Miracles and the Christmas Season
The Christmas season is a reminder of the most incredible event in human history: The birth of Jesus Christ. It requires faith to recognize that God’s Son stepped out of heaven to be born of a woman. Ultimately, that baby lived a sinless life, worked amazing miracles, and became the only entrance into heaven. By accepting Jesus as our Savior, we partake of the miracle of becoming children of God who will live forever with Him in heaven. But are there any amazing miracles to be seen in our lives while we still walk the earth?
We Can Do What Jesus Did
Jesus worked many miracles when he walked the earth. He healed people who had been blind from birth, he raised the dead, he healed the sick, gave hearing to the deaf, and cleansed people with the terrible disease leprosy. He knew that most of the crowds who followed him were attracted to the miracle-working powers. Then he went on to let us know that, if we have faith, we can do not only what he did but even greater works! “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” John 14:12 (NKJV)
Everything is Possible
According to Jesus, in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (NKJV) How can a person get to a point where belief is strong enough to see miracles performed in answer to prayer? There’s an answer for that in Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Reading the Bible is essential, but, apparently, we need to hear the Bible, too. We can hear sermons about scriptures, read the Bible aloud, listen to audio Bibles, and even sing scriptures. The more we know about God from His Word, the bigger our faith grows.
We can be like Elijah, who was an ordinary person like us except with extraordinary faith (James 5:17). He once prayed that it wouldn’t rain and informed a wicked king of it. For years, there was no rain. Then Elijah prayed again, this time for rain to return. Actually, he prayed and prayed, all the while looking for signs of rain. Finally, his servant reported seeing a cloud the size of a man’s hand. Elijah informed the servant, basically, to get ready for a downpour. Soon the skies were black and rain flooded from the sky.
The Definition of a Miracle
Are you ready to start believing for miracles? By definition, a miracle is a phenomenon that cannot be explained by known laws of nature. An example would be a man about to be operated on for a tumor in his head. Then just before the surgery, another scan reveals that the tumor is gone. This miracle is among the many stories circulating on Facebook in which people share their incredible miracle. It’s a mistake to think these are all hoaxes.
Miracles do, in fact, happen every day. It’s safe to say that the only reason we see miracles is as a result of believing prayer. Also, people will be drawn to miracles as much today as they were when Jesus performed then. For many reasons, it’s good to believe for miracles. The best reason of all might be that it can draw other lost sinners to salvation. While the world is, at least in part, focused on the nativity scene and the birth of Jesus, Christmas seems to be perhaps the best season to expect the impossible.
