Dr Paul Allen

The dynamic ministry of Jesus not only revealed God ’s heart of love for mankind’s need of a Redeemer, but unveiled God’s compassionate heart of mercy for mankind’s need of a Healer. The will of God was perfectly disclosed in His Son: ours is to seek how to most fully convey that full and perfect revelation. Just as the Fall of man introduced sickness as a part of the curse, the Cross of Christ has opened a door to healing as a part of salvation’s provision. Healing encompasses God’s power to restore broken hearts, broken homes, broken lives, and broken bodies. Suffering assumes a multiplicity of forms, but Christ’s bloodshot only covers our sin with redemptive love; His stripes release a resource of healing at every dimension of our need. The writer of this study is a missionary, pastor, teacher, and theologian, who has seen and helped multitudes to faith without presumption. 1. The Old Testament Healing Covenant (Ex. 15:26) Gods promises to keep His people free of diseases if

Sometimes my faith is shaken when my dreams are shattered. I wonder where God is in the midst of my suffering. I cannot sense his presence. I feel alone and afraid. My faith wavers. I question what I have long believed. I wonder what is real, especially when my experience doesn’t match my expectations. This wavering deeply troubles me. I have tasted God’s goodness, enjoyed close fellowship with him, rested in his tender care. I have known both his power and his love. Yet in the midst of profound struggle, I have no answers. Just questions. John the Baptist understood this as he waited in prison . He, above all men, knew who Jesus was. Even in the womb, he leapt for joy in the presence of the unborn savior. At the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, before any of his miracles, John declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He baptized Jesus and saw God’s Spirit descend on him, testifying that he indeed was the Son of God. And yet, at the height of Jesus’s m

We have to guard against taking a fatalistic view of prayer. We cannot allow ourselves to dismiss prayer from our lives simply because it might not seem to have pragmatic value. Whether or not prayer works, we must engage in it, simply because God Himself commands us to do it. Even a cursory reading of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, reveals a deep emphasis on prayer, supplication, and intercession. It is inescapable that prayer is an expected activity for the people of God. Furthermore, our Lord Himself is the supreme model for us in all things, and He clearly made prayer a huge priority in His life. We can do no less. Whether or not prayer works, we must engage in it, simply because God Himself commands us to do it. But it is also true that Scripture teaches us that prayer does "work" in some sense. Let me cite three examples. We all know that the apostle Peter boldly declared that he would never betray Jesus, that he was ready to go to prison and eve

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The following statements, one ancient and one modern, are typical of the response people make to the miraculous. “For nothing can happen without cause; nothing happens that cannot happen, and when what was capable of happening has happened, it may not be interpreted as a miracle. Consequently, there are no miracles… . We therefore draw this conclusion: what was capable of happening is not a miracle” (Cicero, De Divinatione , 2. 28, cited by V. van der Loos in The Miracle of Jesus, Leiden : E. J. Brill , 1965, p. 7). “For example, there is the record of the life of Jesus Christ in the Bible. That record contained accounts of events which, in light of the facts of the natural order which were known, could not possibly have happened. “Children are not born to virgins, angels do not bring messages to people, men do not walk on water, people who die do not return to life, and so on.

Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Some people feel that the miracles recorded in the Bible betray the fact that the Scriptures are to be taken seriously. They are compared to Greek mythology and other tales of both the supernatural and bizarre. Instead of investigating their foundation, they class them immediately with legends and folklore. Admittedly, there are many stories from our Lord’s day among the Greeks and Romans which are so fanciful and ridiculous that they are not worthy of serious consideration. This is in complete contrast to the biblical miracles, which never offer a mindless display of the supernatural. To simply say that, because some reported supernatural events are ridiculous and untrue, therefore any reported supernatural occurrence or miracle is untrue denotes faulty reasoning. It is “guilt” by association, or a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Of the words used in the New Testament for miracles, the common words

Old Synagogue in Korazim Israel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Corazim_synagogue (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Luke 11:20-24 Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin ! Woe to you, Bethsaida ! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes . Nevertheless I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. And you, Capernaum , will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” Jesus ’ harsh reproach against the cities in which most of His miracles were done seems on the surface to be less justified than His comparatively mild rebuke of

Sea of Galilee near Tabgha (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Capernaum, Sea of Galilee (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) English: Tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Mark Driscoll recently interviewed John Piper on the topic of advice for young bible teachers. In that discussion, John reflected personally on a troubling scripture namely, Luke 10:13-14. Piper states for Godly holy unknown reasons Jesus willingly withheld performing any miracles in Tyre and Sidon. Jesus infers the performance of such miracles would have brought the towns to salvation, yet Jesus chose not to perform miracles. Why? Ezekiel 28:11-18 says  "Son of Man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and flawless beauty. You were in Eden, in the Garden of God; every precious stone was your adornment... and gold beautifully wrought for you, mined for you, prepared the day you were created." This