Signs & Wonders Blog

Years ago during a Sunday morning church service, a picture flashed through my mind of a Fisher-Price Corn Popper, a toy some of you might have played with as a child (I remember having one). The interpretation of this vision is that many Christians have colorful gifts that will remain dormant until they start moving. Then those gifts will “pop.” Look at 2 Timothy 1:6-7… “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Many believers quote verse 7 by itself. Truths in Scripture are often revealed when we read particular verses together. Chapter and verse numbers in the Bible were not part of the original Hebrew and Greek texts but were added by translators to help God’s people find specific passages. One reason many Christians are shy and fearful is that they are not using all the natural and spiritual gifts God has put into them.  Tw...

Last Wednesday morning, I watched  on YouTube   President Donald Trump ’s address to the joint session of Congress from the previous night (I didn’t watch it live because of catching up on much-needed sleep). It was disturbing to see some Democrats acting like whiny babies because they aren’t getting their way with the government. I kept thinking how American politicians become united only when our freedom is seriously threatened by events such as 9/11 and the attack on Pearl Harbor. I also thought of what Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” I wrote about this on my Facebook page. It triggered a response by a female minister I know who once pastored an inner-city church in Florida. I sometimes attended services there. She and her husband occasionally invited me to speak for a few minutes and gave me offerings. Although this pastor supported my ministry, we...

I’m currently using an Amtrak USA Rail Pass for the second time. This allows a passenger to ride the train up to ten times within 30 days at a much-reduced price. Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to traveling on Amtrak. One of the biggest is their trains are often not punctual . This past Thursday, a train I took to Los Angeles showed up in Tucson, Arizona 3½ hours late. It was supposed to arrive at 8:00 p.m. with an 8:15 departure time. When I checked my train status earlier that afternoon, it listed the same departure time. However, an added notice stated they were three hours behind schedule due to freight train interference and unscheduled track maintenance.  My host in Tucson drove me to the Amtrak station just after 5:00 p.m. so I could check in my two larger bags before we went out for dinner. Strangely, the Amtrak employee insisted the train was running on time despite the schedule board stating it was eight minutes late. After dinner, my host dropped me off at the t...

During my thirty-plus years of street ministry, I’ve had to be discerning when handling panhandlers . Because some are persistent, I tell them upfront, “I don’t have any money for you.” However, I always carry extra snacks to give to hungry beggars. That opens their heart more for me to share the gospel with them. Last weekend, I took a train to New Orleans. Because hotel rates were too high downtown, I opted to get a room at a motel in the northern part of the city. Instead of using Uber or Lyft, I took a bus from the train station to save money. I had to walk a few blocks from the bus stop with three pieces of luggage plus a backpack.  As I was getting close to the motel, a woman offered to help move one of my bags. I accepted her offer and perceived she was homeless. It was past midnight, and the lobby was closed. Therefore, I had to talk to the desk clerk through a glass window. Meanwhile, “Becky” (not her real name) stood nearby while I used my debit card to pay for m...

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 ...