I'm talking about gifts, good things from the hand of the LORD. We all know the devil comes to steal kill and destroy. But when there is a genuine healing or a dream that confirms a word or revelation or prophecy, or deliverance that sets people free, or a word of knowledge that confirms direction to a person or people, I want to attribute those to a good God. I think some people give the devil TOO much credit rather than focusing on our good God.
I think there is something to be said about how culture does make a difference. It often seems most of the discussions about giving credit to the enemy for spiritual occurrences do not happen around the world on the mission field as frequently. There was an interesting documentary on that when it came to the work occurring in China amongst those suffering as Christians in the persecuted churches there....and for more, one can look it up under the name
The Finger of God - Pt 1
Underground Church in China excerpt from Finger ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgm4O3uCdZ0
Here in the U.S, where the battlefield is more so that of the mind and intellectual dynamics in view while we often have alot of resources that can make many supernatural healings seem unecessary, I would not be surprised as to why alot of things can happen in the U.S that seem fake. As another once said, "The enemy abroad appears as a roaring Dragon...with much power needed....but here, in prosperous lands, he appears as a slithering serpent..with much wisdom needed."
There is something to be said, I think, about atmosphere making a world of difference. Anyone that says signs/wonders and miracles happening outside the U.S. are false is simply not doing work on the mission field---but what I've often heard from those who experience the mission field is that the people over there live in much harsher circumstances than in the U.S. They often live out their faith on the margins...in a culture that's VERY much into spiritualism, the occult and often more believing in the supernatural than here in the U.S which is very rationalistic/focused on entertainment. Thus, others have felt that the Lord does more supernatural things on that side of the world than here in the U.S since they have a far greater need for it, especially when the Gospel is so much more real....whereas here (as said before), the focus in the U.S is more so on the intellectual side/mental battles and thus the Power of the Lord is more so demonstrated in differing ways.
This is essentially seen in one paticular branch of Cessationism that many hold to and that I've often leaned toward myself...known as Cocentric Cessationism. For more info, one can go online/investigate the following under their respective titles:
It was often one of the greatest issues I saw debated in Highschool, especially when interacting with others in an environment where some are Charismatic/Continuists and believing as you do and yet also having others who may range anywhere from Soft Cessationists to Hard Cessationist and believe others thinking otherwise are naive/foolish---or for many of the outlandish claims often made in the Charismatic Movement when it comes to "moves of god" and many other issues..
But on the issue, in regards to Cessationism, the branch knwon as "Concentric Cessationism " is a view dealing with the issue that seems to be in line with many wondering why there're healings/wonders moreso around the world than here in the states at times--as they believe that the miraculous gifts have indeed ceased in the mainstream church and evangelized areas, but appear in unreached areas as an aid to spreading the Gospel, basically seeing more so occuring within the the "cutting edge" places of the Gospel being spread.
Of course, doesn't mean others feel that healings/miraculous gifts do not happen here in the states. For there're many who feel that the Gifts of the Spirit--as well as the things Jesus noted on healing the sick/raising the dead and many other issues---are more than continuing. They have no problem believing many accounts on the issue of miracles/wonders occuring here and around the world.....and they often do not have issue giving benefit of the doubt and celebration of the works of Christ in others, especially for those who've either been on the Mission Field or have family there already who see the Power of God up close
They also have no issue believing that many miraculous events occur due to FAITH in action, just as it was with the Lord Jesus and the Church in Acts. However, they also believe that signs/wonders are not something to be treated as if it were like Disney or Popcorn----especially seeing that in the ministry of Jesus, healings/miracles had a purpose and they were not an EVERY-DAY thing...or something to which He made a must to happen all the time during his years of ministry, as the goal is to minister to the Father rather than public demand...and that often changed.
People often forget that the amount of time it takes us to read the accounts of what occured in the Gospels and Acts can be damaging to understanding healings---for we can read in about a 10 to 20 minute time span and assume that when things go from chapter to chapter it was an EVERY-DAY occurance...and yet forget that the Gospels were accounts of what occured over a time of 3 years, so there's the possibility that the many instances of others being healed rapidly many times were not occuring within a daily context.
THe same with Acts---which was a narrative written over 30 years....and to take the examples of faith/healing as if it was like popcorn can be damaging since I think it's reasonable to say that many of the instances of miraculous healings didn't occur all the time in Paul's time and perhaps not for long periods of time, months or years. But when it happened, it didn't mean that the Lord didn't consider faith to be of importance and that His desire to heal wasn't real......
More could be said---but if interested, one paticular resource one can look up online (if wanting study info) would be a book that I highly recommend by Wayne Grudem known as
"Are Miraculous Gifts For Today?" ( )
The author invited leading representatives from four distinct theological perspectives to present their views on the operation of miraculous gifts today. Grudem has long been one within the camp of Reformed Charismatic theology that I've often enjoyed regarding the scholarly approaches/presentation of multuple points of view that he does....as in the book, he identified the four schools as Cessationists, Open Minded but Cautious, Third Wave, and Pentecostal/Charismatic.
Obvious is the fact that not every form of Cessationism is necessarily a detrimental thing (or something all hold to in the same form)---just as not every view of Continuism is necessarily beneficial.