Hello and welcome to Beauty, the no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host, Deanna, and today we are talking about the beauty of miracles…and the books that encourage us to look for them.
I often get questions about the books I am reading, so I thought it might be beneficial to start doing some book reviews. Very rarely do I read fiction – maybe one or two per year. I really just prefer to read for knowledge and learning and growth, so I tend to turn to non-fiction writing. I just finished up the book A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles by J.P. Moreland. He is a philosopher, which means he is a deep thinker, and if you have been around here for about 20 seconds, you would know I am not a deep thinker – so this was a bit of a difficult read for me. I did find it quite interesting, though, which is why I am sharing it here today.
The title of the very first chapter sucked me in:
Why So Many Westerners Are Embarrassed By Miracle Stories
I love a good miracle story, but I have to admit, I am a little skeptical sometimes. I get pictures of Benny Hinn in my mind, along with that one revival I went to in Kentucky (that was wild!). And I also struggle to believe that someone can pray for $106.32 and find a check in the mail for that exact amount a few days later. I sometimes feel like people stretch the truth a bit to make it a really great story. But this book helped me to see things a little different.
A couple pages into the book, I read this quote from Michael Green.
I don’t know who Michael Green is (probably another smarty pants, deep thinker), but that one sentence struck a chord. Moreland followed this up a few pages later with this:
“We are not transformed in our thinking by choosing to believe harder in the midst of a vacuum. No, as Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Why is this so? Because as our minds grow in understanding what we are to believe and why we should believe it, our beliefs change. They are strengthened. Beliefs are formed or strengthened indirectly, depending on what we do with our minds and experiences.”
It is not enough to believe something just because it is what we were taught. We have to know why we believe it. This made me think about our kids, and the fact that so many walk away from faith. Maybe they are just going through the motions of faith as a kid and teen because their parents make them and they are never really transformed by the renewing of their mind? Maybe churches are so concerned with the fun and relevant things that will draw kids in, they forget to focus on Jesus and they leave kids guessing? Churches are missing the real opportunities to invest into the next generation and I think we are seeing the fruit of that in our culture now.
But that’s a whole other podcast. Back to our book!
Chapter two defines what a miracle is and then there are two chapters on prayer and a chapter on healing. The rest of the book is filled with stories of people J.P. Moreland was associated with, as well as his own experiences with miracles. Again, I will admit, I was a little sus at some of the stories, but I have to say, there was this little tug at my heart pulling me in to deepen my faith.
The gospel message is the message of Christ. Yes, the typical message we tend to focus on, especially this time of year – that Jesus came as a baby, fully God and fully man, perfect and sinless, to die a sinners death for us, on a cross. But it also includes all the stuff in-between, including the miracles. The good news of Jesus includes all the “mighty acts and miracles he has done – and continues to do today.” And when we notice and acknowledge these things, we become a great witness for Christ.
In the intro, J.P. Moreland shares the goal for writing this book. I probably should have started with this, but I am ending with it instead. His aim was to build “strong, confident, spiritually and emotionally mature disciples who are increasingly manifesting a supernatural lifestyle to a watching world.” If you choose to pick up this book, I think it will help answer some questions, enliven your faith, and deepen your love for God. Check out a copy at your local library or buy it for your collection. It is worth the read.
Do you have a miracle experience you can share?
D 😊
