Signs & Wonders Blog

As a kid in school, we began the day by standing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Back then, none of my classmates made an issue about it. It would have been considered abnormal for refusing to do so. Patriotism wasn’t forced upon us. We were simply taught to honor our country and its leaders. Currently, there’s a controversy over football players and the national anthem. This was initiated two years ago by Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Kaepernick took a knee not to honor God or fallen soldiers but as a protest against alleged mistreatment of blacks by police. He told reporters, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” I admired Kaepernick’s playing abilities but disagreed with him dissing a symbol that represents freedom for all Americans. Since becoming a free agent following the 2016 season, Kaepernick ha...

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma magazine who still writes a weekly column for them called “Fire in My Bones.” Brother Grady often points out things done by Spirit-filled Christians that need changing. One of his best articles is titled “ 9 Bad Charismatic Habits We Need to Break ” (which was published five years ago). I encourage you to read Lee’s article in its entirety but will share the list of habits… 1. The body slam 2. The courtesy drop 3. The song that never ends 4. The amateur flag corp 5. The wannabe telethon offering 6. The sermon with seven endings 7. The praise-a-go-go dancers 8. The ear-shattering amp 9. The “jump-start” glossalalia After reading Brother Grady’s article, I thought of two more annoying Pentecostal practices... * Telling the congregation to “turn to your neighbor” numerous times to say something. I think it’s okay to do this once or twice during a service (I even tried it years ago when giving a speech on Bible pr...

Yesterday a Facebook friend griped about the Catholic Church “…surrounded by gold and all the riches of the earth and I believe Jesus must be sad with them. I’d rather be poor and get by as I am…Those dreams of a Ferrari and touring the world will never come around for me.” He’s right. My friend’s dreams won’t happen unless he renews his mind to what God’s word says. As Jesus said in Matthew 9:29, “According to your faith let it be to you.” Certainly, I’m against Catholic doctrine that contradicts Scripture but them having gold is not a sin in itself. When Solomon’s Temple was built, precious metals were used. 2 Chronicles 3:4 says, “He overlaid the inside with pure gold .” Many of the things in the tabernacle in Exodus 25 were also covered in gold. Would I use gold if I built and pastored a church? Probably not but I still want a nice place for my congregation to meet and to see them blessed.  What about heaven with its streets of gold and surrounded by a wall made of ...

During my childhood, I was never a Boy Scout partially because of my lack of interest in camping and other outdoor activities. Nevertheless, I believe in the ideas the Boy Scouts of America have promoted for over 100 years. Their well-known motto is “be prepared.” Sadly, the BSA didn’t prepare for what Christina Hoff Sommers calls “ The War on Boys .” Five years ago, singer Carly Rae Jepsen and the band Train were scheduled to perform at that year’s National Scout Jamboree. Both backed out because of then-BSA policies forbidding homosexuals. Jepsen stated, “As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer.” If I was attending that jamboree, I’d rather hear Fred Flintstone sing “ Old MacDonald Had a Farm .” The Boy Scouts of America have since amended their policies. First, they allowed “openly gay youths” to join at the beginning of 2014. Then in July 2015, the BSA ended their blanket ban on h...