Lee Strobel - Case for Miracles for Kids

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Other books in the Lee Strobel series for kids:

Case for Christ for Kids, Updated and Expanded

Case for a Creator for Kids, Updated and Expanded

Case for Faith for Kids, Updated and Expanded

Case for Grace for Kids

Case for Christ for Kids 90-Day Devotional

ZONDERKIDZ

Case for Miracles for Kids

Copyright 2018 by Lee Strobel

Interior illustrations 2018 by Terry Colon

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Zonderkidz, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Epub Edition February 2018 9780310747215

ISBN 978-0-310-74864-9

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Art direction: Ron Huizinga

Interior design: Greg Johnson and Denise Froehlich

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Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.

C. S. LEWIS, Christian thinker and author of The Chronicles of Narnia

If miracles exist at all, they exist not for their own sake but for us, to point us toward something beyond. To Someone beyond.

ERIC METAXAS, journalist, speaker, and author of Bible ABC

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.

JESUS IN JOHN 4:48

The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.

G. K. CHESTERTON, novelist and Christian apologist

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R ecently I was chatting with a former co-worker from my days as legal editor at the Chicago Tribune newspaper.

You were the last person I ever thought would give up journalism to go tell people about Jesus, he said. You were one of the most skeptical people I knew. If I told you the deli down the block had a good sandwich, you wouldnt believe me until I produced a dozen restaurant reviews. Then Id have to show you a certified chemical analysis of the ingredients from the Food and Drug Administration.

His comment made me laugh. And its an obvious exaggeration. (I can judge a good sandwich just by taking a bite.) But, yes, my background in journalism and law did tend to make me a naturally doubtful person. And yet it was my doubt that ultimately led to my faith in Jesus.

When my wife, Leslie, started attending church and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior, I wasnt happy. I wanted to prove to her that this newfound faith was wrong. I started to investigate the historical evidence of Christianity, just like I would investigate a news story.

To my dismay, the data of science (from cosmology and physics to biochemistry) convinced me there was a supernatural Creator. History told another compelling story. Jesus of Nazareth truly lived. He was crucified, buried, and resurrected from the deadconfirming his identity as the unique Son of God.

I concluded that Christianity was true. I couldnt ignore the evidence. And if it was true, then I needed to change my life. I put my trust in Christ, left my newspaper career, and started using my life to tell others about Jesus.

However, my skeptical nature didnt just go away. Did I believe in miracles? Yes, of course... sort of. I was convinced that Jesus resurrection and other miracles happened like the Bible said. But was God still in the miracle business today?

Some Christians believe that after the apostles died and the New Testament was compiled, signs and wonders stopped happening.

Other followers of Christ point to Isaiah 53:5, which says, By his wounds we are healed. They claim that if someone has enough faith in Jesus, physical healing can happen today. They see miracles all over the place.

MORE THAN 94 MILLION MIRACLES

As I began researching this book, I arranged for a national survey about miracles, which was done by Barna Research. The survey found that half the adults in the United States (51 percent) said they believe the miracles of the Bible happened as they are described. Asked whether miracles are possible today, two out of three Americans (67 percent) said yes. Only 15 percent said no.

That was interesting. But what I really wanted to know was, how many people had personally experienced something they can only explain as being a miracle of God? Not surprisingly, Christians scored the highest percentage (nearly 78 percent) in reporting they had experienced God in a remarkable way.

But as it turned out, nearly two out of five U.S. adults (38 percent) said they have had such an experience. That means an eye-popping 94,792,000 Americans are convinced that God has performed at least one miracle for them. That is an astonishing number!

Then I found a 2004 survey that showed 55 percent of U.S. doctors have seen results in their patients that they would consider miraculous.

These statistics and surveys show people believe in miracles. But I wanted to dig deeper and still had a lot of questions. Maybe a lot of these supernatural occurrences were based on mistakes, misunderstandings, lies, legends, rumors, or wishful thinking.

In other words, does a miracle-performing God actually exist, and has he left his fingerprints all over history and into the present age? More importantly, is this same God available to perform supernatural events in