Signs & Wonders Blog

The U. S. Census Bureau estimates there are now over 7.5 billion people in this world. In recent years, numerous individuals have expressed fear about this planet becoming too crowded. Dr. Eric Tayag of the Philippines’ Department of Health said, “We should really focus on the question of whether there will be food, clean water, shelter, education and a decent life for every child. If the answer is ‘no,’ it would be better for people to look at easing this population explosion.” Conversely, Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute points out that people are “not just consumers, but producers.” He also stated, “Every stomach comes with two hands attached and every mouth is backed by a creative intelligence equipped to leave the world a better place.” Steven knows firsthand the devastating results of population control. In 1979, he was invited to Mainland China by the Chinese government and got to witness women being forced to have abortions under that nation’s “one-...

Over twenty years ago I made the first of what would be many trips to the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida. My initial reaction wasn’t too favorable. Previously I hadn’t heard any sermons from Pastor John Kilpatrick or Evangelist Steve Hill and was taken aback by their in-your-face preaching styles. I would have preferred attending more renewal meetings in Toronto but the Lord kept sending me to Pensacola. Since then I have grown to appreciate the ministry that went forth from Brownsville Assembly of God . Their leadership’s passion for purity and holiness is greatly needed in our churches. Once I posted on Facebook a link to a Steve Hill article warning against heretical teachings invading the church. A fellow minister responded to that with mocking comments. He wrote, “I always cringe when people/prophets/fruitcakes say they have a word of rebuke from the LAWd. He is the God of ALL ENCOURAGEMENT.” Ironically, I spent time with this minister in Pensacola the year be...

Today is Earth Day. According to Wikipedia, “Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection.” I agree men and women should be good stewards of this planet. After all, the first two people on this earth were assigned to take care of the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, green activism has grown to ridiculous levels . While staying in hotel rooms, I’ve noticed signs encouraging guests to conserve vital resources such as water. By doing so we can supposedly “save our planet.”  The Bible repeatedly reminds us God made the earth. He made sure it has plenty of natural resources. Psalm 65:9 says, “You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it.” It also says in Ecclesiastes 1:4, “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever .” The earth is not in d...

In this age of political correctness, debates over “offensive” nicknames for sports teams have increased. Four years ago, members of Congress from Michigan and Oklahoma sent a letter to the NFL insisting the Washington Redskins change their name. Other professional teams that experienced protests include baseball’s Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians. The latter will stop using its Chief Wahoo logo (pictured here) on their uniforms beginning with the 2019 season. High school and college sports haven’t been exempt from this controversy. Until June 2012, the University of North Dakota teams were called Fighting Sioux. That name was dropped due to pressure from the NCAA. They are now called the Fighting Hawks. Many UND students and alumni still call their teams Fighting Sioux. Surveys have determined most Native Americans don’t mind the use of Indian names for sports teams. One long-time Redskins fan of American Indian descent emailed the team saying, “I am very proud of the...

English preacher John Scotland often says at his meetings, “For those of you taking notes…save the trees.” This is meant to be a humorous jab at people who jot down too many notes during church services.  Sadly there are environmentalists who do ridiculous things like chain themselves to trees they don’t want chopped down. In this creepy YouTube clip , members of a radical advocacy group are hysterically bawling over dead trees…   Tree huggers who really want to take their cause to the extreme shouldn’t read books, live in wooden houses with wooden furniture or use paper money, Kleenex and toilet paper. If God valued trees as much as humans, He wouldn’t have told Noah to built an ark out of gopher wood ( Genesis 6:14) or instructed His people to use wood for various sacrifices. God is certainly not worried about earthly shortages. One time I was driving through Yellowstone National Park and saw a mountain range with a huge amount of trees. At that moment, the...

It’s often been said we are our own worst critic. Many of us have characteristics about ourselves we wish were different. When I was younger, I often got permanents because I liked how I looked with curly hair. Eventually I stopped getting those because I grew tired of the time and expense involved. Besides that, Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...” All of us should be thankful for how God designed us. However, we now live in a day where people are celebrated for changing their gender. This past week the media has been bombarded with reports of a former Olympic athlete becoming a woman. Bruce Jenner now prefers to be called “Caitlyn” and be addressed by feminine pronouns. Because of this gender reassignment, Jenner has been awarded this year’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award by ESPN. Even more disturbing is Jenner professing to be a Christian and claiming God gave him “the soul of a female.” As a minister of the gospel, I cannot accep...

Five years ago while I was walking through a business district in Bethesda, Maryland, a man from Greenpeace asked me to sign a petition to protest global warming. This man claimed the whole planet is getting warmer because of increasing  carbon dioxide emissions . I responded by saying the global warming issue is a hoax and made reference to Genesis 8:22,  “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”  The Greenpeace activist (who I found out knew the Lord) admitted he couldn’t contest that Scripture. Still, there are activists trying to pressure people into preaching a global warming gospel. Last year the state of Maryland passed what became known as the “Rain Tax.” One Maryland county went so far as to  offer churches an exemption  if they preach on global warming. Over 30 churches have applied for this exemption, which could save them an average of  $744 per year . S...

Nonbelievers will often attempt to discredit God’s word.   While street evangelizing, I occasionally run into individuals who claim the Bible is full of contradictions.   When I ask them to name one, many times they cannot do so.   They simply believe what somebody else told them. Recently in the Fargo Forum (my hometown newspaper), a man supportive of same-sex marriage wrote a letter to the editor claiming, “God’s laws change all the time” without citing an example.   He went on to write , “Just go to any bookstore and see all the different Bibles, each one a different interpretation . ”   What does he mean by “different Bibles?”   Was he comparing the Holy Bible to non-Christian books such as the Koran?   That’s like comparing apples to oranges.   Muslims believe Jesus was only a prophet and not God’s Son.   John 3:16 says otherwise. This letter writer might have referred to different Bible translations you find at Christ...

Two days ago I stopped at Burger King for lunch. It wasn’t until after leaving the restaurant I noticed my water cup had the phrase "Be Good to Mother Earth" stamped on it. My first thought was, “Since when did this planet birth ‘little Earths’"? I posted my reaction on Facebook and received some interesting feedback from my friends. One of them wrote, “The Church of England is getting gripped by this Save the Planet stuff, pray they will concentrate more on saving souls!” Another friend wrote, “Psalm 50:10 says for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. So, who's the real burger KING?” Years ago at a Toastmasters meeting, I heard one speaker urging us to “love your mother” (referring to the earth). I’ve also seen bumper stickers saying the same thing. There’s one thing I need to make clear to all the environmentalists out there: The earth isn’t my mother! Some of you may remember an old Chiffon Margarine commercial...