2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The message is clear: God’s Words are in the Bible for us to learn, so we can we equipped for every good work.
To anyone who is an atheist or an agnostic, or who lets earthly reasoning cloud his judgement, there are Passages in the Bible that may suggest magic is involved. But the same Bible that suggests things of magic for them, also serves as a foundation given to us by God so the work we do is good. There are Verses in the Bible that can stretch the imagination of anyone, to the point where some may believe there’s magic at work, and some others, knowing better because of their faith in God, accept these things to be true.
Within the Bible are the words of Jesus, saying in Matthew 17:20 that faith in God is strong enough to move mountains with even so much as a mustard seed’s worth. And to perhaps discourage anyone who either accepts things as magic or rejects them in complete denial, Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. This too is among God’s Words in the Bible.
So, in the Bible we come across Acts 3:1-10 in which Peter and John, on their way to the temple to pray, come across a lame man asking for alms. What happens next? Peter in Verse 6 says to the lame man, “…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” Now, it’s true that Verse 7 tells us that Peter helps the man to get up, but once the man is on his feet he walks like anyone else who is able to walk. Anyone who has faith in God knows that magic isn’t at work here; rather it is more akin to a miracle, which is a thing that only God can create.
Now depending on who is familiar with Acts 3:1-10, various stages of denial and rationalization can be evoked. At bare bottom is thought that it never happened that a man who was lame all his life can suddenly walk. But it’s in the Bible, so it happened. Next is the idea that the lame man wasn’t really lame, he was acting so in order to get alms, or there are associates who, with the man, concocted a scam to get people to give alms to him on the basis that he’s lame when he isn’t. The Bible doesn’t mention these things either, so what’s left is the bare bones of Acts 3, Verses 1 through 10. So those of us who have faith in God are exercising our conviction of the scene described as having actually happened. And those of us with the same faith would also have faith in the believe that it is through God that Peter enabled the lame man to walk.
And if, as it says in Matthew 17:20, that just a mustard seed’s worth of faith can move mountains, then what challenge is there in using the same faith in God to enable a lame man to walk? Does that mean that if we come across a lame man on fifth avenue in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral with a tin cup in his hand, and we take his hand and say the words ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ that person will walk like normal? Well, it may be hard to find someone walking on fifth avenue who will utter those words and lift the man up, but if one did, and the man was still lame, does that mean the person’s faith in God didn’t work? Well, there’s the possibility that God had other plans for this man that we may not be aware of. Maybe God has planned that a particular woman come along and perform the same feat as Peter with the lame man, and the man truly gets up and walks, with the woman alongside him, and they live happily ever after, who knows?
To anyone who is an atheist or an agnostic, or who lets earthly reasoning cloud his judgement, there are Passages in the Bible that may suggest magic is involved. But the same Bible that suggests things of magic for them, also serves as a foundation given to us by God so the work we do is good. There are Verses in the Bible that can stretch the imagination of anyone, to the point where some may believe there’s magic at work, and some others, knowing better because of their faith in God, accept these things to be true.
Within the Bible are the words of Jesus, saying in Matthew 17:20 that faith in God is strong enough to move mountains with even so much as a mustard seed’s worth. And to perhaps discourage anyone who either accepts things as magic or rejects them in complete denial, Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. This too is among God’s Words in the Bible.
So, in the Bible we come across Acts 3:1-10 in which Peter and John, on their way to the temple to pray, come across a lame man asking for alms. What happens next? Peter in Verse 6 says to the lame man, “…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” Now, it’s true that Verse 7 tells us that Peter helps the man to get up, but once the man is on his feet he walks like anyone else who is able to walk. Anyone who has faith in God knows that magic isn’t at work here; rather it is more akin to a miracle, which is a thing that only God can create.
Now depending on who is familiar with Acts 3:1-10, various stages of denial and rationalization can be evoked. At bare bottom is thought that it never happened that a man who was lame all his life can suddenly walk. But it’s in the Bible, so it happened. Next is the idea that the lame man wasn’t really lame, he was acting so in order to get alms, or there are associates who, with the man, concocted a scam to get people to give alms to him on the basis that he’s lame when he isn’t. The Bible doesn’t mention these things either, so what’s left is the bare bones of Acts 3, Verses 1 through 10. So those of us who have faith in God are exercising our conviction of the scene described as having actually happened. And those of us with the same faith would also have faith in the believe that it is through God that Peter enabled the lame man to walk.
And if, as it says in Matthew 17:20, that just a mustard seed’s worth of faith can move mountains, then what challenge is there in using the same faith in God to enable a lame man to walk? Does that mean that if we come across a lame man on fifth avenue in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral with a tin cup in his hand, and we take his hand and say the words ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ that person will walk like normal? Well, it may be hard to find someone walking on fifth avenue who will utter those words and lift the man up, but if one did, and the man was still lame, does that mean the person’s faith in God didn’t work? Well, there’s the possibility that God had other plans for this man that we may not be aware of. Maybe God has planned that a particular woman come along and perform the same feat as Peter with the lame man, and the man truly gets up and walks, with the woman alongside him, and they live happily ever after, who knows?
