Signs & Wonders Blog

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is expected to officially become the Republican nominee for President this week at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. However, many Christians are having qualms about a Mormon possibly becoming president.  Certainly, I prefer a president whose spiritual beliefs are more in line with evangelical Christianity. Then again, not every past president fits this category.  John F. Kennedy was a Roman Catholic. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were deists. Millard Fillmore and William Howard Taft were Unitarians. Taft even said one time that he did not believe in the divinity of Christ. Fortunately, no U. S. president has declared himself to be an agnostic or atheist.  Nevertheless, I don’t agree with many of the teachings promoted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In summary… •                 I don’t believe in Joseph Smith.  I believe Jesus Christ is the Way, the

Remember the old Disney cartoon “Pinocchio”?   This was about a puppet brought to life by a fairy that tells him he can become a real boy if he proves himself “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”   Pinocchio then faced a variety of temptations.   Whenever he didn’t tell the truth, his nose would grow.   In real life, “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.” (Proverbs 12:19) One time I witnessed to a young man who professed to be a Christian but admitted to telling a few lies.   Yet he didn’t think anything was wrong with that as long as it helped somebody else.   That reminded me of a well-known religious person who also justified lying.   Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church once said, “If you tell a lie to make a person better, then that is not a sin.”   He further added, “Even God tells lies very often; you can see this throughout history.”   Apparently, Rev. Moon does not know the God of the Bible very well… “God is not a man, that He should

Leonard Ravenhill once said, “You can’t develop character by reading books.   You develop it from conflict.”   While God is not the one who brings calamity into people’s lives, sometimes He allows challenging situations to manifest so we develop a greater trust in Him and become more Christ-like. 2 Timothy 3:12 promises, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”   If you are truly living for the Lord, then you should expect people to occasionally call you names like “religious fanatic”, “Bible thumper”, and “Jesus freak.” (My brother-in-law thanks people who call him the latter).   Unfortunately some believers who are not grounded on the word of God will draw back when persecuted.   Jesus talked about this in Mark 4:17, “and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.   Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.” How should a Christian respond to persecution?   O