“Ghosts don’t eat breakfast!”

— Os Guinness

Os Guinness, in his book on doubt (God in the Dark) points out that following his resurrection, Jesus didn’t work yet another miracle to convince his followings that it was really him appearing before them in the flesh.

Instead he did the most ordinary thing: He took some fish and ate it.

Bingo!

They believed because they knew that ghosts don’t eat breakfast, only real live humans do that.

Of course miracles are certainly a part of God’s arsenal. I believe that on any given day, concerning any given need, God can (and does) work miracles.

But miracles are seldom God’s first line of offense or defense because the moment God produces a miracle to help people believe, they will then ask for one more. 

I have witnessed this in my own life.

Miracles were a big part of my childhood.  They were reported to happen all the time.  But in the end, what got me through those early skeptic years was the daily lives of my parents.  Every time I tried to convince myself that there was nothing to all that religion stuff, I would bump into my parent’s lives of devotion.

I could pick a part theology.

I could chalk off “miracles” to chance, mistaken identity, emotionalism, or, as yet some undiscovered scientific reality.

But the faithful lives of my parents living out their faith? I knew that was not fake and eventually that was what convinced me that their God was real and worthy of my devotion.

The ONE THING for today: Never underestimate the effectiveness of simply living out your faith faithfully day in and day.

“Ghosts don’t eat breakfast!”

— Os Guinness

Os Guinness, in his book on doubt (God in the Dark) points out that following his resurrection, Jesus didn’t work yet another miracle to convince his followings that it was really him appearing before them in the flesh.

Instead he did the most ordinary thing: He took some fish and ate it.

Bingo!

They believed because they knew that ghosts don’t eat breakfast, only real live humans do that.

Of course miracles are certainly a part of God’s arsenal. I believe that on any given day, concerning any given need, God can (and does) work miracles.

But miracles are seldom God’s first line of offense or defense because the moment God produces a miracle to help people believe, they will then ask for one more. 

I have witnessed this in my own life.

Miracles were a big part of my childhood.  They were reported to happen all the time.  But in the end, what got me through those early skeptic years was the daily lives of my parents.  Every time I tried to convince myself that there was nothing to all that religion stuff, I would bump into my parent’s lives of devotion.

I could pick a part theology.

I could chalk off “miracles” to chance, mistaken identity, emotionalism, or, as yet some undiscovered scientific reality.

But the faithful lives of my parents living out their faith? I knew that was not fake and eventually that was what convinced me that their God was real and worthy of my devotion.

The ONE THING for today: Never underestimate the effectiveness of simply living out your faith faithfully day in and day.

“Ghosts don’t eat breakfast!”

— Os Guinness

Os Guinness, in his book on doubt (God in the Dark) points out that following his resurrection, Jesus didn’t work yet another miracle to convince his followings that it was really him appearing before them in the flesh.

Instead he did the most ordinary thing: He took some fish and ate it.

Bingo!

They believed because they knew that ghosts don’t eat breakfast, only real live humans do that.

Of course miracles are certainly a part of God’s arsenal. I believe that on any given day, concerning any given need, God can (and does) work miracles.

But miracles are seldom God’s first line of offense or defense because the moment God produces a miracle to help people believe, they will then ask for one more. 

I have witnessed this in my own life.

Miracles were a big part of my childhood.  They were reported to happen all the time.  But in the end, what got me through those early skeptic years was the daily lives of my parents.  Every time I tried to convince myself that there was nothing to all that religion stuff, I would bump into my parent’s lives of devotion.

I could pick a part theology.

I could chalk off “miracles” to chance, mistaken identity, emotionalism, or, as yet some undiscovered scientific reality.

But the faithful lives of my parents living out their faith? I knew that was not fake and eventually that was what convinced me that their God was real and worthy of my devotion.

The ONE THING for today: Never underestimate the effectiveness of simply living out your faith faithfully day in and day.