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Divine Disruptions?

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Last Sunday, Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota had their morning service interrupted because one of the pastors is also an ICE agent. Protesters came in chanting Renee Good ’s name and using foul language . One of them claimed their disruption was something Jesus would have done. Chauntyll Allen compared it to the Lord chasing the money changers out of the temple. I doubt Allen even knows Him. She is the leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities and “married” to a woman. Allen and two other protesters were later arrested but have since been released. Cities Church issued this statement: “Invading a church service to disrupt the worship of Jesus - or any other act of worship - is protected by neither the Christian Scriptures nor the laws of this nation.” Still, their situation had me thinking about other meetings where preachers faced opposition from the congregation. Even if one disagrees with what’s said from the pulpit, it’s rude to interrupt the speaker. One can choose to keep q...
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Memorable Salvations

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A well-known preacher was once asked who was the most important person he led to the Lord. His response was that all salvations are precious to God. While I certainly agree with that statement, I’ve played a part in a few that were significant to me personally. Probably the most famous person I led in the prayer of salvation was the man credited with discovering Prince . A transplanted Englishman named Chris Moon owned a Minneapolis recording studio during the 1970s. A demo tape of songs he co-wrote with Prince resulted in the first recording contract for the rock star. In 1995, I met Chris during a business opportunity presentation. Two years after that, he invited me over to his house to listen to a demo tape of songs I put together. In his living room, Chris prayed with me to get saved. I’ve also handed gospel tracts to two men well known to Minnesota sports fans. One was Sid Hartman, a local sportswriter who I saw in 2013 at a Perkins restaurant. The other was Bud Grant, the Hal...
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Not Good - A Response to the ICE Shooting in Minneapolis

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I’m a traveling missionary who has lived in Minnesota much of my life. I grew up in Moorhead, but later moved to Minneapolis to pursue a music career. Eventually, I become a Christian, and spent time  working for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association when it was based in Minneapolis. Now for almost three decades, I’ve travelled around the country, but often make seasonal returns to Minnesota when the weather is warmer. I don’t care for the cold winters nor the political climate there. This past Wednesday, an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent named Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good. It’s a tragedy that could’ve been avoided like Daunte Wright’s death five years ago. If Good had cooperated and obeyed law enforcement orders, she would be alive today. Instead, she and her lesbian partner spent time taunting ICE officials. Videos show Good attempted to run over an ICE agent with her vehicle and paid the ultimate price. Good had been part of a le...
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No More Northstar

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I wish train travel was more accessible in the United States. Many Americans are car-centric, and avoid using public transportation. In Europe, I found train travel almost effortless. However, it is significantly limited here. Nevertheless, I’ve enjoyed using Amtrak’s USA Rail Passes . Despite its drawbacks, I’ll be keeping an eye on their website this week for another potential sale, similar to the ones they held in mid-January for the past three years. In the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where I often spend part of the spring and summer, there are two light rail lines. The blue line connects downtown Minneapolis with the international airport and the Mall of America in the suburb of Bloomington. The green line runs between the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Additionally, new stations are being constructed in the southwestern suburbs and are expected to open next year.  There’s also a train called the Northstar Line that ran between downtown Minneapolis and Big Lake, ...
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“David” - A Review

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I make it a point to attend Christian movies that are released in theaters on a national level. This past Tuesday, I saw “David.” I had high expectations since it was the second highest grossing movie in America on its opening weekend. One thing I noticed was better animation than the previous Bible-based movie I attended (“ Light of the World ”).   Based on 1 and 2 Samuel, “David” begins with the title character overseeing his father’s flock of sheep. While one of them gave birth to a lamb, David fought off a lion. He soon returns home and is surprised to be anointed by the prophet Samuel as the next king of Israel. Meanwhile, the reigning King Saul faces personal issues as well as external threats to his kingdom.  The well-known story of David fighting Goliath has two noticeable omissions. It doesn’t show King Saul offering his daughter as a wife, plus tax exemption as rewards for killing the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:25). It also doesn’t show David cutting off Goliath’s h...
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The End of the World...Thirteen Years Later

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Many of you will remember the hoopla about the end of the world that was supposed to occur on December 21, 2012 (according to some people’s interpretation of the Mayan calendar). Of course, that didn’t happen. Those of you reading this are still alive and breathing. Three years before that, the motion picture “2012” was released. It was well-produced but biblically inaccurate. The movie showed the Earth flooded by a tsunami. God promised in Genesis 9:11, “...never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Additionally, the world will experience a seven-year tribulation period before the return of Jesus Christ. Some believers insist we are in the tribulation right now. That won’t begin until the antichrist signs a seven-year peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). One noteworthy event happened for me on “doomsday.” I had returned to my birthplace of Fargo, North Dakota, for the holidays and stopped to see my mother. She was in an assisted living facility recovering from a s...
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The Last Trumpet

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One topic that stirs up debates amongst Christians is the rapture of the church . Some don’t believe that will happen at all . Others dispute the timing of it. Personally, I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, when the Body of Christ will be taken to heaven before the start of the seven-year tribulation period. However, a few argue it will be mid-trib, or post-trib.  A reason cited by post-tribbers is the “last trumpet” the Apostle Paul referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” They think this is the same trumpet mentioned in Revelation 11:15, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” There are reasons why I don’t believe these two trumpets are the same:  The las...
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