Miracles Welcome | Miracles Give Me Hope

I find MIRACLES to be a daunting topic to write about. Not sure what images come to your mind, but I see Jesus calming the storm after being asleep on the boat, dividing a little boy’s lunch into enough to feed thousands of people, or comforting a grieving mother and raising her child from the dead. I think of the disciples spilling into the streets after experiencing the Holy Spirit or Paul reviving the guy who fell out of the window when he was preaching. I think of today watching video testimonies of men and women with restored sight or marginalized people reaching success despite overwhelming odds and hardships.

I’m not sure that every follower of Jesus sees one of those “biggie” miracles in their lifetime. Not that they aren’t happening today and not that I don’t ask for them. I would just propose that there may be something the Lord teaches in the example of those who came before us. When the Hebrew people were freed from slavery in Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, the Lord taught them to annually remember and celebrate the Passover. When they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, they were instructed to collect 12 large stones from the river bed to construct an altar on the other side as a remembrance. Jesus did the same thing at the last supper. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Those big moments were important and powerful for those who witnessed them as miraculous, and the stories have since been passed down from generation to generation. When people found themselves in the middle of a hardship, they were comforted with the reminders of hope that God did it before and could do it again. You see, Miracles Give Us Hope! This hope for the things unseen.

I often challenge myself to read a Psalm a day. The psalms are full of these “hope in the hardship” remembrance reflections. Psalm 77 struck me recently with this. It starts low:

1 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.

7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?

And then in the second half the author begins to reflect on God’s previous miracles and feels the hope begin to well up:

10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that I didn’t think most Jesus followers necessarily experience the “biggie” miracles. And though that may be true, I do get to reflect back on my own simple, beautiful life. The valleys that God walked through with me remind me of my Healer, the recognition of my failures reminds me of my Savior, and the order in which these events were strung together points me to my Creator.

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About the Author

Mike has been serving as an Assistant Pastor at CitySalt Church for over three years, while working as a part time stay-at-home dad to his two awesome children. He loves connecting with people over coffee to hear their story and helping people discover the fullness that God has for them through His Scriptures and His Spirit.

Miracles Welcome | Miracles in the Movies

When I think about miracles, I find it hard to see them in my life. Miracles in the Bible always seemed momentous: mountains moving, seas opening to allow people to safely pass while drowning their enemies when they try to pursue. Or even smaller miracles of healing and changing water to wine. So when someone references a miracle, I wonder, how many lives were saved? When I lost my job and God granted me a new job when we had just purchased a new home, was it miraculous? Perhaps.

In this context, I thought about what was going on in my life lately, and something came to mind.

In the last year, I have participated in two book studies where we talked about race. These books and discussions put race in the forefront of my mind and this view of the black experience caused me to reflect on the movie The Black Panther and I thought, what a great time for it to come out!

I have been a comic book fan from way back. I have always enjoyed them--the stories of Superman and Spiderman, Peter Parker and Clark Kent. But these heroes were white. I could easily relate to them and their experience. When The Black Panther came out, depicting black culture, the experience of a black hero and an almost all black cast, I was very excited.

Was it a miracle?

Well, no, not really. It was God’s children using their God-given gifts of intelligence and creativity to make something fun and spectacular. I took my nephew to the movie and we both were blown away. Characters ranging from moral to not-so-moral, revealed in fully fleshed-out three-dimensional stories. Led by the performance of a dashing, handsome, humble, and truly amazing actor, Chadwick Boseman.

Was this a miracle?

Not necessarily, although, in one interview Chadwick states that he had been praying for this part since he heard that the movie was happening. Was it a gift from God? Chadwick was quoted as saying, “When God has something for you, it doesn’t matter who stands against it.”

And then, earlier this year, I heard about Chadwick Boseman passing away. He was just 43 years old and died from cancer that had been discovered in 2016. He had filmed four movies playing an action superhero while fighting cancer. I can’t imagine how much pain and struggle he endured while working so hard on these films, and fighting stage III cancer. And he remained positive, humble, and inspiring – a reflection of the character he portrayed. Humble. Inspiring. Inclusive. Loving.

Was this a miracle?

For him to play such an inspiring part in such an inspiring movie at a time when we need heroes, even fictional ones, to look up to—and both the Black Panther and Chadwick Boseman are heroes--I would say that this was miraculous. Not the seas parting for Moses perhaps, but somewhat of a pillar of fire for people to follow. Not manna from Heaven, but something to feed us spiritually.

Art can be fun and entertaining and moving, but some artistic expressions come together to inspire something greater. I believe The Black Panther is such a film. That Chadwick Boseman was able to complete the filming of these movies and see the inspiration they have been for people across the world was awesome.

His passing is a tragedy in this year of tragedies. That he was able to give us his performance as the Black Panther and King T’Challa before he left us, was miraculous.

Rest In Power, Chadwick Boseman

Wakanda Forever

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About the Author

Mark lives in Oregon with his lovely wife, Darla and enjoys reading, writing, playing games and working to make the world a better place. He currently serves CitySalt church as a sound engineer and on the church council.

Miracles Welcome | Thin Places: Seeking God while Parenting in a Global Pandemic

This summer, the constant background noise of my mind has been the semi-panicked thought loop of: “The schools have to reopen this fall. I cannot have a repeat of the spring.”

Unfortunately for me, this past week our school district made the announcement that fall will be entirely online. I am in a sad/mad/fearful/confused state about this decision. I am angry at the challenges this poses to my family as well as the wide-reaching inequities this exposes — families that can pay for childcare or private tutors will do so. Other families will be left scrambling and be forced to leave kids mostly unsupervised. In many cases, moms will be the ones figuring out how to juggle childcare and homeschooling responsibilities with work, while dads are able to continue working mostly undisturbed.

Children will fall behind academically, but even more seriously, they will be at higher risk for abuse and neglect as support for families reaches an all-time low. Additionally, many kids rely on eating free breakfast and lunch at school 5 days a week. Even when schools continue to provide free meals, families may lack the transportation to come pick up food.

I do take the risks of COVID very seriously and realize that there is no perfect solution. We can’t avoid risk entirely, but we need to minimize it. I adopted mask-wearing in March and wish that everyone would have done so. As one article I recently read stated, “this isn’t rocket science.” We know what we need to do.

I wish so much that I could change the past, that I could wave a wand and our nation could have developed a better response to COVID that would now allow local schools to safely reopen. I wish so much that I could change other people’s choices in the present, that everyone would comply perfectly with mask-wearing and social-distancing so that this nightmare could be over. I cannot change either of those things. I can only control my own response (and sometimes even that seems difficult).

So how will my family get through this next season of remote learning? I’m not sure. Like, really unsure, and because of this, I’ve been praying for help. It’s one of the most basic prayers, “God if you’re listening, please help.” Save our ship.

Since I’ve been praying directly for help more, a few things have arisen. I put my daughter on the list for a fall childcare option that sounds functional, and made plans for my mom to babysit/homeschool my 5-year-old son. I have had a couple of outdoor meet-ups with friends, and just seeing friends in real life made me feel better. A retired K-3 teacher offered to help me with tutoring. My supervisor at work told me they’re looking into ways to support staff with children under age 10.

There aren’t many bright sides to this pandemic, but one idea that’s been resonating with me lately is the Celtic idea of “thin places” — places where the veil between the spiritual and physical world is thin. These are places where we may feel the presence of the divine, or perhaps experience the miraculous.

I’ve been in thin places a few times, or perhaps I should clarify, places that were thin to me. In the trailer where I taught fourth grade at a tiny mission school in northeast Portland, praying with my students daily about their little and big concerns. On a study abroad trip to West Africa, the Holy Spirit seemed almost as present as the smell of diesel fuel permeating the air. Hiking through Mt. Pisgah Arboretum with my family.

Could the idea of thin places also apply to times in our lives, and could this season become one of them for me? Could it for you? I believe that sometimes, when we come to the end of our rope, when our resources are tapped out and we can’t go any farther on our own strength — those are the times when God is able to work most powerfully in our lives.

I certainly feel thinned out, with so much of my sense of control and normalcy missing. What remains when we lose our illusions of control?

Small moments. Great blue herons fishing in the river. Hummingbirds in my backyard. My son giggling. Reading to my daughter before bed. Knowing that I still enjoy spending time with my husband after 16 years together.

Faith, hope, and love.

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About the Author

Ursula and her husband Spencer have two young children, and their family enjoys playing hide-and-seek and dancing in the living room. She works as a communications and events coordinator with the University of Oregon.

You can read more from Ursula at motherbearblog.com.

Miracles Welcome | Miracles Start in the Heart

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Note: If you don’t have time to read this, skip down to the end and listen to the awesome song I posted a link to. It is very inspiring and encouraging.

In times of crisis, I hear this verse a lot (and boy, is our world in crisis now). People draw comfort from it. Sometimes they become zealous because of it, calling everyone to repentance of sin. This is not a bad thing. But I feel like sometimes the focus is not in the right place.

We, as Christians can tend to focus on the more overt sins of “others” - promiscuity, abuse, crime, whatever. Turn from your wicked ways, and our land will be healed. But we forget the first two commands in the verse.

First, we need to humble ourselves. OURSELVES. Not humble others. This involves a willingness to hear from God regarding what we ourselves need to repent of. The answer may be much less obvious things than the “big sins” we focus on.

It could be egotistical pride. Imagine what could be done in our states and countries if all the people, including leaders, worked together in humility! Or if we, including myself, would pray for our leaders instead of complaining about them or making fun of them?

It could be an insensitive attitude: “Why are they so upset? That’s not my fault.” (This is not a partisan statement; I think we’ve all been guilty of this.)

Maybe we need to repent of hopelessness or despair, which is in essence a lack of faith. Yeah, that’s the one that I’m struggling with the most lately. I know in my head that God is in control, but wow, it’s so hard to convince my heart of that sometimes.

That’s why I think the biggest miracles aren’t the obvious things we can see. Sure, the parting of the Red Sea or the feeding of thousands of people from a few fish and bread loaves and things like that are amazing, but I want to challenge us (yup, including me), to seek the unseen miracles. The miracles of the heart. First by humbling ourselves. And then by seeking His face.

This second step is just as abstract and seemingly elusive as the first one. But it is not as hard as we make it out to be. And it is crucial. Come to God with a humble heart, willing to listen. Ask Him where we need changes in our heart. We might not like what we hear. But it is for our best, for His glory, and evidently a necessary step for the wide-scale miracle of healing our land. And best of all, it brings us into a closer relationship with Him! Pour out your heart. The good, the bad, and the ugly. He can handle it. Changing your heart may take time. Hearing from Him may take time. That’s okay. Keep seeking Him. Keep pressing in. Keep an open heart, willing to listen.

And of course, we then need to act on what we hear. Turn our hearts to His ways, not our own. Repent of any “wickedness,” even if it’s not an action but a hardness of heart. Then, we will start to see miracles. Sure, we may not see a vaccine or cure for Covid-19 right away, or economic recovery from the damage done by it. We may not see full racial reconciliation in our community/country/world right away. But we will start to see small miracles in our own heart and in the hearts of those around us. And I believe that those small miracles have a cumulative effect.

We may need to come together as a church or a country in corporate repenting and lamenting our sins. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel did this sometimes, and prophets and other leaders led and took part in a nationwide time of lamenting and repenting, even if the leaders hadn’t participated in the sin themselves. Ezra and Daniel are examples of this. I took part in the Be the Bridge book study here at CitySalt, and the author Latasha Morrison reminds us of this concept. It will definitely take humility and wisdom from God, which is why 2 Chronicles 7:14 starts out with those steps. It’s easy to say “I wasn’t part of that,” but if I have benefitted from it, I can still take part in the lamenting and repenting of it, and be a part of the miracle that God promises in the end of the verse. This is a polarizing concept in our country right now, and I don’t want to make anyone feel pressure for this regarding any specific issue we’re facing. I believe it will come about naturally if we are willing to come to God in humility and seek His wisdom by listening to the Holy Spirit, and acting on that.

I want to leave you with something that greatly encouraged my heart this week. At the Teen Challenge thrift store, I picked up a few used CDs, including a newer Kirk Franklin album. The second song is called, fittingly, “Miracles.” It’s about how we ourselves are God’s miracles. It inspired my thoughts for this post on how the biggest miracles are in our hearts. And it brought me hope and joy. Please take a few minutes to listen to it when you get a chance, because I think it may do the same for you.

Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment Miracles · Kirk Franklin / 柯克富蘭克林 Losing My Religion ℗ 2015 RCA Records a division on Sony Music Entertainmen...

Also, I found this article by John Piper to be helpful in understanding the miracle of God healing our hardness of heart so we can see Him more clearly: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-god-opens-the-eyes-of-the-heart

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About the Author

Jessie is an educator, she currently teaches teens and has taught overseas. She is also a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a (long-neglected) blog about the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her trusty sidekick cat, Arwen in the foothills of South Eugene, where she can go hiking within minutes of the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

Miracles Welcome | Everyday Miracles

"Do YOU believe in miracles?" exclaimed shocked announcer Al Michaels at the end of the 1980 Winter Olympics hockey match, after the US rag-tag assortment of college players defeated the 4-time reigning champion Soviet team. Was this really a miracle? An underdog long-shot for sure, and with sports and national passion aflame, that heart-stopping ending certainly felt like one.

Faith themes do balloon before us when the big game or other important life issues are at stake. I mean who among us hasn't silently, or overtly in the heat of the moment, prayed for just the perfect outcome?

We've reserved the idea of miracles to a last resort scenario, backs against the wall, with our hopes and dreams on the line. It's also an interesting blurring of the lines between the spiritual and secular. As someone once quipped (probably me), there are way more than a few newly reformed atheists on their deathbed.

But is all this the right way to live? I mean, has our western independence and self-sufficiency kept us at a bargaining, "pact with God" level of relationship - when all other hope is gone? It's even a cultural cliche´, displayed in books and movies: "You know God, I've not always been at my best, but if you come through for me just THIS time, I promise ..." Not sure if any of that has actually increased my (I mean our) odds.

Miracles come with a high cost and should not be treated like 3 wishes from the genie in the bottle. They should remain holy and divine. But in Jesus' time on the earth, they were also sandals-in-the-dust, everyday tools. Sure, his amazing acts demonstrated love and compassion, but they were also teaching moments, with a faith component attached. Not just believe in THE MIRACLE, but believe in Jesus, and enter into and stay in relationship with him and the Father.

How many of us would thrive in or even want to be in a one-sided, superficial relationship? A rhetorical question for sure, because the answer is obvious. Just like our earthly parents, God birthed us, raised us up, taught (and is teaching) us many great life lessons. He also loves to act on our behalf and certainly will bless us with wonderful gifts. But like our earthly relationships, it's all about connection. He deeply desires our company. In cultural-speak, he wants to be there for us. But he also wants us to be with him!

Yes, miracles are as exciting as gazing up at Yosemite's lofty granite towers, but after the adrenaline rush ends, there's still the day-to-day living and relating to our Father. All these subtle moments add up to wholeness. Their sum total is the real miracle.

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About the Author

Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.