Signs & Wonders Blog

Among the things that make the holiday season memorable are family traditions. One dictionary defines tradition as “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.” While growing up in Moorhead, Minnesota, my family had our share of Christmas rituals. One of them was my sister Tanya and I taking turns opening up the little flaps on our advent calendar. My immediate family always opened presents on Christmas Eve after Dad came home from work in the late afternoon (or in the morning if he had the day off). Tanya and I passed the time by played the board game Monopoly , which often took two hours to complete. Sometimes we also went to a candlelight service at the Lutheran church we attended across the river in Fargo, North Dakota. Later that night, I would get together with my mother’s side of the family at Grandma Tweiten’s house. Often we ate a light dinner but then always sang Christmas carols before opening presents. Eventually, my Aunt Gaye added a tradition...

While witnessing to Muslims, they object to Jesus being called “the Son of God” because Allah (the Arabic word for God) supposedly had no sons. When I quoted John 3:16 to one Muslim in particular, this man got hung up on the word “begotten.” He thought it only referred to the result of a sexual union.   The words “begot” and “begotten” are used numerous times in the Bible, usually in genealogy listings. Those words have other uses in Scripture besides records of human offspring . Look at The Message Bible’s rendering of John 1:9-13… “The Life-Light was the real thing: every person entering Life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not...

Many of you are probably familiar with the Christmas TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” This stop-motion animated classic has one memorable character nicknamed “Bumble”, an Abominable Snowman that initially terrorizes the frozen north. But in the end, the monster is tamed and seen putting the star on top of a Christmas tree. This story illustrates a spiritual truth: even the worst of sinners can be redeemed. It appears the Abominable Snowman has increased in popularity. I've seen him in people’s yards as a Christmas decoration even in Florida, where it hardly snows. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines  abominable  as “causing moral revulsion. The Bible lists specific things that are “abominations.” Here are a few of them: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” - Leviticus 18:22 “These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that d...

Earlier this week while getting coffee at McDonald’s, my receipt indicated I was customer #300. That reminded me of bowling since 300 is a perfect score in the ten-pin version of the game. During my childhood, Dad often took our family to the bowling alley on Sunday afternoon. I was also on bowling leagues in junior high, high school, and college. I managed to win a few trophies.  Since then, I’ve occasionally gone bowling with friends. One Saturday in 1993, my friend Steve suggested we do so and kept saying, “I’m going to beat you.” I didn’t tell him of my previous bowling experience. Steve wasn’t happy when I beat him with scores of 161 and 216. He even suggested I cheated. That was impossible since the bowling alley had electronic scoring. I’ve bowled other games over 200 but never came close to 300. A bowler has to get twelve consecutive strikes to achieve a perfect game. One dictionary defines perfect as “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or charact...

Until 2008, I didn’t own a cell phone. I grew to despising them because they often rang before I could witness to selected individuals. Then I dated a woman who offered to buy me a phone and put me on her Sprint plan. That ended after a few months when we broke up.  A short time later, I set up a Boost Mobile account. It was the only cellular service I knew of then that didn’t require signing a contract. My Boost Mobile phone was used sparingly since I had frequent access to landlines. In addition, a friend told me about Google Voice that allowed me to make free calls through my laptop using Wi-Fi. Eventually , I closed my Boost Mobile account after being tricked into switching to their $50/month Unlimited Plan to use a “free phone” they sent me. Then another friend offered me a phone to use with his T-Mobile family plan. A year later, that phone accidentally got baptized in the washing machine. My then-pastor unsuccessfully tried resurrecting that phone in a bag of rice. Becau...

This Thursday in the United States (and a few other countries) is Thanksgiving Day, an annual holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional turkey dinner. It’s definitely a good time to count your blessings. In this article, I will describe five things I’m thankful for. Hopefully, this will inspire you to do the same, especially if you’re going through difficult times.  We should never lose an attitude of gratitude.  1) I’m still alive. In 1978, I almost got killed in an accident. While in my early teens, my parents had property on Big Sugar Bush Lake in Central Minnesota. During the summer, we’d go there every weekend. One Sunday in mid-September, we went waterskiing. While taking my turn around the lake, my sister stood on the dock. I tried to get close enough to spray water on her. Unfortunately, I misjudged my distance and slammed into the side of the dock! All I suffered were surface cuts on my arm and leg. Although I wasn’t born again at the time,...

One thing that annoys me is Christians criticizing the so-called “ prosperity gospel " as if it’s a sin to be wealthy. I like what my former pastor Mac Hammond says, “The more money believers have, the less the devil has.” Nevertheless, a man I know recently shared this meme that claims “...the prosperity gospel offers you everything Satan offered Christ." Let’s examine what the devil offered the Lord in Matthew 4… 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,  6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw...

For 15 years now, I’ve been on Facebook plus added other social media platforms. Since I use Facebook as a tool for ministry, I will accept most friend requests as long as my potential friend appears to be a God-fearing person and has a legitimate profile photo . If a person I don’t know doesn’t have a sufficient number of Facebook friends, then their request is deleted. I’m suspicious of individuals who immediately go outside their circle of influence before connecting with people they already know. I’ve learned to set other boundaries . Some of my Facebook friends post too much stuff online. I noticed one woman make over 40 posts on the same day! Digital entrepreneur Neil Patel says, “If you post too infrequently, your audience will forget that you exist and you will quickly fade into the deep dark recesses of their minds. However, if you are posting too often, you will become a complete nuisance and they will dread seeing your posts overcrowding their feed.” Most studies agree that...

With the American midterm election coming up in a few days, I thought it would be good to share this powerful analogy a Facebook friend posted: A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like many others her age, she considered herself to be liberal. She was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs: in other words, the redistribution of wealth.     She was ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.     One day she challenged her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth, and she indicated so to her father. He responded by aski...

Yesterday afternoon I rode a bus from downtown Tampa after doing some street evangelism. I was getting hungry and thought of an area in the northern part of town with many restaurants. While getting off by the intersection of Fowler and Nebraska Avenue, I noticed a gathering that included a man preaching over a loudspeaker. One thing that caught my attention was a large banner quoting Isaiah 1:18 but misspelled “saith.” By the time I walked over there, I forgot about the misspelled banner because of seeing other signs. I also noticed the group consisted of well dressed African-American men (I don’t recall seeing any women). I asked who they were. One of the men handed me a flyer that resembled a church bulletin.  I started looking at the flyer minutes later after getting seated at Denny’s. I realized the flyer was their church's version of a gospel tract. However, there were parts of it I don’t agree with. Despite their sign encouraging people to “reason together”, I wasn...

All my life I’ve been a cat lover but in recent years developed an increasing appreciation for dogs. One in particular that I grew fond of recently passed away. When I first stayed with my friend Lorvin in 2013, he had two beagles named Rocky and Scooby. I noticed Scooby’s bark sounded like a seal. So we started calling him Seal Dog. I never got tired of hearing his “seal squeal.” Scooby wagged his tail while barking and howling for me. I believe he enjoyed the extra attention. Rocky usually wouldn’t bark when I tried getting him to do so. Seal Dog always responded instead. Lorvin got the idea of turning Scooby into a superhero . He ordered a Superman outfit for dogs since the “S” could also stand for Seal Dog. An Underdog outfit was ordered for Rocky who I nicknamed Überdog. Just for fun, I created videos of these characters. One of them was for a song I composed. “ Seal Dog Theme ” got played on the Dr. Demento radio show. Later when Lorvin got married, his wife Tanya insisted on...

Two nights ago at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church, I attended a service where evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth was the guest speaker. At the end, he offered to pray for everyone. When Jonathan laid hands on me, I didn’t get slain in the spirit but noticed a tingling in my hands afterward. When I woke up the next morning, I felt a stirring in my spirit. Even as I write this, my hands are still tingling.  Christianity is not dependent on feelings such as Mormons urging potential converts to seek after a “burning in the bosom.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us,  “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  Nevertheless, God has often manifested Himself to where I felt Him doing things in me. On the night on my conversion in 1991, my brother-in-law led me in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I then felt a surge of electricity flow through my body. All the guilt I felt from the sins I committed suddenly left. One Monday night in 1995, following a street evangelism o...

During the past week, Hurricane Ian devastated parts of Cuba, Florida, and the Carolinas. However, there were reports of believers whose homes were miraculously spared. The mainstream media predicted the hurricane would hit the Tampa Bay area but diverted to the south. I believe that was the result of extra prayer meetings The River Church (and probably other fellowships) had where they spoke against this storm. On May 22, 2011, a tornado hit north Minneapolis where I’d been staying with friends. I wasn't even aware a tornado touched down in the area until hours after coming home from a downtown bike ride. An air raid siren had been wailing but I didn't think much of it because it wasn't very loud. I figured it was due to bad weather out in the suburbs...not 20 blocks away!   Meanwhile, my host had slept in late and was awakened by the siren. In response, he simply rebuked the tornado. It lifted within five seconds! Five minutes later the sun came out and there was beau...

One of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible is Jesus telling the rich young ruler, “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21). Religious folks quote that while criticizing megachurches and so-called prosperity preachers . Others may try using the verse to manipulate people into giving them things. Last Sunday while evangelizing in Austin, Texas, a homeless man who professed to be a Christian quoted that Scripture in hopes of getting money from me. I offered him something to eat, but he told me to keep walking.  Jesus didn’t command everyone in the Bible to give away everything they own. When Zacchaeus offered to give half his goods to the poor plus restitution to those he defrauded, Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house…” (Luke 19:9). He didn’t say, “That’s not enough. Give it all away.” It also says in Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” How can anyone receive an inheritance if their pare...