Signs & Wonders Blog

Last Sunday, I went to a gathering of friends from church. Most of them weren’t interested in the Super Bowl. I didn’t start watching the game until the second quarter and mostly ignored the commercials plus muted the halftime show. Therefore, I missed seeing the Jeep advertisement featuring Bruce Springsteen. I wasn’t aware of the commercial until three days later when noticing a link to that in an article about The Boss facing a drunk driving charge (which resulted in Jeep pulling the ad off the air). I’ve never been a fan of Springsteen but appreciated his talents as a singer, songwriter, and musician. During the 1980s, I often played his records while working as a disc jockey. However, I became turned off to Springsteen as he vocalized his political beliefs more. 1994’s “Streets of Philadelphia” was written for a movie that condoned homosexuality. I thought it was one of The Boss’s weakest recordings. Yet “Philadelphia” was a top ten hit that won four Grammy Awards plus an Oscar ...

Today is the 75th anniversary of an atomic bomb devastating Nagasaki, Japan. Three days earlier in 1945, the first atomic bomb used in warfare was dropped on Hiroshima. Historians have debated whether the United States was justified in using those bombs. It’s tragic how the bombings killed tens of thousands of people. However, many more lives would have been lost had the U.S. needed to invade the country that four years earlier initiated hostilities with the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Truman’s goal for authorizing the bombings was to convince the Japanese to surrender and bring a quicker end to World War II. I grew up during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fears of a nuclear exchange were triggered by watching made-for-TV movies like “World War III” and “The Day After.” Although the USSR dissolved in 1991, Russia still has nukes as well as a few other countries. Rogue nations like Iran have made progress in developing their own weapons of mas...

An arena in Guadalajara To whom it may concern: I pray this letter somehow reaches the thousands mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador who are traveling through Mexico towards the American border. First, I don’t blame anyone for wanting to come to the United States. As a natural-born American citizen, I’m thankful for the prosperity we have here. I also recognize my nation was largely founded by immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families. All my ancestors came over from Europe many years ago. There’s a missionary house in Florida I often stay where I’ve met many immigrants originally from Spanish-speaking countries. As far as I know, all of them came to the United States legally . Videos I’ve seen of some caravan members forcing their way into Mexico indicate they have little respect for authority. I don’t want people like that entering my country. We have enough crime here as it is. You should be warned here in America our cit...

One of the most contested political issues today is immigration. It’s estimated there are now at least 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. Many Americans want to see them deported. What makes the situation more complex is anchor babies born to aliens are recognized as American citizens. Recently two minister friends who are immigrants themselves posted comments on Facebook suggesting we shouldn’t have any border controls. One of them claimed, “...restricting immigration is part of Marxist Socialism and is totally contrary to Biblical Christianity.” Yet when the Scriptures were written, cities had massive walls to keep certain people out . Even the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 will have a wall around it. While Native Americans have contributed to our society, the United States was predominately founded and built by immigrants and their descendants. The Statue of Liberty has a plaque on its base with this inscription: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddle...

As we approach the 238th birthday of the United States of America, it’s important for Americans to remind themselves why our Founding Fathers came to this land. One reason was to avoid persecution from the Church of England. Although originally settling in Holland, the Pilgrims desired an English-speaking nation where they could worship God without man-made laws imposed upon them. Just before making landfall in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims drafted a document called the Mayflower Compact. One of its provisions was to protect the rights of religious conscience. Nowadays God-fearing Americans are fighting for religious freedom again. Ever since prayer was removed from public schools over 50 years ago, our learning institutions have become more atheistic. One of the resulting by-products is business owners fighting for their right to make decisions based on Judeo-Christian principles. Earlier today, Hobby Lobby won a Supreme Court decision challenging an Obamacare mandate regarding bir...

Much has been in the news lately about Occupy Wall Street. According to Wikipedia, “Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. They are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government—particularly from the financial services sector—and lobbyists.” What began two months ago as a protest in New York City has spread to cities throughout the United States and other countries. How should Christians respond to this whole Occupy movement? It’s interesting that Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:13 (KJV), “Occupy till I come.”  But that doesn’t mean the Lord wants us just sitting around until He returns. The New King James Version of Luke 19:13 reads, “Do business till I come.”  Jesus went on to say in verse 23, “Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?”  This would co...