Signs & Wonders Blog

One day following a church meeting, an elderly female friend brought up a question while we ate lunch. Her late husband was a pastor, but their son had no interest in becoming one. She questioned if the call to preach can be hereditary. I immediately thought of father-son ministry teams like Billy and Franklin Graham, John and Joel Osteen , John and Matthew Hagee, and others whose churches I attended. Some renowned preachers have a family legacy. For instance, Perry Stone hails from four generations of ministers. Kenneth E. Hagin had seen his son and grandson preach. Unfortunately, the latter was recently removed from his position at Rhema Bible Church due to misconduct (I pray Craig Hagin repents and is restored). It’s natural for some boys to follow in their fathers’ footsteps when it comes to their careers. However, that wasn’t the case for me. My father was an interior decorator, but that never piqued my interest. Instead, I worked as a disc jockey , plus various sales jobs bef...

On Father’s Day, most people honor the men that raised them. While I’m grateful for the good things mine did for me , my spiritual life was stagnant as a boy. The Lutheran church our family attended never taught us we must be born again (John 3:3, 7). It wasn’t until years later when I learned what it really meant to be a Christian. At the time of my conversion in 1991, I had started attending Living Word Christian Center , a megachurch in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Senior Pastor Mac Hammond became my first spiritual father. Although I never got to know him on a personal level, Mac’s teachings helped me build a solid foundation on God’s word.  Other men connected with Living Word played a part in my spiritual growth. Associate pastor Kent Otey met with me a few times for counseling sessions. The late Gary Rue was a postal worker who hosted Thursday night Bible studies at his house, which provided additional discipleship and fellowship. When I got serious about sharing my faith m...

Carolyn Mae Tweiten was born on March 28, 1946. She was the second of five children who grew up in a carpenter’s family in Fargo, North Dakota. In 1963 at the age of 17, Carolyn married Richard Post and gave birth to me the following year. My sister Tanya followed a couple of years later. Because Mom loved animals, there were often one or two dogs plus an occasional cat in the household. She was also a teddy bear fanatic. That made it easy to pick out gifts for Christmas and her birthday. Carolyn had grown up with a violent alcoholic father. Therefore, she did her best to make sure Tanya and I had a stable environment at home. Mom often played along with various games my sister and me did. A few Saturday mornings, we played school with me being the teacher. Occasionally Mom would knock on my bedroom door saying Tanya needed to be “excused from class” so she could clean her room or do something else. As we got older, Mom worked outside the house more. One of her jobs was a sa...

Richard “Dick” Post was born on June 28, 1943, in Hood River, Oregon. His father was stationed there during World War II. The family later moved to Fargo, North Dakota. After graduating from Fargo Central High and taking some college courses, Dad settled into a career as an interior decorator. Over the years he worked at various furniture stores in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Dad could have made more money as a traveling salesman but opted for jobs that allowed him to come home every night to be with my mother, sister, and me. Often our evenings were spent watching TV and playing an occasional board game. Dad sometimes brought meals home for us such as hamburgers, pizza, and Mexican food. In recent years when I came home for a visit, Dad and I usually ate out at Asian buffets. During the 1970s, Dad’s work prospered him enough to own three cars including a corvette that he sometimes drove me to school in (to the envy of my classmates). Summer weekends were usually spent at Big S...

One song often heard during the holiday season is “What Child Is This?” A question many people need to answer for themselves is “Who’s Child Am I?”   Sometimes while evangelizing, sinners tell me they are going to heaven because they claim to be a child of God. My hometown newspaper recently published a letter applauding Sen. John McCain’s declaration (regarding the Syrian refugee situation), “All of us are God’s children.” That inspired me to write a response pointing out this is not an accurate statement. It’s true that all men “have been made in the similitude of God.” (James 3:9)   But not every person on this earth is technically a child of God. A man or woman who doesn’t become born again has Satan as their spiritual father even if they don’t believe he exists. Look at this conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees in John 8… 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”  Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you w...

Three years ago I reconnected with a pastor who used to work with me at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. One day at his church, we got into a discussion about how pastors should be treated. My friend had congregation members calling him by his first name despite asking to be addressed as “Pastor Lee.” Romans 13:7 tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. Civil authorities expect to be addressed by certain titles. Courtroom judges are called “Your Honor.” Policemen are often addressed as “Officer.” If you were a White House guest, you would refer to Barack Obama as “Mr. President.” If you lived under a monarchy, you would address your king or queen as “Your Majesty.”   While serving in the U. S. Army, I quickly learned to address my superiors the right way or I would get in trouble. If a noncommissioned officer such as a sergeant gave me an order, I was expected to respond, “Yes, sergeant.” If I accidentally addressed him as “Sir” (a title reserved for office...

One day at the Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, I had a witnessing opportunity with three kiosk employees who were all Jewish. When I mentioned Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), one of the women objected because He wasn't born of a human father. A friend of mine later reminded me of Isaiah 7:14, which says that the Messiah must be born of a virgin woman. The Holy Spirit probably didn't bring that Scripture to my remembrance because this Jewish woman was quite contentious and said she had to “get back to work.” The fact that Jesus had one earthly parent and one divine parent is proof He fulfilled Isaiah 7:14. He had to be born of a virgin woman (not man) so his father had to be God and not a man. This fact speaks for Him and not against Him. Who else could fulfill it? My friend also pointed out to me that according to Orthodox Judaism the Jewish lineage is inherited through the mother. If the ...