By: Zach Collins It is common for the Bible to speak of God as a father. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He said, “When you pray, say, Our Father in Heaven…” (c.f., Luke 11:2). This teaches two important lessons about the fatherhood of God. God is the spiritual Father of Christians and He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (c.f., Ephesians 1:3).  While we are given little information about the upbringing of Jesus under the tutelage of Joseph, his earthly father, Mary, and God, His Heavenly Father, we do find a peculiar statement, in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Jesus grew, not only physically, but spiritually. He grew in wisdom, knowledge, and grace. It is the case that His Heavenly Father played an imperative role in His growing process.   We, as parents, have an interesting way of teaching our children and helping them grow. Many of us have go-to parental sayings that are utilized to teach our children valuable life lessons. I wonder what parental sayings God might have provided to Jesus, Him being His Father and Jesus being His Son? Did they resemble the parental sayings of earthly parents today?  We say, “Kids, money does not grow on trees.”  Perhaps God said, “You could grow money on a tree or, you know, in the mouth of a fish” (Matthew 17:27).  We say, “Use your manners! You were not raised in a barn!”  Perhaps …

By: Zach Collins This is the second part of a two-part article, the previous being written by Griffin Collins, which examines a recent event that occurred in an adjacent community that was called, “Festival of Miracles.” I appreciate Griffin’s thoughts on the matter, and I would like to build upon those thoughts by channeling another scriptural approach. The intent of this article is to scripturally explore a false notion perpetuated by Ankit Rambabu and the fundamental belief at the heart of this “festival”, that miracles still exist today, and common men can perform those miracles. The name “festival of miracles” implies that “miracles” would be occurring and, by implication, these “miracles” would be coming through the hands of modern-day “miracle workers.” Unfortunately, this is a common belief amongst many today. However, is this belief supported through scriptural truth and, thus, by a scriptural foundation? Many have been quick to condemn this false teacher but will not refute his teaching that miracles still exist today. Let’s look to the Bible for example and biblical precedence to see what God says about miracles, today.  Much like the word “love”, the word “miracle” is commonly misused in our culture. We attribute this word to anything that occurs that we cannot quantify or explain. Many false teachers prey upon this common misusage. Those who teach that miracles exist today and, further, that they can “perform” miracles rely upon three factors.  1.     First, emotions and indirect evidence. They put a person in an emotional state and then, …