In a world that intensely hates God and His Word, it all comes down to this.
Do you believe that God can do what He says He can do? Do you believe the miracles Jesus did in the Bible? Do you believe what it says in John 14:12-14:
“Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me will do the works that I do also. And he will do greater works than these, because I am going to My Father. I will do whatever you ask in My name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
For non-believers, it’s a given. Jesus isn’t real to them and they don’t believe in the Bible. For any miracles that Jesus performs, there is a scientific and logical explanation.
For Christians, it’s a matter of faith. What happened recently at an outlet of James River Church in Joplin, Missouri, may take a great deal of it. Pastors Bill Johnson of Bethel Redding in California and John Lindell of James River Church have testified to something miraculous God did on the night of March 14 at James River’s Week of Power Prayer Revival. Johnson was a guest speaker that night.
During Johnson’s sermon, simulcast to all the church’s branches, Johnson asked if anyone was in need of a “creative miracle.” Johnson has witnessed many of them in his decades of ministry.
After Johnson’s inquiry, 46-year-old Kristina Dines, who lost three toes in 2015 when her now ex-husband, Stephen Thompson, broke into her home with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot her, spoke up saying she needed three toes to grow back.
Several women around her, she says, came to her and knelt down and prayed for her foot. That’s when God’s Holy Spirit power shone through.
Watch this Instagram video post to see Dines’ explanation.
Johnson told his own congregation Sunday, “So, this gal was at one of the other campuses and said, ‘I want my toes back.’ And so, another gal was praying for her, and I have the statement, but it took about 30 minutes they said they saw the bone come, wrapped in flesh, completely grown out and by morning, she had toenails and she got three completely brand-new toes.
“One of the women who was praying for her, her husband is a medical doctor. He came and examined her and yet she’s got three brand new toes. I guess the person with the three new toes would know, but it’s also nice to have a doctor come and check things out and say, ‘Guess what? This is for real.'”
Several doubters and scoffers arose both in the media and on social media. The Daily Beast reported that Lindell has “thus far refused to provide proof” of Dines’ miracle. But Lindell, in a sermon this past Sunday at James River, said there are reasons it has not been publicized.
“As you know, there has been quite a furor on social media about what happened to the girl with the toes. They have taken on Kristi, who has had a lot of trauma in her life, and it makes me sad to see them do that because her miracle is real.
“People say, ‘Well, if it’s genuine, why aren’t you doing something to publicize it?’ There are a couple of reasons for that. First, I’m less interested in proving to people what God did than I am in protecting sheep who are vulnerable. I’m going to protect sheep. My first concern is for her.
“We have to have that heart. We have to discern what is right. [John Lindell’s wife] Debbie is at the Joplin campus and is meeting with her and some of the others that were a part of that miracle. The News Leader asked if we would comment on it; they had been following things on social media. They have had a repeated history of not only a general bias against evangelical Christianity, but a targeted bias against James River.
“I just felt like I’m not going to talk to an agency that has a history of not being unbiased. I can point to a bazillion examples of that. At the same time, we’ve had two national news agencies contact us and asked if we would do a story. And so, we are in the process of simply assessing Kristi and the circumstance. I want it to be good for her. What I want to assure you of, it’s real. It is a legitimate miracle and we can provide the kind of proof that would be necessary. I’ve seen the picture of the toes. She was going to be fitted for a prosthesis. They have the molds and all of that. Again, the issue is, we’ve got to care for people first.”
Lindell says if you need proof this can happen, then “You haven’t read the Gospels lately.”
“He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you'” (Matt. 17:20).
“Jesus said, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, ‘Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying to it, ‘You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more.'” (Mark 9:23-25)
“Here’s what we have to remind ourselves of,” Lindell said. “There are people who doubted the miracles of Jesus. There are questions of who Jesus healed and why. There were people who remained unconvinced of the supernatural—it’s always pretty much the same group, the Pharisees.”
Indeed. There will be pharisees and scoffers. As believers, we shouldn’t be surprised when their unbelief arises. {eoa}
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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
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