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I was watching a video by J.D. Greear recently. He said something thought provoking. He said 35 of the 40 miracles recorded in the book of Acts happen outside the church.* So, I started looking at the miracles in the book of Acts. Here’s some examples:
- In Acts 3 the healing of a crippled man created an opportunity to preach Jesus.
- In Acts 5 the apostles are arrested and jailed. An angel releases them and they continue to preach. In a similar way Peter was released in Acts 12.
- In Acts 8:5-6, Philip proclaimed the Messiah. People paid attention to him because of the signs he performed.
- In Acts 14:19-20 Paul is stoned and left for dead. But he rises after the disciples gather around him. Was this an answer to their prayer?
- In Acts 19:11-12 Paul did extraordinary miracles, which seemed to power a revival in Ephesus.
didn’t look at all the miracles. Yes, there were miracles in the church, such as the death of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5 and the return of life to Eutychus in Acts 20:9-12. But overall, it does seem that God’s power was focused on spreading the news about Jesus.
When we consider God’s miracles, it should encourage us to pray and trust him. He has the power to do more than we can imagine! We should also pray his power will glorify Jesus and spread his word!
*J.D. Greear, The Book of Ephesians, RightNow Media, 2016, Session 5, https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/195647
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.