Dr Paul Allen

His daughter was dying, and Jesus had been diverted. Jesus looked directly at him and said to Jairus, "Only believe"   This means shifting our focus from the size of your problem to the size of your faith in God. It is a practical choice to trust Jesus when you feel overwhelmed. 1. Identify and Name the Fear: Acknowledge the anxiety . Do not ignore your panic, stress, or doubt. Surrender it: Visually or mentally hand that specific problem over to God, admitting that you cannot fix it on your own.  2. Guard Your Atmosphere. Filter the noise: In the Bible story, Jesus removed the mocking, weeping crowd from the room before performing the miracle. Limit negative inputs: Step away from voices, media, or advice that breed panic and hopelessness. Seek encouragement: Surround yourself with people who speak life, hope, and faith into your situation.  3. Replace "What-Ifs" with God's Word. Stop the spiral: When your mind starts inventing worst-case scenarios, intentio...

People under the old covenant knew nothing of speaking with tongues, casting out demons, and healing by the laying on of hands (Mark 16:17–18). These signs were reserved for the age of the Spirit. A new kingdom, a new covenant, new features, and a new gospel for spirit and body describe the Christian age.  Jesus used a new word for the Holy Spirit, parakletos, used five times in John’s Gospel. It is translated “Comforter” (KJV) and “Helper.” It belongs to the Greek word parakaleo, which means to call for somebody, to enlist their sympathy. Think about the promise of “another Helper.” To understand, we need only emphasise the word another. Jesus had been the parakletos to His disciples and had said to them, “I will not leave you orphans” (John 14:18). Jesus regularly used only one word for God—Father. For those who are in Christ Jesus, that one word also describes their relationship to almighty God.  So when Jesus gave His last assurances to His disciples, He told them to “wai...

My assurance to all readers and learners is that miracles are normal for the kingdom. Christ sent His disciples out and said, “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you … heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (Luke 10:8–9). Until the time of Christ, miracles were rare, being special historic visitations of God, and were divinely initiated by His sovereign will. There were no gifts of healing for the blind, crippled, or deaf. Outstanding people such as David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Esther never once witnessed a physical wonder, and some never witnessed anything they could call supernatural.  Ezra never saw a vision or heard a call or a voice. He was not a prophet, nor did he feel the moving of the Spirit. He could only trust the Word alone.  Generally, the few signs and wonders that were seen were demonstrations to teach rulers, such as the despotic lords of Egypt, Babylon, and Israel. These wonders were designed to humble t...

This will spill your coffee! Do you know where your pastor or minister was trained?  Most ministers who were trained in liberal Bible colleges and seminaries had this same theory drilled into them. When I say this, I include myself, for I was trained in such a seminary. We need to know how such theories came into being and to realise that they are not based on Scripture.  Hebrews 13:8 plainly states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” As Rufus Moseley used to say, “This means that what Jesus was, He is; what He said, He says; and what He did, He does.” Jesus still saves today, still heals today, still baptises in the Holy Spirit today, and still performs miracles in answer to prayers of faith today. The belief that the age of miracles is past is commonly called dispensationalism. Dispensationalism claims that God has tried various expedients with man, each one having been completely abandoned before the next one was attempted so that divine workings i...

 

Throughout Scripture, signs and wonders represent God’s power unleashed first against Egypt during Israel’s deliverance and later through Jesus Christ to inaugurate salvation history.1 These phenomena carry consistent theological weight across both testaments, functioning as more than mere spectacle. A sign fundamentally directs people toward God2, while a wonder—derived from a Greek word related to “terror”—denotes something extraordinary that provokes amazement in observers.2 Where signs appeal to understanding, wonders engage the imagination.2 Though signs seek to generate belief, they don’t compel it.2 In the Old Testament, God’s saving actions in delivering Israel from Egypt became the focal point for divine self-revelation.1 The plagues against Egypt revealed God’s identity to the Egyptians themselves, establishing God’s reputation among the nations, not merely before Israel.1 These historical events carried implications extending far beyond their moment, shaping Israel’s ongoing...

 

In  Jack Deere 's intriguing book,  Surprised by the Power of the Spirit , he suggests the following hypothetical situation and result: "If you were to lock a brand-new Christian in a room with a  Bible  and tell him to study what the Scriptures have to say about healing and miracles, he would never come out of the room a cessationist." 1   Elsewhere, he writes, Everyone who picked up the Bible, started reading, and concluded that God was still doing signs and wonders and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit had not passed away. The doctrine of cessationism did not originate from a careful study of the Scriptures. The doctrine of cessationism originated in experience.  2 Deere may have a point, but a person reading the Bible and studying miracles and healing may also have several questions about these things. Why do the epistles have little discussion about them? Why does Paul leave people sick ( Phil 2:26-27 ;  1 Tim 5:23 ;  2 Tim 4:20 ...