrate His glory in the Old Testament as the one, true, God, and to validate the message of those especially annointed in the New Testament.

As to miracles today, I don't see how any of the sign gifts of the apostles would be operative today, e.g., men with healing powers. They were to authenticate the message of the apostles and help establish the foundation of the new covenant church.

I have no doubt that God can perform miracles today and my suspicion is that He does. We should not be unwilling to pray for a miracle for someone, and God may answer that prayer according to His own good pleasure.

We often hear of "miracles" occurring in the mission field. Perhaps God works extraordinarily in areas where the ordinary means, such as the availability of modern medical facilities, is non-existent. But, the issue here is are these events are "miracles" or the wonderful extraordinary providences of God.

AMR

That's the ticket. A miracle, at least in the strict sense of the NT term, was an act of God that authenticated the message of his messengers.

I'd add that I agree with elo in saying that anyone who comes to faith is a miracle in some sense, for it is an act of God.

 

[Totton Linnet]

Signs and wonders, primarily, to demonstrate His glory in the Old Testament as the one, true, God, and to validate the message of those especially annointed in the New Testament.

As to miracles today, I don't see how any of the sign gifts of the apostles would be operative today, e.g., men with healing powers. They were to authenticate the message of the apostles and help establish the foundation of the new covenant church.

I have no doubt that God can perform miracles today and my suspicion is that He does. We should not be unwilling to pray for a miracle for someone, and God may answer that prayer according to His own good pleasure.

We often hear of "miracles" occurring in the mission field. Perhaps God works extraordinarily in areas where the ordinary means, such as the availability of modern medical facilities, is non-existent. But, the issue here is are these events are "miracles" or the wonderful extraordinary providences of God.

AMR

If you believe He bore your sins on the cross why do you not believe He carried your sicknesses [Isaiah interpreted by Matthew] it is the same prophecy in the same portion of scripture.

Healing is no more hit and miss than forgiveness, they are both promised in the atonement of the cross, both recieved by faith, of course if it be not preached it will not be believed and while God does sometimes work outside His ordained means [hence the seeming hit and miss mess of charismata] yet He is grieved that those who preach His gospel, do not preach "the WHOLE counsel of God.

If you ask me why the Charismatic world is such a mess I say it is because those most qualified to work in the power of the Holy Spirit [that is the Grace crowd] stand aloof.

 

[Totton Linnet]

That's the ticket. A miracle, at least in the strict sense of the NT term, was an act of God that authenticated the message of his messengers.

I'd add that I agree with elo in saying that anyone who comes to faith is a miracle in some sense, for it is an act of God.

Even IF you accept it was a authentication, why on earth do you suppose that people today need no authentication?

 

[Totton Linnet]

I am running out of time in the library, will catch up.

 

[andyc]

I lay down a challenge for anyone here to prove from scripture that the sign gifts passed away with the apostles.

 

[godrulz]

I lay down a challenge for anyone here to prove from scripture that the sign gifts passed away with the apostles.

There is no exegetical basis for this, just preconceived paradigms/assumptions to fit hyper-disp, cessationist views (the best they got is I Cor. 13 which points to the future at Christ's coming, not the coming of Paul?!).

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

I lay down a challenge for anyone here to prove from scripture that the sign gifts passed away with the apostles.

When you locate an apostle possessing these sign gifts, let's talk.

AMR

 

[Zeke]

When you locate an apostle possessing these sign gifts, let's talk.

AMR

Lots of pretending and babbling. You might get a love gift made in china though so keep your fingers crossed.

 

[godrulz]

When you locate an apostle possessing these sign gifts, let's talk.

AMR

Let's talk exegesis before experience. God can restore neglected or lost truths and emphasize different things in history. Exegetically, one should throw out other gifts in the lists if one is going to throw out tongues/prophecy. One should negate pastors/teachers/evangelists if we don't want prophets/apostles to continue (it is not a grammatical, contextual argument to now accept 3/5, just a preconceived idea of what apostles were...there is a difference between OT prophets and the 12 apostles and NT prophets and other NT apostles in local churches besides the unique 12).

There are people with apostolic ministries overseeing large areas with multiple church planting/responsibility. Just because some groups neglect leadership truth (Catholic clergy/laity distinction) does not mean there are not churches that have these things or that God does not desire to raise up more. Many do not seek the Spirit or spiritual gifts, yet hundreds of millions do and experience the first century gifts. Those who don't elevate their lack of experience above the Word. Those that have them are being consistent with the Word, not putting experience above it (with discernment, of course, since there are fleshly or demonic counterfeits...that don't disprove the genuine).