The Bible - coming soon

 
There is a new epic TV miniseries coming soon called "The  Bible".  It is a 10 hour production that will be shown in 5 - 2 hour segments beginning on March 3rd on the History Channel.

I have watched a couple of interviews with the producer Mark Burnett, (he produced Survivor, The Apprentice) and one of those interviews  was with his co-producer and wife, Roma Downey (angel in Touched by an Angel). 
Yesterday morning they were Lorna Dueck's guests on her show Life Beyond the Headlines.   

While I am looking forward to watching the series , I already know what my favorite part or film highlight will be. 

Roma described one scene during the shooting on location . 
She painted the scene from John 3,  filmed in the Moroccan dessert 

Jesus is sitting beside a small fire.  

The night is deathly still , not a sound, not a breeze. nothing / no one is moving.   

Then, following the script cues , there is movement and Jesus looks up to see Nicodemus approaching from under the cover of  night's darkness.  

He comes with questions but starts the conversation with the acknowledgement 

that he believes that Jesus was sent from God.   

But Jesus bypasses his introductory statement and answers the unasked question in his heart.   

Jesus says.. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit.. he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  

In answer to Nicodemus' bewildered outburst of "How can that be?"   

Jesus said ....   

"Do not marvel that I said to you , You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" .  

Roma said .. the very SECOND, as if on perfect cue ... when 'Jesus' said 'wind' ... 

the most unnatural wind blew across the dessert  ... a strong , steady wind that tossed hair and garments!   

She said it was like they turned on the fans , but they had no wind fans.  

She said everyone had goosebumps ...  I'm sure they did !   

 It would have been a God-moment... God reaching down to confirm His Word with a supernatural sign. 

 I know  that when I will be watching that scene ... I too will have goosebumps .. and be filled with awe.   
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Natural and Supernatural

I have a story to tell about my granddaughter and would have loved to post a photo of her but she was shy about it .... so I'll just tell the story.

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She recently came home from a week long school field trip in Quebec with her French Immersion classmates.

I, of course prayed for her safety but I also prayed that she would in some way have an encounter with God.

She did.

In Quebec City there is a tubing hill that, according to my granddaughter makes Whistler or Manning hills look tame. The one in Quebec City is almost vertical steep, sheer ice and very fast! But apparently, very fun with many runs.

Coming down one run, my granddaughter came to a stop and stood up in her tube talking to some friends who had also just come down. She wasn't concerned about getting out of the way because she was sure there was no one behind her.

She had her back to the hill, her friends facing the hill.

Suddenly their expressions changed and they cried out her name in alarm.

My granddaughter had just enough time to turn her head to see two tire tubes careening at full speed toward her before they both hit her tube. The impact sent their tubes in opposite directions and tossed my granddaughter into the air with no where to come down but on the ice.

She landed ... not on the ice .... but cushioned in an empty tire tube.. Not hurt at all !

Her friends immediately all came running to her - not to exclaim about the chances of her landing in an empty tire tube -- that would have been miracle enough.

No .. they all exclaimed, "WHERE did that tire tube come from ??? There WAS NO TIRE TUBE THERE!"

They are still talking about it, baffled about how a tire tube could appear out of no where.

Of course... I know where it came from ... and so does my granddaughter.

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A miracle ! We love them don't we ? When God's supernatural breaks into our 'natural' ?

And yet, recently I have been thinking how wrong we have it .

We have defined 'natural' as something science can explain ... and supernatural something they can't.

Yet in the truest sense, EVERYTHING is supernatural .. everything we see was created by God who spoke it into existence with His word. The very laws we call 'natural' were supernaturally designed/decreed by Him.

So how difficult it it for Him to do what we call a 'miracle' ?

He invites His children to ask in His name ... and He will do it ... Why do we not ask more ? And why are we surprised when our prayers are answered ?

Delight... awe... praise ....honor.... are all appropriate responses to our great God ...

but 'doubt' is not.

May the words in Ephesians 3:20 lift our hearts in joy, and turn our faces to the Lord who is not only a great and awesome God .. but also our loving Father who desires to give good things to His children.

Eph 3:20 "Now to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,,, to Him be glory !!!!!"