Do miracles still happen?

Read Acts 19:11-20

Today’s passage tells of things that would be hard to believe if I didn’t already believe that these Scriptures are Holy and infallible, the written words of God through divine inspiration by His Holy Spirit.  After all, who could believe in healing and evil-spirit exorcising handkerchiefs?  Who’s ever heard of such a thing?  How could it be possible?  Oh, and then there are the frauds or shams, you know, the ones who are “bandwagon” healers and exorcists.  They had heard of this popular new way to “get attention” and jumped on board, hoping no one would notice that they didn’t know the Truth, that they were great pretenders.

It’s not something I’m proud of, but today’s passage brought back memories of a day when I was a pretender, similar to Heath Ledger’s Will Thatcher of A Knight’s Tale.  It wasn’t all that hard to be one.  I had gone to church all of my life.  I knew the lingo.  I knew the motions, the facial expressions, and the “presence”.  I might have gotten a Grammy, or more likely a Daytime Emmy for my performance.  All it took was one person with the discernment of even the demons mentioned in today’s passage to question me for my “patents of nobility”, asking for my “spiritual birth certificate” proving that I was no more a child of God than I was Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland.  I was guilty of impersonating a child of God and now I was exposed.  In retrospect, I’m glad it was only my pride that was stripped and beaten.  This incident challenged me to become more than I was.  I had been “weighed on the scales and found wanting“, tested and found lacking.

Under which category do you find yourself today?  Are you a Spirit filled follower of Christ willing to obey in miraculous ways, or are you a pretender and a fraud?  Have you ever experienced the miracle working power of the Holy Spirit in and through you?  Or instead, do you put on a front so others won’t know the truth?  Take a moment to ask the Spirit to search you and know you, to see if there is any wickedness within.  Seek Him earnestly today.  Submit to His reformation of your heart and Will (Knight’s Tale pun intended).  I’ll look for you on the field of battle to see if you’re wearing and wielding the full Armor of God.