Friday,
June 9, 2023
Once we were safe on
shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The
people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on
the shore to welcome us. As
Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous
snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The
people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A
murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped
the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” But Paul
shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The
people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw
that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. Near the shore where we landed was an
estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three
days. As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever
and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed
for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. Then
all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. As
a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people
supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. Acts 28:1-10
Many of us read accounts
of healing miracles, and how the power of God was all over Paul’s daily life’s
journey….and we think: I could never
do that. And, for most of us…we’re
right. The chief reason is that God
never called us to be Paul, or Peter, or John, healing with a short prayer,
walking on water, or feeding a crowd of five thousand with a few loaves and
fishes. I’m relatively certain God never
called me to test that whole snake-handling thing.
So, what is the
reason for seeing this account in Scripture?
Like any miracle, God’s reasons
are His. However, we can say that most
miracles are for our encouragement, to help our faith understand Who is in
control, no matter what the circumstances.
Miracles also teach us that our compassionate God cares about us, and
that we ought to care for others. But
the problem is that we fail to connect the dots about our part
in the miracles God wants to do. Hmm….say
a little more about that, preacher; glad you asked.
Miracles come in all
walks of life, and to people with strong faith, and to people with little
faith, or even those who doubt God even exists.
And miracles are entirely a gift which is in God’s hand, not because of
some innate power any human being possesses.
The way miracles show up is surprising.
Sometimes it is as private as a prayer at three-o’clock in the morning,
when your child has spiked a 104° fever for five hours, and you’re at your wits-end; you’ve
prayed half-a night over that child, and she keeps getting sicker. Suddenly, out of nowhere, that kid wants a
hamburger, and her skin is cooled, the temperature is down. Four hours later she’s on her way to
school.
Your house’s sick
heating system needs to be replaced, and the leaves are falling; winter’s on
the way, and your bank account is as sick as the furnace. You never expected to open a manilla envelope
at the mailbox, and discover $4,000 in cash, with the unsigned note that
said: Hope this comes in handy.
For You Today
There are about 2,500 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper explore
some of these: Signs and Killing Two Birds with One Fish and Understanding a Miracle
Title Image: via Wikimedia Commons Images without citation are in
public domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted
from The New Living Translation©
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