Signs & Wonders Blog

Today is the 38th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. Although I wasn’t a big fan of the singer, I can remember where I was when hearing the news about him passing away. My family and I were at a Neil Sedaka concert in Fargo, North Dakota. Neil announced from the stage Elvis died that afternoon and then sang his composition “Solitaire” (a hit by the Carpenters but also sung by Elvis) as a dedication to the late singer. Elvis was often referred to as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll” or simply “The King,” a title he repeatedly resisted. Having been raised in an Assembly of God church, Elvis often declared there’s only one King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Early in his career, Elvis confessed to his pastor, the Reverend James Hamill: “Pastor, I am the most miserable young man you have ever seen. I have got more money than I can ever spend. I have thousands of fans out there, and I have a lot of people who call themselves my friends, but I am miserable. I am not doing a lot...

Just before I logged off the Internet yesterday morning, I decided to check the headlines one last time. The news was already full of reports about the mass shooting and bombing in Oslo, Norway the day before. Still I had a hunch another tragedy had just occurred. On the home pages of Yahoo and CNN, I read “Breaking News” that British singer Amy Winehouse died in her London home. What stood out to me in those headlines was that Amy was only 27 years old. Immediately I thought of other rock stars who died at that very same age: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain. Like Amy, all of them had a history of drug abuse. I first became familiar with Amy Winehouse while watching the 2008 Grammy Awards on TV. The singer was nominated for six awards and won five of them, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for her hit “Rehab.” Amy made more headlines with her erratic behavior and run-ins with the law. Although I wasn’t a big fan of the singer, I occasio...

One of the biggest reasons I resisted Christianity during my youth was because of preachers crusading against secular rock music. I remember hearing one minister who recommended listening exclusively to Christian rock and gospel music. That led me to believe God only approved of songs that referred to Him. Later I learned there are two books in the Bible (Esther and Song of Solomon) that don’t mention God’s name at all. Certainly, we must be cautious of the words we allow to go into our ears. Jesus said in Mark 4:24,  “Take heed what you hear.”  Nowadays, I avoid listening to most of today’s hits because of the increasing profanity in the lyrics. There are currently two songs in Billboard’s Top 20 with the F-word in their title. One of them (by rapper Cee-Lo Green) is up for two major Grammy awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Nevertheless, secular songs can be used by the Lord to minister to people. I attended services at Toronto Airport Christian Fellow...