Miracles
Good day to each of you reading this article for this article many of you will be able to relate. The internet is filled with stories along with various articles in the paper of where ordinary people experienced a miracle in their life or the life of someone near them.
Supernatural, the unknown, stars lining up, so many different examples, but the fact remains that it happened and made you think that this is nothing short of a miracle.
One has to look no further then in World War II where the battle of Dunkirk took place between the British and Germany and how the day of prayer took place in Great Britain with the rescue of hundreds of thousands British troops from the hands of Germany.
Another miracle was the miracle of D-Day and how God again intervened with the breaking of weather, the launching of the invasion and losses much less than anticipated.
Jesus and the Bird Cage
Courtesy of Paul Harvey
Boston preacher Dr. S.D. Gordon, placed a beat up, bent, rusted old bird cage beside his pulpit when he told this story.
(Other sources indicate this was Dr. A. J. Gordon, also of Boston).
An unkempt, unwashed, little lad about 10 years old was coming up the alley swinging this old caved in bird cage with several tiny birds shivering on the floor of it.
The compassionate Dr. Gordon asked the boy where he got the birds.
He said he trapped them.
Dr. Gordon asked what he was going to do with them.
The boy said he was going to play with them and have fun with them.
The preacher said, “Sooner or later you’ll get tired of them. Then what are you going to do with them?”
The lad said, “I have some cats at home. They like birds. I’ll feed them to my cats.”
Dr. Gordon said, “Son, how much do you want for the birds?”
The boy, surprised, hesitated and said, “Mister, you don’t want these birds. There just plain old field birds. They can’t even sing. They’re ugly.”
The preacher said, “Just tell me. How much do you want?”
The grubby little lad thought about it. He squinted up one eye. He calculated and hesitated and said, “Two dollars?”
To his surprise Dr. Gordon reached into his pocket and handed the boy two, one-dollar bills.
The preacher took the cage.
The boy, in a wink, hurried up the alley.
In a sheltered crevice between buildings, Dr. Gordon opened the door of the cage and tapping on the rusty exterior he encouraged the little birds, one at a time, to find their way out through the narrow door and fly away.
Thus, having accounted for the empty cage beside his pulpit, the preacher went on to tell what seemed, at first, like a separate story.
About how once upon a time, Jesus and the Devil had engaged in a negotiation.
Satan had boasted how he’d baited a trap in Eden’s Garden and caught himself a world full of people.
“What are you going to do with all those people in your cage” Jesus wanted to know.
The Devil said, “I’m going to play with em’, tease em’. Make them marry and divorce and fight and kill one another. I’m going to teach them to throw bombs on one another. I’m going to have fun with them!”
Jesus said, “You can’t have fun with them forever. When you get tired of playing, what are you going to do with them?”
Satan said, “Damn them! They’re no good anyway! Damn them! Kill them!”
Jesus said, “How much do you want for them?”
Satan said, “You can’t be serious! If I sell them to you, they’ll just spit on you. They’ll hate you. They’ll hit you and beat you. They’ll hammer nails into you! They’re no good.”
Jesus said, “How much?”
Satan said, “All of your tears and all of your blood. That’s the price.” Jesus took the cage, and paid the price, and opened the door.
During World War II and on the western front, a little-known pilot known as “Butch” was on his way back to the USS Lexington in 1942, and after checking his gas gauge only to find out that he was low on gas. The pilot and wingman headed back where they encountered nine Japanese fighters preparing to attack the Lexington.
Four minutes away from the target, Butch and wingman attacked the Japanese where the wingman’s gun jammed leaving Butch only to fight in his single engine airplane.
In a matter of five minutes, Butch took out 5 Japanese fighters, thus allowing American fighters time to take off and kill the remaining 4 fighters.
Butch, flew his damaged plane back to the carrier, thus becoming the Navy’s first ace pilot of World War II, promoted to lieutenant commander and receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.
A year later, Butch lost his life in enemy fire. This great naval fighter, the miracle fighter saving over 2,000 lives was the same fighter named for a famous airport for Butch’s last name is O’Hare, the same O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
As for other miracles, look no further than the Miracle Mets of 1969 and winning the World Series, the 2016 Chicago Cubs having won a World Series a 100+ years later, the shot heard round the world refers to the opening shot of the battles of the Lexington and Concord and the other shot where Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants hit the game winning home run to claim the pennant.
Flamboyant Joe Namath stating his Jets would win Super Bowl III or the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, the miracle of Willis Reed in game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals where Reed, injuring a thigh muscle in game 5, out for game 6 and emerging from the locker room in game seven to propel the Knicks to a win and championship.
As for miracles in sports, let’s never forget the “where were you moment” on February 22, 1980? Do you remember the “miracle on ice” in Lake Placid, NY where the underdog and youthful United States Hockey Team faced off against the four-time defending gold USSR hockey team. The youngest team in US history pulled off the greatest upset by beating the USSR and then Finland to secure their gold medal.
Masterful at his job Al Michaels of ABC declared: “Do you believe in miracles?” Yes! Thus, this went down in Sports Illustrated as the top sports moment of the 20th century.
Finally, I do believe in miracles for I recently experienced a mild heart attack according to the doctor. I have had 7 stents in the past few years and pretty much know the symptoms which include chest pain, left arm pain, pain jutting up the left arm and into the teeth, weakness in legs and out of breath by walking just short distances.
I had experienced many of the same symptoms a couple of weeks ago and attended a local emergency room to be seen for the symptoms. 4(+) hours later, I was not seen and told my wife that the symptoms had subsided and we left to go back home.
The following Friday, I did lots of outside work and the near finish the symptoms began to rear its head so I took an aspirin and got into bead early. The next morning, I needed another aspirin, had the same symptoms but they seemed much worse and off we went to our regular hospital.
Admitted for the weekend, tests ran and laying on my back, gives one plenty of time to think. As Monday rolled around, I was in the Cath lab and out 40 minutes later. The result, no blocked arteries to be stented and no open-heart surgery. Later that afternoon, I was released and back home in the comfort of my recliner.
Now for the rest story—Miracles do happen for my wife asked many prayer warriors to pray for a full recovery. God heard their prayers and miraculously I received a complete healing of the heart.
Before I went into the lab, I felt a complete calmness as I prayed for the nurses and doctor who would be doing the surgery.
As a friend said, God is the master physician and the master planner for each of us—God said He knew us before we were born and He knows every hair on our head.
Fellow Christian, I am sure you can relate with a story or two of your own and a miracle that touched your life. Let us all be thankful for this miracle, the power of prayer and the gift of life.
If you are experiencing similar symptoms, do not wait, but go to the emergency room and get checked out—it could very well be the difference between life and death.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
