Inside Dr. Wilkinson's new book (You Were Born For This Multnomah Books, September 2009) there is a total of one paragraph acknowledging the miracles of televangelism. He calls this territory "the Land of Signs and Wonders." This brief recognition comes without criticism or judgment. He wants readers to consider if there are any miracles in which God universally invites Christians to participate.
He contrasts this territory with what he calls "the Land of Good Deeds." In this territory, a Christian's obedience to God's commands and various biblical good works are the only sure ways to meet the needs of someone who is looking for a miracle. They doubt that God does miracles today, or if they do believe in miracles they are confused as to what God does and how they may participate.
Dr. Wilkinson explains the space between these two "Lands" in his book [1]:
What I want you to realize is that if you live in either land I've described, you've overlooked the most promising region of all. You see, between the dazzle of Signs and Wonders and the duty of Good Deeds lies a broad and promising middle ground.Christians who live in the Land of Everyday Miracles are by no means special in any way other than they have committed themselves to participating with Christ in His miraculous acts, and are prepared to hear His direction.
In this book we call this in-between land the Everyday Miracle Territory. Here people believe that God wants to intervene--and does--in supernatural ways in human affairs on a regular basis. Here unmet needs are seen by ordinary people as golden opportunities for God to show up, and to do so through them, at almost any moment. They're not waiting for special powers for themselves or for God to part the skies on their behalf. They have experienced miracles and know beyond doubt that miracles are for them and others like them, right here and right now.
Dr. Wilkinson has a number of videos on the internet delving into his book, and you may view this one below further explaining "the Land of Everyday Miracles."
[1] Wilkinson, Bruce & Kopp, David. (2009). You Were Born For This: 7 Kets to a Life of Predictable Miracles. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, pg 9.
1 comment:
I was really convicted by this portion (below) on page 15 of You Were Born For This.
After Dr. Wilkinson's years of serving in South Africa, he came back home with a different view of the necessity of miracles in the service of Christ:
"...we'd become convinced that good deeds alone will never be enough to meet the desperate needs of our time. .... We simply need more of God. We desperately need miracles!
Second, we had learned that it's often long-time Christians who resist miracles the most. .... As you'd expect, the consequences of limiting what God does on earth to what we can do for Him are disastrous. Just look around. The most pressing personal and global needs go unmet while a generation asks, 'Where is God? Doesn't He care? Does He even exist?' But it doesn't have to be that way."
Good works oftentimes praise men, but miracles praise God, and that is the difference I would want to demonstrate!
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