Signs & Wonders Blog

God desires us to have a long life (Psalm 91:16). Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world where some believers die prematurely. A woman I once dated for over a year passed away recently. In March 2008, my then-roommate Jim and I attended John Crowder meetings at Abundant Love Christian Fellowship, a house church in Washington, DC. During the second night, an Asian woman there caught my attention. I found her attractive but didn’t talk to her. I was more focused on filming the meetings using a camcorder Jim bought for me as a birthday present.  I saw this woman again the following month at a Mahesh Chavda meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland. This time, I approached her, and we chatted a little. Wendy was of Chinese descent, born in New York City to Taiwanese immigrants, but she eventually grew up in Maryland and earned a doctorate. She lived and worked in the nearby city of Rockville. During the next few weeks, I traveled to other cities. Meanwhile, Wendy and I exchanged em...

Being patient is something I have struggled with most of my life, but the Lord has done a work on me in this area. Galatians 5:22 says that patience or long-suffering is one of the fruits of the spirit. Still, I get annoyed when my plans are delayed because of other people's actions. Earlier this week, I took a train to Richmond, Virginia, to attend part of Calvary Campground ’s Winter Campmeeting in nearby Ashland. I left the Amtrak station in Tampa, Florida, on a Monday afternoon almost 30 minutes behind schedule. Although the train gradually made up for lost time, it got delayed again because of a tragedy.  Just before 4:30 a.m. the next morning in Columbia, South Carolina, the train stopped again minutes after letting off and picking up passengers. I’m used to Amtrak making frequent stops to let other trains pass or if another one stalled ahead of us. This sudden stop seemed a bit unusual. Soon, I learned there was a fatality on the tracks. A man tried driving his pickup tr...

As a child, I became a Minnesota Vikings fan and memorized National Football League statistics. Sometimes I made up fictitious leagues. I created nicknames and uniforms for these teams in my mind’s eye. I also rooted for competitors like the United States Football League to succeed. Because the NFL has become a multi-billion dollar monopoly, a new league will unlikely give them a serious challenge soon. The USFL recently made a comeback but has since merged into what’s now the United Football League, a minor league playing in the spring. In recent years, I’ve cut back on watching NFL games . To save time, I watch highlights on YouTube (especially when the Vikings are playing well). I also don’t like recent changes the league made. If, by some act of God, they made me the NFL commissioner, I would like to see the following things happen: Expansion. The league now plays a few regular-season games in London and Mexico City. Many U. S. cities desire an NFL franchise. Eight might be to...

Like many God-fearing Americans, I was grateful to see Donald Trump return to the White House last Monday. I watched the inauguration at Rodney Howard-Browne ’s church (which played on the video screens during their Winter Campmeeting). I was happy to hear the president declare, “We will not forget our God.” However, some clergy aren’t happy about this. Among them is Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who oversees 86 churches across D.C., and Maryland, with 38,000 members. She previously made critical remarks about the president during his first term in office. On the day after Trump's second inauguration, Budde delivered the homily at an interfaith prayer service held at the Washington National Cathedral. The final part of her sermon was directed at President Trump who sat in the front row. Here are portions of what she said:  “Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our ...

For the past few days, wildfires have devastated the Los Angeles area. Since January 7th, the fires have claimed at least 27 lives, forced over 200,000 to evacuate, and destroyed or damaged more than 12,000 structures. Some were houses owned by Hollywood celebrities.  One Facebook friend wrote a post claiming the fires are divine judgment. I don’t believe it’s an " act of God ." For one thing, the Pasadena Jewish Temple plus some churches have burned down. Approximately 20% of Californians are evangelical Christians. Actor Mel Gibson (who directed “The Passion of the Christ”) lost his home. It’s unlike Sodom in Genesis 19, which was destroyed after only four righteous people fled the city. I’ve also heard reports of homes supernaturally spared from the wildfires. Unfortunately, questionable posts have circulated about one of them. Take a look at the photos of the preserved houses above. Notice how they differ. One shows a house with two chimneys plus a charred house to the...

For almost a decade, TracFone was my cell phone carrier. Because I often use Wi-Fi and have a Google Voice number, I didn’t need to spend much money on a cell phone plan. Gradually, other pay-as-you-go options emerged that offered better rates, especially for data.  At the beginning of 2024, I switched to Mint Mobile because of this promotion for new customers: buy three months of service and get three more for free. I chose their 15 GB data plan with unlimited talk and text. That cost just over $84 (approximately $12/month). Mint Mobile’s service had been okay. However, I didn’t like the requirement of a large upfront payment with greater discounts for longer commitments. I prefer a month-to-month plan. Another turn-off is having to pay increased rates to keep their service.  In July 2024, I called Mint Mobile to request my Port PIN and account number so I could change carriers . A rep named Ace kept pressuring me to stay with them. Normally, that would be reason enough...

Many Christians are starting 2025 by fasting of varying lengths. Some ministers who I respect recommend fasting no more than three days. Yet, I’ve heard testimonies of people who had supernatural encounters during longer fasts. Jesus Himself did a 40-day fast before starting His earthly ministry. There are also debates as to what defines a fast. Some pastors encourage their congregations to do partial fasts by skipping a meal or two. Others endorse what’s called a “Daniel fast.” That involves abstaining from selected foods like Daniel did while the Israelites were held in Babylon. In Daniel Chapter 1, the prophet and his friends only had vegetables to eat and water to drink for ten days. What was the result? 15   And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.   16  Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave the...