Signs & Wonders Blog

It amazes me how people spend large amounts of money on stuff I consider frivolous. Back in 1992, Super Bowl XXVI took place in the Minneapolis area where I lived at the time. A man from my Toastmasters club bought a ticket at the last minute for $350 (the average face value was $150). Perhaps I would’ve considered buying a ticket if the Minnesota Vikings played in that game. Tickets for this year’s Super Bowl start at $5,950 per person. Depending on seat location and package details, listings have been as high as $21,250! Once I visited a grocery store that sold truffles at $999.99 per pound and bottles of wine for over $2,000 each. Days later, two friends and I talked about God not being limited by finances. I pointed out when I’ve traveled on the mission field by bus or train, the Lord often provided money at the last minute when I had to buy the most expensive ticket. It puzzled me why the money didn’t manifest earlier. I could have purchased a cheaper ticket. Then I realized h...

One thing that repelled me from Christianity during my youth was outdated-sounding music in churches, Christian nights at roller rinks, and on religious radio stations. After committing my life to the Lord in 1991, it took me awhile to appreciate praise and worship songs. Eventually, I started an Internet radio station and shared some of my favorites. Here are a few that I still like to this day: “A Shield About Me” - When first attending Living Word Christian Center , I wasn’t fond of their worship band’s repertoire. One exception was this song based on Psalm 3:3. I particularly liked a synthesized string sound the keyboard player added to the arrangement. Unfortunately, the Living Word band never recorded this song for one of their CDs. However, I found this version by The Maranatha! Singers. “Right Now” - In March 1995, Bazil Howard-Browne held a series of meetings at a church in Elk River, Minnesota. His worship leader David Vanderver often sang this song about feeling the Ho...

As a boy attending a Lutheran church in North Dakota, one song I learned in Sunday school had these lyrics… Into my heart/Into my heart Come into my heart, Lord Jesus Come in today/Come in to stay Come into my heart, Lord Jesus Sorry to say, that song didn’t mean anything to me then. None of my Sunday school teachers or my Lutheran pastors taught I must be born again. It wasn’t until years later when I understood why one should have Jesus in their heart. Some Christians oppose using the phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” claiming it’s unscriptural. One nationally known pastor went so far as to label the phrase “superstitious”, “dangerous”, and “damning.” I beg to differ. Jesus Himself said in John 7:38,  “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”   (Other translations use the terms “belly” and “innermost being” instead of “heart.”) Even the Old Testament talked about a time when man could receive a supernat...

While growing up in the 1970s, I saw a public service announcement on TV in which family members were sitting around at home on a Sunday morning. Meanwhile, an announcer said, “People have said they would come to church if only someone invited them.” Then it showed a congregation walking into a church building as the announcer said, “Our doors are open.” Sometimes it takes a friendly invitation to get an individual into the house of the Lord. Before I got saved in early 1991, thoughts went through my mind about going back to church. I resisted taking that initial step. The traditional Lutheran church my parents made me attend gave me negative perceptions of Christianity. Then one Sunday morning, my then-girlfriend invited me to visit her church. That invitation to Living Word Christian Center  eventually resulted in a radical transformation of my life. I got filled with the Holy Spirit and became a full-time minister. Recently a fellow evangelist wrote a Facebook post criticizin...

Growing up, I liked watching science fiction movies that attempted to predict the future. One of them was “Soylent Green”, a 1973 dystopian drama starring Charlton Heston. Set in 2022, Heston played detective Frank Thorn who works for the New York Police Department. He investigates the murder of a board member of the Soylent Corporation, which controls half the world’s food production. Their featured product is a wafer allegedly made from plankton. Thorn finds out Soylent Green is made of people. Recently I watched “Soylent Green” online and noticed how their portrayal of 2022 is much different than the world we live in today… New York City currently has just over 8.8 million residents, a fraction of the 40,000,000 mentioned in the movie. Even the entire state of New York has about half the number of people. Overpopulation concerns have been for naught. The movie mentions a year-round heatwave caused by the greenhouse effect. Despite continued fear-mongering by environmentalists, ...