Miracle Or “Cheating”?

C.S. Lewis at his deskI recently re-read C.S. Lewis′ book Miracles (you can read my full book review by clicking here). As you may have noticed, after reading and reviewing books on this blog, I also like to share some quotes that caught my attention. Doing this with Lewis is difficult, because in order to get the context of a particular quote, I think I would have to cite almost a full page or more. So over the next few weeks I plan to share some quotes from Miracles that require not as much context, or I will provide a bit of background to set the stage.

This particular quote is fairly long in itself, but I think you will understand the context within the quote—

“It is certain that the billiard balls will behave in a particular way, just as it is certain that if you divide a shilling unequally between two recipients then A’s share must exceed the half and B’s share fall short of it by exactly the same amount. Provided, of course, that A does not by sleight-of-hand steal some of B’s pennies at the very moment of the transaction. In the same way, you know what will happen to the two billiard balls—provided that nothing interferes. If one ball encounters a roughness in the cloth which the other does not, their motion will not illustrate the law in the way you had expected. Of course what happens as a result of the roughness in the cloth will illustrate the law in some other way, but your original prediction will have been false. Or again, if I snatch up a cue and give one of the balls a little help, you will get a third result: and that third result will equally illustrate the laws of physics, and equally falsify your prediction. I shall have ‘spoiled the experiment.’ All interferences leave the law perfectly true. But every prediction of what will happen in a given instance is made under the proviso ‘other things being equal’ or ‘if there are no interferences.’ Whether other things are equal in a given case and whether interferences may occur is another matter. The arithmetician, as a arithmetician, does not know how likely A is to steal some of B’s pennies when the shilling is being divided; you had better ask a criminologist. The physicist, as a physicist, does not know how likely I am to catch up a cue and ‘spoil’ his experiment with the billiard balls: you had better ask someone who knows me. In the same way, the physicist, as such, does not know how likely it is that some supernatural power is going to interfere with them: you has better ask a metaphysician. But the physicist does know, just because he is a physicist, that if the billiard balls are tampered with by any agency, natural or supernatural, which he has not taken into account, then their behavior must differ from what he expected. Not because the law is false, but because it is true. The more certain we are of the law the more clearly we know that if new factors have been introduced the result will vary accordingly. What we do not know, as physicists, is whether Supernatural power might be one of the new factors. … Miracle is, from the point of view of the scientist, a form of doctoring, tampering, (if you like) cheating.”

Miracles (book review)

MiraclesReading C.S. Lewis elaborate on theology is no easy task. But for those willing to work through his profound thoughts, a treasure trove of new insights into Scripture await. Miracles: How God Intervenes In Nature And Human Affairs is no exception to this.

“Miracle” is directly mentioned so 30 times in Scripture, but the Bible never explicitly defines miracle. Lewis gives this definition: “I use the word Miracle to mean an interference with Nature by supernatural power.” He then proceeds to explain what philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle meant by “nature” and “super-nature” and how those understandings have been dismissed, adapted or corrupted throughout history.

Lewis moves through several chapters without admitting miracles are probable (or even possible) and without ascribing any possible miracles to God. When he finally reveals that there is a God, he states, “From the admission that God exists and is the author of Nature, it by no means follows that miracles must, or even can, occur.” He then moves to the Scripture to show how God could—and indeed, does—work miraculously.

Even after all of Lewis’ brilliant arguments, I appreciate one of his final admissions in this book: “If you find that [these ideas] so distract you, think of them no more. I most fully allow that it is of more importance for you or me today to refrain from one sneer or to extend one charitable thought to an enemy than to know all that angels and archangels know about the mysteries of the New Creation.”

Even for those who accept his arguments, Lewis offers this counsel: “My work ends here. If, after reading it, you now turn to study the historical evidence for yourself, begin with the New Testament and not with the books about it.” Ultimately I recommend this book for this one reason—Miracles creates a hunger to study God’s Word more.

17 Quotes From “Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles”

Prayer, Power & MiraclesI highlighted more quotes from Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles than I can possibly share here. But I hope these few quotes will help whet your appetite to buy this book. If you’d like to read my review of this book, please click here.

“God can so fill a man with His Spirit that he can laugh and believe in the face of a thousand difficulties.” 

“Real faith has perfect peace and joy and a shout at any time. It always sees the victory.”

“If you knew the value of it, you would praise God for trial more than for anything. It is the trial that is used to purify you; it is in the fiery furnace of affliction that God gets you in the place where He can use you. The person that has no trials and no difficulties is the person whom God dare not allow satan to touch, because he could not stand temptation; but Jesus will not allow any man to be tempted more than he is able to bear.” 

“God will do great things for us if we are prepared to receive them from Him. We are dull of comprehension because we let the cares of this world blind our eyes, but if we keep open to God, He has a greater plan for us in the future than we have seen or ever have dreamed about in the past. It is God’s delight to fulfill to us impossibilities because of His omnipotence, and when we reach the place where He alone has the right of way in all things, then all mists and misunderstandings will clear away.”

“The Bible is the Word of God: supernatural in origin, eternal in duration, inexpressible in valor, infinite in scope, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, universal in interest, personal in application, inspired in totality. Read it through, write it down, pray it in, work it out, and then pass it on. Truly it is the Word of God. It brings into man the personality of God; it changes the man until he becomes the epistle of God. It transforms his mind, changes his character, takes him on from grace to grace, and gives him an inheritance in the Spirit. God comes in, dwells in, walks in, talks through, and sups with him.”

“Beloved, if you read the Scriptures you will never find anything about the easy time. All the glories come out of hard times. And if you are really reconstructed it will be in a hard time, it won’t be in a singing meeting, but at a time when you think all things are dried up, when you think there is no hope for you, and you have passed everything, then that is the time that God makes the man, when tried by fire, that God purges you, takes the dross away, and brings forth the pure gold. Only melted gold is minted. Only moistened clay receives the mold. Only softened wax receives the seal. Only broken, contrite hearts receive the mark as the Potter turns us on His wheel, shaped and burnt to take and keep the heavenly mold, the stamp of God’s pure gold.”

“We must be taken out of the ordinary. We must be brought into the extraordinary. We must live in a glorious position, over the flesh and the devil, and everything of the world. God has ordained us, clothed us within, and manifested upon us His glory that we may be the sons with promise, of Son-likeness to Him.”

“Oh, this baptism of the Holy Spirit is an inward presence of the personality of God, which lifts, prays, takes hold, lives in, with a tranquility of peace and power that rests and says, ‘It is all right.’ God answers prayer because the Holy Spirit prays and your advocate is Jesus, and the Father the Judge of all. There He is. Is it possible for any prayer to be missed on those lines?”

“God has something better for you than you have ever had in the past. Come out into all the fullness of faith and power and life and victory that He is willing to provide, as you forget the things of the past, and press right on for the prize of His calling in Christ Jesus.” 

“There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.”

“It is as we feed on the Word and meditate on the message it contains, that the Spirit of God can vitalize that which we have received, and bring forth through us the word of knowledge that will be as full of power and life as when He, the Spirit of God, moved upon holy men of old and gave them these inspired Scriptures.”

“The trouble is that we do not have the power of God in a full manifestation because of our finite thoughts, but as we go on and let God have His way, there is no limit to what our limitless God will do in response to a limitless faith. But you will never get anywhere except you are in constant pursuit of all the power of God.”

“Jesus said, ‘Be not afraid, only believe’ (Mark 5:36). He speaks the word just in time! Jesus is never behind time. When the tumult is the worst, the pain the most severe, the cancer gripping the body, then the word comes, ‘Only believe.’ When everything seems as though it will fail, and is practically hopeless, the Word of God comes to us, ‘Only believe.’”

“Faith is a divine act, faith is God in the soul. God operates by His Son, and transforms the natural into the supernatural. Faith is active, never dormant; faith lays hold, faith is the hand of God, faith is the power of God, faith never fears, faith lives amid the greatest conflict, faith is always active, faith moves even things that cannot be moved. God fills us with His divine power, and sin is dethroned.”

“There is nothing small about our God, and when we understand God we will find out that there ought not to be anything small about us. We must have an enlargement of our conception of God, then we will know that we have come to a place where all things are possible, for our God is an omnipotent God for impossible positions.”

“We have a big God. We have a wonderful Jesus. We have a glorious Comforter. God’s canopy is over you and will cover you at all times, preserving you from evil. Under His wings shalt thou trust. The Word of God is living and powerful and in its treasures you will find eternal life. If you dare trust this wonderful Lord, the Lord of life, you will find in Him everything you need.”

“There are evil powers, but Jesus is greater than all evil powers. There are tremendous diseases, but Jesus is healer. There is no case too hard for Him. The Lion of Judah shall break every chain. He came to relieve the oppressed and to set the captive free. He came to bring redemption, to make us as perfect as man was before the fall.”

Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles (book review)

Prayer, Power & MiraclesWhenever I need a booster shot of faith, or a challenge to believe God for even greater things, or just a unabashed reminder of the power of the Scriptures, I pick up a book by Smith Wigglesworth. By the time I got done reading Smith Wigglesworth On Prayer, Power, And Miracles compiled by Roberts Liardon I was totally fired up!

This book is a collection of sermons delivered by Wigglesworth and articles he authored for various Pentecostal publications. Every one of the chapters is simply saturated in Scripture and the anointing of the Holy Spirit! Each of the articles made we want to dig into the Bible more, believe God for more, and crave the empowerment of the Spirit more!

If you are tired of humdrum church-as-usual, or if you are ready for your faith to be stretched like it’s never been stretched before, pick up a copy of this book and strap yourself in. I promise that you will not think about the things of God the same after these messages have worked their way into your heart.

Smith Wigglesworth On Healing (book review)

Wigglesworth HealingWhenever I read Smith Wigglesworth’s sermons, my faith is challenged to reach farther than it’s ever reached before! In this collection of messages entitled Smith Wigglesworth On Healing, once again I found myself wanting so much more of God!

Wigglesworth didn’t write his books, he preached them. This plumber-turned-preacher was one of the most faith-filled dynamos I’ve ever heard from. On page after page he confronted me with how much more there is to experience in my relationship with God, and then backed it up with his own personal experiences. In this particular book, the focus is on people who were physically healed (including Wigglesworth himself) from diseases which perplexed doctors. Time and again I found myself saying, “Yes! I want to see this today!”

If you want to give your faith a boost to believe God for miracles, I can think of no better preacher to read than Smith Wigglesworth.

“The Marvel That Is Us”

Alexander Tsiaras is a professor at Yale. This is a highly educated, brilliant man. In this video he is telling his audience that what scientists are learning about the human body, and there is one word that keeps occurring in his vocabulary: Divine.

The Bible says,

 God, You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Check out this video to see how wonderfully complex and divine our Creator is—

On The Record

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible. 

When Jesus is getting ready to feed the multitude that had gathered to hear Him speak, Jesus asked Philip a question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5). It seems like a fair question, but the next verse gives us insight into Christ’s motivation behind the question:

Jesus asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

Jesus had something in mind, but He wanted to know what Philip had in mind. If Jesus had not asked Philip to be on the record up front, Jesus could have multiplied the loaves and fish, and then Philip could have said, “I knew You could do it! I knew it all the time!”

But to test us, Jesus needs to get us on the record. The word test means to know the value of something; to know its strength; to know what it’s capable of.

My faith cannot be grown if it’s not tested. It cannot be accurately tested if I’m not on the record first. Jesus knows what He’s going to do: Glorify the Father. I can say that’s what I wanted all along after the miracle is done, but then my faith hasn’t grown one iota.

I can only see my faith grow when I am on the record (as Philip was) in saying, “How in the world could we get enough money to fix this problem?” Especially when Jesus isn’t even going to use money to fix that problem!

Here’s the principle:

NO testing = NO growth

It’s only when I see that my faith is not as big as it should be that I can say, “Lord, I believe You, but help my unbelief.” He will bring me into a test so that I can grow, and the Father can be glorified. It’s scary being on the record, because only then can I see how much more growth I need!

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Even Before You Ask

A couple of weeks ago a lady in our church asked me to pray for a need in her life. She is a single Mom, as well as a caregiver for her bed-bound grandmother, which means money is tight.

She knew her car needed some repairs, so she took the car to the mechanic on Thursday afternoon. His initial estimate was $400. On Sunday we prayed about this, and joined our faith that God would either provide the funds, or provide another way for her car to be repaired.

Here’s a powerful verse of Scripture—

…Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him! (Matthew 6:8)

This lady returned to her mechanic the next day, and he told her the repairs had been completed. But the repairs were not as extensive as he originally thought, so the bill was only $105.

Now, here’s the best part—on Thursday, this lady had looked at her financial situation and had set aside all the money she could afford for this repair: $125!

So not only did God provide for her even before she asked, but she even gave the mechanic a $20 tip!

I love the fact that God knows what we need even before we ask Him!

Plant The God Seed

Have you ever been disappointed because you had a dream that died? How do we justify this with the biblical definition of faith which says, “faith is being sure of what we hope for”?

It’s just this:

  • If God takes away a dream, it’s because the dream was too small.
  • God wants us to be more focused on the Dream Giver than we are on the dream.

So sometimes God asks us to let a dream die.

Think of a watermelon seed. It’s not very big, sort of dull in color, and it’s only a single seed. To plant the seed, means you have to take your hands off it: the seed is now out of your sight and out of your control. But it is there—dead in the ground—that a miracle happens!

A single watermelon seed grows 200,000 times its own weight! A colorless seed produces the vibrant greens and pinks of a mature watermelon. And that single seed produces 100+ seeds.

Has God given you a dream? Has He asked you to give up that dream? Then plant that seed! When you do, the results will be more than you can imagine.

“Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of faith is to see what we believe.” —Augustine

These are some of my notes from part 3 of my See The Invisible series at Calvary Assembly of God. I would love to have you join me when we continue this series on September 4.

You Were Born For This (book review)

I love the way Bruce Wilkinson makes biblical truths so exciting and live-able. You Were Born For This is no exception.

The idea behind this book is that God does miracles every day, but He usually calls on people to deliver those miracles. That’s what we were born to do. Bruce writes:

“You see, God did not place you on this earth to notice Him at work only once or twice in your whole life. He did not create you to consistently miss out on the wonder of His presence and power. The truth is, you were born to live a supernatural life doing God’s work by God’s power. You were born to walk out your door each morning believing that God will use you to deliver a necessary miracle today.”

Using a powerful combination of scriptural and personal examples, Bruce makes the case that God wants to use everyone of us as His delivery agents. He shows us that the Holy Spirit is nudging us to see the needs right in front of us. And then Bruce shows us how we can be a part of the delivery process.

One more quote from the book:

“When you and I purposely ask God to send us to do His work on earth, we take on a completely different role in our day. We are now people sent from God, His delivery agents. We walk out the door knowing that He could have a miracle (a delivery through us) for anyone we meet. Why? Because, from God’s point of view, everyone, everywhere, at all times is in need. God knows about every need, and He cares about each one. That’s why He loves to send servants who are passionate about delivering visible proofs of His goodness and glory.

As always when I finish a Bruce Wilkinson book, I’m seeing the world differently now. I’m ready to be God’s miracle delivery agent. If you are ready to see God’s miracles happen around you time and time again, I highly recommend this book as a great place to start.