Many people, even dedicated Christians, read about the miracles in the New Testament as if they were reports from an ancient parallel universe. But consider:

A leper is healed in the market place.

A paralyzed man leaps from his bed.

A small bit of food feeds a large group.

Storm clouds turn on a dime.

The Gospel is preached in one language, but heard in another.

A desperate woman with a flow of blood is healed.

A demonized man, chained up for years, is delivered and set free.

Withered limbs are restored.

The deaf hear; the blind see.

A girl is raised from the dead.

And Jesus appears in a vision to one of His chief persecutors.

Great historical events by any measure. However, in these cited cases, all the above miracles have happened in the last 15 years!

Miracles are happening like popcorn when it starts popping. That alone is amazing, but these miracles are also attracting global numbers that no movement in history has ever seen. For some reason, this phenomenal growth seems to be bypassing North America and Europe, where the overall growth rate is otherwise nearing zero. So when a Yank, Euro or Canuck hears these things for the first time, it comes as a major revelation, as we’ve gotten so used to being on a no-growth treadmill.

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Christian Trivia Quiz  from Mega Shift

Which of the following are based on the New Testament?

Going to a church building on Sunday                        Jazzy costumes

Buildings with fat mortgages                                        Welch’s Grape Juice for communion

Seminaries                                                                     Denominations

Sitting silently in rows                                                    Divisions based on pet doctrines

Sermons by a pastor                                                     Rudolph and the Easter Bunny

Programmed services                                                  Control freak pastor

Awww, that was too easy, wasn’t it? You already knew these things all crept in long after the Bible was finished. Most of them came after Emperor Constantine issued his Edict of Milan in 313 AD, making Christianity legal (and profitable).

A harder question now shut your eyes and try to imagine today’s church without any of the above bric-a-brac. What would it look like?

Tough, isn’t it? About all that’s left are you and the Lord and some good friends having a great time together! Well, that was the early church…..In other words, most everything in today’s church is foreign to the Bible! That doesn’t mean it’s all bad. Just distracting, perhaps. Or expensive. Or maybe a colossal, monumental, hippopotami waste of time.

At the very least, we can say this with confidence, the traditional western, institutionalized church of today rests solidly upon a foundation of digressions from Scripture. [by Jim Rutz -Mega Shift]

Grant Montgomery – Grant’s Rants on Modern Day Miracles