by Gardner Hall<\/p>\n
I see increasing numbers of references among disciples of Christ referring to events in their lives as miraculous, or even asking for a miracle. Perhaps it’s time for a reminder that we don’t live in the miraculous age. That fact almost used to be taken for granted in congregations I know and perhaps for that reason many have neglected to teach on it. Therefore we increasingly see loose usage of the word, perhaps as a result of the influence of postmodernism and its emphasis on feelings over reason.<\/p>\n
By definition, a miracle involves an act that violates the laws of nature, in many cases the instant healing of permanent and visible defects (John 11; Acts 3:2; 13; Jn. 9, etc.). Sometimes miracles were supernatural signs such as walking on the water, turning water into wine, feeding the 5,000, etc.<\/p>\n
What is marvelous is not necessarily a miracle. The design of our body and especially our brain with the amazing ability to fight disease, give birth, and invent medicines is a work of God that shows His infinite intelligence. But the wonderful function of our bodies isn’t a miracle in the biblical sense.<\/p>\n
The danger in applying the term “miracle” to what is not truly miraculous is a cheapening of the concept. If we apply the word to gradually getting better from an illness or to having a tumor shrink with treatment, unbelievers will begin to see “miracles” as no big deal, but something that commonly happens among all people as well as believers. We don’t want to cheapen the impact of the true miracles of Jesus and the apostles! Therefore, let’s be discreet and avoid applying that word loosely.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gardner Hall I see increasing numbers of references among disciples of Christ referring to events in their lives as miraculous, or even asking for a miracle. Perhaps it’s time for a reminder that we don’t live in the miraculous age. That fact almost used to be taken for granted in congregations I know and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[363],"class_list":["post-45428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-miracles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66314,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-any-woman-perform-a-miracle-in-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":0},"title":"Did any woman perform a miracle in the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are there any Bible references to women performing miracles in the Old Testament? Answer: If you include the gift of prophecy, then several women are mentioned in the Old Testament as being prophetesses: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (II Kings 22:14; II Chronicles 34:22), and Isaiah's wife\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28243,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-it-a-miracle-when-a-person-sees-an-angel-or-receives-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":1},"title":"Isn’t it a miracle when a person sees an angel or receives the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What about people who see angels these days? Is that not a miracle or are you teaching that is of the devil? What about receiving the Holy Spirit is that not a miracle? Answer: Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34448,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/have-miracles-ceased\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":2},"title":"Have Miracles Ceased?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John 9:14-34 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Several denominations teach the continuance of miracles \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Proofs offered are based on emotional feelings and indirect evidence (I know a person who heard a person claim they saw ...) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The standard appealed to is what a person thinks is right \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To oppose is taken as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/coming-out-of-pentecostalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":3},"title":"Coming Out of Pentecostalism (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Davis One of the greatest challenges for any Pentecostal to overcome is to accept the fact that God no longer works miracles today as he did in times past. Three years ago I wrote a series of three articles in\u00a0Seek the Old Paths\u00a0on\u00a0Why I Left the Pentecostal Church\u00a0(June,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-miracles-happen-every-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":4},"title":"Do miracles happen every day?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently, in a discussion, someone said that miracles happen every day; and that if you anoint someone and pray over them, then they can be healed. Also, they say that proof of miracles today is the fruits of the Spirit. They \"defy the nature of man,\" so they are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54562,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/miracles-then-versus-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":45428,"position":5},"title":"Miracles Then Versus Now","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton When Jesus worked miracles, nobody could deny it. Unbelievers tried to explain them away, but they could not deny a miracle happened. Jesus raised the dead, healed the lame, opened blind eyes, turned water to wine, walked on water, healed the dying at great distances, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}