Signs & Wonders Blog

The Internet is an awesome tool, but like other things can be a distraction from doing more productive things. I’ll admit to have spent hours on social media plus reading Wikipedia articles and watching YouTube videos that have little or no eternal value. A pastor I recently stayed with in the Buffalo, New York area suggested we go on a “media fast.” I perceived the Lord told me to do that for three days. Pastor Mark and I agreed to start Monday at midnight. Technically, I began my media fast around 11:40 p.m. the night before. I turned off my MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone before storing them on a shelf. Adjustments needed to be made. I usually fall asleep to an audio Bible or sermon, plus I journal and take notes with my electronic devices. I had to use pen and paper again. My cell phone wasn’t in my pocket when I wanted to know the time and weather. On the first day, I fasted food, drinking only water. During those three days, I caught up on paperback books people had given me, bu...

Facebook can be an awesome tool to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. I’ve also seen the social media platform abused . One thing I won’t tolerate is people being deceptive with me online .  Three days ago, it appeared I received a friend request from the son of a female missionary. In the past, I had issues with this woman but opted to accept her son’s request. Then I received a friend request from the woman, plus a message explaining she sent the friend request through her son’s account. It turns out he hates Facebook and no longer uses it. After waiting a couple of days to decide what to do, I deleted her friend request and disconnect from her son’s account. Scammers have set up fake social media accounts of well-known ministers in hopes of receiving money from undiscerning donors . Once I received a friend request from someone impersonating Bill Winston, a megachurch pastor in the Chicago area. What really raised red flags in my mind was the account “liking” four ...

J. Lee Grady has a weekly column in Charisma magazine called “Fire In My Bones.” This past Wednesday, he wrote (in my opinion) one of his best articles: “Which 4 Friends Will Carry You to Jesus?” That was inspired by the paralyzed man in Mark chapter 2 who got healed while Jesus taught inside a house in Capernaum. Four men lowered the paralytic lying on a bed after tearing a hole in the roof. As a traveling missionary who has been a loner most of my life, I haven’t had a lot of close friends. Still, I have some, including ministers that helped me grow in the things of God. In this article, I want to honor four men who are not in full-time ministry but would tear the roof off to get me to Jesus: Tom “Rock” S. - When I began  working for Billy Graham’s film ministry in 1996, a coworker who sat on the other side of my cubicle wall reminded me of our meeting two years before at a party hosted by a mutual friend. Tom and I started praying together in between sales calls. We also d...

There’s an old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The people we associate with can deeply influence our lives.  As a boy, I had decided to stay away from alcoholic beverages. But during my late teens, many friends of mine and co-workers were into drinking beer. Wanting to have fun with them, I started going to parties and nightclubs. Gradually I fell into a lifestyle of sin. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived; evil company corrupts good habits.” By the time I committed my life to the Lord, many of my drinking buddies didn’t want to hang with me anymore. I’ve also noticed God will allow certain relationships with other Christians to end. This is so He can connect you with like-minded believers who will encourage you in your calling. Once I had a blind friend who didn’t believe it was God’s will to heal everyone. I shared Scripture proving otherwise since I wanted my friend to receive his sight. This man wouldn’t accept the truth and one day announced...

Over the years I’ve heard ministers give differing opinions as to whether they should have a “covering” or a fellow minister overseeing them. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines covering as “a thing used to cover something else, typically in order to protect or conceal it.” One apostle I know preaches that everybody should have a pastor. I believe that’s good advice, especially for newborn believers. Whenever leading someone to the Lord, I always encourage him (or her) to find a good church where he can be discipled and grow in the things of God. The Bible mentions people who had spiritual mentors: Joshua had Moses, Elisha had Elijah, and Timothy had Paul. On the other hand, Moses never had a spiritual father nor did Elijah or Paul. Paul even cited that as proof of his apostleship (Galatians 1:15-17). I’ve heard some Christians claim, “I am submitted to God, and no one else!” People who make remarks like that tend to have a rebellious attitude and are not open to correcti...