Signs & Wonders Blog

To some people, the word radical has negative connotations. For example, “radical Islam” refers to Muslims carrying out suicidal bombings such as the one this past Monday in Manchester, England that killed 22 people and injured more than 100 others. Although there are peace loving Muslims who condemn such attacks, the fact is the Koran has verses endorsing acts against “infidels” who won’t convert to their religion. The liberal media wrongly compares “radical Christians” to radical Islam. Yes, there have been a few violent acts carried out by extremists in the name of God. However, true followers of Jesus will not kill their enemies except for soldiers defending their country or officers confronting criminals. Even renowned atheist Richard Dawkins stated, “There are no Christians, as far as I know, blowing up buildings. I am not aware of any Christian suicide bombers. I am not aware of any major Christian denomination that believes the penalty for apostasy is death.” The Ne...

Since I started using email in the late 1990s, electronic chain letters frequently show up in my inbox with the exhortation to “pass it on.” They vary from inspirational stories to virus warnings. Often these messages contain partial truths mixed with false information. For years I received online petitions against Madalyn Murray O’Hair campaigning for all Christian programming to be taken off the air , even though O’Hair had been dead since 1995! More recently, a couple of Facebook friends posted a prayer request for a 22-month-old boy who supposedly shot himself in the chest with a nail gun and was near death. Upon seeing this, I started praying about the situation and immediately perceived it was an e-rumor. A search on truthorfiction.com revealed this prayer request has circulated online since 2010 (meaning the boy would be 8-9 years old now). The validity of this is in question since no places are mentioned or even the boy’s name. I’ve also received emails containing...

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield often joked that he got no respect. One of his famous one-liners was, “I called suicide prevention…they put me on hold.” In real life, suicide is no laughing matter. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, each year more than 32,000 Americans take their own lives. This past January, an eight-year-old boy in Cincinnati hung himself with a necktie in his bedroom. This happened two days after he was attacked in a school bathroom. I can relate to people who contemplate ending their lives. During eighth grade, I experienced much name-calling and physical abuse from my classmates. Going to school had become so traumatic I wanted to die. If my father had a gun, I probably would have shot myself. I considered swallowing poison but fortunately was too scared to follow through with that. A couple of months before giving my life to the Lord in 1991, I was driving on the freeway one night when suddenly I had recurring thoughts of taking my o...

At UNITE Twin Cities Dear Brothers in Christ, I’m an evangelist who mostly does one-on-one witnessing in reaching individuals with the gospel. Still, I appreciate brethren who step out to do open-air preaching . It definitely brings a Christian outside his comfort zone particularly amongst audiences that sometimes become hostile. This past Thursday night, the UNITE  gathering led by   Pulse Movement  took place outside US Bank Stadium. After doing some witnessing in downtown Minneapolis that afternoon, I arrived at the stadium early to get a seat at one of the purple tables across the street. My legs were tired from walking and would have preferred not having to stand while watching the service. Just before it began, your group set up a loudspeaker and banners in front of where I was sitting. Your subsequent preaching hindered me from hearing what was being said from the stage. As I walked closer to the stadium, one of you offered me a gospel tract. Ev...