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Friday, May 18, 2012

Miracles

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. - Matthew 11:20
This text is not a novelty to me, since it announces one truth about the life of Jesus that is still valid today as it was back then: people will not be convinced of their sins, people will not repent, people will not be transformed because of miracles, no supernatural or spectacular works of anyone will turn a stone heart into flesh.

We often claim that today we don't see as many miracles or supernatural as it is written in the Bible that happened when Jesus was 'around'; but to consider that assumption in order to live our lives in devotion to the Lord is to deceive ourselves, because we can see clearly in this text, as in many others throughout the scripture, that the people of Israel, and we are no different from them, back in the days of Moses, the prophets and even Jesus, even though they experienced healing, demons being cast out and even resurrection, they would just not repent and there's a reason why: repentance comes from within, from a true regenerated heart that is touched by the Father's mercy, love and forgiveness.

The key to understanding this text, and the key to living a life in dependance of God is not relying on any outside miraculous phenomena to believe and trust in God. We are called to live by faith not by sight because if we depend too much on what we see, on our human senses, we may be misleaded, misguided, because our senses aren't always trustworthy.

Let this text be a warning to our lives, and also a prayer: please, Lord, that I learn to live the 'natural' that You've already laid out for me, because there's so much that I've yet to learn and live in the 'natural' realm that I'm embarassed to ask to experience your 'supernatural', and please let me understand that true forgiveness and love and grace are what changes a person, not miracles, and they work from the inside out, not the other way around.

2 comments:

  1. amen..

    I had to reread that scripture!
    Miracles are awesome... but you are absolutely right. They don't make people repent.
    Look at the children in the wilderness. They saw a ton of miracles and still had problems!

    I often think that if they experienced so many miracles, then why were they so stubborn?


    this brings me to this scripture:

    Luk 16:30-31 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

    God bless!

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  2. I have personally known this truth quite shortly after I re-dedicated my life back to the Lord Jesus Christ way back in 1995. It's a heart thing to repent and follow Jesus Christ - it's when a person finally realises that God loves them completely. Human beings love their own way and they love the world (even though they are slaves and keep getting beat down by their own sin and the sins of others) but it is that temporal satisfaction and gratification/fulfillment they get from sin that keeps blinding them to the reality of God's love and saving Truth.

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