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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Miracles of Jesus: Catching of the 153 fish (John 21:4-11)

The Bible describes more than one miracle of Jesus involving the catching of fish. This particular miracle, described in the Gospel of John, occurred after the resurrection of Jesus:


Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Miracles of Jesus: The resurrection of Jesus Christ ( 1 Corinthians 15, Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20 )

After Jesus was crucified (nailed to a cross made of wood), he died and was buried in a tomb. On the third day, he was resurrected, meaning that God had restored Jesus to life.
In the New Testament of the Bible, there is a book called 1 Corinthians, which was written by a disciple named Paul. The 15th chapter of this book explains the significance of the resurrection of Jesus. It says that Jesus died for our sins (see 1 Corinthians 15:3). It also says that our faith would be meaningless if there had been no resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:17). And it proclaims that Jesus was resurrected (see 1 Corinthians 15:20).

Paul is one of the people who encountered Jesus after the resurrection. Paul traveled more than 10,000 miles by land and by sea, telling people about Jesus, his resurrection, and his promise of eternal life in the presence of God for those who have faith in Jesus

Monday, January 18, 2016

Miracles of Jesus: Restoring a severed ear (Luke 22:45-54)

On the night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of his followers used a sword to cut off the ear of one of the men who had come to arrest Jesus.
Rather than resist arrest, or allow his followers to engage in violence, Jesus admonished them and told them to stop resisting. Jesus then performed a miracle in which he healed the injured man's ear. Then Jesus cooperated and allowed himself to be arrested.


As explained in the Gospel of Luke:
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour-when darkness reigns."
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Miracles of Jesus: The withering fig tree that produced no fruit (Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 20-25)

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark describe a miracle in which Jesus curses a fig tree that was producing no fruit. When Jesus' disciples saw the same fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it had already withered. As explained in the Gospel of Mark:


The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."