Weird Coincidences, Supernatural Events, Funny Feelings - Is That You God?

A message about experiencing unusual things, and how to interpret them as a good God directing our attention to Jesus.

Prayer: Why Does Speaking Words Change Reality? God's Four Responses to Prayer 

Text and slides of a message about God responding to prayer in four ways: “yes”; “not yet”; “I have something better in mind”; and “I’m doing that but it depends on someone else.”

Does Prayer Change God?

Text of a message that is a fuller treatment of the question of whether prayer changes God, and whether that affects how and when and why we pray. This message engages with a chart provided by Terrance Tiessen’s Providence and Prayer (IVP: Downer’s Grove, 2000). However, some in the “open theist” camp have said that the position advocated here fits within “open theism,” even though Tiessen did not initially categorize it that way.

Athanasius as Evangelist: God Haunts and Calls Us Through Our Own Words

A blog post, Jan 22, 2018. A 10 minute read about how an early Christian leader, Athanasius of Alexandria (298 - 373 AD) recognized that language reaches into us; God uses words like “good and evil,” “beauty and ugliness,” “justice and injustice,” and so on, to remind us that there are larger moral categories into which we fit, and within which we are called to grow.

Tertullian of Carthage, Apology (~200 AD), chapter 5, notes that Emperor Marcus Aurelius credits the prayers of Christians in his army for ending the drought in Germanic lands.

C.S. Lewis, Miracles. HarperOne | Amazon page, 1947.

T.F. Torrance, The Grammar and Ground of Theology. Fuller Theological Seminary, 1981. An audio lecture recording. On how Christian theology impacted & was impacted by scientific thought; critique of the Newtonian theory that the universe is a closed system.

Nancy Gibbs, Angels Among Us. Time, Dec 27, 1993.

In Search of Angels. Life, Dec 1, 1995.

James B. Torrance, Prayer and the Triune God of Grace. Jason Goroncy. These are four recorded lectures which comprise the chapters of James B. Torrance, Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace. InterVarsity Press Academic | Amazon page, 1997.

Uwe Siemon-Netto, J.S. Bach in Japan. First Things, Jun 2000.

Grzegorz Gorn, Abortionist Turned Pro-Life Apostle: The True Story of Stojan Adasevic. Love One Another magazine, Jan 2004.

Melanthia Mitchell, Teen Found Alive 8 Days After Wreck. Associated Press, Oct 12, 2004.

Curt Schilling post game quotes. Major League Baseball, Oct 20, 2004.

Christoffer Grundmann, Sent to Heal!: Emergence and Development of Medical Missions. University Press of America | Amazon page, Sep 2005.

Richard Gallagher, Among the Many Counterfeits, a Case of Demonic Possession. Sott, Mar 8, 2008.

Harold G. Koenig, Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet. Templeton Press | Amazon page, Sep 2008.

Ora Et Labora, Resources on the Transfiguration. Ora Et Labora | Blogspot, Aug 19, 2008. For sermons, reflections, and poetry on Jesus’ transfiguration, and what this indicates about God’s heart and vision and love for all creation.

Joe Rawls, Anthony Bloom on the Transfiguration. The Byzantine Anglo-Catholic, Aug 9, 2009. Anthony Bloom is an Orthodox priest in England. Bloom said in a sermon,

“Here, in a shrouded manner, is revealed to us all of the greatness, all the significance, not only of man, but of the material world itself, of its indescribable potential, not only earthly and transitory, but also eternal and Divine...

...And if we attentively and seriously accept what is revealed to us here, we must change as profoundly as we can our attitude toward everything visible, toward everything tangible; not only toward humanity, not only toward man, but toward his very flesh, and not only toward human flesh, but toward everything around him that is physically perceptible, tangible, and visible...Everything is called to become the place of indwelling of the Lord's grace; everything is called to be at some time, at the end of time, drawn into that glory and to shine forth with that glory.

And it is granted unto us people to know that; it is granted unto us people not only to know that, but to be co-workers with God in the illuminating of that Creation which the Lord created...We perform the blessing of the fruits, the blessing of the waters, the blessing of the grains, the bread, we perform the blessing of bread and wine, changing them into the Body and Blood of the Lord; the source of the miracles of Transfiguration and Theophany is within the confines of the Church. Through human faith, the matter of this world is separated out, matter which through man's lack of faith, through human perfidy, had been handed over to corruption, death and destruction, is set apart by the miracle of Transfiguration and Theophany. Through our faith, it is separated from this corruption and death, and is given over to God Himself, is accepted by God, and in God fundamentally becomes a new creation...”

Richard Shumack, Miracles, Mary, and Modern Belief. Centre for Public Christianity, Oct 26, 2010.

Candy Gunther Brown, et.al., "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Prayer (STEPP) on Auditory and Visual Impairments in Rural Mozambique". Southern Medical Journal, Sep 9, 2010.

Candy Gunther Brown, Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing. Oxford University Press | Amazon page, 2011.

Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey Into the Afterlife. Simon and Schuster | Amazon page, Oct 2012. This is fascinating book. For a summary, see ABC News, Neuroscientist Sees 'Proof of Heaven' in Week-Long Coma. ABC News, Oct 24, 2012. For an argument against, see Michael Shermer, Why a Near-Death Experience Isn’t Proof of Heaven. Scientific American, Apr 1, 2013.

David Sessions, Is Hell Real? The Daily Beast, Feb 8, 2013.

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, My Train Wreck Conversion: As a Leftist Lesbian Professor, I Despised Christians, Then Become One. Christianity Today, Feb 7, 2013.

Mary Poplin, Radical Feminist, Radical Womanist, Radical Love: What Mother Teresa Taught Me About Social Justice. Veritas Forum, Mar 4, 2009.

Brian Zahnd, Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Allure and Mystery of Christianity. Charisma House | Amazon page, Jan 3, 2012.

Kellie "Red", 11 Years Old, and Celebrating Therese's Birthday for the Very First Time. Patheos blog, Nov 24, 2013.

Drafted: Why Chris Norman Said No to the NFL. D Caspar, Sep 27, 2013. An 11 minute video.

David Bentley Hart, Beauty, Being, and Kenosis: The Aesthetics of the Incarnation. Biola University, May 14, 2013. A 70 minute video.

Reknew, Why Doesn't God Make Himself More Obvious? Reknew blog, May 23, 2014.

Joe Kovacs, Fox News Atheist Democrat: I Met Jesus. WND Media, Dec 4, 2013. And this

Lisa Sharon Harper, The Power of Fasting. Sojourners blog, Dec 16, 2013.

Viralnova Entertainment, Ricardo Bofill's Renovation of an Old, Shut-Down Cement Factory. Viralnova, Dec 18, 2013. A parable.

CBN, Ghost Hunter Comes Face to Face with Demon, Calls on Christ. Charisma News, Jan 2, 2014.

Rob Kerby, Twelve Absolutely Amazing Miracles. Beliefnet.

Nabeel Qureshi, Christ Called Me Off the Minaret: Through investigations, Dreams, and Visions, Jesus Asked Me to Forsake My Muslim Family. Christianity Today, Jan 8, 2014.

James Choung, Just Get Out of the Way. James Choung blog, Jan 9, 2014.

Marisa Kwiatkowski, The Exorcisms of Latoya Ammons. IndyStar, Jan 25, 2014.

Rod Dreher, The Boy Who Was Possessed Remembers. The American Conservative, Jan 29, 2014.

Ed Stetzer, An Interview with Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History, on Global Christianity. Christianity Today, Mar 21, 2014.

Jeff Markin's Back to Life Miracle. Faithtap.

T.M. Luhrmann, To Dream in Different Cultures. New York Times, May 14, 2014.

Guillaume Bignon, From Staunch Atheist to Christian Theologian. Premier Christianity, Oct 2014.

Shawn Schuster, Dallas Nurse Nina Pham is Ebola Free, Credits Faith in God and Power of Prayer for Her Healing. Gospel Herald, Oct 24, 2014.

Ed Mazza, Starbucks Exorcism Caught on Video in Austin, Texas. Huffington Post, Nov 14, 2014.

Emily Tess Katz, Martin Pistorius, Author Of 'Ghost Boy', Describes The Experience Of Turning To God In His Vegetative State. Huffington Post, Feb 3, 2015.

Rod Dreher, The Epistemology of Imagination. The American Conservative, Mar 5, 2015.

David Bentley Hart and Lawrence Feingold, The Natural Desire to See God. Saint Louis University, Mar 23, 2015. A one hour video discussion.

Mark Ellis, Holy Spirit Tells Kundalini Yoga Instructor 'I Have Something Else for You to Do'. Charisma News, Apr 20, 2015.

Aidan Kimel, If God is Being, Does Prayer Make Sense? Eclectic Orthodoxy blog, May 25, 2015.

Leah Marieann Klett, Violent ISIS Fighter Converts to Christianity After Encountering Jesus Christ in Powerful Dream. Gospel Herald Ministries, Jun 3, 2015.

Nicola Menzie, ISIS Fighter Who 'Enjoyed' Killing Christians Wants to Follow Jesus After Dreaming of Man in White Who Told Him 'You Are Killing My People'. Christian Post, Jun 3, 2015.

WebTV, Reporter Breaks Down as Mourners Sing Outside Scene of Charleston Shooting. youtube video, Jun 21, 2015.

Annika Mongan, Born-Again Witch: Witches at a Pentecostal Church. Patheos, Jul 13, 2015.

Craig F. Keener, The Ubiquity of Miracles. Slate, Jul 14, 2015.

Owen Gingerich, Does God Intervene in the World?  Slate, Jul 14, 2015.

Susan Grove Eastman, Personal Miracles: A View From St. Paul and the Cognitive Sciences. Slate, Jul 14, 2015.

Alister McGrath, A Deeper Vision of Nature: C.S. Lewis on Miracles. Slate, Jul 14, 2015.

Greg Boyd, Why Doesn't God Heal When We Ask?  ReKnew blog, Jul 15, 2015.

Rod Dreher, Resistance to Grace. The American Conservative, Dec 2, 2015.

Odyssey in Christ, Spiritual Reflections. Odyssey in Christ, 2016 — 2020. Posts about various types of prayer: the breath prayer, gratitude, contemplative, prayer and doodling, etc.

Kate Bowler, Death, the Prosperity Gospel, and Me. New York Times, Feb 13, 2016.

Anne Marie Gazzolo, Guardian Angels of the Quest: Frodo, Sam, and the Valar. The Fellowship of the King blog, Mar 5, 2016.

Richard Gallagher, As a Psychiatrist, I Diagnose Mental Illness.  And Sometimes, Demonic Possession. Washington Post, Jul 1, 2016.

Rachel Ray, Leading U.S. Exorcists Explain Huge Increase in Demand for the Rite - and Priests to Carry Them Out. Telegraph UK, Sep 26, 2016.

Rod Dreher, On Time: Arrival. The American Conservative, Nov 24, 2016.

Brendan Buse, Grace Enough: Andrew Garfield on the Ignatian Journey That Led Him Through 'Silence'. America Magazine, Jan 10, 2017. Led him to appreciate Jesus.

Discovery Channel, Exorcism in Cairo, Egypt. Discovery Channel, Feb 23, 2017.

Stephen R.L. Clark, Why We Believe in Fairies. First Things, Mar 2017.

Giuseppe Nardi, "The Jihadist Couldn't Behead Me and Asked: 'Who Are You?'" -- The Witness of Abuna Nirwan. The Eponymous Flower, May 19, 2017.

Brian Zahnd, Morning Prayers. Be in Christ Church of Canada, Nov 2017.

Brian Zahnd, Prayers of Re-Entry. Be in Christ Church of Canada, Nov 2017.

Brian Zahnd, Prayer Exercise: The Breastplate Prayer. Be in Christ Church of Canada, Nov 2017.

Brian Zahnd, Contemplative Prayer. Be in Christ Church of Canada, Nov 2017.

Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved. Random House | Amazon page, Feb 6, 2018.

David R. Thomas, How History's Revivals Teach Us to Pray. Christianity Today, Feb 20, 2018.

Stephen Colbert, Yvonne Orji Got Career Advice From God. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Sep 5, 2018. Nigerian comedienne says the Holy Spirit told her, 'Do comedy'.

Mike Mariani, American Exorcism. The Atlantic, Dec 2018. Subtitled "Priests are fielding more requests than ever for help with demonic possession, and a centuries-old practice is finding new footing in the modern world"

Ivan Olita, How a Modern Exorcist Fights Evil. The Atlantic, Feb 25, 2019.

Pete Grieg, How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People. NavPress | Amazon page, Oct 2019.

Malcolm Guite, A Sonnet on the Transfiguration. Malcolm Guite, Feb 14, 2021.

For that one moment, ‘in and out of time’,
On that one mountain where all moments meet,
The daily veil that covers the sublime
In darkling glass fell dazzled at his feet.
There were no angels full of eyes and wings
Just living glory full of truth and grace.
The Love that dances at the heart of things
Shone out upon us from a human face
And to that light the light in us leaped up,
We felt it quicken somewhere deep within,
A sudden blaze of long-extinguished hope
Trembled and tingled through the tender skin.
Nor can this blackened sky, this darkened scar
Eclipse that glimpse of how things really are.

Stephen Freeman, When Miracles Ceased. Glory to God for All Things | Ancient Faith, May 10, 2023.

Jonathan Pageau, Transfiguration: The End of Symbolism - with Aidan Hart. Jonathan Pageau, Aug 3, 2023. A 53 minute video discussion. “This is a discussion from the Princeton Scala Foundation conference that took place in April 2023 with the title, “The Transfiguration: Glory and Grace in the World”. I sat down with Margarita Mooney Clayton and iconographer and author Aidan Hart to discuss the Transfiguration of Christ, how God's glory fills the world, and that the ultimate goal of the spiritual life is encountering God face to face.”

Henry Cloud, Why I Believe: A Psychologist's Thoughts on Suffering, Miracles, Science, and Faith. Worthy Books | Amazon page, Jun 2024. See review by Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw, How a Psychologist Came to Believe in Miracles… and More. Embodied Faith, Sep 10, 2024. Reflections on Dr. Henry Cloud's "Why I Believe"