It’s great to be back in Pembrokeshire, although I have to admit that Mo and I have had a wonderful five weeks working in Tenerife yet again. And given the fact that some question my use of the word ‘work,’ I’ll simply say: ‘When God asks ‘Who will go?’ it would be wrong not to volunteer!’

We’re not as sunburned as you might think though. The weather has been decidedly indifferent this year with cool winds and cloudy skies for most of the time. In fact, I did feel a little sorry for one British pastor and his family who turned up expecting things to be very different. Sadly for them, it was warmer at home, just as it seems to have been in Pembrokeshire too for much of the time.

And all this got me thinking. I’ve been wondering what the earliest Christians would make of our experience of church. What major differences would they see if they could spend some time with us? How different would our expressions of the Christian life be compared to theirs? And one thing in particular stands out. I reckon they would be amazed at how little emphasis many of us place on the role of the supernatural in our lives today.

It is obvious that the earliest Christians were convinced that God both can, and does perform miracles. They may have used various words but those words that they did use spoke of His power and His authority. But whatever the language, one thing is clear: the early church was renowned for the presence of the miraculous.

As one writer has said: “Outpourings of supernatural events fill the pages of Acts as well as featuring in Paul’s letters and the writings of the early church.” Indeed, you won’t understand the spread of the Christian faith in the first few centuries unless you appreciate that the supernatural was taken for granted. Even enemies of Christianity like the writer Celsus had to agree that the Christians were in touch with supernatural powers. He couldn’t deny the miracles and so he did his best to discredit them - by claiming they were the work of the devil.

And interestingly (some would probably say coincidentally), God was good to me whilst I was stressing this to my friends in Tenerife. He sent two people along both of whom were able to testify to the amazing ways in which God has intervened in their lives. One lady for example stopped to chat at the church door and told me how she had lost driving licence because of the onset of age related macular degeneration. But miraculously God has intervened and she is now driving again following an exhaustive test with representatives from the DVLA.

Mark’s story is even more amazing. He was confined to a wheel chair and told he would never walk again following a gas explosion that left him in a coma for five weeks. But, in his own words: “Jesus appeared to him and offered him a new life.” Mark had no interest in God at the time but he certainly has now! He can’t stop talking about God and now he is quite capable of playing a good game of paddle tennis!

It’s often said that if we expect little of a child he or she will live up to our expectations. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s no different when it comes to faith. And so I choose to believe that the God I serve can do things that go way beyond my expectations. Why don’t you?

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]