Showing posts with label miracle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miracle. Show all posts

Wednesday

Death & Life - 31 Days in Acts

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Today is the 18th day of 31 Days in Acts and it is our third day in       chapter 9.

Previously we had seen the dramatic change in Saul as he went from Darkness to Light and also the effect that change had on the lives of people and communities 


Now we leave Saul and go back to reading about Peter in
Acts 9 v 32 - 43


We start in verses 32 - 35 with a short but powerful story of a miracle that is not often preached on or even remembered:

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.


Peter must have been travelling a long distance when it states "all parts of the country" and it appears that he was visiting many of the believers in their various towns and cities.

We don't have a lot of details about this meeting of Peter and Aeneas so I have to think that the details were not important but the miracle and the people were.  The man's name is mentioned twice and Peter knew his name.  He spoke briefly to him, Aeneas obviously immediately believed what he was told and it was clear that Jesus was the healer and not Peter.
Then we know that the people in this town of Lydda plus another town saw the evidence of the miracle and believed.

The work of the Lord did not go unnoticed.





 Going on to verses 36 - 43 we meet another believer called Tabitha or Dorcas.

The names Tabitha and Dorcas share the same meaning of Beauty & Grace, with Tabitha being the Hebrew name and Dorcas the Greek name.

In this account of another miracle we have somewhat more detail.
We learn that Tabitha lived in Joppa which was near Lydda and the people there asked for Peter to come to them quickly after her death.
She was a kind, caring person and had made garments for many of the widows.
This time Peter wants the room quiet and after he prays he speaks to Tabitha and says

 “Tabitha, arise.”  

She opens her eyes, sees Peter and sits up.  A life back from death.

Then in verses 42 & 43 we are told

42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.

Again the news of this miracle spread quickly and many believed .


The work of the Lord did not go unnoticed.

The work of the Lord does not go unnoticed today.


In this passage we had health restored and life restored by the work of the Holy Spirit through Peter.  Today God still works miracles in our lives and the greatest of all is the miracle of new life in Jesus with eternal life so no need to fear death.


The work of The Lord does not go unnoticed.


I'm trying to read and write about the Book of Acts for 31 Days so please come back and join me for some notes & some thoughts each day. 

As the month goes on each Day's Link will be added in 










Interested to know more about the Book of Acts?
Then Try these commentaries




Or this Bible Study



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4 Accidents and a ...... (pt5) - A Dose of Encouragement


         

and  a  MIRACLE!





One Sunday evening earlier this year we were driving home on the same road on which we travel twice every Sunday to go from our home in Banbridge to the church we attend in Lurgan. 




The drive takes 20/25 mins depending on traffic but on Sunday evenings there is normally very little traffic on that road.  We were listening to some worship music on a CD and chatting about the evening's meeting just as we normally do on the journey. 




In the past 3 years we have become very familiar with this road and we know that at one part there are quite a few significant dips so that as you drive towards any of these you have no real view ahead.  The road is clearly signed to tell drivers about this in advance and of course there are also signs and road markings to indicate no overtaking.






 I am often worried about cyclists along this road as there seem to be quite a few in the area but it was not a cyclist we had to worry about on this journey.


As we drove along in the dark around 8.30pm and came to the slight brow of a hill before one of these dips we could see some light over the brow of the hill so we knew there were some cars approaching.  Then as we got to the top suddenly we could see several lights of cars coming towards us on the other side of the road but as well as this we could see a set of lights coming towards us on our side of the road.





       This is a country road with a very narrow footpath and hedges or walls etc. so usually no room to manoeuvre.  We realized that a large lorry (truck for my American friends) had been trying to overtake 3 or 4 cars and was still on the wrong side of the road; he had obviously ignored the traffic signs and road markings.

       The lorry was about the length of 2 cars in front of us & the only thing my husband Fred could do was to swerve in to the side of the road as the lorry tried to cut back into his proper side in front of the lead car. 


       Up until then there had been no break in the narrow footpath but at the exact place that we had to swing in there was a gap in the footpath and in the hedge because there was an entrance to something there. 


Just enough room for our car to get in out of the way as the lorry skimmed past us.



This was a big thing in our lives that day and we were very happy about the outcome.

This event was to do with us being thankful to God because of his hand of protection in what could have been a major accident and cause us a lot of injury if not death.






 We have been over the route again of course several times and there is only one point that there is room for a car to pull in off the road and that is exactly where we were when we met the lorry.



Obviously God had brought us to the right spot at the right time and saved our lives.



What a great God we have who knows where we need to be at all times and sees the road ahead when we are not able to see it.  He even knows when others will be breaking the law and cause us to be in danger.

We are thankful that our God works miracles for us even when we don't know we are going to need them.


Do you believe He can work miracles to have you just at the right place at the time you need to be there?

Do you believe that He loves you so much to be in front of you on your life's journey too?

Do you know His Saving Grace in your life and the sacrifice of His Son for you?




Click Here for part 1

Click Here for part 2


Click Here for part 3


Click Here for part 4




Monday

As I sit at my Desk - Coffee & Conversation


What view do you have as you sit at your computer?


Maybe you have a window to gaze through, maybe you have a wall with a family picture or some other nice thing to look at or maybe you have different views each time because you sit different places to work on a laptop.






I have a hutch shelving unit as part of the back of my desk and on the top of it I have a variety of notebooks kept in place by a set of teddy bear bookends, a picture frame and some videos between a set of bookends which have sections for notes and odds and ends.


I looked up from my chair today and was struck by what I saw (and I have seen this over and over again but today it just stood out more probably due to the way we had been praying at the church prayer meeting last night) so I really had to take a picture of it.






A bookmark I had received some years ago on a Christmas card just saying MIRACLE and a little bit behind it a greeting card from which I had torn off the front part because it has a picture of Noah's Ark (and I love Arks).

So today I was gazing at the phrase Wishing you a miracle and then there in front of it was that plain statement of fact in the bookmark.

How encouraging and inspirational is that to have to look up at as I sit at the computer?

I am just a bit disappointed that so many days & weeks had already passed and I hadn't been struck by those two objects being so close together until today, but I'm thankful I noticed it now.



I do believe God can and does do miracles!










Now I am waiting to see what the miracle (or miracles) will be,



                             because I do believe God can and does do miracles.


 Do you?