Signs & Wonders Blog

I consider myself a techie and enjoy the benefits of using electronic equipment. For years, I’ve mostly read God’s word on my smartphone, tablet, and laptop. I can quickly look up verses in different translations, plus enlarge the font to make them easier to read. The small printing in some Bibles almost require a magnifying glass. At night, I often fall asleep to an audio Bible playing on one of my devices.  Living out of a suitcase and limited to the amount of things I can pack, I strive to be as paperless as possible. I primarily communicate online to reduce the amount of snail mail that arrives at my post office box . Using apps on my iPhone, I conveniently use public transportation and make financial transactions. However, I still carry some cash in case of emergencies. One morning, I visited McDonald’s to order a coffee and breakfast burrito, but unfortunately, their computer system was down, preventing me from using my debit card. Fortunately, a woman behind me, who was a ...

Jesus warned in the last days, “…many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) Among them are individuals who persist in setting dates for the Lord’s return. If only they would learn from the mistakes of others. 1n 1844, a Baptist preacher named William Miller predicted Christ would return on  October 22nd of that year. He based that on calculations from the Book of Daniel. Thousands of Millerites sold their possessions expecting to be removed from the earth, but nothing happened. That became known as the Great Disappointment and led to the formation of Adventist denominations. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a history of unfulfilled prophecies. Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell declared Christ returned invisibly in 1874 and the world would end in 1914. His successor Joseph Rutherford falsely predicted the Second Coming would occur in 1918 and then in 1925. The Watchtower later told their followers that 1975 would be the year of the Lord’s return. Again...

When Christian movies hit the silver screen nationwide, I make it a priority to go see them as soon as possible (but usually opt for matinees when ticket prices are lower). “Light of the World” premiered in theaters on September 5th. At the time, I was staying with a pastor and his family in the Buffalo area. Unfortunately, the movie wasn’t showing at the nearest theater there. Earlier this week, I took a train to Northern Virginia to spend a few days with my friend Jim . Since he’s a movie buff, we both went to see “Light of the World” this past Thursday. This animated story of Jesus is told through the apostle John. At the beginning of the movie, John, a young boy, is eager to assist his family’s fishing business. However, his father, Zebedee, faces the threat of being enslaved due to unpaid taxes. In his quest to bring the fish to market and raise the required funds, John inadvertently encounters the Messiah, whom his mother had spoken of. Eventually, John and his brother James dec...

One reason I’m thankful for being an American is religious liberty. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees our freedom of speech and to peaceably assemble. In recent years, there have been increasing threats to those freedoms. Some individuals resort to violence against those they disagree with. This past Wednesday, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a public debate on the Utah Valley University campus. I hadn’t closely followed Charlie, but I now have a greater appreciation for his Turning Point USA organization. Their founder has become a martyr like Stephen in the book of Acts. The word martyr comes from the Greek word mártys, meaning “witness.” Since the resurrection of Jesus, many other believers died for their faith in Him. All the original twelve apostles were martyred except for John. The book of Revelation mentions Antipas in chapter 2, a group of martyrs in chapter 6, and the two witnesses in chapter 11. Protestants who were tortured and ...

This past Thursday night, I watched the first few minutes of the NFL regular season opener between the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Just before the first play from scrimmage, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter spat upon Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. That resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Eagles and Carter’s ejection from the game. Most people consider spitting on someone offensive and disrespectful. It can transmit disease, cause personal harm, and disgust to the victim. It’s a form of assault and battery, which can lead to criminal charges, fines, jail time, probation, and a permanent criminal record. Spitting on public servants is treated as a felony. On the other hand, guests will pretend to spit on couples getting married in Greece as a form of good luck (I learned that from watching the 2002 movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”).  While walking to McDonald’s one morning, I stopped to minister to ...

Many people have a bucket list, a list of activities they want to do before they pass away. This term comes from the English idiom “kick the bucket,” which means “to die.” Recently, while walking through downtown Buffalo, New York, I saw a chalkboard where people could write down things they want to experience before their lives end. After I took this photo, I noticed chalk at the bottom. So I wrote on the upper right hand corner: “Lead more people to Jesus (Romans 10:9-10).”  A quote attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes is “most people die with their music still in them.” Many people pass away before fully expressing their potential, creativity, or passions. This is often due to fear or waiting for “the right time.”  Then there are Christians who fear it’s too late to accomplish God’s purpose for their lives. One of my favorite Bible verses is Joel 2:25, “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and th...

During my youth, I was a chronic complainer. I frequently griped about things such as annoying TV commercials and overplayed songs on the radio. When I later became a Christian and learned that our words have power (as mentioned in Proverbs 18:21), I became more mindful of what I said. One dictionary defines complain as “express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.” Sometimes I’ll rant about things on social media, but when possible, I'll also offer a solution. Constant complaining grieves the Lord. The children of Israel spent forty years in the wilderness because of that. Some of them experienced an early death because of their moaning and groaning. Numbers 11:1 says, “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.” Occasionally, I’ve caught myself complaining about traffic, but I soon thank God when I have a car to driv...

Prior to my salvation, I often went dancing in nightclubs and also worked as a DJ in a few of them. After getting saved, I continued going to clubs for a couple of years but eventually stopped. I could no longer put up with smoke-filled rooms plus listening to music with explicit lyrics. One reason many sinners resist Christianity is the mistaken idea God doesn’t want us to have fun. Some religious leaders have a problem with dancing in general. When I worked for Billy Graham ’s World Wide Pictures, one film we distributed called “The Homecoming” featured students at a high school dance. A pastor who planned to show “The Homecoming” in his church changed his mind because he was afraid the dancing would offend members of his congregation. A more famous movie that dealt with this issue was 1984’s “Footloose.” Based on actual events that happened in a Oklahoma town, an overzealous pastor convinced his city council to ban public dancing. He was challenged by a young man who read the fol...