Are Miracles Still For Today or a Thing Of The Past?

It is sad this this has actually become a debatable topic among Christians today. But I will answer this question quickly with a scripture.

John 14:11-13 (NIV) "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son"

Look at what Jesus did: healing the sick, healing the lame, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, etc.! Yet he is saying we can do these same things and even greater things in His name!  

So if the Bible is so clear on this, why are we even debating it amongst Christians as a thing for today or a thing of the past? A missionary friend of mine said it best when he told me "If you really want to see God move, you need to go to places where they don't doubt God in any way. In these other countries where they don't know any better, God does some amazing stuff."

It is so true. We have become a society of skepticism. In a world of video graphics, optical illusions, and slight of hand tricks, people don't believe it when they see it. They are convinced what they are witnessing is just a ploy and a mirage.  

Instead of trying to argue with you on the subject, I am going to rather share just a few stories of numerous miracles I have witnessed first hand over the years. To me, first hand accounts carry a tremendous amount of weight when debating this subject.

Keep in mind, for time-sake, these are very condensed versions of the stories. The full versions are amazing in themselves.  

I have witnessed life altering miracles. I met a young boy (3 or 4 years old) in a nursery about 8 or 9 years ago that was completely blind. He had absolutely zero eyesight at the time. I called him over to me, laid hands on him, and prayed over him. This was despite having a woman stand over my shoulder and say "What are you doing? You are giving this family false hope!" That boy immediately started to see light. He couldn't see shapes or forms yet, but he could see light. It may not seem like much to you, but to that boy and his mother it was everything. Slowly over time he gained more and more sight, and within 2 years he regained his sight completely!

I have witnessed miracles that resulted in a dead man coming back to life. In 2000-2001 we were preaching in Ree Heights, SD. It was with our ministry Bull Riders For Christ. We would do this thing called "tag-team preaching" where we would preach and tag off to each other. It was quite fun actually. In the middle of Tim Stuen preaching, a man keeled over dead in the crowd. He was even confirmed dead by a nurse that was there (and also by the huge mess he made where he was sitting when he died). I didn't see it happen as it was behind me and had no idea what was going on until a little later. As they were dragging his body out of the meeting Tim tagged off to me, ran outside and laid hands on the man. Long story short the man came back to life right there in the foyer.  

I have witnessed faith-building miracles. Sometime around 2000 we were in Ft. Worth, TX for the Tuff Hedeman Challenge PBR. My friend, Todd Pierce, had caught the tip of a flank strap directly in the eye ball. I can not even begin to tell you how bad his eye looked. When I saw it I told him, "We are going to pray over your eye and it is going to be healed." So we laid hands on it and prayed over it. Shortly afterwards Tandy Freeman, who is a doctor at many of the Professional Rodeo Events, told Todd he needed to get to the hospital right away because the eye was in really bad shape. Todd replied, and I'll never forget this for some reason, "Actually we just prayed over this eye and it is going to be fine. So whenever the bull riding is over, then we will go to the hospital and have it looked at." Long story short when he and I finally left the arena to find the hospital, the exit Tandy told us to take off of the interstate to the hospital was closed. I was a teenager at the time and I was terrified of driving in a city. This was before iPhones and GPS, and I didn't dare trust ole pirate eye in the passenger seat to guide us in by map. So needless to say we got lost........very lost. We had been driving for quite awhile and prayed that we would finally find a hospital. Right then we turned at a stop sign and, BOOM, there was a hospital right in front of us. It was close to 2:00 AM now. All of that time wasted at the Bull Riding, driving around lost, stopping to chase an armadillo (because I was from South Dakota and had never seen one in person), his eye should have only gotten worse. Instead when the doctor looked at his eye it was completely and fully healed!  

I have witnessed miracles that made people believe in God.  Back in the late 90's I had a friend who I recently had a conversation with, shortly before this incident, about how he was skeptical about God. He was a bull rider and tore his groin, which is a common injury in rodeo. This one was bad though. The whole inside of his leg was turning all shades of black and blue. I told him, "We are going to pray over this, and you will see that God is real!" So I laid hands.......on his knee (no need to lay directly on the injury), and we witnessed the black and blue disappear before our eyes. His leg actually felt better than it had in years within 5 minutes of us praying. I saw him at a Men's Conference a couple years ago and he is still following God whole-heartedly.  

I have witnessed miracles that proved God truly does care for each individual personally.  I have two really cool stories for this one; one resulting in God taking over a teen's iPod (way cool story). But I have to share the peanut story instead because it is probably my all time favorite story. So I was fishing with a friend of mine, Duke Edwards, who is currently pastoring a church in Wyoming. He brought a young man (I am excluding his name for reasons you will see in a minute) with him that was very interesting, and a blast to be around. To preface this young man real quickly, before he had accepted Christ into his life he had a drunken incident with a Colt .45 that resulted in him shoving the pistol into the front of his pants and the gun going off. Um...yeah. Where there were 2, now there is 1. I could honestly write an entire book of funny stories with this kid, who I absolutely love, but we don't have time. Back to the story. We were fishing and he brought up the question "How can God care for me? There are billions of people in this world, I don't understand how God could have the time to care for me personally when there are all these other things going on." Great question that I hear quite often actually. So we stopped fishing -- and by stopped fishing I mean stopped reeling because, no joke, I actually caught a fish while praying with him -- and prayed that God would show Himself to this young man in a way that He knew God was speaking to him directly; showing him that He cared for him personally.

After fishing we went to a restaurant to eat. It was one of those restaurants where you eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. Duke and I were talking about God's sense of humor when Duke's friend sprouted off something to the tune of "Of course God has a sense of humor. Ha ha! Not funny God!". Duke and I were trying to figure out what he was talking about. But then he started opening peanuts in front of us, and every single peanut he was opening -- no joke -- had only one peanut in the two peanut shell. 

What is so cool about this story is that God knew well before that day that this young man would be asking this question and that we would be praying what we did. God knew we would be in that restaurant. So well before this ever happened He had a bunch of peanuts with only one peanut in them find their way to a bag that found its way to that restaurant, then they found their way to that bucket in that order so that when he was sitting there he would pick them up one by one. Think about that and let it sink in for a little while, because the full depth of it blows my mind.

I have witnessed miracles that are truly unexplained. We were at a Cowboys Ministers Conference in Oklahoma City back in the late 90's. Everyone was having fun during the day, and our friend Rope Myers realized that night, since he was having so much fun during the day, he forget to call and enter the NFR (National Finals Rodeo -- equivalent of the Rodeo Super Bowl) which the deadline was that day. If someone missed the entries, you have to understand, their spot goes to an alternate and they don't get to compete. This is an extremely bad situation because Rope was competing for a World Title that year. Long story short, a bunch of the men prayed with him and first thing the next morning he called the PRCA office to find that his name was showing in the computer as called and entered even though he never called and none of his friends entered him on their behalf.

I have witnessed miracles that are simply just miracles of God showing you how much He loves you. I could write a whole book on miracles I have seen in my own life. But a couple weeks ago I was mowing my yard and ran out of gas in my jug. I didn't have time to go fill up my jug. Halfway through mowing the front yard my lawn mower went bone dry. Condensed version of the story: I laid hands on it, it started up, and I went on to mow the rest of the front yard and all of the back yard on empty. This is about 2 hours worth of mowing where I typically have to fill the tank 2 more times in that stretch. As I pushed my mower over the last blade of grass, the lawnmower sputtered and died. 

I am telling all of these stories to say one thing. There is no argument against miracles that will make a difference to me. Why? Because I have witnessed it first hand on numerous occasions. These truly are only a few examples of hundreds I have seen over my short lifetime. 

Why do these miracles keep happening around me? Do I have some type of special prayer God listens to more than others?  Absolutely not!  I simply hold God to His word that everything I ask for in Christ's name he will do.  Then I don't waiver in my faith that He will do what He promised. Some happen right away, some take time to fully develop. But I know God will come through on His promise.

Where we go wrong is when we are scared to "disappoint someone" if their prayer isn't answered. So we throw in that line "If it be your will God that they be healed..." just in case it doesn't happen like we plan. I have news for you, it is His will!  If you don't believe me then read through your Bible.  It is full of examples of God promising it to those who believe in Him. 

Don't be afraid to pray for God to work miracles in your life and then believe Him that He will do it. I'd rather get to heaven and have God tell me I believed in Him too much than have Him tell me I didn't believe in Him enough!..

Don't Let Your Dreams Get In The Way Of God's Vision

We have all been there. I have been one of the worst at times! God gives us a vision, a direction, a piece of the puzzle that makes our focus line up with His will for our life. Then we sit back and start to dream about all of the possibilities that come with that vision. While it is ok to dream, my warning to you today is don't let those dreams get in the way of and choke out God's vision.  

No matter how big and how far you can dream of what God has in store for you, it will never be farther or greater than what God truly has planned. The problem is, our dreams tend to promote ourself while God's vision promotes His Kingdom. If you are not careful you will let your dreams choke out God's vision, then pride kicks in, and you are no longer seeking God's direction in the matter but rather what promotes your dream. Then it falls, fails, and crumbles apart because God is no longer a part of the plan; it is only you calling the shots.  

What we have to realize is that if we follow God's plan for the situation and humble ourselves to where we are entirely out of the equation - exalting God's Kingdom and vision over our self-promotion - God will end up exalting us as well.  

Luke 18:14 says "...for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Patience is the key when following God's plan for our lives. Joseph is a prime example. God gave him a dream, a vision for his future. Instead of being patient he immediately blurted it out to everyone, using it as an opportunity to promote himself to his brothers. As a result he was humbled, very humbled. 

Usually with God's call on our life there is a process that must take place before that vision can fully come to fruition. We want things to happen right away. We have no patience for God to bring it all together in His timing, not ours. We get frustrated when we know it is something God wants us to be doing, yet the opportunities are not there to do it yet. But God has a plan, a path, and a process we must follow to get there on His timing. 

We have to be careful not to jump at every opportunity that looks like God's vision because it fits our dreams. Even though it looks right, it may not be fully what God has planned. When we follow God's path for His vision, not ours, God will bless you exponentially along the way. Then when it finally does come to fruition it will be amazing. 

One of my best friends had something happen to him just recently that fits perfectly into this Nugget. He is a Professional Rodeo Cowboy who has been rodeoing for quite some time now. He is also an ordained minister that has a call on his life to minister and knows he will be a pastor some day. He is in that transition stage where he could retire (and nobody would think twice about him doing it) or he could keep rodeoing (and nobody would think twice about him doing it).  

His vision is ministry over rodeo, I know this from numerous conversations on the subject. I have no doubt in my mind that if God asked him to he would drop everything and do whatever God asked. I know he wants nothing more than to be able to minister for a living. So when an opportunity recently came up where he was offered a job to be the pastor of a church, everything would look like it was God's vision and plan for his life. But my friend was smart and prayed about it first, knowing that not everything that is available is truly God's plan and timing. God told him that he is still suppose to be rodeoing, so he turned the job offer down. That doesn't mean that this church isn't where God wants Him to be, but it is still not God's timing. Could he be pastoring that same exact church down the rode? Sure! But only God truly knows where He wants my friend to be.

So here is the cool part of the story. He turned down a job offer, which is hard to do as a rodeo cowboy who has been in it as many years as he has. The years he has made the NFR (National Finals Rodeo - the equivalent of the Super Bowl to Rodeo Athletes) in the past he has had to pay anywhere from $45,000-$55,000 in expenses to get there.  Rodeo is very expensive, and if you don't make the NFR you are more than likely looking at a loss in expenses for the year. But God told him he was still suppose to be rodeoing, so he listened without question knowing God would supply. 

So my friend, just by being who he is and showing God's love everywhere he goes, was approached by some men he had met through the process of rodeo. Long story short they approached him about a sponsorship because his character lined up with what they wanted to be represented by. This is unheard of in rodeo because normally you have to approach the businesses and practically beg them for sponsorships. Long story short, I won't go into all the details, but they picked him up as a sponsor that will more than cover all his expenses for the next couple or years as well as buying him a new truck!  Now tell me that isn't God!

I am telling this story to prove my point. God has a vision, a will, a plan for each and every one of our lives. That plan involves promoting His Kingdom over ourselves.  God has the perfect timing and place for that vision to come to fruition. If we stay the course He has set out for us, not deviating from His plan, we will find that He will bless us along that route and process of maturing to the point of being able to land where God has planned all along.  

How Come I Am Following God, Yet They Are Winning?

This is an age old question that many Christians face; may it be in their workplace, career, or competition. I have numerous friends in the rodeo industry, many at the elite-top of their game professionally. This is a question I have faced myself and in conversation with friends on any level, from amateur competition all the way up to the best of the best in the pros. How come it is I am the one following God, I am the one putting myself out there on the line serving Him, and yet I am sitting here watching those "heathens" win when it should be me?!  

There has been many conversations between friends over this subject. After many years of seeking God for the answer I believe I finally have it. Are you ready for it?....... Who cares! Who cares if they are winning! Let me explain myself with a couple mistakes we make in the process of this thinking.  

Our first mistake is in where our focus is being directed. Is your focus on their success?  Is your focus on their lack of respect towards God? Do you have a "Pharisee mindset" where your focus is more on the appearance of your walk with God to others than your actual walk with God?  

That begs the question, where should our focus be? Romans 12:1-2 has the key. I absolutely love how The Message bible worded this scripture.  

"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Right there it says instead of becoming so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking, fix your attention to God. That's right, your focus should be on God.  That doesn't make sense? Keep reading it will all come together. By putting our focus on what other people are doing instead of focusing solely on God, presenting ourselves and every part of our lives as an offering, a living sacrifice, we are automatically conforming ourselves to this world; fitting into it without even noticing. We start to hold a grudge against that person. We start to harbor un-forgiveness towards that person. When our focus strays away from God we begin to lose focus on our true purpose of being there.    

Which leads us to our second mistake. We make the mistake in believing that our value comes from our success. The truth of the matter is, God could give a diddly-squat if you are winning or not. He wants to know what you are doing with the talents He has given you to reach those around you. Hear me out on this.  

God doesn't place value on you by your title or successes in life. When we get to heaven He isn't going to sit there and marvel at your gold buckle; he has streets full of them! He isn't going to say "you know what, you worked your way to the top of your company.  You were the best at your business. Come on in!".  No! He is going to say "Well done my good and faithful servant!"  

By holding a grudge and harboring un-forgiveness towards someone we are hindering any chance of ever showing them God's true love. Have you ever wondered if their lack of respect towards God has anything to do with the way you treat them? Think about it. Most of them the only "God" they see is you. So when you hold a grudge against them because their actions don't meet your "par of standards" and your jealousy kicks in - because let's face it, that's what it truly boils down to being - you aren't showing them God's true love. You are instead showing them what the world views as Christianity and fueling their feelings to never want to follow God.  

Sometimes we need to swallow our pride and look at the full picture. Once we can realize that our value isn't in our title and successes, that our value isn't in our accomplishments but rather in the difference we make to those around us; your whole view of life and career will change.  

Now does this mean that God doesn't want you to succeed? Absolutely not! That's not at all what I said. I said God doesn't place His value in your successes and titles. But as a result of following God, we will succeed and be blessed in everything our hand touches.  

But it's a vicious cycle when we take our focus off of God and start harboring un-forgiveness towards others. I view un-forgiveness like a beaver dam that blocks our river of blessings. God is still sending the blessings our way, but our un-forgiveness blocks them from coming through. We can get fooled into thinking our life is fine and dandy because some blessings still trickle through when the truth is most of our blessings are being blocked and not even getting through to us. Imagine what the blessings would be like if you let go of that grudge and truly forgave people in the bottom of your heart! You wouldn't be able to press it down or shake it together to keep it from overflowing.  

If you want to make a difference with your life get your focus off of what other people are doing and start focusing on what God wants you to be doing. Then sit back and watch God work not only in your life but also in the lives around you. Don't be surprised when you find your view of success change from titles and money to getting more excited when those you previously couldn't stand are now asking you questions about how to get their life right with God..