MEDC - I'll pray for you and with you too.

All I know is that the Word of God is true. He is faithful and just. But I don't understand every single thing. It IS a mystery. All we can do is trust Him and believe His word.

Don't know if it was mentioned in earlier pages as I didn't read through the whole 7 pg of post. But what you are talking about is something that I have been interested in since college. The nature of God. See growing up I had a certain idea of who God was and what he was like. Then I went to school and met an incredible Christian thinker, Greg Boyd. He was a professor at Bethel college. His classes and the fact that he was my adviser pushed my faith to the limits of my understanding of God and his nature.

That rather wordy introduction was laid out to point you to the best book any person who explores faith needs to read. "Letter from a Skeptic". Greg presents ideas about who God is and how he may work that have helped me in every struggle, including the last two years. Now I don't agree with Greg on many points as a think his ideas really put God in a box but Greg would say that is God's plan.

Anyway for more searching look at his ministries site here:
http://www.christusvictorministries.org/oldsite/gbfront/index.html

I won't answer the prayer question, as God has been teaching me a lot through my own questioning very similar to yours. I don;t have a "good: answer for you. But I am glad you find yourself at this place--it's a big place to be at. And I know God is using it to draw you to Him. Understanding His will and His place in everything is HUGE and is helping me in so many ways. I pray that you will find the same comfort as you question.

But I will pray for your sitch with the foster daughter. I have friends who foster and have adopted two, and have felt the pain of having to give one back. I adnire your giving heart.

BUT what I did want to say is in line with miracles...kind of funny how God has used my lack of faith, questioning and miracles all in the same week....
I just returned from Mexico with my three boys from a mission trip with church...it was AWESOME. I saw healing happen in front of me for the first time. I saw God speak to my 5 year old son. I went in with doubts--but oh me of little faith....my son, on the bus ride to the outreach site, said God gave him a picture of two ladies in white pants and blue shirts...when we go there, sure enough, there were two ladies sitting there in the crowded marketplace. They were prayed for and the gospel was shared with them. My faith was strengthened, and I am sure my little Ben's faith grew by miles! Anyway, just really wanted to share that!

A quick comment is all I have time for at the moment.

At any given time, we are only seeing a tiny part of the picture, and sometimes that can be deceptive.

The angels can see more than we can; they can at least see the supernatural side of what is occurring in our lives - the continual battle between good and evil that goes on around and for each of us.

Only God can see the full picture: our here and now, the behind-the-scenes warfare, and every ripple of effect of every possible permutation of the events in our lives. (That may sound like a fancy way of saying God's ways are myseterious <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />, but I don't mean it that way.)

Suppose your little angel gets sent back to her family. Heartbreaking! But if that terrible event should occur, you have God's guarantee that He will bring good out of it - a good big enough and eternal enough to be worth whatever bad results may happen in this life.

At some point, you're right. It does all come down to trust. But we are not left to flounder; as we see God's providence every day, our faith is strengthened with the little we can understand, to keep us firm against the things we do not and cannot understand.

(On the original topic, I believe that during the very very last days, when our faith is purified more deeply than any people who have lived on this earth before, that miracles will also be revived on a scale not seen since the time of Jesus. I would not be surprised at all to see limbs restored during that time. I just don't see that Satan will be given the only power to work miracles, and God will give His people no power of miracles at all.

The big note of caution is that, since Satan will work miracles, and even appear as an angel of light, that the power of miracles alone will not be sufficient proof of divine origin - the Bible will be our only safeguard.

More later, I have some kids to chase, lol.)

Now that I'm finally back, I have a few more comments on the subject of miracles.

A ways back I quoted 1 Corinthians 12 about the gifts of the Spirit. Read the whole chapter, but here is a small excerpt from the last few verses (which immediately lead into the Love Chapter).


Notice that the gift of miracles is not linked specifically to apostles, but is separate and distinct of itself. Nowhere will you find that the gift of miracles had to die out with the apostles, and would never be given again. The Bible is clear that the Spirit gives the gifts according to His will, some people only receive one, some receive several.

When Paul wrote more about the gifts in Ephesians, he made very clear how long the gifts would be with us, and would be needed. You will notice that this quote ends in the middle of the sentence, but Paul apparently didn't believe in using more than 2 sentences per chapter, lol. The rest of the sentence goes through several other subjects, but feel free to read it in the interests of thoroughness. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Although these verses do not specifically mention miracles, (or tongues, or interpretation, or prophecy, etc.), it does say how long we will need the gifts of the Spirit: until we reach perfection, and perfect unity with each other.

That hasn't happened yet, so we still need the gifts.

My reasoning for believing that the gift of miracles is still available (even if not widely used) is this:

1. The gifts of the Spirit were given to the church.
2. They were given with no expiration date.
3, We are still the church.
4. Until we have been perfected, we still need the gifts.

The prophet Joel foretold a revival of the Spirit in the very last days before Jesus comes.


The time recorded in the book of Acts contained the greatest measure of faith the world had ever seen at that time. The early rain and the latter rain is a whole new topic, but it indicates that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in apostolic times will be followed by another outpouring to finish the work at the end.

We have a lot of faith even now, after the trials we have experienced, but in order to make it through the last times as described in the Bible, it will take a greater faith thatn even the apostles had.

We'll just have to tune in down the road to see if I am right, but I really believe that the outpouring of the Spirit will also bring a revival of every gift of the Spirit, even those that have fallen into disuse. I would not be surprised to not only see severed limbs restored, but even the dead raised to life. I wouldn't be surprised by anything. Well, maybe I would, but nothing I can imagine. It's going to be unbelievable.

Keep watching. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />