Christian Writers Circle

“THE MIRACLE IS JESUS”

By Judy Kowalsky

So simple yet so true when you really stop to think about it. The miracle is Jesus.

Every day we search for signs and wonders. When all along He is right there patiently waiting for us to look at Him. He wants us to see the true miracle.

When we see Jesus, when we follow Him, our miracle is there too.

MIRACLES OF LIFE

By Judy Hitson

Miracles of salvation, deliverance and healing are significant in the full scope of our lives.

Personally, I experienced a dramatic car conversion, October 25, 1979, that was a miracle of new life in Christ. Saying that to my mother after lying in a hospital bed from a concussion and right orbital fracture was not seen as a miracle to her at the time. She agreed it was a miracle that my life and the life of our infant daughter were spared following the car accident. Months later, I realized I experienced the miracle of salvation. Though I was baptized as an infant and grew up in church, I discovered I practiced religion but did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is until I invited Him into my heart that day in the car and received His Spirit.

Thank God for women He brought in my life to mentor and disciple me in the faith three months after my car conversion. These women invited me to join them in a weekly prayer group, Bible study and go with them to an Annual Christian Conference for Women. I hungered for God’s Word, prayer partners and fellowship among believers of like mind in a local church. Ten months after receiving Christ, the Holy Spirit led me and our family out of the local church we attended to join another congregation. We grew in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Through reading and studying the Bible, I had an expectancy and longing in my heart for deliverance and healing. I was blessed and grateful to connect with Christian women gifted in this area of ministry. There were areas of needed change in me because the fruit of my life didn’t line up with what I was reading in the Scriptures. It was a process of true repentance, love and forgiveness that brought me to new depths in Christ. Working through life issues with women in deliverance and inner healing ministry, I found freedom in the Spirit. Through prayer, wise counsel, Bible studies and reading recommended books, I experienced miracles of Christ as my Deliverer and Healer.

How about you? Have you experienced miracles of salvation, deliverance, and healing? If so, tell everyone the amazing things God has done for you. If not, I urge you by the mercies of God to put your trust in God through Jesus Christ and be blessed with miracles in your life.

Miracles

By Carole Lane

Miracles abound everywhere. I’m a miracle. As I watch my fingers type these words, I’m reminded of the amazing process of thoughts going to my fingers and eyes, then able to see my thoughts on paper.

The greatest miracle, second only to creation, is the re-creation of man. We are first born in the flesh but as we embrace Jesus as our Lord, God takes our sinful nature and we are born of the Spirit. We become a “sign and a wonder” for all who see us. On second thought, maybe that is the greatest miracle of all! My favorite line in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” is when Mary, the mother of Jesus, is able to finally get to him as he carries the cross up to Golgotha. Jesus looks into her tear-streaked face and says, “Mother, I make all things new.”

Christ is willing to come and cleanse us and set us free. He truly does “make all things new.” He has made me new and daily I enjoy freedom from the oppression of sin. What a gift to live in freedom and joy and to know I will spend eternity with my dear Lord and Savior.

We are able to wake each morning assured that He will greet us with mercy. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness,” Lamentations 3: 22-23ESV.

As this old body wears out and winds down, I find myself longing for the miracle of exchanging my earthly body for my new resurrected body. Consider 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Holman’s CSB “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord.”My heart longs for that day. When I’m finally with Jesus and with all those who have gone before me that will be a miracle.

Blowout on Monteagle

By Brenda Flowers

“Jesus, help me!” I heard myself screaming as I felt my car swerve and my steering wheel turn with an uncontrollable force. I struggled to keep my Honda in its lane as a car whizzed by on the mountainous road. Ahead I could see a truck parked on the side and within a few seconds I was safely parked in front of it. How? I still don’t know.

Driving alone on Interstate 24, I was heading up the windy highway of Monteagle Mountain on my way to visit my mother in Atlanta who was battling colon cancer. I remember I was having trouble keeping my focus on the road as I thought of my mother. A sign to watch out for falling rocks had caught my attention just before I felt the lurch of my car and knew I was in danger.

My heart was pounding as I sat in my car wondering what to do next. I wasn’t sure if I should get out of the car because I didn’t know the character of the truck driver of the truck behind me. Then, a sudden peace came over me and a confidence. So I got out of my car and realized I had just experienced a blowout going at least 55 mph on a curvy, mountain road.

The truck driver approached me with a friendly smile and asked if I had a spare tire. I knew I did, but of course I had to unpack the car to get to it. Finally, we located the spare and the details of the next few minutes are a blur. The main thing I can remember is this nice African American man changed my tire with record speed. As he did so, he continually talked about the Lord and His goodness. Soon I was on my way. To add to the amazing part of this story, almost immediately I saw a sign for a tire store at the next exit near the top of the mountain.

When I reflect on this experience, I often wonder if the man who helped me that day was a truck driver or an angel. If you’ve ever watched the old reruns of the TV show, “Highway to Heaven”, then you have probably seen shows depicting similar experiences. Even if the man was not an angel, I find it more than a coincidence that he was parked at the exact location I needed help. Over the past 36 years, traveling from Nashville to Atlanta, I have never seen another truck parked along that route. Some skeptics would say it was a coincidence, but I believe in my heart it was a God-incidence, a true miracle!

The King Shows Up At Burger King

By Catherine Japuntich Weil

I belong to Christian Writer’s Circle. We’ve met once a week for years. Our friendship has grown to mean everything to us. One week I was out of town, with my husband who had a meeting in Colorado. Since I couldn’t come, I was relieved that I was let off the hook for writing the topic of the week: Miracles. God had other ideas, so I am going to share with you readers, the email I sent to my precious friends back home just in time for their meeting.

Hey guys, I’m sending you a miracle! We have been in Colorado since last week because Tony has a meeting. We were in Boulder for a few days. We decided to stop at Burger King before we left for Estes Park, Colorado.

As we walked in, we noticed a large group of nicely dressed black kids sitting a couple of tables away and I thought (with affection) these young people must attend the University here at Boulder. Also, around us were sitting a lot of elderly couples enjoying their lunch. We got our burgers, and sat down to a nice meal. Tony was talking about how he wanted to ride his bike up the mountain in Estes Park, while in the background I thought I was hearing profanities. I’d look over and it didn’t look like anyone was saying these things, but I kept hearing them. Then I thought, it must just be the sound of the room, kind of like the sound of watermelon, watermelon, over and over again and Tony wasn’t saying anything about it.

Tony left for the bathroom and suddenly the whole group jumped up and one of the kids jumped over a chair and screams “mother bleeper, I’m going to kill you”. The group broke in two and they were ready to kill each other (most of the elderly couples fled). God came into me and He had me cover them with the blood of Christ, claim their salvation and bind the demons. I personally thought I was going to be shot dead, but I continued. The elderly couple that sat next to me would look at the gang in horror and then look at me (with my hands up praying). They were totally freaked out. It was at the height of anger, hate and violence, when the whole scene just melted. The groups stopped and sat back down like nothing happened.

Tony came out of the bathroom and we left. As we were headed for the car I told him what had just happened, and he goes “where is the map to Estes Park?” LOL. I woke up in the middle of the night and marveled at the power of God. How evil has to be overcome by good. How we have to love the gang members as ourselves, and if we pray, God will move.

Love,

Cathy

The following post on Miracles is by our dear sister we love and miss on earth.  Ruth went Home to be with the LORD.  Her last request  was to please edit her Miracle Testimonies and post on our blog.  It is with joy that she is now with the Lord, yet sad missing her presence with us.  May you be blessed to read her miracle of salvation as well as her husband’s:

Miracle Testimonies

by Ruth Dowler

In 1965, the Lord convicted me one evening that I didn’t know “Jesus.” It bothered me when I’d hear Billy Graham, but I’d say to myself, “I’m ok because I’m a member of First Presbyterian.” My folks were not Christians, so when I became a member of a church I was happy! I had an incredible dream that night and woke filled with joy. I began to pray in the nights. The Lord spoke, “Tell J.L.” I argued, “We never talk about You. He’ll see my joy and ask why I am so happy!” Well it didn’t happen.

In 1968, I attended a prayer group. When I got home I couldn’t sleep. 3 AM, I decided to wake my husband, J.L., and got him “caught up.” 5 AM He turned off my switch. I got up because I still couldn’t sleep. In the living room on my knees, I cried out for Jesus to take my cigarettes. I saw my hands go out to Him holding a yucky ashtray and was immediately delivered! That afternoon I told J.L. He said, “I know when I’m getting thru to God, but I don’t want to give up my cigarettes and whiskey.” I once heard that God doesn’t clean a fish before He catches it. Too bad J.L. didn’t know that. We miss times of visitations, but God is good to set up another visitation down the line.

In 1986, J.L. got a case of bronchitis. Two nights in a row I drove him to the E.R. After looking at the X-rays doctors said his lungs were in bad shape and he needed to quit smoking! J.L. determined to quit. Months later, we had a quarrel and he got a pack of cigarettes. He got hooked again and I did too; it only took one! He tried to stay at a half to one pack. That was a lot better than three packs. I knew it would be unkind to smoke in front of him, so I put my cigarettes in the garage and had to walk out there to get one – got down to five! One day it just happened – no recall of anything dramatic, God just took them! I’ve never wanted one since! Ain’t God good!

In 1987, J.L. was laid off work. It was a shock! Since J.L. knew money would be tight, he said he was going to try to get off whiskey. There was one exception; he planned on treating himself to a drink on Sunday. That was a miracle he didn’t get hooked the other six days! Three months later he remarked how much different he felt. He hadn’t realized how fuzzy his thinking was!

Spring 1988, J.L. said he hadn’t been feeling good for a month and made a doctor’s appointment. X-rays revealed a lung tumor about the size of a lemon. J.L. reminded me he’d had an X-ray the year before. This meant it was fast growing. He spoke the word “hell” enough through the years that he believed there was such a place and he didn’t want to go there. Sunday he stayed home and prayed while I went to church. He refused my help in prayer. When I got home, he was still in Glooms-ville. The following Sunday I left, he prayed. I arrived back home- “How’d you do?” “Well I told God I wanted to come into His Kingdom.” No joy, but that was good news to me!

Next day, Monday, we packed our bags in case we weren’t coming back home from Wichita after seeing the surgeon. The doctor said, “Mr. Dowler, I will arrange for your good lung to be tested this afternoon. If it can sustain your life, it will be “go” for your surgery in the morning. I believe the best choice is to remove the whole lung.” The test was “a go for Tuesday.” I went to the motel on the grounds of Wesley Hospital and J.L. was assigned a room. When I went back he was like a different man, cheerful. I got to pray this time before we parted! It took about five hours in surgery. After the anesthetic wore off, J.L. said he didn’t think it would hurt so bad or he wouldn’t have had it done! By evening he was joking with me.

Wednesday morning in ICU, J.L. related to me that the nurse was not attending him when she heard him talking. She quickly came over to his bed and said, “Mr. Dowler, can I help you?” He said, “No, I was just talking to my Lord!” My heart leaped. I think I heard the bells in heaven ringing! I knew he had received the Lord Jesus (John 1: 12).

J.L. was in a regular room Thursday morning. He phoned our daughter Kristine and me saying, “I sure could use some prayer. When can you girls come over?” He was in the hospital ten days and a cancer specialist checked him out as free from cancer.

J.L. got his strength back. We looked for a house and got ours listed. We found one in Ark City and within a couple weeks sold ours. All the kids came to help us move. It was nice to have everyone home at once. We had his August 15 birthday-63- cake and glad for a few moments! We had a month to unpack and get things in place before J.L. knew he needed to check with the doctor.

The doctor reported the cancer metastasized to his spine and liver. J.L. was in the hospital two weeks. Two weeks later, J.L. collapsed at home on a Friday and went back to the hospital. Sunday morning, he said, “I’m going back from whence I came.” Later (I was home), Kristine sang over him, the pastor was there and other family members. J.L. asked someone to help him hold up his arms so he could praise the Lord.

Later that day, he could no longer speak and pointed to a paper and pen. He drew an oblong frame with six squares in it, like a floor plan, and made dots in the top right corner square. He kept tapping at the square where the dots were, pointing with the pen, trying to get us to understand what he was saying. Monday night he passed. I can only surmise that he asked the Lord to take him Home! Kristine said, “I wonder what Daddy was trying to say to us?” Immediately, I said, “In my Father’s House are many rooms!”

Tuesday morning, I awakened 5:00 AM, aware instantly that half of “me” was gone. Oh, that’s what that verse means, “………and they shall become one flesh.” Such pain! And – there was Jesus at the foot of my bed. He did not speak, but raised His hand over me from my head to my feet. Then the song I often sang, “There is a Balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole. There is a Balm in Gilead, to heal the sin sick soul.” Then our Savior was gone. Such pain – result of death – was swallowed up in joy inexpressible and full of glory – such Life!