Expect a miracle

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Expect a miracle!  When you hear that, what do you think of?  Jesus feeding the 5,000? or turning water into wine? or how about bringing the dead back to life, such as Lazarus?  Webster's dictionary defines a miracle as being an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.  One miracle event you may not think of is found in Luke 4 where Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, which says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me...to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed..."  Then He says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it."  The people had been waiting for a long time for the Messiah, looking for the good news and deliverance Isaiah prophesied.   Jesus says it's Him.  The divine intervention in human affairs.  The Miracle One.  This year our church is focusing on a different kind of Christmas, with an emphasis that now as Christians, we are co-workers -- co-miracle workers, with Jesus.   This task and responsibility is at the top of our "to do" list, looking for ways to partner with God, and to share God's love and care.  One way of doing that is to partner with Children & Family Urban Ministries (CFUM) here in central Iowa.  Carmen Lampe Zeitler, Executive Director, shared what this ministry is doing, and needs they have.  She referred to Luke 7 when John the Baptist was imprisoned, and sent two disciples to Jesus, to ask Jesus if He was the one.  Jesus responded, "Report to John what you've seen and heard -- the blind can now see, the crippled can now walk, the diseased skin is now cleansed, the deaf can now hear, the dead are now raised up, and the good news is preached to the poor!"  Miracles by the Miracle Worker!  Now it's our turn -- ordinary people doing extraordinary things with the help of the Holy Spirit!   A leader once said, "Christianity is not about how we feel on Sunday morning, it's about what kind of world children wake up to on Monday morning."

Gene Kelsey, Director of Christian Education