Have you ever experienced or witnessed a miracle?  I've been the recipient of, and witness to many miracles.     

           As a child I was told about the miracles that Jesus performed and how they were signs that Jesus was the Son of God.  How he was God incarnate, the Messiah, come to redeem mankind. I was told that he performed miracles to prove who he was so that people would have faith in him.   

            As I got older I allowed "Life" to consume my time and priorities.  God got crowded out by what I thought were the really "important" things of life, you know, raising a family and making money and being "successful".  

          I was in my late twenties when God provided me with a dose of reality that caused me to reexamine my life.  (I have a link to part of my story at the bottom of the page if your interested)  

           After I received my first miracle of a dramatic healing, my analytical mind went to work to figure out a reason for miracles, a method if you will, of how and why God performs miracles.    

          I look back now at how silly that line of reasoning was.  As I have studied the scriptures over the years I realized that God performs miracles at his own desecration, in His own time.  I also realized that miracles don't produce faith.  Sometimes just the opposite.  

          At times Jesus performed miracles as a response to someones faith, but more often, out of shear compassion.  There are several places where Jesus tries to keep the miracles a secrete as not to bring attention to himself.   

          Jesus last miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead didn't really do poor Lazarus any favors.  I mean, he had to die again, plus he became the target of the Pharisees who put a hit out on him.   

          What's the bottom line here?   For me, it's expectation.  You see, I knew, once I became sold out to the idea that Jesus was who he said he was, that I could expect certain things from him.  As Gods Son, Jesus knew he could expect certain things from his Father, just as my kids expect certain things from me.   

          I still pray for the good parking spot when I go to the Mall and I usually get it, but when I don't, I thank God that I can walk the two hundred extra feet.  I've learned to trust that God has my best interest in mind for every thing that happens in my life.  

          Jesus said that by believing in him, I've become a joint heir with him.  So there you go!  Listen, I've put off writing about this for some time now simply because I knew there was no way to say what needed to be said in a few paragraphs, so for the two of you still here, thanks for staying with me  :-)   I welcome further dialog or questions you may have on the subject.   

          Let me close with this thought.  I read this quote in Philip Yancey's book, "The Jesus I never knew".  The quote is by Jurgen Moltmann,  "Jesus' healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world.  They are the only truly 'natural' things in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded."